Chapter 79: Hunt for Ziro
Love comes in all shapes and sizes.
Recap: A great escape! Cad Bane and his notorious crew of bounty hunters liberated Ziro the Hutt from a Republic prison after holding the Galactic Senate hostage. The Jedi Council has assigned Obi-wan Kenobi and Luna to retrieve Ziro the Hutt with the help of Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos. Unknown to the Jedi, we find Ziro in the clutches of the five Hutt families on the distant world of Nal Hutta.
On the planet Nal Hutta, Ziro was in front of the great Hutt leaders as he was talking with them.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen. I see no need for resentment in light of this joyous occasion of my freedom," said Ziro as he was holding a drink.
"Chuba kispa manta kul kispa," said one of the Hutts to Ziro.
"Of course, I do appreciate the help in my escape," said Ziro.
"Ta kispa che copah, chuba yarpa za," exclaimed another Hutt.
"Oh, I have no illusions about the fact that my escape was a result of the highly sensitive knowledge that I possess- A holo-diary cataloging the nefarious deeds of this council," stated Ziro.
"Un yoka, je puna boya chobo!" shouted another Hutt leader.
"Kill me, and the diary will show up on the step of the Senate. The cold, hard reality is that as long as I control this highly sensitive material, my memory will only get duller," said Ziro as he was looking to blackmail the people who paid him for his escape.
"Yacha chobo nichu," declared another Hutt.
"Yes, take me to my room. I only hope the accommodations are satisfactory," snickered Ziro as he took a sip of his drink and tossed the cup away as it landed on the floor.
Meanwhile, on Coruscant, Jedi Masters Obi-wan Kenobi and Luna were shown waiting on a landing pad. After hearing the report from their students and how they were held hostage during the Senate break-in, the Council assigned the pair to track down the culprits associated with breaking out Ziro the Hutt. For Luna, though, she took it personally that her apprentice was a hostage by a bounty hunter such as Cad Bane.
"Sirs, you seem troubled," said Cody as he was shown approaching the pair.
"Quinlan Vos has that effect," said Luna.
"Ah, yes. That Jedi has quite a reputation."
"That may be overstating it, Cody. Let's just say he's crazy," said Obi-wan to his clone commander.
"Ship entry from the west, sirs," said Cody as he pointed outwards for the Jedi Masters.
A clone gunship was shown flying toward them as onboard was their companion for this mission. The Jedi on it jumped out as he was a Kiffar male named Quinlan Vos.
"Hey, Kenobi. Hey, Commander. Looking good. Luna, still as beautiful as ever." said the Jedi Master as he grabbed Luna's hand and turned to her backside to kiss it.
"Seems you're still the same," grunted Luna as she retracted her hand and merely wiped it on her clothes.
"Kenobi, you look worse for wear. How's temple life?" asked Vos as Obi-wan merely made a face at him. "Good to see you too."
"Yes, well, if you could tell time half as well as you could stick a landing, we wouldn't be behind schedule, now would we?" snickered Kenobi.
"Well, that's your opinion, man," said Vos.
"If you would just act a bit more responsible and not take so many risks, you would be on the Jedi Council!" stated Luna, as the Jedi Master's antics of being reckless were why Vos didn't have a seat like Kenobi and her.
"I'm already a Jedi Master," snickered Vos. "So why would I waste all my time sitting down?"
"And that attitude is why you're not invited when we tackle serious issues!" said Luna.
"You and your sister may have been trained by Master Yoda, Luna. But I do things my way! And my way doesn't involve me waiting around for something to happen. I'm a man of action." said Vos to the Jedi Master. "Besides, you gonna tell your student the same thing?"
"You keep my student's name out of your mouth!" shouted Luna as she grabbed Vos and stared him down. The Jedi Master didn't appreciate that he was talking about Storm. "Let me make this clear, Storm will be a Jedi Master! And he will be much better than you ever will be!"
The fury in Luna's voice and eyes was on full display. Obi-wan placed a hand on Luna's shoulder as it got the woman to calm down. She released her hold on Vos as she got her point across to her fellow Jedi Master brethren.
"Let's get down to business. Ziro the Hutt was broken out during a hostage takeover," said Obi-wan as he tried to move the conversation along.
"Yeah, I read the briefing about that mess," said Vos nonchalantly.
"We suspect Jabba the Hutt is behind this. He still has it out for Ziro over the kidnapping of his son," stated Luna.
"Well, my information indicates that Ziro has damaging evidence against the Hutt council. My guess is they've taken him to the Hutt home planet Nal Hutta," stated Vos as they were all starting to board the shuttle.
"As for this bounty hunter Cad Bane, we must capture and return both him and his quarry Ziro to the courts. I trust you, and we can keep our eyes forward on this common goal?" asked Obi-wan.
"No problem. I owe Bane one anyway," said Vos.
"You're not the only one who owes him something," stated Luna as she wanted to give Bane his receipt for putting his hands on her apprentice.
"I'll fly. You two are my copilots," said Vos with a smile as he boarded the ship.
"I was afraid he'd say that," said Obi-wan to Luna as both were a bit uneasy knowing that Vos was going to fly. The pair had no choice as they walked up the ramp, with the shuttle soon taking off.
On the planet Nat Hutta, the Hutts were enjoying themselves. Lively brass music was playing as some dancers were performing for the Hutts. Soon some singing began to be heard as it belonged to a female Pa'lowick named Sy Snootles, who was charming the Hutts with her lovely voice.
( lively brass music )
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Ho ne hesa kozan
Thota palowick dogan
Ichaga setuka wermo naga
Daa Hutt muna
Ta Hutt muna
Bato hat, mal, chone rot
Makan hopo ji sot
Ji pul ban haa yo ki ji isok
Daa Hutt muna
Ta Hutt muna
Ga Hutt muna
The musical numbered ended as the Hutts applauded and cheered. Backstage, Sy was walking by two of the dancers as she waved. She arrived at the dressing area as the other dancer stared at the mirror.
"Sounds like that rough crowd out there is an easy one tonight," said the dancer as she took off an earring.
"All in a night's work, baby," replied Sy.
"Course, having Ziro locked up in the detention cell block probably isn't hurting their mood.
"Ziro's here?" said Sy, as she was unaware of that piece of info. "If you'll excuse me, I need to step outside."
The singer made her way to where Ziro was being kept as she came to the gate where two guards stood.
"Gardulla has a request. She wants to know which one of you is stronger," flirted the singer to both Gamorrean guards.
The pair dropped their weapons and began to punch each other to show off their strength. Seeing her plan worked, Sy quickly slipped by the pair and pushed the button to raise the gate as she ran in.
"Stop them. They're fighting!" said Sy in a fake worried voice to the Gamorrean guard outside of Ziro's cell as he began to end the struggle among the others.
"Ziro, honey, my true love, What happened to you? I thought you were coming back For me. I waited so long. I thought you didn't love me anymore, " said Sy as she approached the cell and saw the Hutt with whom she had a previous romantic relationship.
"Our separation last time was a bit abrupt, and I do blame Jabba for that," said Ziro to his former lover.
"Jabba?" said Sy.
"He forced me to have you sent away from Coruscant, shattering the serenity of the happiest time of my life," stated Ziro as he tried to exploit Sy's affection for him.
"Oh, Ziro, honey, being with you was the happiest time of my life too. And now hearing you say that makes me the luckiest little Pa'lowick the galaxy has ever known," replied Sy as it seemed Ziro's efforts were working.
"Unfortunately, the cage that entraps me now also entraps the chance of loving you again," said Ziro as he let out a fake sad sigh.
"What do they want with you? Why would they do this?" asked Sy.
"As hard as it is to confess this to you, snooty, I'm not a perfect hutt," replied Ziro.
"I don't care what you've done or why they want to hurt you. I only care about us being together-forever," said Sy.
"You-you really mean that?" asked Ziro as he was a bit taken back by that.
"From the bottom of my fluid sack," answered Sy.
"Unfortunately, my love, there's no way for us to be together as long as I'm in this dreadful cell," explained Ziro.
"With true love, there's always a way," said Sy.
The pair shared a kiss between the bars. At that moment, a shuttle emerged from hyperspace. The Jedi had arrived at Nat Hutta as they descended to the planet. They landed in front of the place as they all exited. The Jedi were being escorted by some guards as they approached the door, and it opened up to the room where all the Hutts were gathered. The festivities were still going about; however, once the Jedi entered, everybody looked at them as even the music stopped abruptly.
"Kava su nudcha?"
"How goes the war, gentlemen? And lady?" translated the protocol droid.
"Great Gardulla, we bring unfortunate news. Ziro the Hutt has escaped our custody with the aid of the bounty hunter Cad Bane," explained Obi-wan to the Hutts.
"Dobrah chuba koochoo."
"The great Gardulla already knows this, Jedi knights," translated the droids.
"I'm beginning to think you're the ones who broke him out," Vos said as he spoke due to his rash thinking.
"Wanta?"
"And why would the great hutt Families do such a thing?" translated the droid.
"That's what I'd like to know," demanded Vos.
"Quinlan, the Hutts are our allies," stated Luna as he proved her point as to why he didn't have a seat among the other Jedi Masters of the Council.
"Chuba gusha Kenobi. Chuba gusha Luna. Solo chuba killya."
Mighty Gardulla says you are lucky to be with a Jedi as wise as Kenobi and Luna, or you might not be allowed to leave here alive," translated the protocol droid as Vos was walking away and looking at a small cup.
The Jedi picked it up as his Jedi skill occurred. Vos had the unique power of psychometry, which allowed him to acquire information about people or events associated with an object or a place solely by touching or entering it. This was why he was such an expert tracker among the Jedi. He touched the cup as he experienced a blinding white light before seeing the scene of Ziro talking with the Hutts.
"In light of this joyous occasion..."
Vos saw the scene as he smiled.
"...maybe next time I'll come alone, hmm?" said Vos as he turned back to address the Hutts and placed the cup on a potter served by a droid.
"We only came to deliver the message. We should be leaving now," said Obi-wan as they all turned to leave.
"Obita," stated Gadulla as the Dj started the music once more.
"Ziro was here. He was holding one of those cups," said Vos to both Jedi Masters.
"Nice work," said Luna as they exited through the door.
As the Jedi left through the door, Bane, listening in on the conversation, emerged. The bounty hunter grabbed a cup as he looked at the door from which the Jedi exited.
The trio made their way to the detention cell, hoping to find their target without the Hutts not knowing. However, upon arriving, they found the guards tasked with making sure Ziro didn't escape were killed. This worried the Jedi as Obi-wan and Luna ventured in to see if Ziro was still inside. However, they found nothing.
"Vos, Ziro escaped," said Obi-wan as the Jedi rushed to their side.
"I think he had help," stated Vos as he examined the wounds on the guards.
"We best hurry," stated Luna.
As the Jedi ran, the scene changed to show Ziro and Sy escaping. The pair was on a swamp speeder as they navigated through the place to a certain location.
It wasn't long before the Hutts themselves learned about Ziro's escape. They all ventured to the detention cell, finding their prisoner long gone.
"Jedai moocha?" said one of the Hutts.
"Nobata. Meendeeya tchuta ne pa." responded another Hutt.
"I disagree," said Bane as he was off to the side as he overheard the conversation between the Hutts. "The Jedi aren't the ones that broke Ziro out of jail. He was gone way before they arrived. It looks like we're right back where we started."
"Mee tinka Mee moolee-rah," stated Gradulla to the bounty hunter.
"I'm kind of tired of being paid for this job, too, but not that tired. If you Hutts ain't interested in knowing what's behind this and making it go away, I can take a hint," said Bane.
"Ho! Coo sa konchee," stated Gradulla.
"So we doing business or not?" said Bane.
With the Jedi, they searched along the swamp as they landed on one of their jumps.
"I understand your tracking talent, but why wouldn't Ziro leave the planet? Why not just fly away?" asked Obi-wan.
"My senses tell me that he's still here," said Vos as he tracked.
"It's illogical. He knows he's being looked for here. Something is keeping him here," said Luna as she thought the same.
Vos soon took off as he followed a scent, leaving the two Jedi Masters on the mound.
"If we'd brought a droid, this would go faster," said Kenobi to Luna.
At that moment, a swamp serpent spotted the pair as it struck. It coiled around the pair before they could react. It looked at its prey as it lunged its jaws at them, hoping to swallow them. Both Luna and Obi-wan held the serpent's jaws from devouring them. They collectively pushed it back as they pulled out their lightsabers. The pair stabbed them into the serpent's body as it released them from being coiled. It then went for a lunge as both Obi-wan and Luna thrust their blades upward as it pierced the serpent's chin and killed it. They retracted their blades as the serpent fell over with Vos standing a few meters away, who had watched the pair.
"Are you two finished messing around? We're trying to catch Ziro, remember?" snickered Vos to the pair.
"Which way have they gone?" asked Luna.
"Well, since you're suddenly so interested in my tracking abilities, they went this way," stated Vos as he pointed.
"We never doubted you," said Obi-wan as the Jedi were on the move.
Speaking of Ziro, he and Sy had finally arrived at their destination.
"Why are we stopping here?" asked Sy as they got off the swamp speeder and were in front of a house.
"I guarantee Gardulla is searching for us as we speak, so I came to the one place she would never, ever show up," stated Ziro as he pushed the button on the side and opened the door. "Hello, there."
"Son, who invited you?" said a voice from a room.
"Mama!" stated Ziro as he looked at the massive Hutt before him that was his mother.
"Shoulda figured after all these years of never calling, You'd show up at dinnertime," scoffed Ziro's mother as she knew how troublesome her son was. "You gonna sit in your stink, or are you gonna pass the slime pods?"
Ziro was about to eat one of the slime pods when he heard the disappointed tone of his mother. He simply gave the slime pod to the nearby droid as he had a shameful expression.
"Never would have had to tell that to your brother Ebor. Rest his soul," stated Ziro's mother before chomping down viciously. "So, sonny... what the heck have you been doing the past few years anyway?"
"Oh, a smidgen of this and a pinch of that, using all of my facilities for the betterment of my fellow Hutts," said Ziro.
"What is it you want, sonny?" said Ziro's mother as she knew her son and when he was asking for a favor.
"Can't a loving son just want to visit his mother on occasion?" asked Ziro with a fake smile.
"When plebos fly out of my hump," scoffed Ziro's mother as she wasn't buying her son's bluff.
"Well, now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind swapping my swamp speeder for your starship," smiled Ziro sheepishly.
"That's what I thought. Who's chasing ya this time?" asked Ziro's mother with an eye roll.
"Gardulla," answered Ziro truthfully.
"Aw, take it. Just make sure you bring it back full power," stated Ziro's mother.
"Thanks, mama. I got some important business on Teth," said Ziro as he and Sy left.
The Jedi weren't the only ones chasing Ziro. After being paid by the Hutts, Bane was on a swamp speeder as he, too, was searching for his target.
"Todo, how far ahead are the Jedi?" asked Bane to the droid driving the speeder.
"I don't know," answered Todo truthfully.
"This is the last time I take one of these jobs," complained Bane.
The speeder turned the corner as they headed in that direction. One of the many swamp trees was shown as they turned the corner. The Jedi emerged from a hiding place as they saw the bounty hunter zoom by.
"Looks as though we're not the only ones after Ziro," said Obi-wan.
It wasn't long before the Jedi arrived at Ziro's mother's home.
"We must be cautious," said Obi-wan.
Vos immediately pulled out his lightsaber and sliced at the door before kicking it in.
"Vos, somebody lives here!" shouted Luna to her companion as how he chose to just kick down the door instead of opening it.
The Jedi ignored what his companions said as he raced inside. Luna and Obi-wan merely made a face at how disrespectful their companion was before they walked inside.
"Ugh! Smells like somebody died here," said Vos as he entered a room and dropped to a knee while covering his nose.
"Break in my house, will you, smart guy?" said Ziro's mother as she tossed a slime pod at the Jedi, who moved his head out of the way.
"Thousand pardons, madam. He hasn't mastered the concept of knocking," said Luna while scowling at her ally.
"For that, we apologize," said Obi-wan as he appeared.
"I got trouble for you too, Mr. Fancy Pants," stated Ziro's mother.
"No need. We're not here to harm you," said Luna.
"That'll be a first for tonight," replied Ziro's mother.
"Meaning?" asked Obi-wan.
"First, my deadbeat son and his limp-lipped girlfriend come in and sponge me out of my starship. Then some slime sap and his droid charge in and force me to give up the skinny on where Ziro's headed," answered Ziro's mother.
"Big hat?" asked Vos, still covering his nose.
"Yeah. Chad, something out for blood. You want to kill my little boy too?" asked Ziro's mother.
"Oh, no, madam, but if we don't find him before Bane does, your son will not be so lucky," said Luna.
"Teth. Ziro's heading for Teth." responded Ziro's mother.
"We need to get to that jungle planet. We need to get there fast," said Vos as the Jedi turned and ran.
"Hey, who's going to pay for my door?" shouted Ziro's mother.
The planet Teth was shown as emerging from hyperspace was Ziro and Sy in their ship. They descended to the planet as they came to a specific location. Once they got out, Ziro led Sy toward his most prized possession.
"Are we close to your holo-diary, baby?" asked Sy as she leaned on Ziro's side.
"This way," instructed Ziro as they came to a tomb. "My papa's grave."
Ziro walked in front of a rock as it was a switch. It was pushed in as the tomb opened up and revealed the body of a Hutt wrapped up as in its hands was a small diary.
"I never did have the heart to tell Mama that Papa ran away or that he died. Some people are just happier when they're miserable," spoke Ziro.
"The hutt council records," said Sy as she walked up to the corpse and grabbed the journal.
"Every dirty deed those criminals have slithered through. Worth a fortune, baby. Plenty enough to retire on." said Ziro as Sy looked through it.
"Aww, that's too bad. I still got work to do," said Sy as she looked at Ziro and pulled a blaster at him.
"But-but- shat about Solarine, the sunsets, you and me sharing a future?" said Ziro as he trembled at seeing his former lover aiming a blaster at him.
"Next time, you'll think twice about breaking someone's heart. Oh, wait. There won't be a next time." smiled Sy.
"No!" shouted Ziro before Sy pulled the trigger and shot the Hutt as he fell.
Sometime later, a ship was shown entering the atmosphere of Teth. It was Bane as he and his droid, Todo, landed. They got out and began to walk. It wasn't long before they arrived at the place as they saw Ziro's dead body.
"Oh, I just hate it when someone does my job," groaned Bane as it seemed someone else got to Ziro before he did.
"And the holo-diary is gone as well," said Todo.
"Oh, drat," said the bounty hunter. Just then, the sound of a ship landed was heard as they looked up. "Jedi."
The Jedi had arrived just seconds after Bane as they landed on the cliff above. They got out as they were beginning their search for Ziro. They made it down as they saw the Hutt lying dead on the ground next to the tomb and corpse of his father.
"Who could have done this?" said Obi-wan as he stroked his beard.
"Step aside, gentleman. Let me work my skill," said Luna.
The Jedi Master was about to use her personal skill to piece together all the pieces of what went down before their attention was caught. Emerging was Bane as both sides saw each other.
"Bane," said Kenobi.
"Looks like we're both too late for the party," said the bounty hunter as he leaned against a pillar.
"So this is not your handiwork?" said Luna.
"No, I wouldn't have made such a sloppy kill. Doesn't seem like much sense hanging around here or making any trouble between us," said Bane to the Jedi.
"Are you forgetting how you held the Senate hostage?" said Obi-wan.
"Or what you and your allies did to our students?!" growled Luna to the bounty hunter.
"I may not be capturing Ziro, but you are going to prison," declared Obi-wan as he was in the same boat as Luna.
"Well, now that you mention it, the Separatists are paying a million credits a head for a Jedi," said Bane.
Bane was reaching for his pistols as the Jedi reached for their lightsabers. The bounty hunter shot at them as they turned their swords on and deflected all the shots. Bane was now running as the trio began to chase them. They ran and hopped onto some rock pillars as Bane kept firing back. He threw some objects at the trio as Obi-wan and Luna cut them while Vos found his feet tied up and fell.
Obi-wan and Luna kept on chasing the bounty hunter as Vos had to turn on his back and cut the rope. He then got up and went after the others. Everyone was flipping and jumping from ledge to ledge, pillar to pillar, cliff to cliff as the chase was on. Luna managed to get into an above position as she jumped down on Bane, who was shooting at Obi-wan, jumping on some pillars to cross a chasm.
The Jedi Master took the bounty hunter down as she was on top of him and wailed some stiff punches.
"This is for punching my student!" growled Luna as she continued to deliver rights and lefts.
Bane got Luna off of him as he went for a punch, to which Luna quickly countered by throwing a head butt. Similar to how Storm did it, Luna managed to make the bounty hunter fall to the ground as he clutched his mouth. He spat out another tooth as he now had a matching pair from both teacher and student. Luna had a strand of hair in front of her face as she blew it and held that growling look at the bounty hunter. The headbutt didn't phase her as she marched forward to Bane.
The bounty hunter while getting up as Luna blocked. That allowed him enough time to run as Obi-wan landed, and the two continued the chase. The pair came to a cliff as Bane was down below shooting at them. They blocked the shots easily as Bane went to a knee and continued to fire. The bounty hunter shot at the cliff below the pair as they felt the column begin to give way. They quickly grabbed another ledge as Vos continued to chase Bane.
Vos jumped and landed before the bounty hunter as he fired his dual blasters. The Jedi Master deflected the shots as he took steps forward to Bane. Just then, Todo came hovering behind Vos as he grabbed his head with his arms covering his eyes. Bane took that opportunity to slide under the Jedi's legs and got the Jedi to fall to the floor. He stood up and then kneed Vos in the side as he fell to another cliff down below. Bane was about to shoot at the Jedi when Obi-wan and Luna, who had pulled themselves up, jumped down.
The pair thrust their hand out as they were landing and made Bane tumble back as he rolled to the point where he tumbled off the edge. As they walked, Obi-wan kicked one of Bane's blasters on the ground as it fell off to the side. As the pair saw the bounty hunter below them, coming from behind was Todo. The droid had managed to get ahold of Vos' lightsaber when he distracted him as he turned it on and charged at the two Jedi Masters. Both sensed it as they turned and moved out of the way; using their spare hand, they used the Force to shove Todo so far off the cliff.
Bane took that momentary distraction to push a button on his comlink. It activated his rocket boots as he soared into the air. He appeared out of the corner of the pair's eyes and fired at them. Obi-wan managed to grab Vos' lightsaber before Todo was sent flying as he dual-blocked the blasts while Luna did the same. The Jedi managed to repel a blast as it ricocheted back to Bane's hand and knocked his blaster. The bounty hunter then began to hover away as both Jedi Masters leaped over Bane and landed on the cliff he was going to land on. They landed as they pushed Bane back with the Force, but he managed to grab Vos' lightsaber from Kenobi's hand.
The bounty hunter laughed as he recovered from his tumble in midair and landed. He then began swinging the lightsaber as he fought against the Jedi Masters. While he may have had a lightsaber, Bane didn't have the fighting skills to take on the pair as both Luna and Obi-wan quickly disarmed the bounty hunter with ease. Bane quickly lunged at the pair as he appeared behind them and grabbed one of their arms. As they felt it, a shock coursed through both Jedi Masters, and they dropped to their knees. Vos had finally caught up to them as he was across the chasm and jumped.
Bane let go of the pair as he kicked Obi-wan in the side and collided with Luna as he took off when Vos landed and continued to chase him. He jumped once more as he grabbed Bane in the air, and they tumbled to the cliff below. Vos recovered as Bane was on his hands and knees with his hat knocked off. The bounty hunter then took to the air again as he aimed his flamethrower at Vos, who dodged out of the way. Obi-wan and Luna had recovered as they jumped to where their companion was as they landed and managed to push Vos from going off the cliff due to him dodging Bane's flamethrower.
They ran as the bounty hunter was now heading for his ship. He hovered into his seat as Todo appeared, having found Bane's hat. The top of their ship closed down as they prepared to take off. The Jedi landed as they heard the sound of the thrusters starting up and dove to the side as they turned on and took off. The trio was shown hanging off the ledge as Bane had escaped.
"I never did enjoy hanging out with you," said Obi-wan to Vos as he smiled at the pair.
On Tatooine, Jabba's palace was shown as something was happening inside.
"Chuba inkabunga chik youngee," chuckled Jabba manically as he was given the holo-diary.
"Jabba thanks you for delivering the holo-diary," translated the droid to the person who gave the Hutt the device as he presented some credits.
"No one would suspect that a lovely creature such as myself could do a bounty hunter's work," said Sy as she accepted the credits.
As it turned out, she worked undercover for Jabba to retrieve the diary and murder his uncle Ziro. The deed was done as nobody would ever find out. As for the Jedi, they had returned to Coruscant as Obi-wan had to report the details of the mission to the Council and that Ziro had been murdered. For Luna, the Jedi Master was walking along one of the halls when she came across Storm talking with Twilight.
The teens were talking as the princess giggled at what her partner said. The Jedi Master couldn't help but smile at seeing her student smile and spending time with friends. It warmed her heart, even seeing a girl like Twilight being able to get Storm to open up. Twilight was shown grabbing Storm's hand as, at the moment, Luna's eyes widened. A blinding white light appeared in her mind as it showed something.
There was Twilight, surrounded by rubble and specks of fire. However, the most striking detail was that the princess had something in her arms. And that something was Storm as the boy laid there with his eyes closed and wasn't breathing. The vision ended as Luna gasped; she then looked at the teens and began to march over to them.
Storm was saying something to Twilight when he saw his master approaching.
"Hey, Luna. How'd-"
Storm didn't get to finish his question as Luna walked in between the teens and grabbed her student's arms to drag him away.
"Storm?" said Twilight watching the pair leave.
"Stay away from my student!" stated Luna as she turned to look back at the princess while holding Storm's arm.
Twilight took a few steps back as she didn't want to suffer the Jedi Master's wrath. She put her head down as Luna turned to continue walking while taking Storm away from the girl.
Keep your hands off of Storm, princess. Or you will end up being the death of him.
"Luna?" said Storm as he let his teacher drag him.
The Jedi Master stopped as she had her head down.
"Luna, what's going on?" asked the boy in a concerned tone.
Immediately, the Jedi Master turned and dropped to her knees and wrapped Storm in a hug. Storm was surprised as soon he heard tears. Luna was crying her heart out as he pulled her student in closer. If anybody had passed by, they would have heard the woman pouring her heart out as the tears kept coming. Soon, Storm started to feel water form in his eyes as he hugged his teacher. Luna was crying nonstop as he held her apprentice as if he would be gone the second she let go.
The scene of them hugging shifted as it showed a memory of the past.
"Mommy, I'm scared," said a younger Storm as he was hiding behind Luna and holding her nightgown.
"It's okay, my son. Don't worry, mother will always be here to protect you," said Luna as she picked Storm in her arms.
Luna carried her student in her arms and wrapped them around as she began to hum and sing a lullaby. She then returned to her bed and wrapped the blanket around the younger boy. Luna pulled Storm in closer as the Jedi Master was keeping her son safe.
The scene flashed back to the present day as it showed the pair. Luna was still crying as Storm also began to do the same.
"Luna?" sniffed Storm.
"Mother will always be here to keep you protected," sniffed Luna as she continued to hug her apprentice.
"Please, please," begged Luna as if she was asking the Force and the galaxy to answer her prayer.
Author's Note: Never mess with a woman and her feelings; what's the old saying, hell has no fury than the wrath of a woman's scorn. You mess with someone's heart, you better expect to pay a price. In addition, it seems Luna feels something terrible will happen if Storm continue to hang out with Twilight based on what she saw. Also some knowledge, Quinlan Vos is the master of Aayla Secura; so that ties in to what she said to Ahsoka and Twilight on Maridun about who her master was. As always leave a review expressing your thoughts.