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.

29. Rosella Teaches a Class on Mandalore

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

AN: Hi everyone! I am so sorry that this chapter took me the entire month of July to finish. I actually had this finished a few weeks after I got back from my vacation, but I wasn't happy with how I had written it, so I ended up rewriting the entire thing.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter and once again I want to thank you all for reading this story. It's now gotten over 5,000 views!

Anyways, on to this week's chapter!

In response to Duchess Satine's request for assistance with the corruption that is presently plaguing her world, the Jedi Council decides to send Padawan Rosella Ngaire to instruct the cadets at the Royal Academy of Government on the dangers of corruption, feeling that the students will best understand the lesson if they're hearing it from someone who is their own age.

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Chapter 21: Rosella Teaches a Class on Mandalore

After Padmè travelled to Mandalore on a diplomatic mission at the Duchess' request and saw the struggle that everyone, especially the children were going through, she promised to speak to Master Yoda about sending a Jedi as an undercover agent to help solve the trouble that Satine was facing with her government.

Once she was back on Coruscant, the Senator went to the Temple, where she was escorted up to Master Yoda's private quarters by one of the temple guards. After she was admitted into the Jedi Master's musty and slightly humid chambers, she took a seat on one of the round poofs that he had offered and proceeded to tell him all about the adventure that she and Satine had gone through on the neutral planet.

After listening to everything, including the request that the Duchess had asked of the Senator, Master Yoda told her that he would have to meet with the rest of the Council and decide what to do from there. She thanked him for taking the time to see her and after being escorted to the front entrance by the same guard, left and headed back to her apartment.

Later that evening, Yoda did in fact meet with the rest of the Council. As soon as everyone was assembled, either by hologram or in-person and the meeting was called to order, he brought up the request that had been given to them by the Naboo Senator.

Qui-Gon spoke up and told the Council that the Jedi had helped Mandalore before and that they should do it again as they couldn't afford to be seen alienating any of the planets that were a part of the Council of Neutral Systems. Obi-Wan agreed, saying that it wouldn't look good for their overall image. One by one, the other Council members agreed and after coming to a decision on who was going to undertake the mission, the meeting was adjourned.

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Early the next morning, after being briefed by Master Yoda, Anakin and Rosella made their way down to the hanger bay, grabbed a speeder and headed over to the Republic Military Center. After boarding the Resolute and making sure that everyone who was supposed to be on it had arrived, they undocked, left the planet's atmosphere and headed into hyperspace.

Once the cruiser reached Mandalore, Anakin, Rosella, Rex and one other trooper boarded an Eta-class shuttle and headed towards Sundari, which was the capital city.

Even though he was piloting the ship, the Knight could sense that Rosella wasn't exactly thrilled about her upcoming assignment. Shifting his eyes over to her, he said, "Now I know that you aren't happy about this mission Ella, but it was given to you by the Jedi Council, so it's your responsibility to see it through."

Rosella, who had crossed her arms over her chest after settling into her seat, let out a barely audible sigh as she glanced at him and asked, "Don't you think I'm just a little overqualified for something like this?"

Anakin, who briefly glanced out the viewport, made an adjustment to their course and then shifted his focus back to Rosella. He raised his left eyebrow as he heard the question and said, "According to Senator Amidala, ever since Mandalore has taken a neutral stance in the war the planet has become deeply corrupt. All of the citizens are struggling with their everyday needs. If the cycle is to be broken, the future leaders at the Royal Academy of Government must learn about the evils of corruption. Master Yoda, along with a few other members, felt that you would have the best chance at getting through to them."

After hearing the reason why she was being sent to the planet, Rosella turned away and began to think about what this meant in terms of her growth as a padawan. Even though she was only fourteen, the teenager knew that most padawans didn't get a solo mission until they were at least sixteen and their masters felt that they were ready for such a responsibility. The memories from the incident with the parasites on Geonosis flashed briefly in her mind and she dismissed them, knowing that it didn't count as the task had come from Anakin, not the Council.

She also knew that this was her best chance at proving to the Council that she was ready to do some missions and maybe a few small assignments all on her own.

Anakin, who was still watching her, smiled as he saw that she was beginning to at least think about her solo mission. Then he turned back to the controls and guided the shuttle towards the landing platform that was situated outside of the domed city.

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A small group of people stood on the main landing platform that served as the only entrance in and out of Sundari. One of whom was Duchess Satine Kryze. The others who were with her consisted of the Prime Minister, four of her Protectors and four cadets. They all watched as the shuttle made its final approach and then began to land.

"My lady, I wish to speak to you about this matter," Almec said, a small touch of concern in his voice as he kept an eye on the ship while leaning towards the Duchess. "The Jedi know nothing of our peaceful ways, with them leading this war and all. Do we really want them meddling with our children's education?"

"You have nothing to worry about, Prime Minister," Satine assured the man as she turned and looked at him with a slight half-smile on her face. "While you may not like it, the Jedi are the right teachers for this and there is no harm in exposing the cadets to new ideas from a being whose life is very different from ours."

Quickly turning her gaze back to the ship, the Duchess watched as four figures came down the boarding ramp. Two of them, who were dressed in blue and white armor, stayed near the ship while the Jedi made their way towards her and the others.

"Duchess Satine," Anakin greeted, after which he bowed and kissed the back of her proffered hand. Then he straightened up and looked at the Prime Minister. "Prime Minister Almec."

"Master Skywalker, it's so good to see you again," Satine said as she inclined her head to the Knight. Then she caught sight of Rosella, who shyly stood behind him. "This is your Padawan, I assume?"

Anakin nodded. "Yes, my lady," he said. Turning to the left, he gestured to his daughter. "May I present Rosella Ngaire."

Since she was meeting another royal for the first time, Rosella slowly stepped forward. "It's an honor to finally meet you Duchess," she said, a soft smile on her face. Turning to look at Almec, she gave him a nod. "The same goes for you, Prime Minister."

Almec greeted her with a nod.

Then Satine spoke. "I know that the Jedi must be very busy with the war, but I am grateful that the Council was able to spare you both," she said. "It will be a pleasure having you around to instruct our future leaders and peacekeepers of tomorrow. Please, convey my thanks to Master Yoda."

Anakin glanced at Rosella, who was looking back at him with an equally confused expression on her face. Then he shifted his gaze towards Satine as he said, "I'm really sorry to have to tell you this, but due to our limited resources and the latest movements made by the Separatists, I must return to active duty immediately."

"So, you won't be staying Master Skywalker?" Almec asked.

"No," Anakin responded. "But I can assure you that my Padawan is fully capable of teaching the class on her own. The Council is confident that she can do it and so am I."

Almec sighed under his breath, knowing that there was nothing he could do at that particular moment since he didn't want to upset the Duchess. "Very well," he said. Stepped aside, he looked behind him at three students. "Cadets Korkie, Amis, Lagos, step forward."

Satine and her guards moved aside. A tall boy, whose hair was blonde, stepped forward, followed by two more students.

The Prime Minister moved back into place, just in front of the female. "These are just a few of the cadets that you will be teaching, Padawan Ngaire," he said.

Upon glancing at them, Rosella noted that all three were slightly taller than her. She sensed that they were a little older, but knew that she still needed to be polite since she was going to be their teacher. "It's nice to meet all of you," she said.

Korkie, who had been the first to step forward when the Prime Minister called their names, dropped his hands from behind his back as he noticed the round cylinder that was attached to her belt. Leaning forward ever so slightly, he pointed to it and said, "That's a fine weapon." Drawing his hand back, he rested his fingers against his chest and took a small step forward. "Do you mind if I take a look at it?"

Rosella, who was a little startled at the request, didn't let it show as she raised an eyebrow at the boy before looking down as she rested her right hand on her hilt. It was obvious to her that that he and his friends had never seen a lightsaber before. The teenager wasn't entirely sure if she even wanted to let him hold it as it was very dangerous in the hands of a non-jedi who hadn't been trained to use such a weapon. Sensing a little bit of movement, she glanced up to see that the female had leaned forward a little to see if the request would be granted or not.

But seeing as there was no harm in letting the boy take a look at the hilt, she reached over and was about to unhook her weapon from its clip when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Almec reach forward and grab him by the shoulder, pulling him back slightly.

"I'm afraid that won't be happening," he said. As if sensing the Jedi's confusion, he continued speaking, wanting to explain the reasoning behind his actions. "Although we respect the Jedi and all that you are doing to put a stop to this dreadful war, ever since Master Kenobi paid us a visit and caused a little trouble on the moon of Concordia, a new law has been passed. One that forbids off-worlders, regardless of their status, to use or even carry a weapon with them."

Rosella nearly laughed out loud when she heard what Almec said. Knowing that it was impolite and not something that she should do in front of royalty, she settled for a smirk instead. "Master Kenobi got into trouble?" She asked, still trying not to laugh at the scene in her head. "That's a first, even for him."

Anakin sighed, knowing that once they got home, Rosella was probably going to try and get Obi-Wan to tell her what he did to get such a law put in place. Holding out his hand, he said, "Give me your lightsaber and I'll keep it safe."

Rosella immediately sensed that her father wasn't all that happy about leaving her here without her weapon. Even though she knew a bunch of other ways that she could defend herself, her lightsaber was her life and she suddenly felt like a piece of it was now missing as she unhooked it from her belt and placed it in his hand.

"Thank you both for respecting our ways," Satine told them, bowing her head slightly in apology.

Anakin, who sensed movement coming up behind him, turned to see his Captain, who had slowly walked up to them.

"Pardon the interruption sir, but it's time to leave," Rex said. "General Fisto is expecting us."

The Knight nodded and turned to face Satine. "If you'll excuse me," he said before turning to Rosella. 'I'll be back in two days sweetheart. You're going to do great. Just remember I believe in you.'

'Thanks Dad.' Rosella flung her arms around her father, grateful that he wasn't like some of the other Jedi who frowned on such displays of affection even though the rules had been changed for quite some time now. After getting a quick hug in return, she let go and nodded at Rex, who gave her one in return. Knowing that the clone would do everything in his power to keep Anakin safe, she turned around and didn't look back as they left.

Instead, she gave both Satine and Almec a shaky, but sheepish smile.

Watching as the Prime Minister turned around and began to walk towards one of the waiting taxis, she glanced towards the Duchess. With a simple gesture, the teenager fell into step alongside her as the cadets and royal guard executed a sharp turn to the right as they walked past them.

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Later that afternoon, after spending the rest of the morning, and having lunch with Satine at the palace, Rosella was in one of the empty classrooms at the Royal Academy of Government. While waiting for the bell to ring to signal the cadets to head for their next class, she tapped a few keys on the computer that was in front of her, causing a chart with a rapidly increasing line to appear on the left side of the viewscreen that was on the wall. Beside it was a medium sized box with some text that was written in Mandalorian, which was the language that the people knew how to write since they mostly spoke Basic as well as a few other languages. Another orange box appeared on the top right with some more text and a picture. Underneath that was some more text.

Satisfied with her prep, Rosella stepped away from the computer just as the bell rang. She stood beside the table, watching as the students who had been enrolled in the class began to file in and take their seats. A small smile appeared on her face as she spotted the three cadets whom she had met earlier.

After she saw them take their seats near the front of the room, she walked in front of the viewscreen and began to speak.

"Today's lesson is about corruption," the teenager said as she spread out her hands in front of her and looked around, knowing that all of the students were listening to what she was saying even though only a few of them were actually looking at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a student in the fourth row who had a bored expression on his face as he was busy twirling a stylus in his right hand. "Corruption is what happens when someone in power or someone who has been put in a position of power puts their own personal gain ahead of the needs of the people they represent."

The classroom was silent for a few minutes as nearly all of the cadets were hunched over their desks. The only sounds that could be heard were the tapping of keys while others were using writing styluses to physically jot down whatever notes they thought were important enough to use for later as study material.

One of the female cadets in the second row took her hand off her keyboard and lifted the display visor that she was wearing onto the top of her head as she spoke. "So, what you're saying is that the only reason corruption exists is because of greed?" She asked.

"Yes," Rosella responded, glad that at least one of the cadets was starting to understand the lesson that she had worked so hard to prepare. "A leader who is willing to go the extra mile will, more often or not, sacrifice whatever shred of moral integrity they have for the sake of more power or even money." The teen shook her head a little. "It's a shame really. Governments, planets, even entire star systems have all become nothing but chaos, sometimes even heading to war all because their greedy politicians got themselves caught up in a never-ending cycle of bribery and blackmail while their people suffered."

Lagos, who was one of the female cadets that Rosella recognized from her introduction on the platform, raised her head as she finished writing something down on the screen in front of her. Her blonde hair was split down the middle and tied in two ponytails. "Does that mean all government officials are corrupt?" She asked.

Rosella took a minute to think about her answer as one Senator in particular popped up in her mind. "Well, no," she answered, taking two steps forward. Then she started pacing. "But the point I'm trying to make is that temptation is always there, which is why it is our duty as citizens to remain vigilant so corruption can't take root." Turning toward the students, she made her way back across the room. "The deadliest enemies of a society dwell within its borders. And from these internal threats, the people need to be protected."

Amis, who was slouched over a little, reached up and scratched the back of his head. "But if we don't trust the people who have been put in charge of our basic necessities, isn't that treason?" He asked as he sat up straight.

"Like I said, it's every citizen's duty to challenge their leaders, to keep them honest and hold them accountable if they're not," Rosella told the class.

"How do you do that?" Korkie asked.

I hope I don't get in any trouble for this. The teenager thought to herself as she let out an inaudible sigh, hoping that the class wouldn't get any foolish ideas from what she was about to tell them. "If you find out that someone whom you trust is doing something that you know isn't right, you expose them for it," she said. Then she looked at the rest of the class. "Lasting change can only come from within."

Korkie, as well as the girl who was sitting beside him, turned around and glanced at Lagos and Amis. Then the blonde-haired cadet turned his head a little to the left as he placed his hand on his chin.

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Later that evening, after school was let out for the day, the four cadets who had taken the class that Rosella was teaching were in their dorm. While Soniee sat on her bunk with her back against the wall and her laptop on her lap, Amis was absentmindedly tapping his right foot on the bunk above her, even though he was laying down with his hands tucked behind his head.

Lagos and Korkie were the only two who were sitting at the hexagonal shaped table in the middle of the room, watching as a pre-recorded message from Rosella played for everyone to hear.

"Be sure your assignments are prepared for tomorrow," the padawan said.

The brown-haired girl glanced at her computer screen right as Rosella's hologram disappeared. Just as she started typing on the keyboard, a small message popped up on the corner of her screen. "Oh great," she said, letting out a frustrated sigh. "The school is out of rations again."

On the top bunk, Amis stopped tapping his foot. Turning his head towards the ceiling, he sighed and said, "I guess there'll be no late-night snacks tonight." Then he sat up, removed his hands from behind his head and hopped off his bunk.

"Something isn't right here," Korkie said as he drummed his fingers on the table. "Ever since this war began, Mandalore has been running out of food and other things that we need. Transport ships keep arriving, but everything that gets delivered is being rationed out very strictly."

Lagos shook her head. "These problems are not something that we should be concerned with," she said, leaning back in her chair. "Just let the authorities handle it."

"But what if they can't?" Korkie asked. "We need to do something about this before it's too late. Don't you remember what Rosella told us just before class ended?" Then he got an idea. Pushing back his chair, the boy stood up. "Let's go down to the warehouse district and see if there really is a food shortage."

Amis crossed his arms over his chest and spoke, causing both of the girls to look at him. "I guess that's a better option than just sitting around here, trying to work on our assignments for tomorrow while listening to my stomach growl."

Lagos glanced over at her tech-loving friend, who nodded in agreement. Anything was better than that.

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Luckily for the four cadets, no one was around to stop or even catch them in the act as they snuck out of the Royal Academy. Once they found an empty hover taxi, they hopped aboard and took it all the way down to the warehouse district.

After picking just one out of all the different warehouses to check out, Korkie entered the tunnel and guided the hovering machine to a sliding halt a few feet away from the doors. Quickly jumping off, they all ran over to a panel that housed the controls for the door, which was currently glowing red, indicating that the doors were closed.

Soniee, who had brought her laptop with her, balanced it on the palm of her right hand as she lifted the lid.

As Korkie watched her press a couple of buttons on her keypad, he glanced over at the doors. "This might be a little tricky," he said. "These doors just so happen to be heavily secured by the government."

She reached up and pulled her visor down as she said, "Well, they won't be like that when I'm finished." She wriggled her fingers in the air and got to work, tapping a few more keys. After easily slicing through the lock, her eyes lit up behind her visor as the letters changed into the code that was needed to open the door. Knowing that it was the correct one, she lifted her hand from the keypad and reached over, pressing one of the buttons on the panel.

All four cadets looked to the right as the heavy metal panels opened up, but not all the way.

Korkie saw the now open space and turned to look back at his friends. "I don't think our teachers back at the Academy would approve of how we're using what they've been teaching us." Then he backed up towards the edge of the door, bent over and cupped his hands. "Come on. We need to get in there and take a look around. Up and over."

Lagos ran over to Korkie and rested one of her hands on a section of the door that housed both parts when it wasn't open. Then she placed her right foot into his hand and reached for the top half of the metal panel as he boosted her into the air. As soon as she got on top, she slid down to where the door met the wall and looked down as Soniee and Amis walked over to them both.

Soniee, who copied what Lagos had done even though she had her computer in one of her hands, let out a small noise as her waist hit the metal door. After catching her breath, she climbed up and accepted her friend's help as she jumped down to the other side.

Amis gave Korkie a boost and watched as he struggled a little to get up on top. Lagos reached over and grabbed his left arm, holding him steady as he got his other leg up on top of the wall. Once he was safe and in the same position as his blond-haired friend, both cadets reached down and grabbed a hold of Amis' arms as the slightly heavier boy jumped up, managing to grab onto the top of the door with both hands.

Once they had a good grasp, both Korkie and Lagos pulled upwards, heaving their friend over the door. As Amis' waist landed on top of the metal surface, he sensed that he wasn't properly balanced and that he was going to fall as soon as his friends let go. Just as he was about to speak up, he realized that they had already done so.

"Woah!" Soniee cried out in a hushed voice, jumping out of the way as her fellow cadet tumbled head over heels and landed on the floor.

Glancing up at Korkie, Lagos said, "I still think this is a bad idea." After shaking her head, she climbed off of the door and followed her friend as he dropped to the ground below.

Once he was safely on the ground, Korkie turned around. "What are you still doing on the ground?" He asked in a hushed voice, holding out his right hand in exasperation as he watched Amis sit up and finally climb to one knee, even though Soniee was holding out her hand in case he needed help.

"Will you please be quiet?" Lagos hissed in a low voice as she took a few steps towards her friends. Even though it was very faint, the teenager swore she heard voices coming from somewhere beyond their current location. "I don't think we're the only ones who are in here!" She quickly glanced to her right and then to her left.

Knowing that they were going to get in trouble for this, Amis glanced over at Soniee and said, "Then we need to get out of here."

"No," Soniee responded in a hushed voice as she looked at her friend. "You were the one who agreed with Korkie that we should come down here. We're not leaving until we find out what's going on."

Korkie glanced at the others and didn't say a word as he crept forward and waved his hand, indicating that they should follow him. With a final glance at her friends, the brown haired girl took off after him. Lagos was right behind her. Since he had no choice but to follow them, Amis glanced at a few stacked crates that were nearby, before looking ahead of him to see where he was going.

After making their way through a maze of boxes and shipping containers that were all labeled with their contents, the cadets came upon a semi-clear area that held a rather large shipping container, some barrels and three more crates. Upon hearing a voice speak, they quickly and quietly crept behind the crates and peeked around the edge of the large container.

A strange looking creature was standing a few feet away from them with two of his companions as he bleated something to a man who was wearing a silver cloak with the hood up over his head. Surrounding him were two men who wore police uniforms and had riot shields with them.

"You have got to be more careful when arranging something like this," the hooded man said. "Even though I showed up tonight, it could raise suspicion if I were to be called out here again."

The four cadets ducked back into the shadows so they wouldn't be seen.

"Isn't it a little late to be having a meeting?" Korkie asked in a low voice as he looked at the others. When no one answered him, he shifted his eyes towards the top of the container as another idea came to him. "We need to get closer."

The others just stared at him in disbelief and shock as he silently walked towards a stack of barrels.

"Have you lost your mind?" Lagos whispered, holding out her hands in exasperation as she watched him climb on top of the first barrel. Then, after letting her curiosity get the better of her, she followed him.

Once he safely made it to the top of the container, Korkie turned around and helped Lagos climb up. Then they both helped Soniee up since she still was carrying her laptop with her. As soon as Amis joined them, all four cadets quietly snuck around some crates that had been placed in the middle of the flat area and crouched behind some other ones that faced the group.

Upon hearing what the Gotal said in basic, he turned to Soniee. "Soniee, quick. Use your holocam!" He said in a low voice, while pointing to the meeting that was currently going on.

The tech-loving girl put her laptop down on a nearby crate, stood up and smoothly slipped into the spot that Korkie had left for her as she removed her holocam from a pouch that she wore around her waist and aimed the device at the meeting. The circle on the back glowed blue as she reached up with her other hand, grabbed hold of her visor and slipped it down over her eyes. As she watched the feed that was being saved to the small box, one thing jumped out at her. "Those men down there, the ones in the silver uniforms. I think they're members of the Mandalorian police," she said. "What I want to know is why they're not wearing the official patch like the others who are part of the force."

"Do you have any info on who the cloaked figure is?" Korkie asked, pointing to the hooded man. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Soniee lowered the device to get a better look. "What about those strange looking people?" When his friend didn't respond to either of his questions, he knew that she didn't have the information or the answers that he wanted. "What are those off-worlders doing here at a secure port?"

"I don't think I want to stay and find out," Amis said. "I'm leaving, but will be waiting for you on the other side of the doors." He slowly inched his way backwards and once he had enough room, turned around and began to get up. Although Korkie reached back to grab him by the arm, the cadet was too late as Amis' elbow brushed against the edge of Soniee's laptop, causing it to wobble a little before falling off the crate where she had placed it. The boy quickly spun around and watched as it fell and landed on the edge of the container. He tried to reach down and grab it, but missed.

The portable computer fell to the ground with a thump that was loud enough to alert the cloaked figure who looked up just in time to see the cadets back away from their hiding spot.

Korkie and his friends made their way towards the other end of the container. After using the barrels to safely, but quickly get to the ground, they took off for the exit, which also happened to be the same way they came in. Not one of them looked back to see the cloaked figure motion to a few of the men who were with him and point in their direction.

Lagos, who had turned her head to the left upon hearing the sound of footsteps running behind them, didn't see the barrel that was in front of her until it was too late. She ran into it, causing it to fall over as she fell to the ground. Amis, who had stopped to make sure she was alright, turned around to see that the men whom they had seen earlier were now chasing them. The blond-haired girl quickly scrambled to her feet and the pair split off from their friends as they took a different route back to the door.

Then men who were chasing them split up. Two of them went after Korkie and Soniee, while the remaining two chased after Lagos and Amis, who ran around a stack of crates, hoping to lose them in the maze.

"Hurry! Let's go this way!" Korkie said as he ran into a small clearing before darting in a different direction, knowing that Soniee was right behind him. He hoped that both of the guards who were chasing them didn't see where they had gone even if they had overheard what he said.

Amis and Lagos ran away from the guards who were chasing them and hid behind a container. After taking a minute to catch their breath, both cadets peered around the corner. Once they spotted the guards who were still chasing them, both of the cadets didn't waste any time as they ran off and caught up to Soniee and Korkie.

Instead of stopping and helping each other over the gap in the door, they headed over to the lowest gap and climbed through. One by one they made it through and jumped down when they reached the other side.

Just as Amis was about to make it through, he felt a hand grab onto his foot and begin to pull him back. A startled expression suddenly appeared on his face and he instinctively grabbed onto the edges of the door in protest. "Hey!" He called out, catching his friends attention. "Let me go!"

As soon as they saw that he was in trouble, they ran back to help him.

Korkie and Lagos each grabbed an arm, engaging in a desperate battle of tug-of-war with the guard on the other side while Soniee ran over to the control panel and frantically began to press both of the buttons. As the cadets kept pulling, they could hear the guard as he let out a strangled noise while trying to maintain his hold on the boy's foot.

Then the door began to close and the guard had no other choice but to let go. He had just enough time to yank his arm back through before both of the panels slammed shut.

On the other side, Korkie and Logos nearly stumbled and fell to the ground as they let go of Amis, who ended up tumbling to the ground. After making sure he was alright, they only stayed there for a moment before jumping to their feet and running for the taxi.

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Back inside the warehouse, the cloaked figure was by himself. After hearing the report from the four guards, he dismissed them and the Gotal. Bending down, he picked up the laptop and began to inspect it.

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The four cadets took the taxi all the way back to the Royal Academy.

After parking it right in front of the main door, they all got off and ran straight to their room. Upon entering the small area, Soniee collapsed into a nearby chair, Lagos sat on the edge of one of the console tables, Korkie leaned over the front of the chair that was in front of the other console before turning around and collapsing into it as Amis ran into the room, shut the door and collapsed against the back of it.

Once they all had a chance to catch their breaths, Soniee sat up straight, took one look at her friends and knew what each one was thinking. "What are we going to do?" She asked.

Korkie looked up as he had been thinking of a possible solution. "This is something that is obviously too big for us to handle on our own," he said. "We're definitely going to need help." He couldn't help but notice the varying looks of worry on his friends faces. "Tomorrow, let's go talk to my Aunt Satine. I'm sure she'll listen to us."

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After breakfast the next morning, the four cadets left the Academy and took the same taxi that they had used last night for their trip to the Royal Palace. When they arrived, Korkie led them through numerous hallways and down a set of stairs that led to Satine's private quarters. As they got closer to the door, the boy turned to his friends and motioned for them to wait behind him.

Soniee glanced at the others, then turned to Korkie and nodded.

Once Korkie rang the door chime, they all straightened up. A few seconds later, it slid open as one of the Duchess' loyal protectors answered it. The boy looked at the guard and knew that he could trust him. "Aunt Satine, may we speak with you?" he asked, leaning a little to the right as he spotted her sitting in a chair that was a few feet away from a large window that overlooked the city.

Satine, who was just about to read yet another report that had been sent to her datapad, smiled as she turned around and spotted her nephew and his friends standing at the door. She stood up, tucking her right arm behind her, the datapad still in hand. "Of course, Korkie," she responded. "Come in."

Once the guard moved out of the way, the cadets entered the room, letting the door close behind them. Walking past another guard, they descended a small set of steps, and Korkie stopped in front of his Aunt.

"After doing some investigating, we found out that there is no food shortage on Mandalore," the blond-haired teen said as his friends caught up to him. "We found tons of food in one of the warehouses down at the government port."

The Mandalorian ruler thought about what she just heard as she dropped her hands from behind her back and turned towards a row of chairs that were in front of her fish tank.

"How did the four of you figure that out?" Satine asked as she sat down and crossed her legs while placing the datapad beside her.

"I hardly think that explanation matters right now," Korkie said as he and the others gathered around the Duchess. While he had one knee on the seat beside her and his arm resting over the back of the chair for balance, he heard footsteps walk up behind him and knew they belonged to Lagos.

"I beg to differ," she replied, clearly wanting to know just how Korkie and his friends had figured out where the food was being kept.

"After watching the message that Padawan Ngaire sent after class yesterday, I got an alert from the school saying that there were no more rations," Soniee said from where she was sitting, causing the Duchess to turn and face her. "After discussing the problem with the others, we decided to see if it was true." Then she brought out her holocam. "While we were in one of the warehouses, I managed to get a recording of a secret meeting between what we know was a government official and a black marketeer."

Lagos nodded and said, "That's why everything costs so much and why so many people are starving."

"We need your help to discover just who is responsible for this," Korkie told her.

"I agree with all of you," Satine said as she leaned forward and rested a hand on her nephew's arm. "This is a very serious matter." Then she took it away and stood up. "But the source of this evil might be something far greater than you cadets can handle. Some people can be very deceiving." She turned to her left and headed towards the stairs, the cadets nearly falling into a straight line as they followed her. "I wouldn't want all of you to get into trouble."

"But, Auntie, don't you see?" Korkie pleaded. "Surely you can't ignore this!"

Satine ascended the steps and turned to look at him. "I won't, trust me," she promised, holding out her left hand and watching as the cadets filed past her. "But for your own safety, you must let me take care of it." Following them as they headed out the door, she stopped just inside of the opening. "Now, I believe you all have class later this afternoon. Go, focus on your studies. There will be a time for you to help save the world when you're a bit older."

As the door slid shut in front of her, the Duchess couldn't help but notice how disappointed the cadets looked. Doing her best to ignore it, she turned away, hoping that they would heed her words.

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After leaving the palace, the cadets traveled to Peace Park. They wanted to clear their heads before heading back to the academy. While the area had been cleaned up after the bombing that had taken place when Obi-Wan had visited, the shrine remained as it was. Split in two.

The place was still beautiful, but the cadets didn't seem to care as they quietly spoke with one another while walking through the terrace garden on their way to one of the lower levels.

Lagos glanced at Soniee as she said, "I know the Duchess said to trust her, but I think that she refused to let us help because she thinks we won't be able to handle whatever is going on."

Then Korkie spoke up. "You also forgot the part where she basically called us a bunch of kids," he told them.

Having reached the stairs, they began to walk down to the landing below.

"She acted like there was nothing wrong," Soniee said.

Amis raised his right pointer finger into the air as they reached the lower level. "I think we're going to have to find someone else who will believe us," he said.

"Like who?" Lagos asked in a soft, but almost dejected tone of voice as she turned to look at her fellow cadet.

Korkie, who had placed his hand on his chin much like Obi-Wan did when he was busy thinking, jerked his head up as he snapped his fingers. "Listen," he said while turning to face his friends, "Mandalore has two people in charge. I know my Aunt wants to deal with this in her own way, but she might be busy with other things right now since she is the Duchess. Let's take our little discovery to the Prime Minister and see what he thinks we should do."

"What makes you think he'll listen?" Lagos asked.

"I don't see why he wouldn't," Korkie replied. "I've known him my whole life. He's always told me to come speak to him if I'm ever in trouble and my Aunt was unavailable to assist me. I'd say this situation definitely qualifies."

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As soon as the cadets got back to the Academy, they went to their dorm, sat at the desk in the middle of the room and contacted the Prime Minister. When he answered, Korkie told him about the warehouse deal that they had seen the night before and their earlier discussion with the Duchess.

"I am most concerned by these allegations, my intrepid young cadets. If I am understanding this correctly, you four think the Duchess knows who is behind this?" He asked.

"I wouldn't go that far Prime Minister," Korkie replied. "After all, she did tell us that she was going to handle it herself."

"Meet me in the Palace Plaza tonight and I'll see what I can do to aid you in your investigation. Bring the recording you took of the black market deal and all the cadets who know about it," Almec said.

The four cadets glanced at each other and smiled as they were finally going to get to the bottom of this.

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Later that afternoon, after Rosella had finished teaching the class and most of the cadets were hunched over their desks, pouring over their notes on her lesson about the different cases of corruption and their end results, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Korkie wasn't even looking at the screen on his desk. Instead, he had his hand on his chin again as he looked at Soniee, who also wasn't looking at her screen.

"Korkie," Rosella said, watching as he turned to look at her with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "You seem to be a little distracted today. Is there something going on that I should be aware of?"

"My friends and I did what you told us at the end of yesterday's lesson," the blond-haired cadet responded. "We went out and found evidence of corruption."

"What do you mean?" Rosella asked, narrowing her eyes a little as she placed her right hand on her hip.

"Well, we were hungry, so we decided to go look for food," Lagos said.

"Food?" She asked, not entirely sure how that unrelated topic ended up with them finding the so-called evidence that Korkie mentioned in his vague explanation. "Where exactly did you go to look?"

"Down at one of the government warehouses," Amis replied.

"Was someone there to let you in?" Rosella asked, sounding a little suspicious.

"No, we broke in," he responded in a casual tone of voice as if that had been made obvious by one of the others who had spoken earlier.

"Oh, great," Soniee said as she smacked her forehead.

Rosella raised one of her eyebrows as she took a moment to mentally run through everything that she had heard. Then a rather disappointed look appeared on her face as she said, "It sounds to me like the four of you committed a crime."

"I can see how you would think that, but it's not all bad," Korkie said as he jumped in to try and offer an excuse for what they had done. "I mean we did stumble across this meeting between a government official and some off-worlders, but then we were spotted…"

"And they chased us!" Lagos said, not caring if she had accidentally cut her friend off from whatever he had been about to say next.

"Maybe they chased you because you broke into a government warehouse," Rosella said scoldingly as she placed her other hand on her left hip.

"No! What we saw was a black market deal. I know it!" Korkie told her as he curled his fingers into a fist and gently slammed it on his desk. "We paid a visit to my Aunt this morning and told her about it, but she wants us to stay out of it and let her deal with the problem." Then he shook his head. "We have to do something to help."

"Do you have any proof of this meeting that you claim to have seen last night?" Rosella asked, narrowing her eyes at the group.

"We made a holo-recording," Soniee said as she brought out her holocam and held it up in the air. "The Prime Minister arranged for us to meet with him tonight so we could…"

Rosella, who still had her hands on her hips, sighed a little as she tilted her head to look at Korkie. "Are you guys sure that's a good idea?" She asked.

"Hold on a minute," Amis said as he quickly threw his hand into the air. "I thought you were the one who told us that it was our duty as citizens to expose corrupt officials."

Rosella nearly sighed again as she heard what were basically her own words being spoken back to her. Dropping her right hand from its place on her hip, she held it out towards them. "All I'm trying to say is that you should slow down," she said, moving up the aisle towards Korkie's desk. "Take some time to go over all the evidence that you've gathered. Once you have determined that it's something that needs to be dealt with, that's when you take it to the proper authorities."

Korkie sighed, dropping his shoulders as he shifted his gaze towards his lap. "You sound more like my aunt than a Jedi Knight," he said dejectedly.

Then the bell sounded, signalling that the class was over.

Before she could even think of something to say, Korkie reached over and picked up his bag before getting out of his seat. After securing it underneath his left arm, he turned around and walked towards the door at the back of the room. Soniee, who had been watching him, was the next person to get up and leave, a disheartened look on her face as she double checked her holocam.

Then the other cadets who were part of the class got up and dispersed.

Rosella stood there watching as the tech-loving teen placed the device back on her belt. Once the aisle was clear, Lagos got up and trailed after both of them. Amis, who had leaned over to grab his own bag, got up and was the last person to leave the room as he followed his friends.

The teenage padawan placed her right hand back on her hip as she leaned ever so slightly to the right. Korkie was right. She wasn't exactly acting like a Jedi. Thinking back on the details of her mission, she recalled that she had been sent here to teach. Now, after hearing everything that the cadets had said, she wondered if there was another part of her assignment that Master Yoda hadn't told her about.

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After heading back to their dorm to go over what they were going to say when the Prime Minister showed up to meet with them, the four cadets waited until it got dark. Once they snuck out of the building, they took another taxi over to the palace and headed to the plaza.

The entire area was dark, the only source of light was coming from a spotlight. Suddenly the door that led into the palace opened as Korkie and his friends emerged from within. Their footsteps echoed through the night as they made their way down the steps and saw three figures standing on the other side.

The men were bathed in shadows, so none of the cadets could tell who they were.

"Is your name Korkie?" the shadowy figure in the middle asked.

Korkie thought it was a little odd that Almec would ask him that, since the man had known the boy for quite a long time. As he walked forward, with his friends right behind him, he wondered if it was actually him. "Prime Minister, is that you?" He asked.

"We're members of the secret service," the man said as he moved forward into the light. He pointed the shorter end of his baton at the four kids as the other two came up behind him, reached over and took out their batons. "You and your friends are under arrest on the charges of treason, corruption, and conspiracy." He thumped his weapon against his open palm.

All three officers walked forward. The one on the left raised the baton that he was holding and pointed it at the cadets. "The four of you will be coming with us," he told them.

Korkie's eyes widened and then quickly narrowed as he instantly recognized the uniforms that the men were wearing. Turning to Lagos, he said, "These are the same guards we saw last night down at the warehouse." As he turned back to face the ones who had been waiting for them, he heard footsteps coming from his left. Quickly glancing in that direction, he saw another officer making his way towards them.

Lagos and Amis turned around, backing closer to their friends as they saw two more officers slip out from the shadows and walk forward.

Knowing that this wasn't part of their plan, the four quickly slipped into fighting stances.

"We've done nothing wrong!" Korkie exclaimed, directing his words to the lead officer as he glanced at the group of men who had them surrounded.

Instead of responding to the statement, the man in charge glanced at the officer on his right and jerked the long end of his baton towards the four students.

The man nodded and charged forward.

Korkie drew his fist back before rushing forward. As he swung his arm towards the officer, the boy was caught off guard as the man swatted his arm away and then brought his shield up, slamming the bottom end straight into his chest. The force of the impact was strong enough to knock the breath out of him as he flew backwards and landed on the ground.

Soniee was not happy when she saw what they had done to her friend. Racing forward with her first in the air, she attempted to punch one of the other officers in the face. The man swung his arm back and slugged her in the chest with his baton. She flew backwards, slamming into the chest of another officer, who quickly wrapped his left arm around her neck.

Lagos ran forward and lashed out, wildly swinging her right arm at another officer. He twisted to the side, dodging her weak attempt and then reached out, spinning her around into a choke hold.

Amis ran forward, attempting to use his brute strength to ram into the officer who was standing directly across from him. Lowering his head, he too was caught off guard as the man slugged him in the stomach with his weapon. As he lifted his head and turned it toward the man, he shifted his eyes up towards a shadow that leapt off the railing of the rooftop above them.

Rosella flipped through the air, getting into position as she landed on the ground and struck the guard in the back of the head, instantly knocking him unconscious. Leaping up from her crouched position, she flew through the air, slamming her feet into side of the helmeted man who had his arm wrapped around Lagos. She leapt off him as he let go of the cadet and fell to the ground. Spinning around, she lashed out with a strong kick that rendered the third officer unconscious as her boot hit him square in the face.

Landing on the ground, the teenage padawan quickly glanced over to see that Korkie was awake and beginning to sit up. As soon as she saw that the leader had drawn his right arm back and was getting ready to swing his baton at her, she ducked out of the way, threw both of her hands into the air, caught his arm and bent down as she used the officer's own momentum to send him flying over her head.

Glancing up, she saw that Lagos was already standing in a crouched position. Sensing a minor disturbance in the Force, she knew that the officer who was standing behind her was getting ready to attack. Looking down, she grabbed the baton that the officer had dropped, spun around and threw it at the officer, sending him whirling away before launching herself into the air at the remaining officer who was holding Soniee hostage. Spinning around, she landed a solid kick to his face which caused him to let go of the cadet and release his grip on his weapon.

Once her feet touched the ground, Rosella immediately dropped into a semi-crouched position, eyes flicking back and forth as she probed the area with the Force. Upon sensing that the men who had attacked were down for the count and there were no more waiting to ambush them, the teenager straightened up as did the other cadets.

"I don't know what the rest of you are thinking, but it looks like the Prime Minister set you up," she told them as she walked over and held out her hand for Soniee to take. The brunette, who was still on the ground, looked up and grabbed her hand.

Korkie looked at her with a shocked expression on his face. "That's treason. He's the person who takes over as our leader when my Aunt is unable to do it," he said, watching as Rosella pulled the girl to her feet. After a few seconds, he and Amis walked towards them as she let go of Soniee's hand and turned around. "He couldn't possibly be a traitor."

"We need proof," Lagos told the group as she walked forward.

Soniee jerked her head up, eyes going wide as she remembered something. "We have the recording," she said, reaching down and pulling the holocam free from her belt, grateful that the officer who had been holding her captive hadn't gotten the chance to steal it. Then she walked forward.

Rosella moved out of the way and watched as the girl held out her hand and pressed the button in the middle. The hologram of the meeting flickered to life, showing everyone a shot of the group and then it zoomed in on the cloaked figure whose face was too shadowed to be seen properly.

Korkie shook his head and said, "That's no good. You can't see who it is."

"I think I have the answer to your dilemma," Rosella said, holding up her right hand as she watched the hologram spin around to face her. "Stop it right there."

Soniee reached out and pressed the same button that she had done to turn the device on.

The padawan stared at the imposing figure as she reached into her belt pouch and pulled out a medium-sized yellow device that was connected to a massive database that housed everything from background files to DNA samples. Because of how sensitive the data was, it was only accessible to members of the Jedi Order, law enforcement and other people who had a high enough classification.

Switching the device on, she held it up to her mouth. "Information retrieval," Rosella said, indicating the function that she needed access to. Once it beeped, signalling that it was ready, she held it out towards the hologram and continued speaking. "I need the figure in the hologram to be identified."

As she slowly waved the device over the cloaked figure's face, it let out a few beeps as the lights below the speaker flashed.

The cadets all leaned forward.

Rosella continued to wave the device over the hologram. Then it let out another beep, this time signalling that it was finished with its search.

Korkie's eyes widened as a face began to take shape beneath the hood.

It was Almec.

"That's him!" Amis said as he pulled at his hair.

"You're right!" Soniee exclaimed as she turned off her holocam and looked at Rosella. "That is the Prime Minister!"

Korkie looked his friends and Rosella. "We have to take this new development to my Aunt and warn her. She needs to know that Almec is behind this," he said. Then he realized the error that he had committed that very afternoon. "He knows that I spoke with her."

Turning around, he took off for the palace with Rosella and his friends racing to catch up with him.

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It didn't take them long to reach Satine's private quarters. When the group arrived at the top of the stairs, the first thing they saw was the guard. He was lying face down on the floor. As Rosella made her way down the steps, she glanced up, saw that the door was open and came to the conclusion that the man must have been attacked as soon as he opened it. Then she heard footsteps and knew that the cadets were right behind her.

Korkie's eyes widened and he nearly gasped as he saw the body. "We're too late," he said, coming to a complete stop.

Rosella was the only person who moved over to the body. Kneeling down, she used the Force to help her determine what she already knew. "He's dead," she said. Sensing movement on her right, she glanced up to see that Korkie, as well as the others, were moving towards the opening. Quickly rising to her feet, she held her left hand up in order to stop them from going any further. "Korkie, wait!" Ignoring the mild glare that he sent her way, she waited until he took a step away from the door. Then she began to lower her hand while quickly glancing over her shoulder. "I know that you want to go in there and look around," she went on as she turned to face him, "but I need you to take a deep breath and stay out here with the others while I go in and see if the intruders are still inside."

Korkie did as she instructed and took a deep breath. Once he calmed down, even though he was still worried about his Aunt's safety, he nodded.

Rosella smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder. Then she took it away before turning around and walking through the entryway. Even though there was light shining in from somewhere outside, the room was still dark. Quickly probing the area with the Force, she didn't sense any of Almec's thugs waiting for them.

Not wanting to keep the cadets waiting for long, she picked up the pace as she made her way through the room, taking in all the damage that had been done. Off to her right, she saw another Protector laying on the floor a few meters away from a small dining area. Upon noticing a pair of legs sticking out from behind one of the glass dividers, she made her way to the top of the steps that led to a small seating area.

She sighed quietly to herself as she saw two more dead Protectors, one of whom was partially sitting up against the divider while the other one was on his knees with the upper half of his body lying in the remains of what was once a fish tank. Glancing towards the bottom of the steps on her left, she saw a third one. Knowing that there was nothing she could do to help him since he was already dead, she turned around and made her way back to the door. "Korkie," she said, "you and your friends can come in now. The area is clear."

Korkie's footsteps filled the room as he ran inside. Appreciating the fact that Rosella remained near the door with Amis, Lagos and Soniee, the young cadet ran to the stairs and stopped. Looking around, he frantically searched for the one person that he hoped would be waiting for him. Once he realized that his Aunt was gone, his face went pale. "She's not here," he said as he sank onto one of the steps and buried his face in his hands. "This is all my fault!"

Nodding to the other three, Rosella watched as they walked over to the steps but stopped a few feet away since they still wanted to respect their friend's personal space.

After a few minutes, Lagos moved forward and knelt behind Korkie as she placed her hand on his shoulder. A concerned expression flickered across her face as he moved his shoulder away.

Knowing that he didn't deserve any of her sympathy at the moment, Korkie got up and walked down the stairs. Moving past one of the guards that Rosella had seen earlier, he made his way over to the remains of the fish tank. Nearly clenching his right hand into a fist, he said, "Who knows what they've done to her."

After taking one last look around the room, the four cadets turned around.

"Now what do we do?" Amis asked as he, Korkie and the girls made their way over to Rosella. "We don't even know where to start looking."

Lagos' eyes were wide with fright. "Who can we trust?" She asked.

"First things first, I'm going to need you four to calm down and focus," Rosella told them. She could feel their emotions through the Force and knew that if she was going to come up with a plan to help them, she needed to be able to think clearly. "We know that Almec has kidnapped the Duchess and imprisoned her somewhere."

"After my Aunt, he's the most powerful person on Mandalore," Korkie said.

"So," Rosella said with a slight smirk, "let's go talk to him."

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Once Korkie and his friends had been arrested, they travelled to the office where Almec did most of his work.

While they were restrained by the officers who had captured them, Rosella strode into the building, accompanied by three of them who had been waiting outside. As she made her way up to his desk, her eyes flickered from side to side, taking in both rows of glass busts that had been made for each of the previous Prime Ministers who had been in office before Almec had been given the position.

Almec, who had been looking at something on his laptop, glanced up when he heard footsteps. Raising his eyebrows, he allowed a momentary look of surprise to appear on his face as he saw the padawan approaching. "Well, well, Master Jedi, I wasn't expecting to see you here at this time of night," he said, taking his hand away from his keypad and placing it against the fingers of his right hand as they formed a small tent. Then he directed it towards her. "Tell me, what can I do for you?"

"Actually, Prime Minister," Rosella said, inclining her head towards him, "it's more of what I can do for you." Turning to her left, she motioned towards the door with her hand. The guard on her left turned to the side as it slid open to reveal the four cadets. Dropping her hand as they were marched into the office with their hands bound behind them, she called on the Force, using the brief connection to dismiss the nauseating feeling that was beginning to creep up on her as she sensed Almec's shock and then his glee at the sight of Korkie and the others in handcuffs. Once it was gone, she turned around. "I believe some of my students are involved in a conspiracy against you."

"Now that is intriguing," Almec said.

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An hour later, Rosella, and the Prime Minister watched as the four cadets were escorted inside the prison.

"You can't do this to us!" Korkie said as he was being taken away. Stopping in his tracks, he glanced behind him and spotted the padawan. "We trusted you, Master Ngaire." Shifting his eyes to his left, he began to move again as the officer who was walking behind him placed his free hand on his shoulder and led him toward the others.

"Thank you for finding and bringing these traitors to justice, Master Jedi," Almec said, a small hint of gratitude in his voice as he gazed down at the padawan.

Rosella turned to face him, losing the smirk that had been on her face. "One of them told me that Duchess Satine was their leader," she said. "Are you going to send some of your men to go arrest her?"

"There is no need for that," he assured her. "We have already taken the Duchess and placed her in custody."

"You have?" Rosella asked, careful not to let too much eagerness into her voice. "Where have you put her?"

"That is nothing for you to be concerned about," Almec told her. "Now, I must ask that you excuse me. I have to go prepare a public statement about the Duchess and the crimes that she has committed."

Rosella watched with narrowed eyes and a scowl on her lips as the Prime Minister walked onto a waiting taxi and departed from the prison. Knowing that she didn't have much time, the teenager turned around and headed over to the nearest guard. "Officer, I need to interrogate the prisoners immediately," she said.

The officer nodded and stepped aside, letting Rosella through. As she walked past him and approached the door, both of which slid upwards to let her in, she took the opportunity to look behind her. Seeing that the officer had resumed his normal position, she continued on her way. Entering the evaluator, she took it up to the third floor.

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The entire prison was quiet. There seemed to be no level of separation for the criminals who were housed within the walls. As the teenage padawan was escorted past a few cells, she noticed that none of the inmates were talking to each other or even shouting at any of the officers who stood guard.

The four cadets had been placed together. As soon as they saw Rosella standing outside, Amis got up off the floor, Korkie turned around as he had been pacing back and forth, Lagos looked up as she uncrossed her arms and Soniee twisted around before sitting up since she was leaning against the wall.

A low sounding beep was heard and the door slid open. As the padawan entered their cell, she raised her eyebrows and held up her hands, eyes shifting from side to side. "Keep your voices down and watch what you say," she cautioned, keeping her voice low as the door slid shut behind her. "We're being watched."

"Did he buy our little act?" Lagos asked.

"I think so," Rosella responded. "After you guys were brought in here, he left to go prepare a statement about all the supposed crimes that the Duchess has been accused of doing."

"What about my Aunt?" Korkie asked. "Have you managed to locate her?"

Rosella shifted her eyes over to him and shook her head. "Not yet," she said. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "But I do know that she's been taken into custody."

"Where?" The cadet asked.

"He wouldn't tell me," she said, watching as Korkie's shoulders fell.

Amis glanced at Rosella, then looked at his friends. "I knew this plan wasn't going to work," he said in a defeated tone as he hung his head and turned to go hide in the corner.

"Have a little faith," the teenager told him in a soft, yet firm voice. "I'll find her." Then she turned to face the others. "It looks like we may have to modify the plan a little."

"How are you going to do that?" Soniee asked.

"Don't worry," Rosella assured her. "Just stick to what I told you earlier. You'll know what to do when I give the signal."

"What's the signal?" Korkie asked.

"You'll know what it is when you see it," she responded. As she turned around and faced the door, another beep was heard. Then it slid open. Moving forward, she came face to face with the officer who had escorted her to the cell. Since Rosella had never actually done a mind trick before, she took a deep breath, hoping that this was going to work. Wrapping the Force around his mind, she slowly added a little pressure as she raised her left hand and waved it in front of his face. "You will take me to Duchess Satine."

"I will take you to Duchess Satine," the man responded before turning in the opposite direction and walking towards another elevator.

Rosella glanced to her right before following the officer and letting the door slide shut behind her. A few minutes later, the other officer turned and began to trail after them. Raising his right arm, he stopped and pressed the button on his wrist com. Once it flashed red, he lowered his arm and kept moving.

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Arriving on another floor, Rosella and the officers exited the elevator, headed down the lone hallway and entered a large room. Her eyes quickly focused on the first part of the tower since it was the only thing in the room besides the two giant spotlights that were on either side. Walking forward so she could see the rest of it, she came to a halt in the middle of the room.

Raising her eyebrows as she tilted her head all the way up, Rosella nearly gasped as she saw the Duchess' hunched over silhouette at the top. Having to blink just to make sure she wasn't imagining things, her gaze remained locked on the cell as she began to walk forward.

Two other searchlights followed them as the padawan tore her gaze away from Satine and over to the rectangular panel that held the controls for the tower. After studying them for a moment and forgetting about the uniformed officers behind her, she reached out to press the buttons that would lower the cell so she could free the Duchess.

The officer on her right stepped forward and stretched out his arm as he asked, "What are you doing?"

Nearly berating herself for forgetting about them, the teenage padawan raised her eyebrows and drew her hands back. Returning her facial expression to normal, she turned around to face the guards. Walking up to the one who had spoken, she called on the Force, raised her hand and waved it in front of his face. "I must interrogate the Duchess," she said.

"You must interrogate the Duchess," the guard responded as he stood up straight.

Rosella nodded before taking a step back, turning around and walking over to the controls. Noticing that they were fairly easy to use, she inputted the correct commands, then turned to watch as the top level of the cell was lowered to the ground.

The door slid downwards with a hiss. Satine glanced at Rosella and reached for her as she walked forward and fell to the ground. It was very obvious that her legs were tired and not able to hold her up since she had been forced to stand on her feet inside the small box the entire time.

The padawan rushed over to the fallen woman's side and knelt as she lightly placed her hand on her shoulder. "I'm here to free you," she said.

After pausing to catch her breath, Satine looked up at the padawan with a small hint of fear in her eyes. "Rosella…" she said, "It's a trap!"

"I see that you have managed to locate and free the Duchess, youngling," Almec said, causing them both to look up with shock on their faces as he came striding out of the shadows, flanked by two uniformed officers. Coming to a stop in the same spot that she had earlier, he shifted his gaze over to the officers who were now standing on either side of them. "The two of you may stop your playacting now."

Both men turned around and snapped to attention as they responded with, "Prime Minister, sir!"

Rosella's eyes widened and then narrowed as they shifted them back and forth, looking at both of the officers.

Almec nearly smirked as he knew what she was thinking. "Using a Jedi mind trick was a very poor decision," he said, waving a hand in the air as he strode forward before stopping again, accompanied by the officers behind him. "My men have been trained not to fall for such archaic magic." Right as he finished speaking, eight more guards came out of the shadows, surrounding both Rosella and the Duchess as the two who were closest to them took out their batons. "And now you have revealed yourself as a conspirator."

Rosella rose up off the floor, glaring at Almec the entire time.

"Set for stun," he commanded.

The searchlight that was nearby spun around and lowered a little before firing two blue stun rings that struck the young jedi right in the chest, causing blue bolts of electricity to ripple across her entire body. Rosella gritted her teeth before gasping in pain as she fell to her knees with one hand on the ground and the other on her chest. Her shoulders heaved up and down as she fought to catch her breath.

"You little fool," Almec said.

Rosella made a strangled sound as she tried to move.

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"Where is she?" Lagos asked, starting to get worried since she and the others hadn't seen or heard from the padawan since she had gone to find the Duchess. "I thought Rosella would have been back by now with news for us."

"Calm down, Lagos," Korkie said, trying to reassure her that everything would be fine. "All we need to do is follow Rosella's plan."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Soniee asked. "The entire thing is falling apart."

"Rosella told us to wait for a signal and that's exactly what we're going to do," he said.

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Rosella tried to escape, but wasn't able to as her hands were in a pair of binders which were currently being held by one of the Prime Minister's officers. There was nothing she could do except watch as Almec walked towards the Duchess with a datapad in one hand and a stylus in the other.

"Sign it," he told her. "Sign this confession and admit to your treasonous ways."

Satine narrowed her eyes as she glared at him. "There is only one traitor to Mandalore here, Prime Minister, and that's you!" She said, an accusatory tone in her voice. "You are the one who controls the black market. You have betrayed the public trust, forcing them into starvation all while using your own office to accumulate wealth and power. It's shameful."

The Prime Minister chuckled. "I find your idealism to be very inspiring my dear, but also hopelessly naive," he said. "The citizens of Mandalore are the reason why I established the black market in the first place."

"That's absurd!" Rosella said. "Why would you stoop so low in order to create such a thing?"

Almec turned to face her and said, "I did it because of the war that you Jedi are involved in." Placing his hand - the one that held the datapad - behind his back, he turned around, walked away and then came to a sudden stop. "It's disrupting trade all over the galaxy. The profits that I collect from the black market are being used to purchase humanitarian supplies for Mandalore." Turning around, he resumed walking, moving past the padawan as he headed over to the panel that housed the controls for the cell. "I like to think of it as a new tax in the interest of national security."

"It's a tax for your benefit, Prime Minister," Satine said with just a hint of distain as she twisted around to face him from her place on the floor. Twisting back to face the door, she spread out her hands as far as they would go. "Just where are these humanitarian supplies that you claim to have bought in order to help Mandalore and its people?"

Almec turned to the leader of his group of men. "Sergeant, put the shock collar around the Duchess' neck," he said, pointing towards her.

The man started to walk forward as he reached behind him and pulled out the hexagonal shaped device from where it sat on his belt. Pulling it apart, he placed it around Satine's neck and stepped back.

"I'm sorry that I must do this to you, but my patience has run out," the Prime Minister said as he turned towards the controls. "Perhaps this will convince you to see things my way." Pressing one of the buttons, he activated the collar.

Rosella tried her hardest to break free from the rough grip of the officer who was holding onto her right arm as Satine cried out in pain from the harsh method of torture. After a few minutes, Almec lifted his hand away and the torture stopped.

The Duchess fell forward, placing her hands on the ground to brace herself as she caught her breath. "I would rather die than sign anything that you place before me," she retorted in a passionate, yet breathless voice.

"That can be arranged," he told her.

Rosella pulled again, hoping to break free, but it was still no use. "You're wasting your time!" She snapped.

Almec ignored her and turned to the sergeant. "Bring me those traitorous cadets," he said.

The man nodded, removed his baton from its holster and left to retrieve the group from their holding cell.

Satine's eyes widened in alarm. "No, you can't!" she protested, twisting around to face the man. "They're just children."

Almec raised his left eyebrow and lifted his head a little, letting a smirk appear on his face.

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The four cadets were talking inside their cell. When they heard the sound of someone knocking on the door, Lagos looked up, nearly jumping in fright as she saw a uniformed officer standing outside. Once they saw her pointing towards the door, both Korkie and Soniee turned around.

The officer raised his baton in the air and banged the butt of the weapon on the door five times. A low beep was heard and it slid open. "Alright, he said, pointing down the hall, "let's move."

Korkie and Soniee glanced at each other as the four of them fell into a single file line and walked out of the cell.

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Satine was on the ground trying to catch her breath, but managed to look up when the cadets were marched into the room with two officers flanking them on either side.

Almec nearly chuckled at how well his plan was going. "If you continue to keep this up Duchess, then I'm afraid that your nephew will have to suffer the consequences instead of you," he said. "Put the shock collar on Cadet Korkie."

The man who was standing next to the Prime Minister already had a second collar in his hands. As he walked forward, he pulled it apart, letting the electricity crackle and spark as it jumped from one end to the other.

Korkie had a fearful look in his eyes and a frown on his face as he saw the collar that the officer was holding. He almost flinched when one of the officers grabbed his shoulder to hold him still, but refrained from doing so even though he was terrified since he knew that the electric shock was going to hurt.

Rosella looked at the collar and narrowed her eyes. She had to make her move at the right time or else she was going to mess up the plan. Glancing towards the cadets, she saw Korkie's eyes go wide as he shifted his eyes from side to side. Her own eyes widened and then narrowed as she sensed the Duchess' fear through the Force. Knowing that she didn't want to have to see the woman have to watch her nephew go through what she had just a few moments ago, the padawan put the rest of her plan into action.

Bending her knees a little, she felt the officer who was holding her left shoulder let go. Quickly throwing her head back, she slammed it into the man's chin, forcing him to take a few steps backwards. Bending once again, she flipped and threaded her legs between her bound hands so that they were now in front of her, rather than behind. Hearing footsteps running up to her, she sharply glanced to her left and saw that the officer who had been holding her captive was now rushing towards her with his baton in hand.

Leaning to her right, she swung her arms in the same direction and then lashed out with her left elbow, striking the man in the face with a blow so hard that he twisted around and crumpled to the ground. Twisting around, she dodged another officer's attempt to rush her and slammed her hands down on the back of his weapon.

That has to be the signal! Korkie thought to himself as he turned to his friends and yelled, "Go!"

The cadets leapt into action, throwing themselves into nearby guards, knocking them to the ground. Then they sat on them so they couldn't move.

As soon as Almec saw what was going on, he panicked, turned to the controls and began pressing buttons. Rosella turned around, grabbed ahold of him with the Force and flung him into two of his own men.

One of the men that Soniee was holding down was beginning to get up so Amis came running over and added his own weight to help keep the officer pinned to the floor.

Turning to her right, Rosella raised her bound hands and used the Force to pull one of the officers towards her as she stole his shield from him. Flipping it upright, she blocked the punch that he threw at her before spinning around and kicking him in the chest. Then she used the shield to block the incoming wave of stun blasts that Almec had triggered.

After shielding herself from two more stun rings, she used the shield as a battering ram, slamming the heavy weapon into two officers who had decided to rush her. Pushing them back while taking a step forward, she spun around and threw the shield at another man, sending him flying straight into another one of his comrades.

Korkie snuck up behind another officer and bent down, while his friends used their own bodies to push him back, causing the man to stumble and trip as he flew over the blond-haired cadet and fell to the floor.

Dodging another officer who ran at her, Rosella wrapped the Force around him and threw him straight into the door of the Duchess' cell. Then she and Satine dodged a pair of stun blasts that were now beginning to go wild.

Korkie took a step forward and threw himself onto a guard who was partially sitting up as he placed a hand on his head and attempted to shake away the minor headache that he had.

Rosella sensed that the Prime Minister was up to something as she saw him get up off the floor, but knew that she would have to deal with the last two officers before she could take him down. Watching as the first one rushed at her, she waited until the time was right then summoned the Force to her aid as she pulled the man off balance. She quickly avoided the other one's baton and a sudden stun blast by backflipping behind Satine, who was still kneeling on the ground.

The shield that the guard was carrying blocked a stun blast that would have hit him, had he not been holding the item in his hand.

One of the searchlights behind the cell lowered, turned towards the padawan and Satine and fired a pair of stun blasts that they both dodged while Rosella had been reaching for the shock collar that was currently around the Duchess' neck. She quickly removed the collar and felt the Force calling out to her. Turning to her right, she saw Almec inching towards the controls. Taking a step towards him, she bent down low and lashed out with a sweeping kick that knocked him to the ground. Quickly standing up, she placed the collar around his neck.

Almec gasped, his purple eyes going wide as he reached up and felt the metal device around his neck.

Quickly moving over to the console, Rosella reached out and slammed her fists down on the button that activated the collar. "Gotcha," she said in a low voice.

The Prime Minister tried to get up, but only made it halfway before crying out in pain as the collar activated and sent volts of non-fatal, but painful electricity racing through his body. After a few minutes, the torture stopped and he fell forward. Raising his head, he saw two of his officers get up and rush over in an attempt to try and help him. "Stop fighting!" He cried, holding up one of his hands before placing it back on the floor as he panted for air.

Satine nearly smiled as she saw that Almec had finally been dealt with. Getting up off the ground, she glanced at Rosella and said, "Send for my personal guards."

Rosella turned to face her and nodded.

The cadets got up off the floor and smiled at one another.

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After the Duchess' guards had arrived and removed the binders that Rosella, the cadets and Satine were wearing, all but two of them rounded up the officers who had been loyal to Almec.

While the group was being escorted the group out of the room, Satine stepped towards the controls for the cell that she had been locked up in. Almec had already been placed inside. Taking one last look at the man who had been her Prime Minister, she flipped the lever forward.

Almec sent the Duchess, Rosella and the cadets one last glare as the door slid upward and closed. Everyone who was on the ground watched as the cell rose into the air and locked into place as it reached its maximum height.

Satine turned towards the cadets and stepped towards them. Reaching out, she drew Korkie into a hug. "Korkie, are you alright?" She murmured into his left ear.

"I'm fine Auntie," he responded in a low voice. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," she told him as she let him go and took a step back. Watching as her nephew rejoined his friends, she turned to Rosella. "You must know by now that I didn't bring you here just to teach. I knew something was wrong within my government and I had no one to trust that could help me uncover just what it was. I thought if I brought a Jedi, especially a friend of Senator Amidala's, we could solve this mystery together."

Rosella turned and smiled at the cadets before looking at Satine. "I never doubted you, Duchess," she said.

"Neither did we." Korkie said as he dropped his arms from behind his back and walked forward, giving his Aunt another hug.

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The next morning, Rosella stood on the landing platform with Satine, the cadets and two lines of her loyal Protectors standing guard. They all watched as the shuttle flew in and deployed its landing gear. As it touched down on the ground, Rosella turned around to say goodbye to the Duchess as well as the cadets.

Korkie, who was standing beside his Aunt, stepped forward and bowed his head. "It was an honor to serve with a Jedi Knight."

"I'm not a Jedi Knight yet, but I will be once my training is complete," Rosella said, turning to face him. "And I have to say, it was an honor and a privilege to be your teacher over the last few days." Turning to the Duchess, she respectfully inclined her head. Knowing that Satine had done the same, she smiled and turned around just in time to see her father exit the ship. Making her way towards him, her smile turned into a grin as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I hope this assignment wasn't too boring for you," Anakin remarked with a teasing smirk on his face.

Rosella merely shrugged and tilted her head slightly to the right. "It had its moments," she replied.

"Huh," Anakin said as he uncrossed his arms, glanced down and unhooked her saber from where it sat on his belt. "Like the one where you convinced untrained children to help you overthrow a corrupt government?" Flipping the saber around, he handed it back to her.

"That was a highlight," Rosella responded as she took it from him and clipped it to her own belt.

Watching as she walked over to the ramp, he said, "It sounds pretty risky. I'm relieved to see that none of you got hurt."

"I'm pretty sure you would have done the same thing if you had been here," she told him before turning and heading into the ship.

Anakin's lips curled into a smile as he followed Rosella into the ship. As soon as the ramp closed, the guards stood at attention and the cadets saluted. Then the ship started up and departed, carrying the teenage padawan back to the war and her duties as a Jedi Commander.