Chapter Seventy-Two: Duel

"If you win, I'll join Death Watch." Vizsla fixed me with a confused stare, so I continued, swallowing thickly. "I'll join your ranks and fight for you." His expression grew a bit darker, but not with anger. It was the same expression the patrons of my club would wear while leering at my dancers. Lust. My whole body trembled and all I wanted to do was burn up into nothingness in that moment. But I forced the words out softly. "And I'll obey every order."

His blond, scarred brow lifted with the smallest of smirks on his lips. "Every order?"

"Don't do this," Lux said suddenly, earning a hard punch in the gut from a warrior. The boy wheezed and I remembered the debt I owed.

I steeled myself, remembering to clear my mind. "Every order," I repeated with a raspy voice, staring at Vizsla. He approached, swinging his blade over my head and slicing down. He walked around me in a circle as my bindings fell loosely to the frozen ground.

I stood slowly, not letting myself flinch as he leaned close to whisper in my ear, "I look forward to….welcoming you back." My fist clenched, but I said nothing as he strode away, lifting his Darksaber in the air above his head. "I accept the challenge!" He was met with a roar of cheers.

"Kida," Bonteri hissed quietly. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Saving our shebse," I responded, rolling my shoulders to loosen the tightness there. He looked mildly confused by the language, but he was smart enough to infer what it had meant. "Just be ready to get out of here." The boy listened, letting the Death Watch warriors escort him to where they'd circled to watch.

"And what weapon do you request for our duel?" Vizsla asked with arrogance, muttering, "As if it would make a difference."

I was really looking forward to punching him really really hard. "My own," I smirked, glancing sideways at the white and blue astromech I'd come to adore. "R2!" I yelled to him, the droid beeping wildly before launching my lightsaber into the air. His aim was perfect, the saber falling into my outstretched hand easily. I smiled genuinely at the happy hum of my kyber crystal in my hand, igniting the white blade with a relaxed flourish.

Vizsla's nose crinkled in distaste, his mind turning with confusion. He shoved it down in order to charge me, swinging his blade. But I was ready for something that simple, blocking him with my own saber. We swung and parried and danced around each other, the high-pitched whir of the Darksaber whistling in my ears as it skimmed past my unarmored body.

Our blades slammed together, our opposing colors blurring and sparkling together. "I'll admit, you're certainly not the girl I taught a lesson to years ago." He was trying to intimidate me by making me remember the horrible things they'd done to me. But I heard his heaving, tired breaths. And he didn't know a thing about me.

"You have no idea what you just got yourself into," I chuckled, giving him a dark smile over our sparking sabers.
One of Vizsla's hands dropped off his hilt, aiming his wrist gauntlet at me. Oh boy. He gave me a dark smile as he fired. I ducked around the shots, letting the Force guide me gently. I lifted my blade, deflecting one back into his arm. Smoke billowed from the destroyed mechanism, earning a terrible roar of anger from him.

Using the jetpack for an extra boost, he leapt into the air to crash his blade down over me. I rolled to the side easily, holding my white saber before me in a guard. He used his jetpack again, throwing detonators at the ground.

I dove away, but still felt the heat of the blast. More flew past me, making me sprint beneath him and to his other side. My feet sliding over the slick ground, I turned to throw my free hand backwards, my fingers outstretched.

The detonator Vizsla had thrown stopped in the air. Thank the Force. With every ounce of contempt I felt for him, I shoved the detonator back into the air. It exploded near the warrior, throwing him from his course and rocketing into the ground.

I didn't give him a chance to collect himself, rushing him with my blade spinning deftly. His other gauntlet reached out, firing a trip line. It cinched my ankles together, making me pitch forward. I disengaged my lightsaber as I tucked into a roll, re-igniting it to let it slice between the wire on my way back to my feet.

Vizsla rolled away, my blade drawing burning lines in the frozen ground as I chased him. He made it to his back, the Darksaber igniting to block my next attack. Our blades sparked and spit, and I almost had him pinned. I probably would have, if my leg wasn't so sore, or my body so bruised from being dragged to camp.

He kicked where he'd shot me the night before, making me cry out and nearly collapse on top of him. Vizsla tried to twist his blade to injure me, but my plan had worked. I had spent enough time among Death Watch to know that they didn't necessarily abide by the honor code of the old Mandalorians. In reality, their ferocity and determination stemmed from pride, rather than honor.

And in Vizsla's case...greed.

He not only wanted Mandalore to be the warrior state it had once been, but he desperately wanted to lead the planet there. He wanted to power. Control.

And the thought of having complete control over me...a Force-wielder who was a trained bounty hunter...especially one with an issue with authority.

It was enough to make him blind with excitement. He wasn't going for the kill anymore, because he desperately wanted me to serve him unquestioningly.

So his twisting blade was almost easy to duck away from. Had he been trying to kill me-as much as I hated to admit it-he likely would have in that moment.

My vision was swimming from the contact he'd made to my tender wound. Still, I was able to back off of him quickly, taking a moment to breathe and steady myself. It gave Vizsla a chance to find his feet again, his scar crinkling as he gave me a smug grin.

"Getting tired?" he asked, "Best to save your energy, girl." The Darksaber spun in his hold, the air crackling with its energy. "You're going to need it later."

I growled lowly, that darkness in me rearing its head again. My hand thrust out before I could even think about it, a ripple of pure energy bursting through me. It splayed out across the frozen ground like a tidal wave, shifting the loose snow and battering Vizsla backwards. He, being a descendant of the very Mandalorians who fought Jedi, was prepared.

Vizsla crouched low under the onslaught, digging his saber into the ground to keep himself from sliding. I barely gave him a moment before I was after him again, crashing my blade against his repeatedly.

His wrist gauntlet clicked, making me dive backwards as fire erupted from the nozzle. It was hot like the twin suns on Tatooine as I was pinned between Vizsla's flamethrower and the blazing bonfire at the center of camp. It cast ghastly shadows of our spectators, my anxiety and emotions climbing to a dangerous level.

The flames from my attacker ceased, only to be replaced with a mixture of blaster fire and his slashing blade. I did my best to defend myself, letting the misfired shots disappear into the fire behind me, blocking all I could.

But the truth was that I was tired. Staying up most of the night in a desperate attempt to speed up the healing of my leg, as well the continued fighting, and being dragged back to camp over frozen ground... They had done their damage.

My blocks were getting weaker, my arms growing heavier. Everyone could see it. I felt Vizsla's cocky triumph. The excitement of the Death Watch. The fear of the few native women they still held captive. And Bonteri's terror.

Our blades crashed together, sparking with angry light as our faces drew near. I was glad to see that mine was not the only face shining with sweat. My arms were shaking, my injured leg throbbing painfully. Still, beneath all his excitement and pride, I could sense that he was growing tired, too.

Vizsla was speaking. From his lips poured horrible things. Promises of what he would do. Reminders of things he'd done in the past. My whole body trembled with fear, but also anger.

The Force reached out, licking up my spine like a tremor. Or was that the flames of the bonfire nipping at my back?

I shook my worry away, my eyes sliding closed. "You've gotten stronger," Vizsla commented darkly. "But not strong enough." Vizsla continued to speak, but I'd tuned him out. I felt the heat of the fire behind me, as well as that of the blades locked before me. I felt the pressure of holding my lightsaber in place, my wrists growing sore.

I shoved it all aside, as I had become rather good at it through my training, and dove headfirst into the cool energy that buzzed gently in my mind. The Force was welcoming. Refreshing like a Nabooian stream.

But also dangerous, with an almost unnoticeable undertow that would grab its victims and never free them. You had to fight your way out of that….

Still, I'd been communicating and forging a relationship with the Force long enough to know when it was practically yelling in my ear. So instead of arguing or worrying further...I listened.

Newfound confidence gave me a burst of energy, the Force pulsing through me with the intent of my next trick. I shoved as hard as I could against Vizsla's blade, earning myself just a moment of breathing room. But I didn't take the few precious seconds to steady myself. No...I was far from steady...yet more steady that I'd ever been.

Urging the Force to help my jump, I leaped into the air, flipping backwards through the bonfire's dancing flames. It parted for me like a kind guest, the Force creating a pocket for the hot tendrils to bend around. I landed on the other side of the bonfire, my blade disengaged and my legs wobbling. I crouched slightly to better ground myself before thrusting both of my hands towards the fire's edge, shoving all of my emotion into moving the embers,

The charred bottom of the bonfire exploded outwards and over Vizsla, knocking him backwards in a hot cyclone of wind. The billow of fire and smoke washed over our spectators. Somewhere in that chaos, R2 had found Lux and released him from his bindings. Good. That way, even if I lost, maybe Bonteri could get away.

I mentally slapped myself. I was getting away from this. Dying was one thing and a risk I took every day. But I was not letting myself die at the hands of Pre Vizsla.

I rose finally, staring over the steaming coals that remained on the bonfire to see that I'd managed to set fire to the Death Watch camp. I couldn't fight the smirk that graced my lips. Seeing the damned place burn felt like justice, even if it was more along the lines of revenge…

In the chaos of the warriors trying to stop their home from burning down, I saw a few of the bravest native girls make a break for it. None of them were even given a glance, as all attention was either on the burning tents or on Vizsla and myself.

The Death Watch leader had been hit by one of the burning logs, his feet flying up over his head before he was left sprawled on the ground. I stared him down, stepping confidently over the burning coals. They cooled quickly in the frozen air, billowing a mix of steam and smoke around me. I ignited my lightsaber, the color glowing fabulously against the raging fires.

"Stronger?" I called loudly, earning the attention of most of Death Watch again. I couldn't help the smirk and the small, confident chuckle that poured from my lips. "You have no idea." I picked up the pace, rushing the fallen warrior.

He threw a grenade, which I managed to dodge. The blast was still close enough to me that it knocked me off my feet, sending me rolling in the snow. I struggled into a crouch, calling my lightsaber back to my fist fiercely.

But then the Force shifted within Vizsla, warning me a moment before his treachery. "Jetti scum," he growled at me darkly. "Kill them both!" Vizsla screamed over his shoulder from where he was still crumpled on the ground.

"Hu'tuun!" I spit back, blocking the shots from the now attacking Death Watch with my saber. And then all hell broke loose. R2 came surging past me, all of his mechanisms whirring and electricity shooting from him. He slammed into the nearest warrior, practically mauling the man.

"Looks like R2 made some friends," Bonteri's voice said beside me, making me shift my stance to block us both. He'd found a blaster, shooting over my shoulder. He was a garbage shot, but I appreciated the effort.

Bonteri was right, droids emerging from all around to fight back against their abusers. I'd seen them using them for target practice like they were nothing. Poor things. Despite not being connected to the Force, they still had personality. They remembered and formed loyalties and had some form of a grasp on emotion. Well...most of them.

The robot uprising was what we needed. With Vizsla not abiding by traditional law, I had no chance of getting both Lux and I to safety. Our only chance was running.

"Lux, get in the speeder!" I called over my shoulder. R2 was already back from his endeavor and next to it, raring to go. His mini revolution still raged on around us. Death Watch was almost entirely distracted by the attacking droids, which R2 seemed to have equipped with weapons of their own. Bonteri obeyed immediately, running to the speeder and leaping in. The engines whirred to life, R2 rocketing into the passenger seat.

"No!" I heard Vizsla yell behind me. He fired his blaster, but I blocked the shots easily, ducking my head gracefully under the Force's gentle guidance. He rushed me, the Darksaber ringing as it swung through the air.

It seemed he didn't want me escaping.

His rage was beginning to hinder him, though. His strikes were wild and unplanned, making him easy to fend off. Still, he was aware enough that he didn't allow any openings for me to strike.

We spun together in our deadly dance, blades whirring and clashing in a spectacular light show, all cast in the wonderful glow of the burning camp. Over Vizsla's heaving shoulder, I saw Lux get the speeder moving, navigating it closer to the center of camp. That was my opening.

I ducked around Vizsla's next attack, taking an elbow to the gut. He was off-balance, though, the blow hurting, but not incapacitating me. I pressed down the pain and twisted my lightsaber to capture his. The sensation of my fist connecting hard with his cheek was like a shot of adrenaline. My knuckles split with the impact, as did his cheek. It was worth it.

Vizsla's head whipped backwards from the impact, the warrior stumbling slightly. I swung my blade, hearing a terrible scream of agony. He fell to the ground, clutching at his face in anguish. The end of my saber had slipped across the mark left by my fist, carving a dark gash that nearly matched my own.

I certainly wouldn't have made it as a Jedi, because if Bo Katan hadn't flown in and drop-kicked me across the courtyard, I would have killed Vizsla right then and there.

I rolled in the snow until I slid to a stop, finding my feet quickly. The leader of the Nite Owls drew both of her pistols, firing tirelessly in defense of Vizsla, who was still grasping his face in pain. I deflected a few of her shots before hearing the speeder's engines behind me.

Under Bo Katan's guidance, more of Death Watch gave up on saving their camp and turned to killing me instead. Admitting defeat silently, I flipped backwards in the air, landing on the back of the speeder as Lux swung it around.

"Go!" I yelled over my shoulder at him as I watched the number of rebelling droids dwindle as the warriors destroyed them ruthlessly. The speeder zipped out of the camp and through the blooming trees. I squinted through the swirling snow, trying to see the Mandalorians I was certain would pursue.

It didn't take them long, three warriors appearing among the dark clouds above us, the jetpacks leaving small trails of light. One launched a missile directly at us. I thrust my open hand out, deflecting it slightly into the rocky ledge beside us. The explosion rocked the speeder, R2 letting out a terrified scream.

I stumbled slightly atop the back of the speeder, doing my best not to slip off the side. Death Watch opened fire, the missile clearly having failed. My lightsaber hummed gently as it ignited, the blaster shots deflecting off of it in a blast of light. I twisted my blade deftly, managing to deflect a shot back and knock one of the warriors out of the sky. He hit the ground, his jetpack exploding on contact.

R2 let out a happy beep, but I could sense the anger of the warriors above us. And then I could physically feel it as one of them fell into a dive before plowing into me full-force. My lightsaber flew from my hand, falling somewhere into the seats. The man's hands wrapped around my neck, squeezing dangerously tight. I thrusted my hips up, knocking him forward, before clamping my arms down into his elbows. The pressure released, letting me suck in a big gulp of air before hooking my leg around his ankle and throwing him off the side of the speeder.

My lightsaber lost somewhere in the cockpit, I had to dodge back and forth to avoid the third warrior's shots. I didn't recognize her until she landed on the back of the speeder with me. Bo Katan.

Her aloof nature was her weakness, the over-confident woman choosing to use her first instead of continuing firing from her wrist gauntlet. But I'd been trained in hand-to-hand combat by Jango Fett. I could hold my own. I ducked her punches easily, delivering short, hard jabs to the weak points of her armor. She caught me once across the jaw, sending me reeling and almost over the side of the speeder. My vision was blurred, but I sensed her closing in. I turned, only half-balanced, to catch the foot she thrust to kick me off.

It was like time stood still as I felt her fear spike. I smirked at her before wrenching her sideways, using the momentum of her kick to throw her off the side. She tumbled to the ground harshly, the woman disappearing behind us in a flurry of snow.

Lux guided us through the trees to where we'd left the ship, the three of us climbing out swiftly. "R2, get her started," I said as we all raced aboard, the astromech letting out a series of beeps that told me he was more than ready to get off this planet.

I slipped into the pilot's chair, the engines roaring to life under R2's direction. I wasted no time on pre-flight checks, wrenching the ship into the air and racing it into the upper atmosphere. "Bonteri," I said over my shoulder, the boy looking exhausted, "Scan to see if they're following. He didn't respond, but did as I asked.

There was a tense silence as we entered space, the silence of it rather welcoming at the moment. "We're clear," Lux finally said after the scan was complete. "No one followed us."

I smiled gently as R2 rolled up beside me. I patted his head gently. "Good job, buddy," I said softly before slowly turning to the troubled son of a murdered senator. I swallowed thickly, because I was never very good at bedside manner. "I'm sorry this didn't go as you'd hoped."

Bonteri shook his head, waving his hand as if to say that it didn't matter.

I pursed my lips. "Your mother deserves justice. We'll get Dooku. One day, we'll get him. And I hope whoever does….makes the decision not to let him see trial." Lux seemed shocked by my words, but didn't respond. I shrugged, giving him a small glance before mindlessly checking over the systems. "I certainly wouldn't."

He was silent for a moment, before whispering, "I don't know what I'd do."

"You don't have to."

After another beat of silence, Lux spoke again. "Thank you for saving me."

"Yeah, well," I glanced at him again, turning my chair to allow me to stand, "Those of us with the means must help those that can't help themselves."

I sensed his recognition immediately, the young man sitting up a bit straighter and looking away in sadness. "That sounds like my mother."

Moving to pluck a medical pack from the storage unit in the back of the cockpit, I shrugged, saying, "It should. That's who I learned it from."

"Y-you knew my mother?"

I chuckled slightly, fishing around in the medical pack for some bacta-patches. "Saying that I knew her is a stretch. But I've seen her. And I even met her once." I smirked at the strange memory. "And in the few minutes I met her, she managed to make me owe a debt to her."

"She was always very charitable." Ah. He assumed she'd lended me money.

"She was a good person," I responded, "but I owe her my life." I looked over the young man, who looked much different than when I'd first seen him on Mandalore. Where he had been clean and kept in Satine's throne room, he was now covered in grime and dirt, his knuckles bloodied from fighting.

Despite not having the same color eyes, I saw Mina looking out from her son. His gaze was sad, but I could tell that his mind was always turning. Just like hers.

Slowly, I took Lux's hand and began to gently dab at his split knuckles, making him wince. After clicking my tongue at him and teasing him for his cushioned upbringing, I offered to tell him a story about his mother.

The poor, grieving, angry boy happily agreed to listen, desperate for whatever thread of his mother he could grasp and cling to for as long as possible. My heart ached for him, but I told my story nonetheless.

The beskar on my chest felt hot with my guilt. I didn't deserve to be wearing it. Even Boba thought so. He'd been sure to let me know prior to hijacking our father's ship and leaving me stranded on Nal Hutta.

Still, I kept it buried under the flowing cloak I'd draped over my shoulders to conceal my weapons. I had a mission to do. It didn't matter how risky it was. I needed money to restock my supplies. And I needed to get back into the swing of things. I couldn't lose my edge. Especially not after….Jango.

My goggled-gaze scanned over the crowds of the Onderon marketplace, Apex's systems running facial recognition scanners. "There, miss," the AI's voice sounded in my ear. The HUD zeroed in on a group of well dressed citizens. One in particular caught my attention.

It was a tall, elegant woman. Her hair was cropped short around her face, light blue markings decorating her neck. Mina Bonteri.

My target.

I swallowed thickly, suddenly nervous. This was the exact type of thing I tried to discourage Jango from doing. Assassination contracts were always risky, because most people wouldn't pay enough money to have a bounty hunter kill their neighbor.

No….most assissination contracts were higher profile. Leaders of businesses. Tradesmen. Sometimes planetary leadership.

And on even rarer occasions….a senator.

Sure, there were a lot of calls for senator deaths. But most aren't taken on because the offer is either too low in price, or the mission itself is suicide. That was why Jango had sent someone else to do the dirty work.

Why wasn't I doing that?

Maybe I had lost my touch.

I watched amongst the marketplace stalls, making a mental note of where each of Senator Bonteri's guards were placed around her and her opulent band. They were all smiling, giving genuine waves to those that passed them. Bonteri stopped to purchase something, and I took a few daring steps closer, pretending to examine the stall nearest me. My arms were crossed, my fingers tapping nervously against the blade I had hidden in my sleeve.

It was coated in rock wart venom-a trick I'd picked up from the hunters that used to pass through Jabba's Palace on Tatooine. It was a deadly neurotoxin. I just had to get enough of it into her bloodstream.

Her group was beginning to leave the marketplace. I followed easily, keeping my head down and beneath my hood as I navigated the crowds. The side streets of Iziz, while not as bustling as the masket, were still rather alive with people, despite the sun beginning to set in the sky. The stone buildings were all bathed in the orange glow, casting long shadows.

I followed them back towards the royal palace, a frown etching itself onto my face. She wouldn't be left alone out here, as I had worried. I ducked off a back street first, knowing where they were going.

I'd scoped out the senatorial suite for a few days prior to Bonteri's arrival back to the planet. It was guarded, but not excessively so. It seemed the senator preferred her privacy. And trusted her people.

Of course, it wasn't her people that she had to worry about. And the city's defenses were easy to get through. Fake identification wasn't hard to come by in my line of work.

Knowing my target would enter through the front gates, I swept around to the back, and laid in wait. It didn't take long for the lights to hum to life inside, the colorful drapery on the walls billowing as Bonteri opened her windows to air the suite out. Waiting a bit longer allowed for her escorts and friends to head home for the night, leaving only a few guards between me and my target. The streets began to clear as the sun dipped even lower in the sky, my boots barely making sound as I crept towards the back gate.

"Hold," one of the two guards at the gate said firmly. He held up his hand in a 'stop' gesture, and I was quick to grab his hand.

"You got it," I quipped, trying to force myself into my usual mocking nature on my missions. I spun into his chest, jabbing my electrified wrist gauntlet into his ribcage. I muffled his yell before he fell limp to the ground, my hand whipping out to throw a shock disk at the second guard. His conductive armor made easy work for my little device, the man crumbling to the cobblestones without a sound.

A quick rummage through their pockets gave me the access key. The gate hissed open without a complaint. I dragged their two unconscious bodies inside, dumping them in the bushes so no one would see them.

I kept to the long, evening shadows before scaling the outside wall. Bonteri's window was above me, and I could hear her practicing a speech. I krept inside silently, the elegant woman pacing away from me as she read from her holopad. She turned abruptly, looking up from her speech with shock.

"Who are you?" she asked, surprising me. Usually people called for help when an intruder surprised them. I didn't respond, throwing off my cloak and drawing my poisoned blade. I had to make this quick, before the trembling in my hand became noticeable to her. "A Mandalorian."

I nearly misstepped on my way to her, but plowed on. Still...my knife stopped mere inches from her skin as I shoved her against the wall. Why wasn't I killing her?

She seemed frightened, but only slightly. Her icy eyes glanced over my attire. "Do you know what you are doing, girl?"

"Getting paid."

"There is no price great enough that could afford the cost you bring upon yourself, if you kill me." Spoken like a true politician. Then again, she was absolutely right. And she had noticed the trembling in my hand. "Are my guards dead?" Another surprising question for someone with a knife to their throat.

"No."

"Why not?" Who was this woman?

"They're not my target."

Senator Bonteri watched me closely, the both of us wondering why she wasn't dead yet. "You have beskar and managed to get in here without sounding an alarm. You're no beginner. So why do you hesitate?"

"You sound like you want me to kill you."

"And you sound like you don't," she shot back with more confidence. She still hadn't tried to call for help. "Who hired you?"

"I don't ask questions. I just get paid." The knife was closer to her now, but still wouldn't touch her skin. Why wasn't I killing her?

"That's absurd. You don't even know why I'm being targeted and you will kill anyways?"

I swallowed thickly. "Take the jobs you believe in. Even if that's just filling your pockets," I paraphrased my late father, my heart clenching painfully.

"That's no way to live," she responded, voice hard. "You are likely no older than my son. You are too young to have blood on your hands." She had a son. I would be taking away a parent.

But what did that matter? I was killing someone's family every time I took an assassination contract.

"It's too late for that." My mind was racing. Why was I talking to her? This was my target. I should just do the job and go. But I knew what this would bring on me. I could be getting myself killed, just like Jango did.

She blinked at me, her face morphing between something stern and something motherly. "Who's blood is on your hands, child?"

I had just lost the only parent I ever knew. And in my grief and anger, I knew I couldn't do the same to another kid. I breathed slowly through my nose, making up my mind. Slowly, I pulled the knife away and released her. I let out a low sigh. "Not yours."

Her brow arched, but she wasn't able to respond before her doors burst open. "Senator Bonteri!" one of the guards cried, "There's been an intruder-" he saw me, their blasters immediately raising.

I backpedaled, but I had no leverage and no chance of fighting all six of them off. Turns out…I didn't have to.

"Stop!" the senator cried, stepping between her guards and myself. "This is no intruder." Her back was to me, but she cast a significant glance back at me, her gaze motherly again. "This is Galia Modon," she lied easily, catching me by surprise for the third time. "I invited her here."

The guards looked perplexed. "But...two of our guards are unconscious at the back gate-"

"Then you best find that intruder, Captain," she interrupted smoothly before turning to circle her arm around my shoulders. She guided me from the room, leading me through the gardens towards the front gate.

I swallowed thickly. I had just almost murdered this woman and she still didn't have me arrested. I would have been worried if her presence wasn't so calming. "I don't understand. Why-"

"Those of us with the means must help those that can't help themselves," Senator Bonteri spoke softly, glancing at me with a gentle smile. "You seem to be very lost, my dear. Try not to grow up too fast and know that it is never too late for change." She stopped at the gate, guiding me forward with her hand.

I stepped out easily past the guards, the gate shutting between us. My mouth was still slightly agape with the strangeness of the whole situation when I heard her speak again.

She called to me through the bars, "And do be careful in your future adventures, my dear. Not all you cross may react as I do."

With that, Mina Bonteri turned and would never speak another word to me. But she didn't need to.

"She….never told me about an attempt on her life," Lux mused quietly.

I shrugged. "She wasn't one to gloat, I've heard. But either way, she saved my life. If I'd completed the contract, I would have been killed by this war, just like my father. If she'd turned me in, I'd likely still be rotting in a prison."

The young man swallowed thickly. "Thank you for telling me." He was staring at his hands, that I had finished cleaning during the story and had turned to my own while I sat in the pilot's chair. "I...I can't go with you."

My gaze flickered up to him for only a moment. "I figured. There's a reason we're not in hyperspace yet." I set down the medical supplies and examined Lux's dirty face. "There's an escape shuttle. If you're really against going to Coruscant, you're more than welcome to take it."

"Just like that?"

I arched my brow. "Me keeping you from dying doesn't contractually obligate you to join the Republic, or this war."

Bonteri stood slowly, offering me his hand. "Thank you, Kida."

I followed his lead, grasping his wrist briefly before letting him leave the cockpit. "Be careful, Lux." He cast me the smallest of smirks that reminded me of the one Mina had sent me. I hoped that this wouldn't be the last time I spoke with a Bonteri.

After a moment, I heard the escape shuttle dislodge. "R2," I said to the beeping droid. "Let's go home."

MANDO'A

Shebse- asses

Hu'tuun- coward (worst insult)

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I know I know. It's been forever. I'm sorry for the delay but I hope you enjoy! As always, reposts, likes, and reviews are always welcome:)

-Ryder