Chapter Twenty-Six: Death Trap

"I'm glad you could help the duchess," I said, cheek resting in my hand. Padme's hologram smiled at me, the blue glow illuminating my dark quarters. It was weird, having my own room aboard a jedi frigate.

"I'm glad I could, too," Padme responded. "Though, Satine may not even be alive today if it weren't for you and Obi-wan." I smiled slowly, wishing we'd caught the Death Watch assassin that had been after Satine. Ever since I'd seen Vizsla again, I'd had a type of hot blood lust rushing through my veins. I'd wanted to kill the assassin myself. It wouldn't have been enough if someone else did it.

I shook myself from my thoughts as a knock sounded at my door. "Enter," I called, glancing at Padme with a smile. I could tell by the ripples of raw power who was standing on the other side. The door opened with a hiss, revealing Anakin, his face breaking into a grin upon seeing his wife.

"M'lady," he said, bowing lowly to the hologram.

"Master Skywalker," she replied coyly. Despite my knowing, they had no way of telling who else was listening, especially considering how busy the halls of the Endurance were.

"I hate to interrupt," Anakin said to me now, his voice softer. "But we should meet with Master Windu. We're receiving a tour of cadets today."

My eyebrows lifted. "Cadets? And you're sure Master Windu wants me there?"

The jedi shrugged, stepping out of the room again. "Why wouldn't he? You're a leader in the GAR, aren't you?"

I hummed, giving Padme a nod before breaking off the signal and standing. Of course, I knew why Windu wouldn't want me there, considering he trusted me about as much as he'd trust a Tusken Raider. Maybe even less, considering I was pretty sure there was a jedi who hailed from the Tatooine nomads.

"You and Senator Amidala seem to be catching up nicely," he commented, giving me a reassuring smile.

I shrugged, doing my best to give it back, despite my worrying about the cadets. "It's nice being able to talk with her again." I'd be lying if I claimed that I wasn't worried when we had exited the Coronet. I knew I'd be seeing Padme again, and I worried over how we'd last parted. Despite having worked with the GAR since I stopped working for the senator, I hadn't actually talked to her since that day in the medbay.

Of course, Padme being Padme, she greeted me with a smothering hug, her face squished against mine. She didn't pressure me for anything, likely knowing as much as her husband did. Instead, she just asked how I was doing and if I wanted to get some food while I was planet-side.

Admittedly, she'd hesitated at my joining the GAR, but accepted my vague reasoning. She was a smart woman. I think she inferred more than she pretended to understand.

As we drew closer to the docking bay, I felt my thoughts shift away from the friendly senator and to darker subjects.

"I haven't seem cadets since I was much younger," I mused, walking beside Skywalker. A thought dawned on my, my heart clenching.

"You seem worried," he commented.

"They're all going to look like Boba."

"Oh. You don't have-" Anakin's words trailed off as we rounded a corner, meeting Jedi Master Windu in the hall.

"There you are," the man said in his low voice. "Are you ready?" He cast me a glance, but said nothing about my presence. Perhaps my helping Obi-wan had lifted his view of me...just a little.

I let the two walk together in front of me as we passed through a doorway to the docking bay. Before us were two lines of young cadets, all of them looking a lot like the brother I once had. All of them were gawking at the troopers lining the halls at attention. When their gazes turned to us, they all gasped at the poised jedi.

"Morning, troops," Skywalker greeted happily. I could feel how much he was bubbling at their presence. What a show off. I smiled to myself as even Windu's force signature warmed in the presence of the kids. Ironic that they adored them so much, but still felt no guilt at sending these boys to war in a few short years.

"Welcome aboard the jedi cruiser, Endurance. I am Mace Windu and this is-"

"Anakin Skywalker," the younger jedi butt in, making my bite my lips to hold back an amused smile. "Welcome aboard. Today, you will see how a real, working jedi cruiser operates. And you'll have the chance to serve right alongside two jedi knights."

Beside me, Windu shook his head, clearly both amused and exasperated at Anakin's need to show off. The cadets burst with excitement as they muttered amongst themselves.

"Generals," a clone's voice said behind me, making us all turn. It was Commander Ponds. "New orders from General Kenobi await you in the war room. Immediately."

"Another time, then," Skywalker sighed to the cadets, making me chuckle.

As we walked away, Windu did his best to tame his amusement. "You seem more disappointed than our cadets."

"It's our job to instruct and inspire," Anakin argued.

"You just wanted to show off."

"Hey, when I show off, it is instructive...and inspiring."

I laughed at their bickering now, listening to Windu mutter, "For you, maybe." They stepped into the lift, Ponds on their heels, but Windu then turned to me. "Kida, you saw training for cadets when you were younger, yes?"

I swallowed, knowing where this was going already and dreading it. "A bit. It's not like I'm an expert."

"Maybe not," he said, arms crossing. "But you know a good fighter when you see one." It wasn't a question, so I didn't answer. Instead, I merely tilted my head with raised eyebrows, waiting for him to continue. "I'd like you to take over for us. Watch over the cadets and see how they do. They're on their way to meet Admiral Killian for target practice."

"You want me to babysit."

"I want you to observe," Windu pressed over Anakin's chuckles at my response. "Are you questioning an order? Need I remind you that you're now a soldier in this army?"

I lifted my hands in mock surrender. "Relax, jedi," I laughed. "Anything is better than more strategy meetings."

Anakin grumbled something in disappointed agreement as I walked away, leaving them to head to the war room. I walked through the halls easily, troopers nodding to me as I passed. They all knew who I was now. I heard them whisper 'Fett' behind my back, usually with some type of awe.

It was weird how a name could earn you that when most of these men had never even seen me fire my pistol.

Still, to my face, they knew to just call me Kida.

The door hissed open, revealing the band of cadets, their instructor, and Admiral Gillian. "Admiral," I said, announcing my presence. "General Windu requested I be their eyes for your drill. Do you mind?"

"Ah, miss Kida," he greeted in his heavy accent. He turned to the cadets, gesturing to me. "This is Kida Fett." I flinched when he said my name, feeling the surprise from the boys. One, however, seethed with anger. I couldn't pinpoint him in the surge of emotions, though. That was weird… "She doesn't have an official rank in our military yet," he announced, a bit of ice in his tone. Still, I couldn't help but grin as he continued. "Not that it matters. She knows what she's talking about and isn't likely to listen to orders from anyone but myself of the Generals. Even then, it's questionable," he mumbled, giving me a look. I shrugged at him in mild amusement. "I suppose that's what you get for bringing a bounty hunter into a war."

I smirked at the room, moving to stand behind the clone on the turret-Breaker, I believed his name was. The admiral nodded at the clone, who released a skeet before shooting it down with one pull of the trigger.

"Looks easy, doesn't it?" Admiral Killian asked the cadets, pacing before them. "Well, looks can be deceiving. There's nothing more dangerous in all of space than a moving target." My eyebrow quirked, thinking about how there was a lot of dangerous things in space that you couldn't shoot down with a turret. Still, I held my tongue, choosing not to interrupt the lesson.

"What do you use for targets, sir?" a cadet asked, my ears pricking. It was a bit like how Boba used to sound, but higher. More accented, even. I looked closely at the boy, seeing well-kept brown hair, a lock curling delicately over his forehead.

"Malfunctioning droids," Breaker responded from beside me, making me chuckle as R2 beeped uncomfortably.

Killian gave us a look before answering honestly. "Mechanical skeet, packed with explosives. Now, this is my ship and my rules. I do not allow tourists on board." He sent a meaningful glance my way, but I merely rolled my eyes. "Only soldiers. Now, time for target practice. You there," he said to the one who had asked the question. "Take the gun."

The kid was determined, leaping forward onto the turret immediately. He took a moment to get adjusted, one of the cadets looking at me. He was blond with his hair cut short...much like how Rex looked when he was younger.

"Can you shoot these like he can?" he asked, gesturing to Breaker.

"Of course I can," I lied quickly. "Now watch." He looked back as Breaker launched a skeet, the cadet in the turret firing continuously.

"Not even close," Breaker announced, leaning back in his chair. "Next."

"But I only-"

"Oh no, you're done," Killian cut off the protesting cadet. "You only get one chance. I promise you, the Separatists don't give more. Next."

The boy reluctantly got up from the turret, their instructor pushing the next frightened cadet forward. As he tried to hit the next skeet, my gaze shifted to a cadet with long brown hair, his nose crinkled and eyes dark. Everything about him screamed Boba...but it wasn't. Boba was running around in his father's ship somewhere, refusing to contact me.

I looked away as Breaker spoke. "Near miss is still a miss, kid."

"Sergeant's right," Killian agreed. "Training is no match for experience. And it's the one thing none of you have." The boy who reminded me most of Boba fixed the admiral with a steely gaze. "I know that look," Killian said, gesturing for the boy to take a seat in the turret.

Breaker launched the skeet before the kid could even get in, but he still managed to aim swiftly, taking only one shot where the others had fired continuously. He hit it, my eyebrows lifting beside Breaker. The soldier glanced at me briefly while the cadets cheered for their brother.

"I see why they call you Lucky," Breaker said, finally giving me a name for the kid other than 'boy who painfully reminds me of Boba.' "Well let's see how you are when Seppies come at you in tri-attack formation." I watched the clone hit a sequence of buttons before launching three skeets.

Lucky barely even flinched, his thumb pressing gently on the trigger mechanism to take out the three skeets. The cadets erupted into cheers again, but a chill fell over me.

"Alright alright, cut the chatter, men," the cadet instructor said, quieting them. "We're due on Observation Deck 13. Fall out!"

Breaker rose beside me, nudging my shoulder. "You alright?" I nodded, but my gaze stayed on the cadet known as Lucky. Everything in my being told me he was Boba, despite that being impossible. But the anger that seethed inside the cadet didn't belong in the group of hopeful youths. What had happened to him to cause him to be that way?

As the cadets left the room, Killian glanced at both Breaker and myself. "Now that's a cadet to watch."

I pressed my lips into a line. "I agree," I said darkly, watching the long hair of the angry cadet.

"Well," Killian mused. "Was your observation sufficient for the jedi?"

I shook my head, amused. "It better be. I'm not a babysitter."

The admiral hummed lowly. "Walk with me," he invited, leaving the room. I gave a farewell nod to Breaker before hurrying after the admiral. "You seemed rattled by clone cadet Lucky's ability. Why is that?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."

The bearded man gave me an incredulous look. "I'm sure you do."

Finally, I sighed. "He reminded me of Boba."

"Jango's boy?" the admiral asked, surprising me. Not everyone was told about Jango's clone son.

"Yeah. He and I were really close...once."

"What happened?"

I shrugged. "The war. Jango's death...tore us apart. Boba puts some of the blame on me for his father's death. He says I should've stepped in and killed Windu."

Admiral Killian hummed beside me. "I knew there was some tension between you and the general," he mused. "I just didn't realize it was so deep-rooted."

"It's really not," I argued, knowing that the tension was more about my apparent Sith ancestry. But then again, maybe my distrust of Windu did stem from the fact that he killed the only father I knew...despite my understanding that Jango's choices were his own. He led to his death...he knew what he was getting into.

"Have you tried reaching out to your brother?" The question was surprisingly jarring. "Recently, I mean."

I shook my head. "No. When I tried to reach him a year or so ago, he told me he wanted nothing to do with me. I figured that...he needed time. Space."

"Maybe he wanted you to chase after him."

"Well, then he should have said that," I grumbled, making Killian laugh good-naturedly.

He turned to me in the hall, making me pause. "I understand this is difficult for you. But you are a soldier now and under my command for the time that you're aboard my ship. You need to try and put your past aside and do your duty." His hand touched my shoulder, surprising me with his gentleness. He was an amazing admiral, well-known within the Republic. He ran a tight ship and could be brutal at times. Still, he seemed to have a soft side, too. "Can you do that for me, Miss Fett?"

I flinched, but smiled. "Only if you can find it in yourself to call me Kida."

He frowned slightly, but nodded. "Only until they give you a legitimate rank," he allowed, giving me a small smile.

"Thank you, Admiral. I-" my voice cut out as the force rippled through the ship.

Killian's brows furrowed. "Kida? Are you alright?"

I went to answer, but the hallways lit up with red, the alarm pulsing loudly. I tapped my wrist comms immediately, the admiral leaning close to listen. "Anakin," I called into it. "What's going on?"

"An explosion in Windu's quarters," his voice responded, Killian and I sharing a look of fear.

"Windu?"

"Alive. One of our men triggered the explosive. Meet me there, Kida."

"I'll be there soon." I nodded to the admiral, who dismissed me quickly as he made his way towards the bridge to run diagnostics on his ship.

I ran through the halls, the clones moving out of my way as I found the path to Windu's quarters. The walls were charred and warped from the explosion. Whatever the trap had been, it was meant to kill Windu specifically.

"You're lucky to be alive," I heard Skywalker say from inside the room. I approached the door, seeing Windu standing in the wreckage. "And our trooper?"

"Dead," Windu responded, a darkness in his voice.

"This was no accident," Anakin mused, neither of them noticing me in the doorway.

"Agreed."

The ceiling sparked where wires and power converters had been damaged, barely illuminating the warped doorframe of the private room. I knelt, my eyes scanning the room. I'd seen explosions like this before. A tap to the mechanism behind my ear brought my goggles down to my face, the interface lighting up.

"Apex," I spoke lowly, making the jedi aware of my presence. They turned to look at me, but said nothing as I worked. "Analyze the blast zone."

"With pleasure, miss," the AI responded smoothly. I watched calmly as Apex's processors went over the trajectories of the blast marks and burns.

"Ship's navigation is nearby," Anakin mused, trying to determine the reasoning for the bomb.

"Admiral," Windu said into his comms while I continued examining the room quietly. "Has the ship's navigation been damaged?"

"Hobbled, not destroyed," Killian responded, having made it to the bridge to assess the status of his ship. "Systems are repairable. I've ordered shutdown of all engines until we are fully operational. We'll hold off it over Vanqor."

"We'll be sitting ducks," I mumbled, still watching Apex analyze the room.

Anakin felt the same way, asking, "Any sign of attack ships?"

"None, but we'll keep scanning. Until we get navigation back, the Endurance is a fat and easy target." It seemed the admiral agreed with me as well. "I won't have it. Killian out!"

"If navigation wasn't the target, then hitting your quarters was intentional," Anakin stated as Windu signed off the comms.

"You're right," I added in, falling into step with them as they exited the destroyed room. "An analysis of the room shows that the explosion originated at the bottom corner of your door. It was likely a trip-laser bomb." I looked between the jedi, settling my gaze on Windu. "Meaning that the bomb was specifically for you, Master Jedi."

The jedi hummed lowly. "I missed it by inches," he lamented, his grief for the lost soldier shocking me. "We must find whoever did this."

As we entered the war room to the group of amassed soldiers, I couldn't help but chew my cheeks in thought. "How could have anyone gotten aboard without us knowing?"

"That's the question," Anakin whispered to me as Windu addressed the room.

"We have a killer on board this ship and we are locked in dead space." He leaned onto the holomap table, his mind reeling.

Skywalker jumped in, grinning slightly. "Just like our assassin. We'll form an unbroken line of troopers and scour the ship from bow to stern, checking every corridor, bulkhead, and storage unit."

"I want him alive." Windu's tone was dark. Commanding. Maybe even angry. Ironic, that he didn't trust me for the darkness that supposedly lurked in my DNA, but paid no heed to the darkness that was so obviously within him.

I stepped away from the jedi, following Commander Ponds and his men from the room.

"Where are you going?" Windu asked, the situation obviously putting him on edge.

I lifted my eyebrow at him, turning back. "To help look. Or is that not allowed." Even Skywalker looked confused, looking to his fellow jedi with concern.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"It's just-" Windu hesitated to say what was on his mind, but I chuckled.

"So now I'm a suspect in this?"

"What?" Anakin was even more confused. I supposed that, he not being on the Jedi Council, he wasn't aware of my heritage.

"I didn't say that."

I crossed my arms, giving Windu a small smirk. Sure, it was annoying. But some part of me-the sadistic part that loved being a bounty hunter and respected in the lower regions of Coruscant-found it rather amusing. I mean, how many people could rattle a jedi just by existing? Not many. I decided to take it as a compliment. It was better this way. I didn't want to become too predictable.

"You didn't have to," I argued, my voice a mix of mockery and ice. "But don't worry. I was angry with you for some time for the death of my father, but I don't blame you anymore."

Windu's eyebrow lifted. "Is that so?"

"He chose his side," I shrugged. "He was threatening you. Threatening your family," I gestured to Anakin to imply the Jedi Order as a whole. "I'd have killed anyone threatening my family too."

"But you didn't."

I frowned at the dark jedi. "Careful. I didn't set this bomb, but don't tempt me to set the next." Anakin shook his head at me, knowing I was joking. Still, Windu was tense. A large part of me found it funny. "But no, I didn't. And that's something I have to live with now. But in the end, Jango made his choice. He knew what he was getting into."

I turned to leave, the jedi standing in silence. I stopped, glancing over my shoulder.

"In reality, Master Windu," I mused aloud. "Had I joined the fray, you probably would have killed me too." It wasn't a question, so he didn't respond. But the whole room knew it to be true.

Though, as I left the room to wander the corridors on my own, I wondered if Windu doubted that. Maybe he didn't fear me, but some part of him reacted with fear in my presence. I could feel it. It was suspicion and distrust, but those are both rooted in fear of what I could do.

I wondered if he could feel my precision growing. It was finicky and taking time, especially since I didn't have any real teacher. But from watching the jedi work, feeling their minds become a tranquil pond of water before using the force...it was guiding me in the right direction.

I still had no control over the visions, despite them still being around. It seemed I would get glimpses of memories when I was in the presence of someone reliving them. But they had to share them with me. I couldn't dive into any person's head and find memories.

Or could I?

I was curious, I couldn't lie, but something about that felt wrong. Invasive. Like I was going where I wasn't invited. Sure, I'd broken into more places than I could count, but those were simply that-places. They weren't minds and memories. Souls.

"You seem lost in thought, Miss Kida." The accented voice of the admiral pulled me from my thoughts as I walked the halls.

I gave him a soft smile. "I was," I admitted with a shrug. "Good thing I'm not on the sweeping parties."

To my surprise, the admiral chuckled. "I'm on my way to meet with Generals Skywalker and Windu. Care to escort me?" I found myself hesitating, Killian catching my pause. "Is there some trouble between you?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

I shook my head, laughing gently as I fell into step with him. "No," I said, before quickly adding, "Sir."

Killian mimicked my soft chuckle. "I wonder if the military life is truly for you. You don't seem to respond well to authority."

I smirked, just barely keeping myself from brushing my fingers along the inner side of my wrist gauntlet-in the place covering my brand. Still, Killian caught the small movement, his eyes flickering to my arm and back to my eyes. "I admit that's true," I offered. "Authority and I have never had a great relationship."

He hummed. "You're a lot like Skywalker in that way. It's no wonder you two get along so well."

"We didn't always." I found myself laughing at the memories of Anakin's suspicious looks and mistrusting gazes. "He didn't like me much in the beginning, nor I him."

"Is that so?"

"Well sure," I admitted. "I was a bounty hunter, he a jedi. We're on opposite ends of the moral spectrum."

Killian, despite chuckling, hummed thoughtfully. "I think that's a rather stereotyped view. And not one that applies to you."

"Why? You think I have anything akin to a moral high ground?"

The admiral fixed me with a look. "I think you act more carefree than you are. I've heard about you, Kida Fett." I did my best not to flinch at the name. It seemed the GAR insisted on it remaining.

"Have you?"

"Indeed. The bounty hunter who risks her life for fellow hunters, as well as senators, jedi, and even clones." He lifted his brow at me. "So, yes. I think you do have a good moral high ground, even if you pretend that you don't. You may have others fooled-perhaps even yourself fooled-but not me. I see who you are. What kind of warrior you are."

I swallowed thickly, uncomfortable with how forward Killian was with his observations of me. Maybe he was right. Sure, I usually didn't think twice about shooting someone, but I'd probably feel bad if they were a good person, right?

And, it wasn't beyond my knowledge that the jedi were doing quite a bit of killing in this war, too. Maybe they didn't do it for money like I had, but they weren't technically any better morally than me? Right?

Or maybe I was just kidding myself because I certainly didn't follow any creed like the jedi did.

"Our sweep has now covered over half the ship, Admiral," Skywalker said, pulling me from my thoughts yet again. Killian fell into step with Anakin and Windu, a team of troopers walking behind us.

"Still no sign of the assassin," Windu reported.

"The more ground we cover," Killian mused. "The less there is in which to hide."

My senses tickled at the back of my mind, practically screaming that something was wrong. Suddenly, a blast went off behind us, ripping a hole in the side of the ship. As the terrible, forboding sucking of the vacuum of space began pulling us back, I immediately threw out my hand. I quick click of a button sent my cable into the wall, keeping me suspended in the pull of space.

A trooped slapped into me hard, sending us both crashing into the side wall. I was able to hold him long enough for him to get a grip himself, the other men being sucked into space. Anakin and Mace both had their own hand holds, likely having sensed danger just as I had. Windu was concentrating hard, the force rippling around him as he held Killian suspended in the air with sheer force of will.

There was no air to breathe by the time Anakin leapt down past me, landing at the blown hatch to hit the emergency seel. As the hole to space closed and the atmosphere rebalanced, all of us hit the ground, gasping for breath.

"Thanks for the save," the clone trooper said to me, panting and helping me to my feet. I gave him a breathless nod as he touched my shoulder gently.

"What was that?" Windu asked the room, helping Killian up.

"The reactor, is my guess," I answered, resetting the cable on my wrist gauntlet in case any more holes decided to spontaneously appear in the Endurance. The ship shifted under our feet, merely enforcing my guess. "It seems whoever planted that bomb is pretty mad you're not dead."

Windu hummed while Anakin stepped forward. "We need to evacuate the ship. We're too close to Vanqor's atmosphere, especially now that we have no functioning engines."

"I need to head towards the bridge," Killian announced. "Kida, you should join me for now."

I glanced at Skywalker and Anakin, who both gave me nods. "Master Skywalker and I will check the reactor."

We parted ways, Killian moving at a brisk pace that I could only define as one tier below running, but still managing to look professional. As we neared the bridge, the ship shifting under our feet, we spotted the group of touring cadets, their teacher before them.

Killian let out a brave, carefree huff of laughter. "More action than you signed up for, hey boys?" I stood behind him with the smallest of grins. I hadn't known Admiral Killian for long, but I knew I liked him. He had a fire about him, but also a calm gentleness that put others around him at ease.

"We're headed for the safe room now, sir," their instructor announced.

"Fine, fine," the admiral mumbled, his eyes flickering to me. We both knew the ship was mostly burning in the aft, since the reactor was blown. There was no such thing as a safe room, now that the ship was going to crash. "Although, on second thought, let's make a drill of it. Head for the pods."

"Escape pods?" one of the cadets whispered. "Things must be bad!"

"Escape pods, sir?" their instructor asked for them, equally as confused.

Killian gave a grunt of confirmation. "I want to see what they're made of. I'll even time you." He winked at the cadets, making me smile lightly. Despite his record of being an impeccable, and maybe even harsh, admiral, he certainly had his soft spots. "It'll all make a fine story when you return to your base."

"This can't be happening," one of the cadets worried.

Another quickly responded. "Get ahold of yourself."

I chuckled as they walked past us, my smile dissolving as I noticed the one called Lucky was missing. As was his force signature of unbridled rage. I wondered, just for a moment, if it could be Boba's handiwork. He held a grudge against Windu for the death of his father. But would Boba do this? Had he fallen that far?

I shook myself. It couldn't be Boba, despite how much the cadet reminded me of him. Boba wouldn't do something like this. I knew he wouldn't. It was all coincidental similarities.

"Prepare to launch the distress beacon," the admiral said to his soldier, the cadets out of earshot. "We're going down." I moved to follow the admiral towards the bridge, but he touched my shoulder gently. "No, I believe it's time you evacuated with the troops."

"Evacuated? But-"

"No buts, soldier," he said firmly, but his voice was still surprisingly warm. "I'd like you to ensure the cadets make it off safely. Keep an eye on that good shooter. See how he does under pressure."

I sighed. "Yes, sir."

"This isn't a punishment, Kida," he insisted. "You don't have your shuttle aboard, so you'd need to go to an escape pod anyways. Do this for me."

Finally, I nodded. "Yes, sir." I touched his hand on my shoulder. "Be safe, Admiral."

The bearded man smirked and nodded before running off. I turned tail to chase after the cadets. "Sergeant!" I called, thankful I didn't leave anything valuable in my room.

"Miss Fett," he said, making me wince.

"Kida is fine," I insisted. "The admiral has instructed me to keep watch over you and your cadets."

He gave me a firm nod. "You're most welcome. Though," he added in a low voice. "I ask you test them, rather than lead?"

"That's less work for me," I joked, making him smile gently.

"Take pods one and two," he announced, leading the cadets into the pod bay. "Set rendezvous coordinates with the other pods at a safe distance from the cruiser."

I followed one of the groups of four up, seeing Lucky had found his way back to his brothers.

"See you at rendezvous Mark 6," the sergeant said, giving me a nod as I passed him into the pod. "This is the moment, men," he said to the cadets who were taking their places. "Make it yours."

He closed the door behind us, the one with the curl in his hair glancing at me expectantly. I waved at him dismissively. "You heard your Sergeant," I said with a grin. "Make the moment yours. Take the helm, cadet…?"

"Jax, sir," he completed for me. I appreciated that he didn't call me Miss Fett like everyone else apparently insisted on doing. I nodded to him, watching as he took lead. The kid would likely lead his own squadron one day. I saw a bit of Rex in him. Listened to authority. Listened to rules. But clearly had his own spunk and a knack for leading.

We launched as I sat back, mulling over how my life had changed so drastically in such a short time. All because I decided to save a senator's life.

Or, if we really wanted to go back to the beginning…all because I decked a clone in the nose. I grinned to myself. I missed Jesse and the 501st. They were a true band of misfits, but I think that's why both Skywalker and I loved them so much. They were a family-Ahsoka and Anakin included, despite the obvious chain of command.

The escape pod shuddered horrible, my hand gripping the wall as we lost control. "The pod's malfunctioned!" Jax called, doing his best to hold the joysticks. I stood up between their seats, gripping the back of Jax's to look over the consoles. Through the viewport, I saw the other pods stopping as we zipped by.

"You missed the rendezvous," the blond cadet exclaimed, gripping his seat nervously.

"I can't stop it!" Jax yelled, my eyes still scanning.

"Hold her as steady as you can," I instructed calmly, leaning over his chair. "The straighter our trajectory, the easier it will be for General Skywalker to find us."

"Will they come looking?" the blond asked. I lifted my eyebrow at him and nodded my head. "Hotshot, sir."

"Yes," I said after he introduced himself. "They will. So keep her steady."

"Yes, sir," Jax said immediately, fighting the pull of the joysticks. I watched him closely, aware of the angry cadet in the corner. I sensed worry off of him now. Good. At least he had an emotion other than rage.

When the pod slowed, I moved to the back panelling, running a quick diagnostic with what power was left.

"We're lost," Jax announced as we stopped, floating in dead space.

"What happened?" Hotshot asked, clearly losing his cool. "Do we still have control?"

Jax sighed. "Navigation's shot. Looks like our pod was damaged in the escape."

"Can we steer?" the other brunette cadet asked.

"No."

"How about fuel?" Hotshot certainly wasn't living up his nickname today.

"No feed," Jax said lowly. "We're dead weight."

"So what do we do?"

"Our jobs." Jax was trying to be encouraging, I'm sure, but I couldn't help but chuckle.

Hotshot didn't like that. "Is something funny to you?"

"Stop it, she's our commanding officer," Jax tried, but the other cadets didn't really listen.

"She doesn't even have a rank."

I looked at them out of the corner of my eye, lifting my brow. "You're right. But I can guarantee that I've killed more men and destroyed more droids than all of you combined." I smiled grimly as I found what I was looking for on the panel, my eyes scanning over the diagnostics. "As a good friend of mine often says, experience outranks everything."

"So?" Hotshot asked, making my eyebrow lift again. "I still don't see what's funny."

I gestured to the dead pod. "What exactly do you boys think your jobs are right now?" They stared at me in silence, so I sat beside the panel as it continued to compute the information I wanted. "Consider this a quiz."

Jax swallowed thickly. "To repair the pod."

"Okay, how?"

"Well we could get navigation back online," the brunette I didn't know responded.

"To what purpose?"

"To…" He didn't have an answer.

"We don't have fuel," Hotshot muttered, finally meeting my eye.

"Correct. So your best shot is to try and send communications, which is unlikely considering escape pods have short range comms and we are rather far from anyone else." I clicked the panel a few times. "So, if Jax did his job well, the jedi will find us soon."

Jax sighed, leaning heavily in his chair. "We messed up. This is horrible."

"Not necessarily," I hummed, pressing my lips together. "You all actually did well, except for one."

"What do you mean?" Hotshot asked. Fear went through the room, but from Lucky in particular.

I gestured to the panel. "The flaps were opened shortly after we ejected." I looked to Jax. "Your joysticks. Were they pulling in one direction more than others?"

"Yes, sir, they were."

"You lost a flap, that's why."

"But why would our flaps deploy so early?" the brunette asked.

I grinned, leaning back. "Now that's the question, isn't it?" A cold feeling washed over my chest, pulling my smile from my lips. A shadow passed over us, my eyes flicking upward at the deep hum of an engine. "I know that sound," I whispered more to myself than the cadets.

"What was that?" Hotshot asked.

"I don't know," Jax responded beside him, both peering out the viewport. "A ship, I think."

I saw engines pass by us-two dots and a long line beneath of glowing yellow. "That's Slave I," I whispered, Lucky watching me with wide eyes. "Boba?" I breathed, looking out the viewport to try and catch another glimpse.

"Rescue ship?" the brunette said hopefully.

"It's...too early," Jax reasoned correctly.

A mechanical whirring turned our attentions to the access hatch. Whoever it was...they were docking. The apprehension in the pod couldn't disguise the mild pride that came from the one called Lucky.

I turned to him, my eyes widening as my lips parted slightly. "Boba?" I whispered. He looked at me with shock, matching my expression only briefly before the hatch hissed open. We were met with two figures-neither of which I was pleased to see.

"Well," Aurra Sing said mockingly from her place beside Bossk. "What do we have here?" She moved forward elegantly, looking around at the cadets. "You boys look lost."

"Stay away from them, Aurra," I warned, drawing my pistols and leveling them at her.

"Kida," she smiled at me darkly. "What a pleasant surprise."

"I'd say the same, but it's really not pleasant to see you at all."

She frowned at me, but ignored me for now, looking down at Lucky...or Boba. "Congratulations Boba," she said, leaning down over him. "Job well done."

"His name's not Boba," Jax said bravely, stepping forward. "He's Lucky."

"Lucky?" Aurra laughed. "That's a good one."

"You're with her?" Jax asked, shocked.

"Jax," I warned. "Get behind me."

"I wasn't expecting you to bring friends along," Aurra said darkly, looking around at our group. She knew the only reason I hadn't shot her yet was because Bossk had his barrel pointed at me.

"I couldn't help it, Aurra," Boba defended himself. My heart clenched in my chest, knowing he turned to her...rather than me. "What are you gonna do with them?"

"What do you think?"

"Let them go?" There was the innocent Boba I once knew. My anger began to rise, watching Aurra corrupt my little brother.

She scoffed, frustrated with him. "They're living witnesses, honey."

"You won't be touching a hair on their heads, Aurra," I growled, taking a step closer. Bossk hissed at me, but didn't shoot just yet.

She lifted her brow. "Defending clones now, I see. You've fallen so far, Kida. Look at the path you've chosen."

"Oh? And what of the path you're leading Boba down? He might not see you for what you are, but I do."

"And what's that?" she laughed.

"A lying, scheming, selfish shabuir!" I spit, the cadets all raising their eyebrows at my language. I'm sure they'd heard it before from their brothers, but not from anyone outside the core.

Aurra rolled her eyes, looking back at Bossk. He fired at me and I didn't even have time to react. Thankfully, his blaster was on stun, so I wasn't murdered on the spot. But boy, did it hurt. I grit my teeth, groaning through them as I fell to the ground, my pistols falling from my paralyzed hands.

"That was never part of the plan!" Boba argued, looking down at me. My vision was hazy as I fought to stay conscious, pushing myself to my knees weakly. "I just wanted to kill the jedi that murdered my father!"

"Well that will have to wait," Aurra spit. "Grow up! You'll get your revenge in time. Now get on board."

"Boba," I groaned, trying to get to my feet. "She's using you. Don't do this!" Boba hesitated at my words, his eyes darting between me and his current mentor.

"Bossk," Aurra growled, another stun hitting me in the chest. I cried out, falling to the ground. "Bring her, too," she said as an afterthought.

"What?" Boba asked, fear in his voice.

"You always said she wronged your father by not stepping in. An imposter with the Fett name, right?" My brother was quiet now at Aurra's words. My vision was all but gone as I felt Bossk's rough claws pick me up.

"Don't touch her!" the cadets cried, but were shoved back by the massive Trandoshan. I admired their bravery for trying to help me, but I couldn't even move my arms, not to mention speak.

"Even if Boba doesn't want revenge," I heard Aurra say softly as the doors hissed close behind me, near passing out entirely. "I wouldn't mind some of my own."

The last thing I felt were her long fingers gripping my chin before I was thrown harshly to the ground, crumpling into a paralyzed heap.

If Jango could see us now…

MANDO'A

Shabuir- motherfucker

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hi everyone! I was really excited to get Kida into this arc, since it will open up some interesting interactions between her and Boba (as well as Aurra).

So time to answer some questions.

I've had a lot of people express interest in her connection to Embo? I hadn't really intended for that to be super significant. I've just always loved Embo as a character and thought he was a pretty respectful bounty hunter. He seemed like the type that Kida would get along with-not super talkative but highly productive.

Maybe I'll do a flashback or something where we see them together. But apart from a respectful acquaintanceship/maybe friendship(?) they're not like part of a team or anything. They're just friends within the same field of work.

Someone mentioned the Mandalorian helmet. I chose not to make her have one due to wanting a separation from Jango. Despite being his adopted daughter, she had a life before him. In addition, I always kinda figured that her armor was sort of totally stolen or something (considering I assumed Boba inherited Jango's) so maybe she doesn't have all the parts. Most of the choice went to that I wanted her to 1. Not always have her face covered (I know it's not a visual show, but she's expressive and I wanted people to be able to react to her face) and 2. To have her own unique spin on the bounty hunter/armor getup.

Someone also wondered if I'd be using the Republic Commando series. While I have immense respect for them, I admit that I'm not as well versed in them. Thus, I probably won't include them because I wouldn't be able to do that content the justice it deserves.

Finally, I know there hasn't been a whole lot of Rex interaction. I promise it'll come back. We have had character development on his side with the deserter story, so now it's Kida's turn! Then we can get back to some slow burn!

-Ryder