The Shroud of The Dark Side (CW AU)

by SkywalkerStories13

Now that the Clone Wars have begun, Rosella and her family must fight to bring peace back to the Republic. As the battles continue to escalate and grow even more dangerous, Anakin knows that he will have to do whatever it takes to make sure that the Force stays balanced and the Sith doesn't claim total control over the galaxy.

28. Chasing After a Group of Bounty Hunters

"aaaa" - talking through a holocomunicator or comlink. aaaa - inner thoughts and Force Visions. 'aaaa' - talking through a bond.

AN: Thank you princesselsaamidala22 for your review of the last chapter.

Yes, R2 loves the entire Skywalker family.

I'm really sorry for not updating last week! I was busy watching Star Wars Celebration last weekend, plus I've been watching Obi-Wan Kenobi. I'm very excited about most of the shows that were announced at the event. (I watched it online)

The show is amazing and I can't wait for the rest of the series to come out. That's all I'm going to say since I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet.

I will be taking a small break from my writing as I'm going on vacation this week. That means the next chapter of this story might be slightly delayed. Just giving everyone a heads-up.

Thank you all for reading this fanfic. It's now gotten over 4,000 views!

Anyways, on to this week's chapter!

Mace and Anakin have returned to the Temple after being trapped in the wreckage of the Endurance. While they're recovering from their injuries, Boba, who is running around with Aurra and her crew, still wants vengeance for his father's death.

---

Chapter 20: Chasing After a Group of Bounty Hunters

Boba, who was still thinking about everything that he had done with Aurra and her crew, was beginning to grow restless. He was still sitting in his seat. His mind swirling with questions. Some of the ones that he had left him feeling confused, wondering if he was doing the right thing. He wasn't sure why he felt this way, considering the fact that he now had the means to force Windu to come and face him.

He knew that the others were happy about it, especially Aurra. But he also knew that the woman who he saw as his mentor and guide to the life of bounty hunting, was a little bit more ruthless than the others. As he recalled her last words before they fled from Vanqor's orbit, the boy knew that her plan somehow involved the hostages that they had recently acquired from the now destroyed remains of the Endurance.

Concerned for the lives of the men, he glanced up at Aurra and hoped that she wouldn't notice what he was doing as he slipped out of his seat and headed to the door. Glancing at the control panel, he hit the button to open it. Then he walked inside and let it slide shut behind him.

Aurra turned her head towards the door and narrowed her eyes, wondering just what the young vigilante was up to.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sitting in front of the young boy were three men. One was human, while the other two were clones. All three were sitting on the cold metal floor, bathed in red light. Their hands were bound and gags were tied tightly around their heads.

While he didn't know them on a personal level like the Jedi did, he knew that the face that two of the men wore was the same face as his own. The same face that his father would have had if Windu hadn't killed him on Geonosis. He knew it wasn't right to blame them for Jango's death. That honor belonged to the Jedi Master and had nothing to do with the three men who were currently being used as pawns in whatever horrible scheme Aurra had planned.

Admiral Killian, Commander Ponds and the unnamed navigational officer all looked up when they heard Boba take a step forward. The three captives watched with bated breath and wide eyes as the boy knelt in front of the Admiral and pulled the gag that he was wearing beneath his mouth.

Once the piece of cloth was hanging around the man's neck, Boba closed his eyes, sadly shaking his head as he reached to his right and unhooked a small canteen of water that hung from his belt. "This wasn't what I wanted," he said as he unscrewed the lid. Then he paused, looked away and sighed before glancing up at the man as he held the small, round jug up to the officer's mouth so he could drink some of the refreshing liquid.

After the Admiral had finished his share of the water that had been offered to him, he bobbed his head to signal he was finished. His eyes watched as Boba took the canteen away, stood up, and then placed the lid back over it, not even bothering to offer any to the other two clones who were in the room. "Then why are you doing this?" He asked, tilting his head up so he could look at the young boy. "You're not like the others. I can tell."

Boba narrowed his eyes as he looked at the uniformed officer. "What do you know old man?" He snapped.

Killian softened his gaze as he looked up at the boy. "I know a good soldier when I see one," he said. "When I look at you, I can tell that you have a good heart. Why else would you have given me some of the water that you carry around in that jug?"

The glare that was currently on Boba's face faded away as he took a minute to think about what the officer had just told him. Did he really have a good heart? The more that he thought about it, the more confused and agitated he became. His expression changed into a more sorrowful one as he raised his eyebrows. "But I'm no solider!" He said, lowering his gaze to the ground. His eyes hardened a little and he looked at the three hostages again. "I know I'm a clone, but I'm not like those two!" He waved one of his fingers at both of the clones who were sitting on either side of the Admiral. The boy glanced to his right and saw the navigational officer watching him. Lowering his arm, he walked over to the man. "What? What do you think you're looking at?"

The officer turned his head away as the door to the cockpit opened.

"Boba!" Aurra said, standing just outside the doorway. Taking her hand off the control panel, she focused her attention on the young boy as he glanced at her and then looked away. "What's going on back here?"

Realizing that he hadn't placed the cloth back over the Admiral's mouth, Boba quickly stepped over to the older man and shoved the gag back into place. "Nothing," he responded. Gone was the boy who had been sad and sorry. In his place was someone angry and desperate.

Aurra narrowed her eyes as she walked into the room and let the door slide shut behind her. She reached out with the Force to see if she could get a sense of Boba's emotions and was a little displeased to find that the boy was beginning to question the morality of what they were doing. Quietly letting out a sigh, she knew that it was going to take a long time to break the sense of honor that Jango had instilled in him on Kamino.

Boba glanced over at Aurra and stepped closer to her, asking, "What are we going to do with these men?"

"These three are about to become bait in order to lure Windu to us, Boba," the female bounty hunter responded. Then she smirked as she knelt on the floor and leaned forward, reaching out to stroke the Admiral's face with her left hand. Letting out a chuckle, her mouth quickly turned into a sneer as she pulled back and suddenly slapped Killian across the face.

Boba's eyes widened and he nearly flinched as he heard the older man grunt. Then he turned away and closed his eyes, not wanting to watch as Aurra started to beat the older man.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rosella yawned a little and shifted her eyes over to the chrono on the wall over the classroom door. Her class on how to track, locate and properly identify criminals was one that she found particularly fascinating, but there were two things that she didn't like about it. The first thing was the fact that it had been scheduled for only one day a week and the second was that the class was held way too early in the morning. At least she had gotten to grab a quick bite to eat before rushing out the door of the apartment.

"Alright class, settle down," Master Sytasci said as she entered the room. She was a tall, light-skinned human woman, with long, blonde, wavy hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. Her gentle blue eyes watched as all the students who were in the room took their seats. "In today's lesson, we will be learning how to use our sense ability to help us uncover clues as to where a known or even a potential criminal may have fled to. I know that when you were all Initiates, you learned all about the control aspect of the Force. But now that you have all become Padawans, you will be spending more time on developing how and when it is the appropriate time and place to use this aspect and all the abilities that emanate from it."

Dragging her eyes away from the clock, she focused on her teacher and began to pay attention to what the woman was saying.

"Force-listening is a technique that can be used to hone in and listen to conversations that are going on all around you," the Jedi Master told the class. "In order to use this ability properly, you must relax your perceptions so everything around you becomes a blur. Do not focus on a single signature. Instead, let the Force guide you to the information that you seek."

Looking down at her datapad, she wrote down the key points that Master Sytasci was saying, knowing that the information would be useful to her on a mission in the future. Using the Force to clear away her tiredness, she watched as her teacher demonstrated how to identify figures who didn't want their identities to be known by using a device that all Jedi were required to carry around with them.

After her class was over, Rosella went back to the apartment and put away the datapad that she had brought to class with her that morning. Since she didn't have anything else to do for the rest of the day, she decided to go see how her father was doing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, down in the Jedi Temple medical bay, Anakin and Mace were doing anything but resting in their beds. While the Jedi Master sat on his bed looking over a datapad that he held in his left hand, the much younger Knight had gotten up and wandered over to the only window that offered him an outside view of Coruscant. Both men were dressed in light beige robes that everyone who came to the Healers wing were given to wear.

Anakin calmly stood in front of the window with his hands clasped behind his back. After reflecting on everything that had happened over the past couple of hours, he asked, "What are you planning to do with this son of Jango Fett?"

Mace thought about his answer while catching up on the important topics that had been discussed in all of the various meetings that he had missed since he was a member of the Jedi Council. "I'm not planning to do anything," he responded.

Anakin turned around to look at the Jedi Master with a disbelieving look on his face. "That kid destroyed an entire cruiser trying to get to you, and you're just going to forget about it and move on?" He asked.

"Is there something else that you think I should be doing right now?" Mace asked, his eyes still glued to the datapad that was in his hand.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is," Anakin replied as he walked away from the window and over to Mace's bed. "I think you should track this kid down before he has another chance to strike when you least expect it."

Mace tapped the screen on his datapad a few times. "So, I should behave as this child does?" He asked in a rather calm voice. "I should seek revenge?"

Anakin quietly exhaled, knowing that wasn't what he was thinking about. "No," he answered, causing Mace to tear his eyes away from the brightly lit screen and look at him. "It wouldn't be considered revenge if you stop this kid and bring him to justice for the crimes that he's already committed."

"In case you hadn't noticed, we are in the middle of a war right now," Mace told him. "With all the duties that I have as a Council Member and High General, I simply don't have time to make tracking Boba a top priority."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After taking the turbolift to the correct floor and getting off, Rosella made her way through the halls of the temple. She was a little nervous as this was her first time coming down to the medical bay as a visitor. Remembering what Tabitha had told her just a few days ago, she was glad that her friend and former roommate had the day off. As she got closer to the entrance, she was a little surprised to see Jedi Master Plo Koon heading towards the area as well.

Wondering why he was here, she quickened her pace to catch up to him. "Good morning Master Plo," she called as she got closer.

The Jedi Master turned to face her as she approached. "Good morning Padawan Ngaire," he replied.

Noticing that he was holding a small round ball in his left hand, she asked, "Might I inquire as to what brings you here so early in the morning?"

"A few members of the Council and I received a pre-recorded transmission from the assassins who took out the Endurance and trapped Mace and Anakin in the wreckage," he responded. "After watching it, the Council decided to let him hear it as well." Then he studied the teenager for a few minutes. "I assume you're here to visit Master Skywalker?"

"Yes Master," the teenager confirmed with a nod. "I'm pretty sure they're sharing the same room."

Plo smiled and gestured for her to walk ahead of him. "Well, let's go find out," he said.

Rosella smiled and approached the doors, which automatically slid open to admit them both. Once they entered the reception area, the doors slid shut behind them. She quickly looked around as they headed towards the front desk.

The walls were painted light yellow. On the left were a few strategically placed windows that allowed the rising sun to stream in and bathe the room in its warm glow. Between each window was a medium-sized pillar. A quick glance at the floor revealed that it was covered in a plain beige tile with a cream-colored carpet over top of it.

The front desk had four pillars on either side. Two at the back and two at the front. The top half of the wall behind the desk was lined with wooden slats that were hung in a vertical pattern while the rest of the space was occupied by a few cabinets that hung over a rectangular marble countertop that went all the way around to the front of the desk. The left side was used for entering and exiting the small area. The only item on the back counter was a small blue plastic bin that held a few datapads in it.

On either side of the desk were two open doorways. One led to an entire wing that was reserved for Jedi whether they were young infants, Initiates, Padawans or even Jedi Masters who needed medical aid. The other led to a wing that was for the civilians who worked at the temple.

After obtaining the location of the room where both Jedi were staying while they recovered, Plo turned and motioned for Rosella to follow as he headed for the doorway on his left.

The teenager followed the Kel-Dor Master as he walked through the door and headed down the hallway.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Knight had just opened his mouth to reiterate the part about the destroyed cruiser when the door slid open with a soft hiss.

Plo walked through, followed by Rosella. "We have a situation," he said as the door slid shut behind them. "The assassins, whom we now know to be a group of bounty hunters have sent us, well more specially you, Mace, a transmission."

Anakin turned around upon hearing the Kel-Dor Master's tone of voice and knew that whatever they were about to see wasn't good news. While he was a little confused as to why his daughter had arrived with him, he brushed it aside as he glanced back at Mace with a slightly worried expression on his face. All he got in return was a frown and a slight head shake as the normally serious Master slowly sat up and got off his bed.

"Apparently, they were able to take some of the men as their hostages before causing the explosion that injured the two of you," Plo said as he and Rosella walked over to the holoprojector that was standing in the corner of the room.

As the Jedi Master placed a small round ball in the middle of the device, Rosella stepped away from him and moved over to her father's side as the shade automatically started to lower over the window. Once the room was dark, except for the dim lights that illuminated the room, the ball lit up and a holographic image was projected overtop of the communicator.

A boy, who was only a few years younger than Rosella, stood behind three men who were kneeling on the ground with their hands bound behind their backs. All of them wore gags over their mouths. It was clear to the three Jedi that they knew the hostages were. The boy held a blaster in his left hand as did the tall woman who was standing to the side.

The transmission started to play as Mace joined them.

"This message is for Mace Windu," he spoke, his voice loud and clear. "You were lucky to have escaped from the wreckage of the downed cruiser on Vanqor. But your friends who are here in front of me were not so fortunate." The boy lowered his left arm and pointed the blaster to the back of the armored trooper's head. Then he glanced up to his left as the woman stepped forward and began to speak.

"Until you come out here and face Boba, these men will be killed one by one," the woman said. Then she reached out and shoved the man who Boba had his blaster aimed at with her foot. "What's your name?" When the trooper didn't answer, she kicked him in his ribs. "I asked you a question. Give me your name!"

The man let out a pained grunt as he lowered his head, which caused Killian to glance in his direction. Then he looked up. "It's CT-411," he wearily replied.

The woman scoffed and nearly rolled her eyes as she looked at the youngest member of her crew. "Pathetic," she said. "Go ahead Boba. Shoot him."

Boba leaned forward a little, his fingers curling around the trigger of the blaster that he held in his hand as the tip of the barrel nearly touched the back of the trooper's head.

Mace narrowed his eyes at the holo as his frown grew deeper. He could see that Boba's arm was shaking a little as he struggled to follow the order that the woman had given him.

"Boba!" The woman said in near frustration upon seeing that his arm was starting to shake even more.

Upon hearing the tone in which his mentor said his name, Boba closed his eyes and tried to stop his arm from shaking so he could fire the blaster, but knew that he couldn't do it as he still wasn't comfortable with her way of doing this. Dropping his arm to his side, he slumped forward a little and looked away as the woman lowered her arm and shot the trooper in the head.

Anakin narrowed his eyes as he watched the pre-recorded message. When he saw the blaster go off, his eyes widened and a small gasp escaped his lips. Then he closed his eyes and sadly shook his head. "That was Ponds," he said.

Rosella covered her mouth with her hand as she was in shock after watching the scene that had just played out before her very eyes.

"Well, there you have it, Windu,"the woman said tauntingly as she raised her head after starring at the dead trooper for a few more seconds. Then she began to wave her still smoking blaster around. "There are two more men who are still alive. If you want them to stay that way, then come and find us. We'll be waiting."

Then the holographic message ended.

"I'll go, seeing as I don't have a choice in this matter," Mace said with a small hint of determination in his voice. Everyone turned to look at him as the shade that was over the window retracted, letting light back into the room. "If I don't show up, then those innocent men will die."

Anakin turned to look at Mace, who had just taken a step towards the door. "I thought you had other things to worry about," he said, recalling their earlier conversation that had almost turned into an argument.

"That was before we knew that those bounty hunters had captured some of our men to use as bait," Mace replied as he turned to look at Anakin. "Those troopers have nothing to do with Jango's death. This is between Boba and I."

"You are not going anywhere," Plo said, causing Mace, Anakin and even Rosella to look at him. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest as he nearly glared at the older Jedi from behind his goggles. "If Boba were to catch even a glimpse of you, it would only make the situation worse for the hostages. Besides, you are still injured." He could sense that Anakin was about to say something in Mace's favor and shook his head, silencing the young Knight. "You will not be going anywhere either Skywalker."

"Let me guess," Anakin said. "None of the healers have cleared us for duty yet."

"That is correct," Plo responded before shifting his eyes towards Mace. "I have been assigned to go find the men." Then he looked at Anakin. "With your permission Master Skywalker, I would like to take your padawan with me."

"If you think she will be able to help out on your mission Master Plo, then you have my permission to take her with you," Anakin responded. Then he turned to face his daughter. "Rosella, I want you to listen to Master Plo while you're with him and treat his instructions as if they were my own, alright?"

Rosella nodded. "Yes, Master," she said. Then she gave Mace a reassuring smile as she followed Plo out of the room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Slave 1's airlock suddenly opened up and Pond's body was ejected out of it. As the ship flew away, leaving the dead clone to float through the icy cold vacuum of space, Boba closed the door and turned around. Before he reached out and pressed the button that would open the inner door, he took a moment to think about why he had been forced to eject the Commander's body out into space.

It was his punishment for not following her direct order.

Aurra had told him to shoot the Commander himself. Instead of obeying her, he hesitated and in that single moment, had been unable to go through with the act. The reason for that was the face that the clones wore. As soon as he looked at it, he was reminded of his father. In the back of his mind, he knew that she was trying to break him out of such a hinderance, but it wasn't working. To be fair, Boba wasn't a huge fan of the clones. In fact, he thought that the clones were nothing more than slaves who had been coerced into fighting for the Republic.

Although he didn't like the clones, that didn't mean that he wanted to involve them, or anyone else for that matter, in his mentor's plan. They had nothing to do with this and his father had always told him to leave anyone who was innocent out of harm's way so that they wouldn't get hurt. He had tried to explain that to Aurra, but as usual, she didn't listen. She never listened to him except for when it either gave them an edge or had something to do with money. Sometimes, he liked to think that he was in charge and that this was his crew. But he knew the truth.

Aurra was the one in command.

There was a sad expression on his face as the inner door opened and he walked through it. Silently moving to his left, he came to a stop near the panel that controlled the door as well as a number of other things. Reaching up, he pressed one of the buttons, which caused it to close behind him.

The female bounty hunter watched as the youngest member of her crew stepped away from the panel and further into the small hold. Then without any warning, she moved forward, grabbed Boba by his shoulder and pushed him into the wall on his right.

"The next time that I tell you to pull the trigger," Aurra said, watching as his eyes widened in fear at the sound of her voice, "you'd better listen and do as you're told!" Then she dug her long fingernails into his shoulder as she shoved him against the metal surface.

A few minutes later, she released his shoulder from her tight grip, turned around and headed towards the door that led back to the cockpit.

Boba, who had landed on his feet, held his sore shoulder as he followed her. He ignored the looks of pity that the Admiral and remaining clone gave him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The door opened as Aurra approached, with Boba right behind her. "The Jedi should have received our message by now," she said as she walked into the room. She heard footsteps behind her and shifted her eyes to watch as Boba silently climbed into his seat while still rubbing his shoulder. "I'm sure it won't be long until they start tracking us."

Castas, who was sitting beside her, began to scratch his head as he fidgeted in his seat.

The female bounty hunter sensed that the male Klatooinian was a little nervous about something and swung her head around to look at him. "Is there something that you need to get off your chest, Castas?" She asked.

"Yeah, I've got something that I need to say," Castas said as he took his hand off his head and turned to look at Aurra. After hearing the recording that she and Boba had made and sent off to the Temple, then the scolding that the female had given the boy, he knew that it wasn't smart to get on her bad side. "This plan of yours has gotten way too out of hand. We're in over our heads."

Aurra turned around so she was facing him. "You signed on to kill Jedi, didn't you?" She asked. "Well, this is how it's done."

"If I remember correctly, you said that the Separatists would pay us well if we killed Windu," Castas said as he pointed at her. Then he looked at Boba and pointed to him. "That kid took down an entire cruiser and now we have these hostages that we need to keep tabs on." The Klatooinian flung his left arm to the side. "None of that was part of the plan."

Aurra sighed and shook her head. She was clearly growing tired of his protests, his complaints, and his whining. "Well then," she said, "now that I see who you truly are, I have to say that I never would have guessed that you would turn out to be an actual coward, Castas." Then she swung her head around to look at Bossk who so far had been quiet as he guided Slave I along her path. "And what about you, Bossk? Are you ready to turn tail and run?"

"Not a chance," the male Trandoshan replied. "There's way too much at stake here and I could really use the cash."

Castas glanced at Bossk and then looked at Aurra. "Not me," he said. "Count me out."

"Well, then you're in luck," Aurra told him. "I was planning on making a stop. You can drag your worthless, stinking carcass off this ship when we get there."

Boba leaned forward a little in his seat and asked, "Where are we headed?"

Aurra turned to look out of the viewport. "We're headed to Florrum," she responded. "I've got an old friend there, who just might be able to take Castas' place if he's up for it." Shifting her eyes over to the male Klatooinian, she saw him huff and shake his head. "Bossk, set course for our new destination and get us there as fast as you can."

Once the coordinates were plotted, Bossk pushed the lever forward and the ship jumped into hyperspace.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As the red and white Praxis Mk. I turbo speeder that Rosella and Plo were in raced away from the sprawling, cosmopolitan, urban cityscape, the teenager seemed to be confused about something.

"Master Plo?" She asked, tugging at the beige poncho that he had given her before they left the Temple. The ends of the sleeves as well as the front and back were decorated in a simple design of lines and dots. The hem was decorated in the same design, but was colored red. "Why are we heading down to the lower levels? I mean, wouldn't it make better sense for us to go to Vanqor since that was the last place were Boba was spotted?"

"Why head to the one place where we know he is not?" Plo asked as he piloted the speeder.

Rosella took a few moments to think about the question that Plo had asked as he continued to pilot the speeder. In a way, he was right about them not going back to Vanqor to search for clues. When they had gone there to rescue her father and Master Windu, there had been no sign of the boy, the tall woman that she had seen in the message or the hostages.

Suddenly their speeder was drifting down into a large, open cylinder.

"Wow…" Rosella quietly murmured as she looked up and watched as the circle of bright sunlight above them got smaller and smaller as they continued their descent. She knew in the back of her mind that she had never travelled this way before since her father had his own ways of getting down to the lower levels when he needed to. The last time that she had come down to the shadowy place was when she and Anakin had been assigned to track down Car Affa. Since then, she had always made sure to keep an eye on her lightsaber since she didn't want to lose it or even let it out of her sight.

The multitude of lights that lined the walls of the cylinder seemed to never end. It was as if they were sending a message to whomever was coming down to the place, reminding them that they were leaving the open, fresh air, and sunlight behind. Perhaps the lights were a warning to those who might have forgotten just how different the lower levels were from the upper.

"Before we left the Temple, I was able to get a name for the second bounty hunter in the transmission," Plo informed her. "Her name is Aurra Sing."

"Another bounty hunter?" The teenager asked, quickly running through the information in her mind, trying to see if there was a connection between her and Boba. Then she remembered who his father was. "Just like his father, Jango Fett." She glanced over at the Jedi Master. "Do you think that's why he's with her? Because she was associated with his father?"

"Yes," Plo responded. "It seems that this boy has found himself in the care of at least one of Jango's associates."

"So that means we need to be looking for other people who might have known Jango Fett or people who might be connected to the group of bounty hunters that Aurra could be with right now," Rosella said.

"You are correct, Padawan," Plo replied. "That is why we have travelled to the lower levels, otherwise known as the Underworld. Most bounty hunters and their associates prefer to do their business down here as they know that whatever they do or even say won't be traced back to them. It makes their jobs much easier."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once Plo had set the speeder down on the landing pad outside of the entrance that led to the area that they were going to, he turned off the engine, put his hood over his head and exited the speeder. Rosella followed him as they casually made their way towards a small terminal with customs droids who were busy asking the citizens who had been waiting in line for their passes.

As soon as the pair reached the terminal, they didn't get in line in front of one of the terminal windows like everyone else nor did they reach into their belts for their passes that would allow them to enter the level with no questions asked.

Instead, Plo headed for a little gated area that was located at the left end of the terminal booths.

The droid inside paused in its never-ending chore of checking passes to watch as the cloaked figure reached out and waved his hand over the Force-activated lock. When the ray shield that was blocking their way went down, it turned back to its duties as the pair passed by.

As they came walking out of the small tunnel, Rosella saw only one police droid.

"The data that we were able to gather on Jango Fett suggested that whenever he came to Coruscant, this was the area that he would frequent the most," Plo said. "We must keep a low profile."

"Yes, Master," Rosella responded quietly so that only Plo was able to hear her.

On the wall to their right were three posters that were covered in graffiti. On the wall next to it were more posters covered in graffiti. Both Jedi headed towards a set of stairs that led to a platform that had three hover taxis waiting there. Those modes of transportation were what many of the civilians who visited the area used to get around the large open space.

As Rosella and Plo ascended the steps, the teenager looked out ahead of her and saw a few large circular openings that had been cut through to the sky. It let in some natural light, but it wasn't enough to brighten the entire area. There were very few speeders and not a lot of ships that clogged the traffic lanes.

Stepping onto the middle taxi, the teenager watched as Plo reached out and pressed a few buttons, causing the taxi to float off the ground as it moved away from the area.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Slave 1 emerged from hyperspace and Bossk piloted the craft towards Florrum. The planet, which was hot and dry, featured rocky barren deserts and dustbowls that covered the entire landscape. As the ship burst through the clouds, it headed towards the pirate outpost that happened to be the only civilized place on the planet.

As Hondo Ohnaka walked out of his home, which also doubled as the local bar, and headed toward Slave 1, he was flanked by two members of his crew and a pair of his best massiffs. Passing by a small group of pirates who were watching two creatures that looked to be a cross between a monkey and a lizard fight each other, he approached the three new arrivals who had just emerged from the ship.

The pirate plastered what he hoped was a believable grin on his face as he flung his hands up in the air. "Well, my dear!" He gushed to the female as he stepped forward to greet her and her crew. "It seems that things never change. You never did like having to ask for permission to land."

Aurra merely smirked, took a step forward and touched the metal chest plate that he wore as she said, "Then you should know by now that I never ask for permission to do anything, my darling." To prove her point, she wrapped her arms around Hondo's head and pulled him in for a kiss. She could feel Hondo beginning to wriggle away from her grasp, so she deepened the kiss. But it didn't work.

Hondo broke the prolonged contact between them. "Ah, yes!" He said as he pulled away, flinging his arms into the air once again as he used the back of his left hand to wipe his mouth. "Yes…" he trailed off as he began to laugh about the rather interesting relationship that they had once shared together. Then he brought his hands together. "I remember everything that we did together." Then he placed his hand onto his chin as he took a moment to study the boy who was standing beside her. When he saw the frowning glare that the boy was shooting at him, he slightly turned his head to the right, took a tiny step back and held up his left hand. "Not mine, I take it?"

Aurra turned her head and glanced at Boba who had his arms crossed over his chest as he frowned at her. "No," she responded, placing a hand on his shoulder as she pushed him forward. "But he is a part of my crew. He's Jango's son."

"Oh, yes, yes," Hondo said, watching as the boy turned his head away. Then he knelt down in front of him. "Sorry about your father," he said, watching out of the corner of his eye as Boba turned his head to look at him. "I was a former colleague of his. He was an honorable man."

The glaring frown that had been on Boba's face seemed to change into one of surprise before melting away as it changed into one of sadness even though he still had his arms crossed over his chest.

Hondo stood up and proceeded to brush some dirt off of his pants.

"And this is Castas," Aurra said, jerking her head towards the Klatooinian. "But he is no longer a part of my crew and will be jumping off here."

The male bounty hunter seemed to take an offence to what she said and shot her a dark glare before looking away.

"Couldn't handle her, could you?" Hondo asked as he walked over and stopped in front of Castas. Then he slapped a friendly hand on the Klatooinian's shoulder as he began to lead him away from the others and into the building. "Well, don't be ashamed." He chuckled. "You are not the first man who has had to bail out from under her command and I'm pretty sure you won't be the last."

"He's speaking from experience," Aurra said, causing both men to stop and turn around.

"Oh, I can see now that you have become an even more dangerous woman than before," Hondo said as he saw Aurra slightly shake her head and smirk at him. "Very, very dangerous." Then he waved his hand towards the building. "Now come, come. If we must discuss business I insist we do it over drinks as civilized beings do."

All four of them headed inside.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There was music playing when the group walked into the bar. While Aurra, Hondo and Boba stood by the bartender's long table, Castas headed for the back of the establishment. The female paid no attention to the Weequay pirate as he ordered them their drinks. Instead, she turned her head and watched as her former crew member walked up to the transmitter that stood in the back corner.

After checking to see if anyone was watching him, Castas reached out and pressed a few of the buttons on the panel in front of him. He was getting out of there, even if he had to betray his former partner and her associates. After a few minutes of waiting, a hologram fizzled into existence, revealing a male Nautolan on the other end.

"It's me," the Klatooinian said. "I need your help. I'm stuck out here on Florrum."

The Nautolan crossed his arms over his chest. "You should have listened to my warning," he said, scolding his former associate. "I told you that working with Aurra Sing was bad for business."

"Yeah well, that's one thing you were right about," Castas informed him. "This latest job has gone south, like most of the jobs that I've done with the hag!"

Aurra's green eyes stared at the back of Castas' head. She didn't know who her former crew-mate had called, but she doubted that whoever it was would come all the way out here to help him. Sensing that the bartender had gotten their drinks, she turned her head around to see that the droid had just finished pouring hers.

The bartender placed the bottle to the side, pushed both cups forward and walked away as Hondo took his. Boba lifted himself up onto the tips of his toes as he stretched out his arm to grab the cup. Before he could grab onto it, a long-fingered hand clamped around his wrist. The boy glanced up with a surprised look on his face to see Aurra looking at him.

"No, Boba," she said with a shake of her head. Then she let go of his wrist and watched as the boy jerked his arm away and turned around with a soured expression on his face.

Hondo smirked and softly chuckled while swirling his drink in his cup. "I hear that there is a downed Republic cruiser on Vanqor," he said. "I'm assuming that was your handiwork?"

"I'm afraid that I can't take the credit for that job, no," Aurra replied before lifting her cup up to her mouth, draining her drink in one go. "We did see it though." She turned around and leaned against the bar. "It was crawling with Republic troops. If I were you, I might wait a while before heading over there to salvage it."

"I appreciate the advice," Hondo said as he raised his cup into the air as a mocking toast before lowering it and taking a sip of his drink. Then he turned his attention to Boba. "How do you like working for Aurra?"

"It's alright..." Boba said as he struck up a conversation with the pirate.

Aurra tuned them both out as she discreetly slipped a com into her left ear. As she honed in on Castas' conversation, everyone else's conversations faded into murmurs that she could barely hear.

"I've recently acquired some information that I think you would find rather useful," Castas told the man. "This Information could be worth something to the right people."

"Oh really?" The Nautolan asked. "What kind of people do you think would be interested in the information?"

"That's where you come in," Castas told him.

"Do you remember Aurra?" Hondo asked. "That job we pulled together?"

"Hmm?" Aurra asked, as her hand slipped away from the earpiece, her eyes narrowing as she knew that Castas was trying to sell her out. "Oh yes, I remember." She grabbed hold of it with two fingers and gently pulled it free from her ear before setting it down on the tabletop near her cup. "Excuse me for a moment." She didn't even crack a smile as she reached down to her hip and pulled her blaster free. Then she turned around, aiming the weapon towards the male Klatooinian. "Castas!"

Castas turned around and gasped in shock as he saw his former crew member aiming her weapon at his head.

Before he could even open his mouth to say something, Aurra fired her blaster. The now dead man spun around and slammed into the communications terminal, cutting off the call as he slumped to the floor.

The entire bar was silent as Aurra smirked and put away her weapon. Then some of the patrons began to hoot and holler.

"Hey! Hey, that's enough!" Hondo exclaimed as he set his drink down and turned to face his crew. "Will someone please scrape that guy off the floor? I think he sprung a leak."

Boba stared at Aurra in a mixture of shock, disbelief and confusion, then looked at Castas' body with a sad and uneasy expression on his face. He couldn't believe what she had done. Sure, he knew that his father would kill off his fellow bounty hunters, but that was when they failed too many times or became a liability while under his command. But Castas wasn't even a part of their crew anymore. So why had she killed him?

He just didn't understand.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile on Coruscant, Plo parked the taxi that he and Rosella were using near the entrance of yet another bar.

"I hope we have better luck here," the teenager muttered as she got off the transport while Plo followed behind her at a more sedate pace. Even though she had tried to blend in at each of the other places that they had gone to, the teenager found it hard to accomplish and it was clear that she was getting tired. So far, they hadn't found any information on where Aurra and her compadres were holed up. "This is the fifth scum-filled drinking hole that we've been to."

"Yes, so do I," Plo responded. "And if I may make a suggestion, try and be a little more subtle this time."

Rosella turned around and looked at the Jedi Master. "What do you mean?" She asked, a small hint of curiosity in her voice.

"You have picked up on many of your Master's teachings, and unfortunately that includes a lack of acting like you belong somewhere when the situation calls for it," Plo told her.

The teenager softly sighed as she turned around. "Sorry, Master Plo," she said apologetically. Then she followed him.

Walking towards the door of the establishment, Plo said, "When we get inside, do your best to try and blend in." As they stopped in front of the door, the Jedi Master turned to face her. "I'm sure Anakin or even Obi-Wan have told you this before, but I want to remind you to keep your senses alert and pay attention to any small detail that you may hear. You may be surprised at what you can learn from people when they have been drinking."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Even before Rosella entered the bar, she could already tell that this place was a little different than the others, although it was the same in a few ways. As she walked through the door, she could faintly smell a few drinks that had been spilled onto the floor, some stale food that definitely was expired and the occasional whiff of body order. Upon glancing down at the ground, she could see a few sticky spots that hadn't been cleaned up, along with some leftover plates that hadn't been cleared away. Shifting her eyes away from the dirty and grimy floor, she glanced around and saw a few different groups of beings gathered at the tables, booths and at the bar.

There were a few groups who were trying to outdo each other as they consumed their drinks, a few loners who were trying to drown their sorrows in whatever brand of cheap liquor that they could afford, and a couple of criminals who were looking for their next target to go collect the bounty for.

The basics never changed.

Some of the differences were the music, the lighting and the assortment of beings who frequented this particular place. The upbeat, funky tune that bounced off the walls and the bright, colorful neon lights that were flashing everywhere was something that the padawan had never heard or seen before. Even though the patrons who were here had come from all across the galaxy, none of them were human.

A small group of very drunk men were gathered around a platform, practically drooling over a very beautiful female Twi'lek who had heavy make-up on as she danced seductively to the beat. Even though the woman was a little older than most of the men who stood around her, she didn't care.

In the back of her mind, Rosella knew that this wasn't the most ideal thing that someone her age should be doing. Even if it was for Jedi business.

Plo, who was standing beside her, softly shook his head at everything he had seen. "Go have a look around," he quietly said, stepping away from the teenager as he moved off towards the bar.

Sensing that he was going to try and gather some information from the bartender, Rosella discreetly nodded and walked off, passing by the table that held the Twi'lek dancer.

As the Jedi Master walked up to the bar, two other Twi'lek's who were sitting on a pair of barstools glanced in his direction and then moved away to another table where they continued the conversation that they had been enjoying. Once the alien who served the drinks saw that he had a new customer, he turned away, uncrossed all four of his arms from over his chest and began to reach for a few of the bottles that he had stocked on the shelf in front of him.

"I need some information," Plo said as he placed his hand on top of the tabletop.

The male bartender, who was a Volpai, dropped his arms as he glanced over his shoulder at the cloaked man and said, "Sorry pal, but you came to the wrong place. We only sell booze and food here, not information."

Plo discreetly reached under his cloak and took out his lightsaber. Slamming the weapon down onto the counter, he made sure to rest his right hand over the hilt so that no one could take it. Glancing up at the bartender, he watched as the man laid eyes on the weapon.

"Huh. It's been a while since we had one of you guys down here," he said, halting whatever his upper arms were about to do, while his lower ones continued to move bottles around. Deciding to give the Jedi his full attention, he slowly turned around while crossing two of his arms over his chest. "Aren't you a little busy with the war and all the fighting to be slumming it down here with the likes of us?"

Plo took a seat at the bar. "We are never too busy for the citizens of the Republic," he said. The expression that he saw on the bartenders face clearly told him that the man didn't believe him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ugh. At this rate, I'll never find the information that we need. Rosella thought to herself as she wandered around the bar. She could barely hear what all the patrons were discussing amongst themselves with all the music that was being blasted throughout the place. She balled her hands frustratedly, then stopped, took a deep breath and focused on the reason why she was down here in the first place. "Okay. If I calm down and relax, maybe the Force will guide me to the answers that I'm looking for," she said to herself as she remembered what her teacher had told her in class that morning.

Taking another deep breath, she closed her eyes and called on the Force, using it to push away her frustration. Then she remembered what Master Plo had told her before they entered the bar. "Like Master Plo said, I'm listening, listening…" the teenager quietly said to herself as she used her connection to help tune out everything that was currently going on as she listened in on the conversations that would otherwise have been muffled and hidden under the layers of noise.

After listening to a conversation between a Quarren who was telling another one of the bartenders about how his business had flopped because of the war, she shook her head and tuned it out. Focusing again, she overheard another one between a fishy creature and an Ithorian. This time, it was about some video that the smaller creature had seen on a video screen the night before. Not caring about the contents of said video, she shook her head for a second time and focused on a third conversation that was being held by a drunk Quarren and an equally drunk Rodian, both of whom were standing in front of the female dancer. Not wanting to listen to the rest of their drunk argument concerning who the Twi'lek would want to go out with, she blocked it out and tried one last time.

After hearing the words Florrum and how someone had just been murdered, Rosella's eyes snapped open as she came out of her trance-like state. "Murder?" She quietly asked, even though no-one else could hear her over all the loud music. Her eyes quickly darted around the bar until she spotted the area where she had overheard the information.

A male Nautolan was leaning across a small table that was hidden in a tiny alcove near the back of the bar. He was speaking to a Weequay pirate.

As the teenager made her way over to their location, she turned around and relaxed her posture, leaning against the wall as she kept her gaze ahead of her, watching the other patrons who were busy getting drunk or even still watching the dancer as she continued to keep the gazes of the men on her.

"Yeah. He called me over the holo-transmitter and told me he was working a big job, at least that's what he said," the male said. "He had just told me about some valuable information that he was willing to share and then boom!" He slapped his hand down on the table for emphasis, causing both the bottle and cup to shake. "She shot him right between the eyes." Then he chuckled, watching as the Weequay took a sip of his drink. "That information must have been really good."

"What's her name?" The pirate asked. "I hope it's not who I think it is."

"He was working with that bounty hunter, Aurra Sing," the Nautolan replied. "I've heard she's bad news."

"Ah, that's her all right," the pirate said. "She happens to be the boss' ex and there's always trouble when she shows up."

"Yeah, that's who he was talking about," the Nautolan replied.

Realizing that she had finally gotten something that they could hopefully use to track down Aurra, Rosella filed away the information in the back of her mind and stayed where she was, subtly looking for a way out, as she wanted to avoid getting caught by the two criminals. Sensing that the two men were watching her, she acted like she was interested in the dancer that the males in the bar were fawning over. Making her way over to the platform, she gazed up at the female with a small smile on her face. As soon as she sensed that the criminals had gone back to their conversation, she waited until another patron walked by her, then slipped through the crowd and made it outside.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After a few minutes of waiting, Master Plo joined her.

"I see you followed my advice, young one," Plo told her as he walked back towards the taxi. "Did you find anything that could give us a clue as to where Aurra and her companions are?"

"You were right Master," Rosella said as she followed him. "I overheard two of the patrons talking about a murder." She watched as Plo stopped and turned to face her. "One that Aurra Sing recently committed."

The Kel-Dor reached out and placed a clawed hand on her left shoulder. "Do you know where this murder took place?" He asked.

"Florrum," Rosella responded.

"Well done, Padawan," Plo said, complimenting her as they boarded the taxi. "We're off to Florrum."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After someone had taken care of Castas' dead body, Hondo took Aurra and Boba upstairs to his office. While Boba headed towards the window and looked outside, Hondo made his way around the desk, which had a computer terminal on one side and a small panel built into it on the other end. There was a holo-transmitter standing beside the desk on the right. Taking a seat in his chair, he cleared some of the clutter out of the way before kicking back as he propped up his feet. Taking a sip of his drink, he watched as Aurra took a seat on the stool that was on the opposite side.

"Well, my dear," Hondo said as he leaned back in his chair. "Once again, you have come to me with another interesting predicament." He lightly chuckled, knowing that interesting was hardly the right word for a situation like this. The only reason he said it was because Boba was in the room. "Getting involved with the Jedi is never a good idea."

Aurra was just about to open her mouth to say something when her communicator sprang to life.

"Aurra," Bossk said. "I've spotted an incoming ship. The Jedi are heading our way."

Boba, who overheard the communication from the Trandoshan, turned away from the window. "Windu," he said as he narrowed his eyes, knowing exactly who had come to meet them.

"Took him long enough," Aurra muttered to herself as she removed her fingers from her earpiece and raised her right arm. She glanced at Hondo before looking down as she spoke into a small communicator that was embedded into a brown band that she wore around her wrist. "I want you to move Slave 1 to the outskirts and get the remaining hostages ready."

"On it," Bossk replied before terminating the call.

Aurra lowered her arm and then looked up at Hondo as she asked, "So, are you in, or not?"

Hondo didn't respond as he tossed back what remained of his drink. Then he took his legs off his desk and placed them on the floor as he leaned forward and slammed his empty cup down on the desk. Turning to face Aurra, he said, "I will not help you." Then he quickly held up a hand as she opened her mouth to protest. "But I will not be hindering you either. This is your fight, not mine."

As soon as the sound of Slave 1's engines were heard, Aurra and Hondo stood up and turned towards the window as the ship appeared in front of it. Then it turned around and flew off towards the desert.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After going back to the Temple and changing out of their ponchos, Rosella and Plo headed to one of the hangers that held a small assortment of Jedi speeders and ships that belonged to the Order. The other ones held a few LAAT gunships that the clones and Jedi used when they needed to get to the Republic Military Center. Quickly selecting a red and white T-6 diplomatic shuttle for their mission, both Jedi boarded the craft and headed off to Florrum.

Once he had guided the ship out of hyperspace, Plo piloted the craft towards the planet. A few minutes later they landed in front of a pirate outpost.

The courtyard was eerily quiet and for a moment Rosella wondered if the place was closed. Then she, along with Master Plo, spotted the Weequay pirate calmly walking towards them. Thinking back to what Ahsoka had told her about the man, she figured that he had sent everyone who was part of his crew away to safety since this was not their fight.

"Hello, hello and welcome to Florrum," Hondo said as he clasped his hands together in front of him.

Rosella wasn't sure what to make of the pirate's over-the-top greeting, but from what the Force was telling her, something seemed off. She raised one of her eyebrows at the man as he walked over to Master Plo's side and gestured for them to begin walking towards the building.

"I'm assuming that you are here to direct us into Aurra's trap," Plo said as they moved towards the entrance.

"You are correct," Hondo replied. "She and Boba are waiting inside the bar. I have no idea what her plan is for the both of you."

"And might I ask the reason why you telling us all this?" Plo asked as they reached the exterior of the building.

"So you know that I am not involved in any of this," Hondo said.

Plo watched as the pirate crossed his arms over his chest and then turned to look at Rosella. "Remember, the key here is patience," he said.

Rosella nodded and stayed where she was as the Jedi Master entered the bar.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Plo walked into the bar, he immediately noticed that the place was empty and quiet. There was no music or any other patrons. The only person who was there was Aurra. She was sitting at a lone table near the back of the room, which was bathed in light that was coming from a window that was set in the ceiling.

Aurra downed whatever was in her cup as Plo took his seat across from her. Shifting her eyes over to him, she took the cup away from her mouth and slammed it down on the table. "Bad move, Jedi," she said. "This is going to cost you, big time."

Plo didn't say anything in response. Then he heard the sound of a blaster being cocked before feeling the tip of the barrel touch his skin as it was lightly resting against the back of his head.

"You're not the Jedi that I asked for," Boba said in a semi-angry tone of voice as he stood behind the Jedi Master with the blaster in his left hand. "I wanted Windu. Why are you here?"

The Kel-Dor tilted his head a little as he said, "There are two different ways that we can go about this. One is very easy; the other is more difficult. The choice is yours."

Aurra nearly rolled her eyes as she lifted her hand and pressed two fingers to her ear. "Bossk, can you hear me?" She asked.

"I'm reading you loud and clear, boss," Bossk replied.

"Good. Be ready to execute the remaining hostages when I tell you to."

"That was very unwise," Plo said as he sat there with his hands clasped together in front of him. "You have already lost and you don't even know it."

Aurra leaned forward and placed her elbow on the table. Then she held up her hand and began to list the things that she was prepared to do, ticking off a finger as she spoke. "I am fully prepared to kill you, the hostages, whatever it takes, even if that includes burning this place down to the ground, in order to help Boba get his revenge."

"Really?" Plo asked. "Because to me, that sounds an awful lot like what you want, and not what young Boba wants."

Rosella, who had waited outside and then snuck in a few minutes after the Jedi Master had, unhooked her lightsaber from her belt and ignited it as she leapt out from her hiding place. Darting forward, she sliced off the cranial antenna that was sticking out of the bounty hunter's head. Quickly wrapping her free arm around the woman's neck, she tightened her grip, nearly choking the female as she brought her lightsaber up near her neck.

Boba, who was standing across from them, narrowed his eyes and pressed the barrel of the blaster closer to Plo's head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Rosella told him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Admiral Killian and the unnamed clone officer were tied up and sitting on the ground a few feet away from Slave 1.

Bossk, who had been pointing his weapon at them, lowered it to his side as he reached behind him and pulled out a commlink. Turning the small device on, he lifted it up towards his mouth. "Aurra?" He asked. All he got was static. "Aurra, are you there? Come in."

No one responded.

The Trandoshan hitched his rifle up over his shoulder and stared down at the remaining hostages. "I've got some bad news boys," he said. "If I don't hear from Aurra in the next few minutes, I'm leaving this planet and that means you both die."

Both of the males glanced at each other.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Let her go!" Boba demanded.

The teenager shook her head and jerked her arm back, holding her lightsaber dangerously close to Aurra's neck. "No chance," she said.

Aurra shifted her eyes over to Rosella and then looked back at Boba. "She won't do anything to hurt me Boba," she said. "She's nothing like you."

Rosella tightened her grip even further as she raised her eyebrows and jerked her head towards Aurra. "She's right." Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the boy. "I'm not a murderer."

Boba's left hand, the one that was holding the blaster, seemed to shake a little as he spoke. "I'm not a murderer!" He exclaimed in a somewhat hurt voice. "But I want justice!"

"We are justice," Plo boomed in a relatively calm voice.

Aurra could see that Boba was beginning to question what he was doing just by looking at the uneasy expression on his face. "Don't listen to them," she said.

Plo's eyes narrowed a little as he shook his head. "No one will be harmed if you put down your weapon and come quietly," he said.

Aurra watched the scene before her, noticing that the expression on Boba's face seemed to slowly disappear as he shifted his gaze from the back of Plo's head over to her. Sensing that he was close to actually agreeing with the Jedi Master, she tightened her lips before narrowing her eyes as she shook her head.

Boba glanced at his mentor with a worried expression on his face. "I can't let you die Aurra!" He said.

Aurra lifted her head a little. "You won't have too," she said softly.

Boba shifted his eyes downwards before tilting his head a little as he looked at something underneath the table. Then he closed his eyes as the same worried look from before reappeared on his face. When he opened his eyes again, he glanced at Aurra, only to see her smirk as she shot him a wink. "Aurra!" He yelled, moving the blaster from behind Plo's head and aiming it over the Jedi's shoulder. Narrowing his eyes as an angry looking grin appeared on his face, he squeezed the trigger and fired a shot at the padawan.

Rosella let go of Aurra as she deflected the shot into the wall on her left.

Aurra quickly took advantage of the moment and jabbed her left elbow into the girl's chest. The teenager stumbled backwards and fell to the floor, landing on one knee with her saber in her hand.

Plo raised both of his arms and brought them down as he slammed his fists on the table, sending everything flying as it flipped onto its side.

The female bounty hunter stomped her heel on the ground, sending two rocket darts flying out of her boot. A pair of thuds were heard as the darts slammed into the bottom of the table.

Quickly standing up, Plo turned around as a bowl flew into the air and used the Force to send Boba flying backwards.

Aurra got up, took a step towards the wall near the holo-transmitter and spun around as she took both of her pistols out of their holsters and aimed them at Rosella. Then she pressed down on the triggers, firing shot after shot at the teenage padawan.

Even though she was slightly winded from the jab to the chest, Rosella quickly raised her lightsaber, managing to block every single shot that the bounty hunter sent her way.

Plo used the Force to push the table in front of Rosella to protect her as he knew that Anakin would not be happy if she came back injured.

Holding her blade at an angle, Rosella noticed that the table was already starting to splinter and break from the force of the laser fire as small chunks of wood were flying into the air. After a few more shots, it completely shattered, sending shards of wood flying everywhere. The teenager quickly threw her hands up in front of her face as she scrambled out of the way.

Seeing that Aurra was distracted, Plo dashed forward, grabbed his saber off his belt and ignited it, slicing through both of the pistols. Then he twirled it around before pointing the tip at her neck as the female raised both of her hands in the air. "This fight is over," he boomed. "Surrender!"

Boba raised his head and braced himself with one hand as he looked at his mentor. Seeing that she had been cornered by the Master and the padawan, who had since recovered from the table explosion and was standing in front of her, he yelled, "Aurra! Now!" Removing his hand from his belt, he flung it away from him, releasing a small circular device that skittered across the floor and stopped in the middle of the trio.

The small round thing began to beep as four red lights blinked, one in the center and three on the left side.

Both Jedi looked at it.

"It's a bomb!" Rosella exclaimed.

The female bounty hunter smirked gleefully as she glanced down at the floor before running past the two Jedi, who jumped out of the way as it exploded, sending them flying into the air.

Boba, who saw the explosion, ducked his head as the Jedi Master flew over him and landed on the floor.

Rosella, who landed on the floor near the stairs that led out of the bar, still had her lightsaber firmly grasped in her right hand.

Even though the room was still filled with smoke from the bomb explosion, along with a few small fires, Aurra managed to get to her feet. As she stood up, she looked to her right and saw that Boba was alright. "Let's go Boba!" She said, before turning and racing for the exit.

Boba started to follow her.

As Plo sat up and shook off the mild daze that he was in, he glanced to his left and saw the young boy run off in the same direction that Aurra was headed. Knowing that he could either capture Boba or Aurra, he focused his attention on the boy. After picking up his lightsaber, he reached out with his left hand, using the Force to pull Boba over to him.

"Aurra, help!" He cried out as the older Jedi had his hands firmly wrapped around his chest, preventing him from escaping. "Help me!"

Just as the bounty hunter reached the door, she heard the boy pleading for her help and stopped in her tracks. Turning around, she looked at the youngest member of her crew with a worried expression on her face. She saw that his right arm was reaching towards her and the other was wrapped around the Kel-Dor's left bracer. Sensing movement on her left, she shifted her eyes to see that the padawan was unharmed and already on her feet. She hesitated for just a moment. Not wanting to risk getting caught just to save the son of her former acquaintance, she made up her mind. Without even looking at Boba, she took a step back, turned around and ran towards the door.

As soon as Boba saw that he was being abandoned, his eyes grew wide with fright and a little shock. Reaching out towards her, he cried, "Aurra! Don't leave me!" Instead of seeing her turn around and come back for him, the young boy watched as his former mentor escaped through the open door. "No!" Turning his head away, he realized that she never truly cared about him and only wanted to help him so he would continue to work for her.

Once his arm was freed from the boy's grip, Plo moved around so he was facing Boba and knelt to the ground. Knowing that Rosella had gone after Aurra, he turned the young boy around and asked, "Where are the hostages?" Upon seeing Boba close his eyes and hang his head, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Quickly refocusing on the hostages, he tried again. "Boba, if you not tell me where they are, Aurra is going to kill them! Those men are innocent!"

Boba opened his eyes and shook his head. "She left me…" he said sadly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The door to the outpost opened as Aurra emerged from inside. Racing through the courtyard, she headed towards a pair of speeder bikes. Leaping into the air, she lashed out with a flying kick, knocking the first pirate to the ground. As soon as she landed on the ground, the tall female turned around, leapt back into the air, grabbed the second pirate by the shoulders and shoved him to the ground. Upon landing in the driver's seat, she sensed a fist coming towards her. Shifting her eyes to the right, she easily blocked the punch that the third one tried to throw at her. Grabbing onto his face, she threw him backwards into the dirt. Then she pressed a button on the console in front of her, heard the engine come to life and took off once the bike was floating off the ground.

A few minutes later, Rosella came running out of the bar.

As Hondo and his crew of pirates watched her run past, one of them picked up his rifle, aimed it at her and prepared to fire. Remembering what he told Aurra when she and Boba had been in his office, he raised his hand, placed it on the pirate's arm and pushed it down.

Quickly leaping aboard another speeder bike, the teenager pressed the same button that Aurra had and took off, heading out into the badlands.

The door to the outpost opened again and Plo appeared, with one hand on Boba's left shoulder. After getting nowhere with the boy inside the bar, the Jedi Master decided to bring him outside and see if Hondo could get through to him. Placing his other hand on the boy's right shoulder, he brought the boy over to the pirate. "He will not reveal the location of the hostages," he said. "I thought that you might be able to talk some sense into him."

Boba angrily shrugged his shoulders, causing Plo to let go of him.

Hondo looked at the boy through his goggles. Then he said, "Tell the Jedi what he wants to know Boba."

For a moment, Boba remained quiet. Then he let out a sigh and turned to face the pirate. "Why should I help him?" He snapped. Then his angry expression faded away. It was replaced by a sad one as he remembered how he felt after seeing his father die right before his eyes. "I've got no one."

Hondo stood up. "It's the honorable thing to do," he said as he walked over to Boba. Bending down, he placed one of his hands on the boy's shoulder. "I know that your father would have wanted you to do it."

Boba looked up at the pirate and then glanced back down at the ground.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As the teenager chased the bounty hunter through a narrow canyon pass, she noticed that the walls curved upwards and were just a few meters short of forming a complete tunnel. She was also glad that her father had made her go over a few speeder bike simulations back at the temple since this was her first time using one. Hitting the accelerator, she pushed her bike to the max as she continued her pursuit.

Rosella kept the bike steady as she reached over and unhooked her lightsaber from her belt. Igniting the blade, she pulled up behind Aurra. Upon seeing the glare that the female was sending her way, the teenage padawan pushed the bike even further, using the curved wall to her advantage as she moved to the right and barrel-rolled over the bounty hunter. As she came down on the left, she swung her lightsaber at the Palliduvan, but ended up missing.

Aurra slammed her bike into Rosella's, causing a few sparks to fly off the bottom of the bike as the teenager struggled to get it back under control before she hit the wall. The woman nearly laughed as she pushed her own bike to the max and sped away.

Rosella nearly glared at Aurra as she was forced to decelerate and fall back. Realizing that it was a little dangerous to be operating a bike like the one she was riding with one hand, she quickly deactivated her lightsaber and hung it back on her belt. Then her wrist communicator beeped and soon Plo's voice came out of it.

"Rosella, break off your speeder chase!" He said. "She's trying to lead you away from the hostages. Turn around and go tocoordinates1-5-7-9."

"Got it Master," she said, knowing that Aurra couldn't hear her. Cutting off the connection, she saw a curve up ahead and knew that the path on her right would lead to her destination. Slowing down, she banked her speeder, sharply turned to the right and raced down the path.

When Aurra didn't hear the sounds of the other speeder bike, she glanced behind her. All she could see were the stirring dust trails that trailed behind the padawan's bike. A frown appeared on her face as she got the sense that the girl was going to try and free the hostages. Knowing that she couldn't let that happen, she pressed down on the accelerator and took a different path that led to the same place.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bossk took his rifle off his shoulder and aimed it at both of the men as he said, "Sorry boys, but it looks like you've run out of time!"

Both men looked up as they heard a high-pitched noise coming from a speeder bike.

Rosella, who was fast approaching the large open area, saw a male Trandoshan standing there, aiming his blaster rifle at the Admiral and the unnamed navigational officer who were still gagged and bound as they knelt on the ground. Narrowing her eyes at the scene, she pressed the trigger buttons that were located behind the handles and a volley of blaster bolts was let loose from the rotating blasters mounted near the bottom of the bike.

The male bounty hunter turned upon hearing the noise. Once he saw the lasers that were being fired in his direction, he leapt out of the way.

Leaping off the bike, Rosella let it slam into the ground as she landed behind the men, took her lightsaber off her belt and ignited it before freeing them from their bindings.

Killian and the unnamed officer reached up and pulled off the gags that were around their mouths. As soon as the Admiral saw Bossk beginning to reach for his rifle, he reached down, snatched it up and aimed it at the Trandoshan. "Don't move!" He ordered.

Suddenly, Aurra appeared, riding her speeder bike off the top of the canyon wall. Before the bike hit the ground, the tall female leapt off and let it crash into the one that Rosella had used.

The resulting explosion knocked Rosella, Admiral Killian and the officer to the ground.

Shaking her head, Rosella, who still had her lightsaber hilt in her left hand, lifted her head to see Aurra race up the ramp of Slave 1. Knowing that she couldn't let her escape, the teenager got to her feet and ran towards the ship. Using the Force to give her a boost, she leapt on top of the right wing just as the ship took off and reignited her saber.

Aurra, who was in the pilot seat, glanced out of the viewport and tilted the ship to the right in an effort to lose the padawan. She grinned as she saw the girl stumble backwards and deactivate her lightsaber as she slipped and nearly fell off.

Rosella, who managed to catch the edge of the wing with her left hand, looked up and saw the strut that kept the wing attached to the rest of the ship. Quickly coming up with an idea, she swung herself back onto the surface and ignited her lightsaber.

Aurra, who was still watching, narrowed her eyes a little as she wondered what the girl was up to.

Flipping her lightsaber hilt around, Rosella held it backwards as she sliced through the end of the strut. Leaping into the air, she landed on the remaining part of the strut that was sticking out in the air as the ship careened to the left since it was now off balance. As the wing fell to the ground, she flipped her hilt around, raced along the round pole and leapt onto the ship. Feeling the ship jerk beneath her, she slipped and deactivated her saber again as she slid onto the viewport where she came face to face with Aurra Sing.

The female Palliduvan looked up and a look of surprise flashed across her face.

Since her only choice at this point was to take the ship down, Rosella ignited her saber and plunged the blade through the transparasteel, nearly hitting Aurra in the face. As she saw the bounty hunter draw a third blaster and fire off a few shots, she stood up and withdrew the blade as she deflected the shots back into the glass, damaging it even further. Sensing that the glass was going to shatter, she crouched down, letting it crack a little more before backflipping off of it as a large portion of it shattered, sending sharp fragments everywhere inside the cockpit.

Landing safely on the ground, the teenager looked up and watched as Slave I started to spiral out of control.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside the cockpit, Aurra took her hands off the control stick and began to slam them onto the panel in front of her. "No!" She yelled. "Come on!"

Placing her hands back onto the control stick, she attempted to regain some semblance of control.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back on the ground, Rosella, Killian, Bossk and the unnamed clone watched as Slave 1 spun around and crashed into the ground somewhere beyond the canyon. Then a huge flash of yellow and red was seen, followed by an explosion.

Pushing the fact that Aurra Sing was probably dead out of her mind, Rosella let out a sigh of relief knowing that the men were safe, Bossk was being subdued by Admiral Killian and Boba was with Master Plo. Whew. Thank the Force that's over.She thought to herself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mace, Anakin and a small detachment of the Coruscant Guard were waiting for them on the landing platform that led into the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center. Once they were ready, Plo walked down the ramp. Boba was behind him and Rosella took up the rear. As they walked between the clones, four of them took up escort positions around Boba, while the rest took up positions around Bossk.

Walking up to the Jedi, the clones stopped so Mace could speak to the boy.

Boba looked up and watched as the Jedi Master walked forward and knelt down in front of him. "I know that I committed some terrible deeds," he said, turning his head away. When he looked back at Mace, he had an angry expression on his face. "But all of this started when you killed my father in that arena on Geonosis! I'll never forgive you!"

Mace sighed and stood up. "I'm afraid that you'll have to forgive me at some point Boba," he said. "If you don't, the anger and hatred that you are feeling right now will eventually consume you and lead you down a dark path." Then he nodded to the troops. "Take him away."

Glancing up towards her father, Rosella saw him frown and narrow his eyes at the Jedi Master. It seemed like he didn't agree with the decision that had already been made. Sure, Boba had messed up, but that was only because he had seen the death of his only parent when he was ten. She and the others watched as Plo placed his hand on the boy's right shoulder and led him and Bossk inside the facility.

As soon as the doors to the facility closed, the teenager turned toward Master Windu. "Master, are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked. "Sending a child to a prison that's already home to some of Coruscant's worst criminals?"

Mace sighed and turned towards the padawan, whom he thought of as his niece, as he shook his head. "No, Rosella," he responded. "This decision was made by the courts. I tried to tell them that Boba was just a child and that he was orphaned at a young age, but unfortunately, the Judge who oversaw the case saw it fit to give him that sentence. I'm hoping that with enough time, he'll come to see that holding on to both of the emotions that I mentioned earlier isn't good for someone his age."

Rosella glanced at the doors that Boba had gone through. "I hope so," she responded.

Then the Jedi left the prison and headed back to the Temple.