Here is chapter 4 of the Mandalorian Maverick. The war continues but the Republic now has a new strategy. With the ensuing battles in the Outer Rim and the clear indicator that the Republic is currently outmatched against the vast droid army of the Separatists, they need to take a new approach. One of which is targeting the high-level Separatist members like they did with Nute Gunray. Even though he escaped, they try again and this time it's with Count Dooku. Let's see if that works. Enjoy!

The Mandalorian Maverick: One step forward, two steps back

22 BBY: Outer Rim Territories

Obi-wan Kenobi's flagship the Negotiator had been cruising through space for a while after their successful mission on Vallt. It gave them the momentum which was good considering their recent struggles against the Separatists. The people there were doing better and were well prepared if the Separatists came back. A new communications array was built in the city and some Star Destroyers were staying behind to defend the planet just in case. The mining guild on the planet were now mining ore and resources for the Republic War effort, Chieftain Gruppe was coordinated with the Republic Senate on future issues while Zerpen labs went back to work as normal. Some of the engineers and scientists joined with the Republic divisions to help the war effort but many stayed where they were. Galen himself was trying to diversify his research to develop his energy research into creating better shields for the Republic. He, Lyra, and Jyn were doing great.

Will was currently with his master meditating in the training room. Both were sitting cross legged next to each other, their hands on their knees, eyes closed and focused. Both were floating in the air but Obi-wan was floating higher to signify his years of training in the force. Will was skilled and talented, but he still had much to learn to harness his full potential. Their lightsabers were floating in front of them, being disassembled and reassembled with the force. Obi-wan found it to be a good training exercise and method to keep them focused. Master and Padawan floated in the air as their sabers were taken apart, screw by screw, piece by piece until they were all separated. Emitter matrix, focusing crystal, stabilizing ring, radiator, pommel cap, emitter guard and even the kyber crystal were separated and then intricately put back together.

"The crystal is the heart of the blade…the heart is the crystal of the jedi…the jedi is the crystal of the force…the force is the blade of the heart…all are intertwined…the crystal…the blade…the jedi…we are one…" Will repeated over and over as he focused on his training. That was the mantra that Master Yoda told him and the other younglings when he went through the Gathering.

A few hours later…

The absence of sound that signified meditation and force training was long gone and replaced with the tell-tale sign of lightsaber on lightsaber combat. The hum of the blades followed by the clash of lasers and the flash of light as master and padawan sparred against one another. Will moved forward quickly and efficiently as he slashed, jabbed, lunged, and blocked at his master using his form-2 Makashi training. True to the form's teaching, he used precise and solid footwork to keep his strikes smooth and clean while minimizing excess movement. Obi-wan blocked and parried while lashing out with his own attacks that Will managed to block. Obi-wan's form-3 Soresu defense was extremely difficult to penetrate and he was a master of the form so Will wasn't delusional to think he could defeat his master. Training against Obi-wan was great practice to improve his skills. Against such strong defense made him focus on his footwork, tight grouping, and improvisation to find a gap or weakness…so far, no luck. He parried a whirlwind slash then force-pushed his master back to make some distance before doing a TD raiz spin jump into a corkscrew spin lightsaber fury. Obi-wan was caught off guard by the acrobatics and managed to block all the attacks before pushing the offensive and putting his padawan on the defensive.

Will blocked and parried an attack before sidestepping a lunge and flipping over his master, doing several overhead slashes that Obi-wan blocked. Will landed on the ground and quickly spun his saber behind his back to block Obi-wan's strike before rolling forward and then backflipping into the air while throwing his saber. Obi-wan blocked and deflected the saber throw as it flew back into Will's hand who landed back on his feet.

"Well done, Padawan." Obi-wan commented as the two deactivated their sabers. Will nodded as he holstered his saber and took a few deep breaths. "Your training with form-3 is improving and while I'm not an expert on form-2 I believe it's safe to say that you're better trained than any Padawan in the form. And your form-4 is particularly good but be careful. While Ataru is powerful and advantageous in certain situations, the longer a battle occurs the more form-4 will tire you out. Be mindful and careful how you use it."

"Yes, master." Will replied, slowing his breathing to catch his breath. "But it did come in handy when we had to deal with Ventress. Her Jar'Kai was difficult to combat one-on-one but interesting. It's a good thing I've gotten fairly use to improvisation."

"Perhaps there's something we can do to help adjust and enhance your training with a new lightsaber style." Obi-wan suggested. "Form-6 Niman combines the aspects of all the previous forms into one entire new one that draws on all their strengths while limiting their weaknesses."

"Yes, Master Cin Drallig told everyone about the form when we first started our lightsaber training. He called it the Diplomat's form." Will said.

"It's been called that because the form emphasizes a relaxed focus on blade work that is simple, elegant and easy to master so the practitioner can focus their time to study and diplomacy." Obi-wan explained. "To make up for the lack of specific specialization, the form encourages the use of force powers and the practitioner's ability to adapt and be creative in combat. Which I believe will be perfect for you."

"Interesting. Well, I look forward to the new training master." He replied.

"I've dabbled in the form and will teach you what I know with the holocrons we have but should you want more experienced training, the next time we are on Coruscant you should seek Master Cin Drallig." Obi-wan told him.

"Yes, Master." Will bowed his head.

A few hours later…

In another training room filled with the sounds of blaster fire, Will was training with Echo, Hevy, and Fives along with 144 clone troopers of the 212st Attack Battalion. They wore phase 1 clone trooper armor colored white with orange streaks and stripes but with new additions of a shriek-hawk symbol over their hearts. This was Ghost company, a subdivision of the 212st Attack Battalion and now under the command of Padawan Will Vizsla. Obi-wan felt that after Will's successes during the war both in combat and in strategy, he was ready for a larger command role. After talking it over with Cody, they gave Will command of Ghost Company. He would lead them into battle and on missions. It was a big responsibility, but Will had proven himself so far and demonstrated some professionality and maturity in command. Guess being raised as both a Mandalorian and a Jedi had its benefits. It made him much more mature than most Padawans his age.

Their group training was something that Will suggested they do since he was now their commander. He couldn't lead men very well if he didn't know them, so these were his chances to really get to know the others. Like his mother taught him and how he trained Echo, Hevy, and Fives, he enhanced their training with his own Mandalorian heritage and techniques. He trained them in his language and customs and tried to facilitate a general familial or brotherly bond which wasn't that hard.

Their training was generally broken down into two components: combat and tactics. With tactics they worked on strategies, formations, and plans for battles and possible missions along with backup plans if things went wrong in certain situations. They used combat simulators to design battle plans based on their past experiences and variables the computers could perceive to happen. Things like ambushes, targeting strikes, and possible droid battle plans so that when the time came, they'd be better prepared. With combat, that mainly dealt with them putting their plans into practice along with practicing their actual combat skills. Blaster range drills, marksmanship practice, demolitions instruction, and close combat training.

In the training room, Echo was leading a group of clones in their blaster practice against various sized targets at varying heights and moving at different speeds. It helped them with their accuracy for actual battle circumstances, so they didn't waist ammo and make their shots count. Hevy was leading some of the clones in some ordinance drills. Nothing too big since they were on a ship, but they practiced more with droid poppers and thermal detonators along with their heavy weapons like rocket and emp launchers. That left Will and Fives who were instructing some clones in a combat circle to improve their close combat skills.

Will watched as two clones named Waxer and Boil sparred against one another, showing off their training at the clone facilities at Kamino and while they were better trained than any militia force out there, they still had some stuff to learn. Obviously, in a galaxy of blaster weapons the idea of close combat skills was kind of ridiculous but it was still vital and could save their lives in a pinch. Especially if they were used correctly against droids. Will was showing them some grapples and takedowns that he learned from his mother and how they can be applied to droids in the battlefield should the need arise. Targeting their arms, legs, or their heads. Granted, it worked best for the B1 Battle droids.

The next day…

Manhunt! After a long and perilous search, the Jedi have finally tracked down the Separatist leader Count Dooku. After a heroic attempt to capture the Count, Anakin Skywalker has gone missing.

Having lost contact with Skywalker, Obi-wan Kenobi heads towards his friend's last known location. A lone Separatist frigate in the Outer Rim.

Will was in the cockpit of Tempest with Rathtar Squad. Hevy and Echo were in the gunner chairs and Fives was in the co-pilot seat. BD-8 was in the droid slot to help Will pilot the ship since Fives didn't have any flight experience. They were waiting for the signal from Obi-wan who snuck onto a Separatist ship to rescue Anakin who managed to track down Count Dooku…by getting captured. Once they got the signal, they'd begin the attack and try to capture Dooku alive. If they could do that then it'd be a huge boon for the war effort and give them some answers.

The Star Destroyer exited hyperspace and caught Dooku's Separatist ship off guard before firing an initial volley of turbo lasers that blasted the ship. Ahsoka and Captain Rex were on the bridge monitoring everything and now that they caught the Separatists off guard, it was time to move in. "Mando, this is Ahsoka. You're clear to move in."

"Roger that, Ace. All right, Red Squadron. Let's get in this fight." Will pressed some buttons and the Tempest's engines roared into life along with an entire squadron of V-19 Torrent Interceptors that hovered out of the ray shielded hangars just as the hangar doors opened. "You know our job. Take out any enemy starfighters and watch each other's backs."

"Don't worry about us, sir. We'll take care of those clankers." Clone pilot Fix replied.

"Yeah, and I'll cover Fix when he needs help." Clone pilot Ace added.

"That's the spirit, boys. Your first round of drinks is on me when we get back. Now's let's go." The Tempest led the squad of clone pilots out of the Star Destroyer's hangars and flew towards the Separatist ship at attack speed. "All right, boys. Keep an eye on your deflector shields and watch your fire. Fix, take your squad and cover us at point 5.7 and watch out for enemy fighters. Oddball, your squad with me."

"Copy that, Red Leader." Oddball replied as the Tempest led the charge with 8 V-19 interceptors following behind while 8 other interceptors stayed behind to provide cover and overwatch.

Will and his squad of starfighters landed an attack barrage on the Separatist's ship starboard side, taking out their turbo laser emplacements and getting their attention. Some vulture droids began filing out of the hangar bay doors but since they got the drop on them, they were in prime position to take out a lot of them. Hevy and Echo shot down several vulture droids in their gunner chairs while Fives manned the cockpit lasers, blasting a few more. The interceptors followed behind him and took out more of the droids as they swerved around the ship and engaged in a small dogfight with the droids, but they had the edge as Fix and his squad came in and tipped the odds in their favor.

Will maneuvered the Tempest around the Separatist's ship's cockpit before doing a barrel roll which saved him from crashing into two vulture droids. He then did a half-loop and 180 twist before Hevy blasted two more vulture droids into pieces.

"Ha! Make that number twenty! They're like sitting ducks!" Hevy cheered as he acquired another target and blasted it only for Echo to blast it before him.

"That's twenty-one for me. Keep up, Hevy." Echo told him.

"Keep it up, fellas!" Will said as he tailed four hyena bombers which were soon blasted into scrap. BD-8 let out a beep, informing them that they were getting a transmission from Obi-wan.

"Will, can you hear me? Dooku managed to escape. We're following him but we could use some help. Follow us in whatever ships you can spare."

"Roger that, Master. I'll get there as soon as I can." He replied, maneuvering his ship past the engines of the Separatist cruiser. "Ahsoka, come in. How are we doing?"

"The ship's engines are disabled, and we've got them on the run. All of Red Squadron is still alive and kicking." She told him.

"Nice. All right, bring in the Resolute and capture the ship. We could use the supplies and any intel they have. Master Kenobi and Skywalker are chasing after Dooku so I'm going to back them up. I'll keep my transponder on. Regroup with us when you're done."

"Roger that, Mando. Stay safe."

"Always, Ace. All right, Red Squadron keep it tight and nice job today. Mop up any remaining droids and then head back to the Resolute." Will ordered.

"Roger that, Commander. Happy hunting and hope you get Dooku." Oddball said.

"Here's hoping." Will maneuvered the ship and followed Obi-wan's beacon which was on the planet of Vancor. They neared the planet, but four vulture droids must have peeled off from the ship and chased after them. "Hevy, Echo take care of our followers."

"Roger that, sir." Echo replied as he and Hevy began shooting at the droids while he piloted the ship down to the planet's surface. They managed to nail one of the vulture droids but the other three weren't that easy to hit, doing an excellent job at evading and maneuvering.

"Damn, these clankers are getting smarter." Hevy commented as he wasn't able to pin one down yet.

The Tempest entered the planet's atmosphere and was closing in on Obi-wan's locator beacon but bringing in those droids could be dangerous so Will decided to act and activated the ramp. "BD-8, pilot the ship and head back to space. Take out those droids and then come back."

BD-8 gave an affirmative beep as Will got out of his seat and rushed out of the cockpit. "Commander, where are you going?!" Fives asked as BD-8 made some quick turns and twists, causing him to hold onto his seat tight.

"Doing something really stupid." The Padawan said to himself before jumping off the ramp of his ship and falling down to the ground. BD-8 piloted the ship away from the planet surface and the droids followed, not noticing the jedi falling to the ground. Will maneuvered his body and dove through the air towards a mountain slope. Once he was close enough, acting on instinct and trust in the force he flipped through the air landed on the mountain slope in a manner that allowed him to slide down the rocky formation on his back. As he slid down the mountain on his back, getting some serious mountain burn he activated both his forearm blades and dug them into the rocks to slow down his descent and carve out two long lines in the mountain. It wasn't easy and the strain was intense, but he managed to slow himself down enough to a stop before he impaled himself on a spikey rock.

"Whew. Thank the force and Mandalore that worked. I'm never doing that again." He pulled out one of his forearm guards out of the mountain side and fired a grapple cable to slowly and safely descend to the ground.

Master Kenobi and Skywalker had crash landed on the planet's surface much like Count Dooku did and managed to track his position to a nearby cave only to nearly get killed by falling rocks. That came curtesy of Dooku who sealed the cave and took Anakin's lightsaber. The old count walked away with a smirk and made his way back to his ship when he stopped for a moment, feeling a unique disturbance.

He then jumped forward to avoid a small rocket explosion when a figure backflipped through the air and landed in a crouch, sending out a force wave that sent the Count skidding back a few paces. Dooku force pulled his saber off his belt and blocked a series of quick strikes and slashes from a blue lightsaber before pressing forward with his own attacks that were blocked and parried until he engaged in a saber lock and could see his opponent with his own eyes. It was just a young boy, a Padawan no less but he sensed great power within him.

"You are either very brave or very foolish to attack me, Padawan." Dooku said only for Will to activate his repulsors which knocked the Count onto his back. The Count quickly backflipped to avoid Will's ground stab as the two enemies circled around one another. "Foolish indeed, especially for a Mandalorian. If I recall, your people have adopted a neutral stance in this war."

"Not this Mandalorian. And what you call foolish, Master Kenobi would call smart thinking." Will quipped and that earned a raised eyebrow from the Count.

"Ah, so Master Kenobi has found himself another youngling to train. And I so hoped he would have learned from his mistake and taught his new Padawan more manners than the last." Dooku remarked as Will kept his saber ready.

"I like to think of it as more along the lines of expressing my personality. Give up, Dooku. You may be better than me, but the Republic will be here soon with reinforcements." He told him.

"True, you may take me alive, but your master and Skywalker won't be." Dooku gestured back to the cave with the rubble blocking the entrance. "They may have survived the ceiling collapse, but I imagine facing a gundark is something that even they would have difficulty with."

Will's smirk of confidence gave way to a frown of worry as he looked at the cave and then at the count. "Master Skywalker was right about one thing. You're devious."

"You have your choice, Padawan. Either stay true to your mission and attempt to delay me long enough for reinforcements to arrive if they do and risk your life in attempt to keep me from leaving…or save your master and his former padawan. Time is running out." Dooku warned him. There was a little mental war going on in Will's head as to the right course of action, but he couldn't let his master and Anakin die in there.

"Frak!" He lowered his saber and deactivate the blade as Dooku did the same. "This isn't over, Dooku. You'll see me again."

"See your body again, of that I have no doubt, but you won't find me in such a charitable mood next time." Dooku holstered his saber and walked away.

Will sneered at the count as he left before rushing over to the cave and force lifting as many boulders out the way as he fast as he could. A lot easier than it sounds as there were a lot and they were heavy. In about five minutes of working as fast as he could, he managed to move dozens of rocks out of the way but was met with more rocks and boulders and no clear path into the cave.

"Ok, calm down, Will. You can do this." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself down and finding his center. After a little meditation, he held his hand out towards the cave and many of the rocks began to shake and move before one by one they all levitated in the air and moved out of the way. It was slow but eventually a small path was created. He squeezed through the opening and saw the dark tunnel with the only ambient light being that of the native crystal deposits in the wall.

Before he could take in the beauty of the cave, he heard thumping and roaring which turned out to be Anakin running for his life from a four-armed red skinned female gundark.

"You know, you can come in and help any time now!" Anakin shouted as he jumped out of the gundark's path and avoided her deadly claws.

"No, I'm quite all right. Besides, she seems rather fond of you." Obi-wan remarked as he was fidgeting with his lightsaber to try and get it working again.

Anakin force threw some boulders at the gundark, but it just swatted them away before pouncing on him. It chomped and clawed at Anakin who force pushed it back and scrambled back to his feet when a harpoon cable wrapped around the gundark's body and arms. Will then jumped through the air and tangled the cable around the gundark's legs and pulled, causing it fall to the ground as it clawed and scratched to get loose.

"Nice to see you join us, Padawan." Obi-wan said as Will kept a tight hold of the cable.

"Hello, Master. Master Skywalker. Who's your friend?" He wondered.

"Not sure of her name but she's feisty." Anakin replied as the gundark chomped at them before biting the cable.

"Easy there, girl." Will closed his eyes and touched the gundark's body, establishing a force bond with the animal that seemed to calm it down a bit. It growled and chomped a little longer before it finally started to calm down and relaxed. He undid the cable and released the gundark which got back onto its feet and growled at them only for the Padawan to look unafraid and approach the animal with his hand held out.

Anakin was about to rush over to help him when Obi-wan stopped him. The two watched as Will slowly touched the gundark's face and rather than bite his hand off or tackle him…it let him touch him. Will nodded at the gundark and it nodded back before slowly walking away.

"Impressive, Padawan." Anakin commented.

"Thanks. Wasn't that hard once it calmed down. The gundark is just super territorial. Once I explained we were here by accident and we were leaving, she calmed down." He explained as he led them out of the cave, and they squeezed through the opening.

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see sunlight. Now, all we need to do is find Dooku." Anakin said.

"Where is he? I'm surprised you were able to find us without running into him, Padawan." Obi-wan said to him.

"I did run into him and tried to stop him…but I had to let him go to save you and Master Skywalker. I'm sorry, Master." Will bowed his head in shame only for Obi-wan to pat him on the shoulder.

"Don't be ashamed, my Padawan. You were in a difficult situation and either of us would have likely done the same. And I'm proud that you didn't try to engage Dooku. As talented as you are, Count Dooku is not an easy opponent to trifle with. We'll get him next time." Obi-wan told him as the Tempest flew into view and hovered down to pick them up and take them back to the Resolute. Little did they know that they would have another chance to grab Dooku.

Line Break xxxxx

With Dooku gone from the system, Anakin and Obi-wan began concocting a search pattern to find him when they got a message from Master Windu and Master Yoda on Coruscant. Apparently, Count Dooku was captured by a pirate named Hondo Ohnaka and if the Republic wanted him then it would cost them a million credits worth of spice in an unarmed diplomatic ship. Chancellor Palpatine was kind of confrontational but Senator Amidala smoothed things out and got the pirate to agree to let two Jedi arrive to inspect Count Dooku with their own eyes. Unfortunately, there was a catch.

"His only stipulation is that you arrive unarmed." Master Windu told them via hologram.

"Unarmed?" Anakin thought that would stupid.

"We know very little about these pirates. We could be walking blind into what may very well be a hostile situation." Obi-wan pointed out.

"We can't let Dooku slip through our fingers again. Report back as soon as you arrive." Windu ordered before ending the transmission.

"Nothing about this feels right, Master." Ahsoka said.

"I agree with you Snips. I don't like it either." Anakin replied.

"Master, this is most definitely a trap." Will told him.

"You seem rather certain about that, Padawan. Do you know this pirate?" Obi-wan wondered.

"Only from the stories my mother told me as a child. In her jobs after escaping Mandalore, she only ever mentioned one Weequay pirate named Hondo Ohnaka and he's someone you can expect to honor your deal as well as twist the deal so only he profits from it. He's got a sense of honor that can be respected but his greed is just as powerful." Will remembered his mother's stories.

"Sounds like a charmer." Ahsoka muttered.

"The only reason he never met the end of my mother's blaster is because he was needed for the jobs they pulled. He's got a plan for you once you get down there. That I can promise." He swore and the others could agree.

"Still, if it's a chance to get Count Dooku then it's worth the risk." Captain Rex pointed out.

"Maybe we can put the odds in our favor? BD-8 should go with you two in the Tempest. If something happens, he can send a message back and we'll be able to prepare ourselves before the ransom arrives." Will suggested.

"That's not a bad idea." Anakin pointed out and Obi-wan agreed.

"Well, at least this will be exciting." Obi-wan said.

Florum

He and Anakin took the Tempest to Florum where they landed in the pirate's compound/city. They walked down the ramp and were met with 12 Weequay pirates aiming blasters at them. Obi-wan and Anakin walked forward as they were scanned before being escorted in while BD-8 stayed in the ship. Obi-wan and Anakin were escorted into the large banquet area where various Weequay and other species were drinking or chatting while music was played. Clearly, Hondo had a very large pirate crew. Speaking of the pirate leader, they saw him sitting at a table surrounded by his guards.

"Gentlemen! Can I offer you something to drink?" Hondo asked as he sipped his beverage.

"No thank you." Obi-wan replied as Hondo slid a green colored drink over to them but neither of the Jedi took it. "Congratulations on your capture of Count Dooku. Very impressive."

"Yes, it was. Even a Sith Lord is no match for my warriors!" He proudly boasted only to see three of his men passed out drunk at the end of the table. "But he put up quite a fight. Blasters, cannons, that glowing thing—vroom, vroom."

"You mean the lightsaber?"

"That's it. I don't need to tell you. Those things can do some damage." Hondo said as his red pet Kowakian monkey-lizard scrambled about carrying a bottle of liquor and Anakin's lightsaber. "Carved up some of my best men pretty good before I could get a jump on him."

"And how exactly did you get the jump on him. With this?!" Anakin pulled his lightsaber back into his hand only for every pirate to aim a blaster at him. The Kowakian monkey-lizard jumped over and took the blade back in a huff and Anakin couldn't do anything since they were surrounded.

"We have no interest in disagreeing with you. All we want is to confirm you are holding Dooku and we'll go." Obi-wan told him, trying to ease tensions.

"I will arrange a meeting." Hondo promised and he did that. Obi-wan and Anakin met with Dooku and after some taunting and insulting back and forth, Dooku's last words of warning was to not trust the pirates but the Jedi weren't that worried. They returned to the Tempest to get work back to the Chancellor.

"No question they have Dooku. Send the ransom."

"Is he being securely held?" Palpatine asked.

"Yeah, and very cranky about it." Anakin replied.

"Good. Senator Kharrus and Representative Binks will be dispatched immediately." Palpatine told them before ending the transmission.

BD-8 then contacted Will and Ahsoka back on the Resolute. "Master, how are things down there?"

"A bit tense but Hondo does have Dooku. We've already instructed Chancellor Palpatine and the ransom is on its way." Obi-wan told him.

"Something about this still doesn't feel right. Master, permission for Ahsoka and I to join the diplomatic party in escorting the spices? If it turns out to be nothing, you can say I told you so." Will said.

"And if it does turn out to be something?" Obi-wan wondered.

"Then it'll be a good thing that some extra help will be there." Will pointed out.

Obi-wan thought it over and agreed. "Very well, Padawan. I do hope your wrong about this and it this just turns out to be your over-cautious nature."

"So, do I, Master Kenobi. Oh, and one more piece of advice: don't drink anything they give you." Will said before ending the call. If only they listened to that one.

The Resolute, Space

Back on the Resolute, Will, Ahsoka, and Rathtar squad geared up for the mission. They weren't sure what would happen, so he had them prepare for anything. Nearly half a cycle had passed and the Republic shuttle carrying the ransom would arrive soon, so he called BD-8 who relayed that Obi-wan and Anakin never returned to the ship since leaving to go to Hondo's banquet. He tasked BD-8 to go find them and report back.

When the Diplomatic shuttle carrying Senator Kharrus and the spice arrived, they were hailed to meet them on the ship. The shuttle arrived in the hangar where Senator Kharrus, Jar-Jar, Shock Trooper Commander Stone and his squad disembarked where Will met them.

"Senator Kharrus, welcome aboard the Resolute. I'm Will Vizsla, Padawan of Obi-wan Kenobi. Forgive the meeting like this, Senator Kharrus but some new developments have risen."

"What's wrong?" Kharrus asked.

"We've lost contact with Master Kenobi and Skywalker on Florum. Now it could be nothing, but something might have happened so Master Kenobi instructed us to accompany you to the negotiations." Will told him.

"I won't say no to Jedi company on this mission. We should inform the Chancellor." Senator Kharrus told him. Ahsoka and Rathtar squad joined Commander Stone and his squad on the ship while Will and Senator Kharrus contacted Chancellor Palpatine on Coruscant.

"Senator Kharrus. How goes your mission?" Chancellor Palpatine asked.

"On course but there is a development." Kharrus replied as Will stepped into view of the hologram.

"Padawan Vizsla, I was unaware I assigned you to Senator Kharrus's protection detail."

"You didn't, Supreme Chancellor. I asked the senator's shuttle to stop onboard the Resolute to discuss some details." Will told him.

"What details?" Senator Amidala asked.

"Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker haven't reported back in several hours and any attempts to contact them haven't been returned." He explained.

"Do you think something happened to them? They could just be busy at the moment." Master Windu suggested.

"I thought that at first, Master Windu but their personal comms isn't responding either. My droid is on board the ship they took down so I've instructed BD-8 to find out any information he can. Master Kenobi and I discussed something like this happening, and he told me and Ahsoka to escort Senator Kharrus down to the planet for extra security."

"A sound strategy but why would the pirates risk taking the Jedi hostage? They're not that arrogant to court war with the Republic." Chancellor Palpatine said.

"I doubt it's about starting a war, Chancellor. If anything, Hondo's decided that two paydays is better than one. We turn over the spice for Dooku and then he can ransom Master Kenobi and Skywalker again for another payday with Senator Kharrus as another hostage." Will postulated.

"Interesting thinking, you've thought of, Padawan." Yoda commented.

"Well, if I were as arrogant in capturing Dooku as Hondo is and as greedy, it's what I would do. And growing up on Coruscant I've met people like him. Ahsoka and I will escort Senator Kharrus down to Florum and we'll be in contact with the Resolute should something happen, Chancellor."

"Very good, Padawan Vizsla. Be careful." Palpatine replied before ending the call.

"All right, pilots. Take us down to Florum." Will ordered and the shuttle took off towards the planet.

Florum

After piloting through space, the Republic Shuttle descended into Florum's atmosphere. The pilots followed the coordinates Hondo gave them to his base and they stuck to it because if Hondo had a surprise for them then they would be ready.

"Senator Kharrus, Commander Vizsla take your seats. We're coming in for a landing." The pilot informed them as everyone moved to the sitting area.

"The last time I went on one of these ransom missions, I spent three weeks in a dungeon." Senator Kharrus commented.

"Well, hopefully this one will go smoothly." Commander Stone replied.

"If not…we've got the big guns." Hevy patted his PLX-1 portable missile launcher on his side.

"Here's hoping this is just my over cautious nature and things are all right down there." Will added as he saw Jar-Jar seemed to be unable to open the restraints for his seat.

"Representative Binks stop fooling around and get in your seat. We're landing soon." Senator Kharrus told him. Everyone else had managed to get into their seats except for the Gungan.

"Mesa trying. Thessa stuckin." Jar-Jar said when the ship began to swerve, and they heard blaster fire.

"We're under attack!" The pilot shouted.

"I hate being right." Will muttered under his breath. "Pilots, get us out of here now!"

"Yes, sir!" He replied as the pilots did their best to keep the shuttle from getting hit. The constant shaking and swerved caused Jar-Jar to slip into the hallway where he accidently brought one of the pilots down. That little distraction was enough for the shuttle to get hit by missiles. "We're going down!"

Will used the force to push Jar-Jar into his seat as the shuttle careened towards the ground and crashed, digging out a long impact trench. He saw Senator's Kharrus's seat buckle come undone and quickly grabbed his arm as they all held on for dear life when the ship stopped. The banging and shaking disorientated all of them and wasn't fun but they were alive.

"Ugh…that sucks." Will undid his seat buckle and helped Senator Kharrus back to his feet. "Senator, are you all right?"

"Thanks to you, Padawan. You saved my life."

"Just doing my job, sir. Sound off! Anyone hurt?!" He shouted.

"We're good, sir." Fives replied.

"I'm ok." Ahsoka added.

"Still alive, sir." Commander Stone finished as Will walked out of the shuttle wreckage. The ship had split in two so there was no way it would fly now, and they would be lucky if any of the systems were still operational.

"Both pilots are dead." One of Stone's men shouted.

"Frak. Get them out of the ship and collect their tags. We'll bury them when we get off this planet." Will said and the clones got to work.

"We've got to figure out a way to contact Coruscant." Commander Stone told him so Will activated the communicator in his forearm guard.

"BD-8, come in. Are you there?" He waited for a reply and heard some beeping. BD-8 managed to find Obi-wan and Anakin who were tied up and chained to Dooku, captured and without their weapons. "That's not good. All right, BD-8 head back to the Tempest and pilot it to my locator beacon. We need to contact Coruscant and rescue them."

BD-8 gave an affirmative boop as Will activated his locator beacon. "Commander Stone, take inventory of everything we have and make sure that spice is still secure."

"Yes, sir." Stone saluted as he and his clones got to work.

"Echo, man the scanner and widen the range. We're sitting ducks out here, so I want to know where the next attack is coming from."

"Roger that." Echo took out his gear and began setting it up.

"Hevy, Fives, get the heavy weapons out. Suffice to say that diplomacy is out the window." Will ordered and the two clones got to work.

"What are you thinking, Mando?" Ahsoka wondered. "I mean, why would Hondo shoot us down if we were to deliver his bounty."

"Who knows what's going on in that pirate's head. We're on our own here so we'll have to play it by ear." He replied. "Senator Kharrus, considering the situation it's safe to assume that delivering the ransom is the least of our priorities."

"I agree. Whatever Hondo's plan is, he will answer for what he's done." Kharrus stated.

"My droid is on our way here with my ship the Jedi used to arrive. Once he arrives, we'll contact Coruscant and the Resolute for backup and get you and representative Binks out of here safely." Will explained.

"Yousa can do it, Will. Yousa a very good Jedi." Jar-Jar said when his hearing picked up something in the distance. "Whassa that?"

"Sir, we've got incoming from the east and coming in fast." Echo picked up on the scanner.

"Senator Kharrus head back to the shuttle. Commander Stone, get your men into a defensive position by the wreckage. Hevy, load a flash round." Will ordered. Senator Kharrus and Representative Binks took cover in the shuttle wreckage with Commander Stone and his men covering them. Fives pulled out his dual pistols while Hevy loaded a flash round into his missile launcher. "Talk to me, Echo. What's coming at us?"

"I'm getting a speeder signal. Lots of them."

"They could be the ones we're supposed to deliver the spice too." Fives pointed out.

"Or they're the ones who shot us down." Ashoka said when they saw seven land speeders speed over a hill towards them.

"Defensive positions! Take cover!" Will shouted as the pirates opened fire at them. Will and Ahsoka activated their sabers and got back to back as they deflected blaster bolts with the clones firing back from their cover in the wreckage. Fives stood by his commander and Ashoka, using his two pistols while Echo blasted back with his DC-17m Interchangeable weapon system set in blaster mode. The speeder bikes began to circle around the group with some of the pirates tossing out thermal detonators to try and scare them. Two of the speeders stopped and the pressed towards the wreckage but Commander Stone and his men kept them back.

"They're going for the spice!" Fives shouted.

"We need to keep them away from the ship!" Ahsoka said while deflecting blaster bolts.

"Hevy, blind them a bit! Fives, Echo, alpha maneuver! Ahsoka, head to the ship and cover the Senator!" Will told her and she nodded. "NOW!"

Hevy fired his flash rocket into the air where it reached the peak of its travel before exploding in a bright flash of light that caused the pirates to shield their eyes in response. Most of the pirates swerved their speeders to a stop but two were not so lucky and crashed into some rocks. With the pirates blinded and momentarily dazed the heroes sprang into action. Will's blue lightsaber spun through the air and sliced the front part of a speeder before he dropkicked the pirate off his seat. Fives charged forward with Echo right behind him. Fives led the path blasting the pirates with his dual blaster pistols before quickly dropping back behind Echo who covered him while he reloaded and then the two advanced forward, killing a few more pirates. Ahsoka came up on their left and took out a few more pirates. One of the pirates aimed his rifle at them only for a blue lightsaber to slice it in two. Will flipped through the air as the saber spun back to his hand and landed a tornado kick to the pirate's face, sending him spinning to the ground where Hevy blasted him in the head with his pistol.

The leader of the pirate group saw they didn't have the edge anymore with the Jedi, so he signaled his men to leave and they turned tail and sped away. "Echo, tag him!"

Echo quickly changed his DC-17m into grenade mode and loaded a special round into the ammo slot. He squeezed the trigger and the launcher fired a small circular round in the air before it split apart to reveal a tracking node which landed on the exhaust pipe of a speeder. "Got him!" Echo put his gun down and checked his scanner, getting a clear reading of the tracking dart.

"Nicely done, everyone. Commander Stone, anyone injured?" Will asked.

"No, sir. We're fine. Those pirates aren't the best shots." Commander stone replied. "The spice is still secured in the ship and both Senator Kharrus and Representative Binks are safe."

"Glad things worked out, Mando." Ahsoka commented.

"Helps to be paranoid." He replied. "Gather everything up. BD-8 should be here soon with my ship."

The clones nodded and gathered the spice containers together along with anything else from the ship wreckage and the dead clones just as the Tempest flew in and landed down next to them. The ramp lowered down so they all could see BD-8 waiting there, waving his leg.

"Sir, your droid is amazing." Echo told him.

"Yup. He's the best." Will walked up the ramp and BD-8 climbed up his back to take his position on his shoulder with a happy beep. "Senator Kharrus, Representative Binks, please come aboard. Commander Stone, you can move the spice containers inside. Echo, get on the comm system and contact the Resolute for assistance."

"Roger that." They boarded the ship with Commander Stone and his men moving the spice containers inside to the cargo hold as Senator Kharrus and Representative Binks walked to the lounge area. Jar-Jar was in awe as he looked at the ship. Ahsoka walked in after them when Will stopped her for a second.

"Make sure the Gungan doesn't touch anything."

Ashoka nodded and went to make sure Jar-Jar didn't do anything that would cause another crash landing. Will made his way to the cockpit and sat down in the pilot's seat while BD-8 took his position in the droid slot. Fives sat down in the co-pilot's chair when Echo walked into the cockpit.

"Sir, I contacted the Resolute. They're sending down a shuttle along with an escort of fighters. They should be here soon. And the signal from the speeder we tagged is still strong. Guess where they stopped?"

"Let me guess, Hondo's hideout?" Will asked and Echo nodded. "Well, that pirate is in for a rude awakening. Tell Hevy to get in the gunner seat and prep the topside hatch for ship-to-ship docking."

"Roger that, sir." Echo rushed off to get to work as Will piloted the ship into the air. He kept them on a stable attitude while they waited for the shuttle to pick up Senator Kharrus. The stealth system on the Tempest would keep them off any scanners Hondo had which was to their advantage so he wouldn't be able to pick them up in the air. The Tempest hid in the clouds while waiting for backup. Normally he would have wanted to go straight to Hondo's hideout and bust his master and Anakin free but couldn't risk Senator Kharrus's safety. Once the shuttle arrived to take Senator Kharrus back to the Resolute, then he and Rathtar squad would go and rescue them.

BD-8 let out a beep, saying that a shuttle was closing in along with a message. "Tempest this is shuttle Tyderion arriving to escort Senator Kharrus back to the Resolute." The pilot spoke as they saw a shuttle ship arrived along with an escort of V-19 torrent Interceptors as security.

"Roger that, Tyderion. Prepare for ship-to-ship docking." Will replied, moving the Tempest into position. "Fives, extend topside hatch and anchor points."

Fives pressed a few buttons on the console, extending the topside port hatch and anchor points which connected with the shuttle and locked into position. "Topside hatch locked into place."

"Echo, open up the hatch and escort the Senator." Will spoke into the comm system.

"Roger that." Echo opened up the hatch where two clones were waiting on the shuttle. He helped Senator Kharrus, Representative Binks, Commander Stone and his men onto shuttle before closing it. "Senator Kharrus is onboard the shuttle and the hatch is closed."

"Copy that. Disengaging anchor points and retracting hatch." Fives pressed a few more buttons to retract the hatch.

"Shuttle Tyderion to Tempest. Senator Kharrus is onboard."

"Roger that, Shuttle Tyderion. Escort the Senator back to the Resolute. We're on our way to recover master's Kenobi and Skywalker and retrieve Count Dooku." Will spoke into the comm system.

"Acknowledged, Tempest. Good luck." The Tyderion shuttle and the escort of interceptors quickly left the planet and returned to the Resolute.

"All right, Rathtar squad. Let's go hunting." Will ignited the engines and followed the coordinates to Hondo's hideout. Ahsoka joined him and the others in the cockpit and sat in a passenger seat when a few minutes in the flight she noticed something.

"Hey, there's something over there." Ahsoka pointed out the window.

Echo looked out and saw a crackling purple energy field traveling down power lines. "Looks like a power line set up. It's going in the same direction of Hondo's hideout. Must be his power source."

"And since we're the only ones out here, an easy target." Fives suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Will hit the intercom button. "Hevy, we've got a power line target for you to hit. Get the DC-17m and load a timed explosive round."

"Got it, sir." Hevy replied, getting out of the gunner chair, and crawling up out of the turret seat to grab Echo's DC-17m. He grabbed a special timed explosive round as he made his way to the ramp. "How long, sir?"

"Let's do five minutes. Feels like a lucky number." Will told him as Hevy set the timer before hitting the power ramp and hooking himself to the wall. He crouched and aimed out of the ship, controlling his breathing to make the best shot.

"Hevy, I've got ten credits saying that you miss." Echo bet.

"I'll take that action." Fives added.

"Prove them wrong, Hevy. You can do it." Will urged him on as Hevy aimed down his sight at the power lines and took a deep breath.

"Bang." Hevy pressed the trigger, sending the round out of the barrel at a high angle. It soared through the air as the wind caused it to shift slightly but it landed right next to one of the pylons.

"Ha. Knew you could do it, Hevy." Will congratulated him as he continued to pilot them to Hondo's hideout. "All right, get back to the turret seat. I say we pull off a lazy Susan."

"Sounds good to me, sir." Fives took out his dual pistols and loaded fresh ammo clips in them.

"What's a lazy Susan?" Ahsoka asked, confused.

"One of the many plans we came up with for emergencies or situations like this. Essentially, I or we in this case draw the enemy into an area where the other are ready and waiting and turn the odds in our favor. BD-8, you've got the controls." Will said and BD-8 beeped, taking control of the ship. He and Ashoka headed over to the ramp and prepped to jump as they were a minute from Hondo's hideout. "You ready, Ace?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Mando." Ahsoka wise cracked.

"All right. Follow me." Will told her as they jumped off the ramp and rolled from the impact onto the roof of Hondo's hideout. The Tempest quickly flew away as the two Padawans stealthily made their way into the hideout.

As for Obi-wan and Anakin, well after their second failed escape attempt and hearing that his men were attacked by Republic forces, Hondo decided that it was time to get a little more aggressive with his negotiations. He had Obi-wan and Anakin strung up via energy binders in the main hall so all his men could watch.

"I take the Republic didn't arrive with the ransom?" Obi-wan remarked while the Weequays just laughed.

"Well, your Republic obviously doesn't want the Sith lord." Hondo told him.

"They didn't show?" Obi-wan asked, trying to get some information to figure out what's going on.

"Oh, they did. They did show. With a huge army that they thought would be enough to get the better of me! Hondo!"

"That can't be right. I know your Padawan's a Mandalorian, but I don't think even he would do that." Anakin remarked to Obi-wan.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Hondo questioned.

"Uh, isn't that kind of what you do for a living?" Anakin questioned back.

"You reject my hospitality, refuse to wait in your cell, and now you're going to insult me?!" Hondo never felt more insulted.

"I'm just saying."

"Anakin!"

"What? He is a pirate!"

"Yes, but this may not be the best time to speak."

"But you—"

"At all, Anakin!"

And he was right as Hondo pulled out a button which began shocking the two Jedi with electricity and it hurt. Unfortunately for Hondo, the shocking was cut short as the power went off a few seconds later.

"What happened to the power? I was having fun!" Hondo shouted when two figures jumped down from the roof and force pushed all the Weequay pirates away. A green lightsaber ignited, slicing the restraint cuffs off of Obi-wan and Anakin but before Hondo could do anything he was grabbed from behind and a blue lightsaber was held to his throat.

"Do anything and this won't end well for you." He was warned as Anakin and Obi-wan force pulled their lightsabers from Hondo's jacket and ignited them, giving them some light to see who saved them. Ashoka cut their restraint cuffs and Will had Hondo as a hostage. "Can we please move to the exit?"

Will led Hondo away as Ahsoka, Anakin, and Obi-wan joined him with their lightsabers up to cover him. Hondo's pirates got up, pulled out their blasters and aimed them at the Jedi but didn't fire a shot as Hondo was in the way.

"What chance do you really have, Jedi? Now let me go and I just might let you live." Hondo bargained but Will's blade did not move as they finally exited the main hall out into the open.

"You might want to rethink that bargain." Ahsoka remarked as the Tempest hovered into position. Fives and Echo were on the ramp with their blasters aimed at the pirates along with the bottom turret curtesy of Hevy.

"First rule of negotiations with the Jedi…never assume you're the smartest in the room." Will told Hondo. "Your plan is over, Hondo. The spice is secure, and your men are outgunned with a few of them dead for good measure."

"Well done, my Padawan. And we'll honor our agreement assuming the pirates still have Count Dooku to trade." Obi-wan said when they saw one of the pirate's saucers hover in the air and leave the planet in a hurry.

"Well, that answers that question." Anakin said as they moved to the Tempest, but the pirates kept following them.

"Unless you Weequay want to end up as carbon scoring, you'll want to back up." Will warned them.

"So, what now, Jedi? You going to arrest me?" Hondo asked.

"No. Will, release him." Obi-wan ordered.

"WHAT?!" Will, Anakin, and Ahsoka shouted.

"Captain, you have nothing we want and since we're not prisoners and you're out gunned you have no bargaining power." Obi-wan corrected the pirate. "Let's leave on even terms."

Will relented before deactivating his saber and releasing him. Hondo's pirates rushed over as Echo and Fives kept their blasters ready when Hondo stopped them. "Hold! Jedi. After everything, you're just going to walk away?"

"We have no quarrel with you, and we seek no revenge." Obi-wan answered.

"I see. Very honorable, Master Jedi." Hondo stated, admiring Obi-wan's sense of honor. Anyone else wouldn't have let him off so easy.

"Oh, and Captain. You will find that Count Dooku does not share our sense of honor. And he knows where you live." Obi-wan remarked as they boarded the Tempest.

"Always have to have the last word, huh Master?" Will joked as the ramp closed behind them and BD-8 piloted them off the planet.

"So, I guess Mando and I really saved your butt, huh Master?" Ashoka remarked to Anakin.

"Don't exaggerate, Ashoka. We would have been fine without you. We had the entire situation under control." Anakin corrected her.

"Was that before or after they were shocking you?" She wondered.

"We would have been fine. Once the power was out, we would have gotten our sabers and taken Hondo hostage." Anakin stated.

"But the power only went out because I spotted the power line grid and Mando got the idea to take it out with a timed explosion while we went into the Pirates hideout to rescue you. Admit it, Master, we totally saved you today." Ahsoka was waiting for him to say she was right, and Anakin was a little lost on what to say.

"Uh, Obi-wan. Care to help me here?" Anakin looked at Obi-wan who smirked.

"Padawan, what about Senator Kharrus?" Obi-wan wondered.

"He's fine and so is Representative Binks. We had a bit of a crash landing and lost the two pilots in the shuttle but everyone else is fine and the spice is still secure." Will answered. "Guess it pays off to be overcautious."

"So, it would seem." Obi-wan smiled at his Padawan as they headed back to the Resolute. They lost Count Dooku, but they would see him again soon enough.

Line Break xxxxx

The Republic Fleet is on the defensive and pushed to the brink! As war rages in the much-contested Outer Rim territories, chaos and fear mount as the Separatist army wages an epic battle against heavily outnumbered Republic ships.

In the far reaches of the Quell System, Anakin Skywalker and Padawans Ahsoka Tano and William Vizsla race across the galaxy to aid Jedi Knight Aayla Secura, who is midst of a fight for her life as the sinister droid army closes in.

Will was working with Master Skywalker and Ahsoka as Obi-wan had some business for the council to take care of. They were going help Jedi Knight Aayla Secura who was ambushed by a Separatist fleet in the atmosphere of the planet Quell.

Aayla Secura and her three Venator-class Star Destroyers were under heavy fire from Separatist Munificent-class star frigates and while in a ship-to-ship battle they would have the edge; they were caught unaware and hovering in the atmosphere took up part of the focus for the engineers. They fired back with their laser cannons, but it was a losing battle.

"Our shields are gone!" A technician shouted as the Star Destroyer rumbled from the impact of blaster fire. Their accompaniment of starfighters did their best to hold off the Separatists attack but they needed help.

"Hurry, Skywalker. We're depending on you." Aayla prayed just as Anakin's Star Destroyer dropped out of hyperspace above the planet.

"Prepare the gunships!" Anakin shouted and the clones headed to the hangar bay. Will, BD-8 and Rathtar squad joined Ashoka, Anakin, Rex and a contingent of clones in the lead gunship. "We're ready, Admiral."

The Star Destroyer lowered down into the atmosphere and the gunships made their way to the three Star Destroyers under attack. Anakin's gunship and two others headed towards Aayla's flagship while the others went to evacuate the other two ships while a squad of V-19 Torrent Interceptors protected the Resolute.

As they neared Aayla's flagship they saw Super Battle Rocket droids fly at them. "Rocket droids! Incoming!" The pilot shouted as they fired a barrage of rockets which destroyed some droids. As they closed in, the gunners shot down as many droids as they could, but they were under heavy fire.

Will looked up and saw a Rocket Droid land on top of the cockpit. "Take out that clanker! I'll be onboard Aayla's ship!" Anakin told them.

"Master, are you sure that's such a good—" Ahsoka didn't get to finish as Anakin jumped from the gunship and landed on a rocket droid, riding it down to the ship.

"BD-8, stick with Ahsoka!" Will told him as BD-8 jumped from his shoulder to Ahsoka's.

"Mando, what are you doing?" Ahsoka asked as he fired a grapple hook into the side of the gunship as a precautionary measure.

"Taking care of business!" He replied, jumping out of the gunship and onto the cockpit where he force pushed the rocket droid away.

"Thanks, sir." The pilot replied.

"Don't mention it! I want a rocket barrage at that hull breach!" Will shouted.

"You got it, sir." The pilot fired a barrage of rockets at a hull breach in the ship where the rocket droids were entering, blowing up a good chunk.

"Get us down there and then tell the other pilots to head back to the Resolute! It's too heavy out here!" Will told him and pilot nodded before he looked at the others in the gunship. "Get ready to jump! We won't be landing!"

"Why does everything go wrong when you're around?" Ahsoka wondered as the pilot hovered the gunship at the breach. Will, Ahsoka, Rex, Rathtar Squad, and the other clones quickly jumped and landed inside the ship where they engaged the boarding battle droids before the pilots flew back to the Resolute.

The two padawans led the way with their lightsabers, blocking and deflecting blaster bolts while the clones fired back. Rex and Fives used their dual blaster pistols, Echo was using his DC-17m in blaster mode while Hevy trudged through with his heavy rotary blaster and was mowing through battle droids. The other clones followed their training and Rex's moves as the group made their way through the ship's corridors until they met back up with Anakin who slashed through a squad of super battle droids before force pushing one through a squad of regular battle droids and they saw Aayla Secura and Clone Commander Bly.

"Nice entrance, Skywalker." Aayla said as the group made their way through the corridors of the ship and through any droids in their way. "How do you plan to get us out of this mess?"

"Well, I have a ship docking in the lower hangar as we speak." He told her and true to his word there was a Republic Shuttle docking in the lower hangar bay.

They continued through the ship's corridors and finally made it to the docking bay entrance when a huge explosion rocked the ship. "Oh, that's not good." Will spoke.

"It's too late!" Anakin quickly force pushed everyone through the hangar bay door just as it closed and then used the force to shut a blast door and keep it closed to prevent the funnel of fire from killing the others. He was strong in the force, but the explosion was too much as it broke through the blast door and knocked him away.

"Are you guys all right down there?" The pilots of the shuttle radioed in.

"Don't move the ship!" Ahsoka told them as Will used his saber to cut a hole in the door when it wouldn't open. He kicked the hole in the door and saw Anakin on the ground, covered in cuts, bruises and he wasn't conscious.

He and Ahsoka quickly dragged Anakin onto the shuttle ship in time as the pilots released the gangway release and flew from Aayla's destroyed ship back to the Resolute. Will and Ahsoka took Anakin to the small med bay onboard the shuttle while Aayla went to the cockpit to talk to Admiral Yularen to request to dock with the Star Destroyer.

"You'll never be able to dock with this ship in the middle of this battle." Admiral Yularen told her.

"We have no choice, Admiral. General Skywalker's condition may be critical. We must get him on board the Resolute." She informed him.

"Are all Jedi this reckless?" Yularen asked.

"Just the good ones." She replied as the ship closed in on the Star Destroyer when a patrol of Droid fighters came in and blasted their left side with a blaster volley. The impact shook the ship causing the pilot's head to slam into the control panel which accidently triggered the hyperdrive.

"The hyperdrive's been activated!" Commander Bly shouted.

"Shut it down!" She told him and he tried but nothing was working. The Resolute quickly moved out of the way in time as the ship entered hyperspace.

Will felt the ship go into hyperspace which wasn't supposed to happen. "Stay with Anakin. I'll go see what's going on. BD-8, stay with Ahsoka. Help however you can and use your stims if you have to." BD-8 nodded as Will rushed over to the cockpit and saw Fives and Echo move the pilot out of his seat. "Commander Bly, what's going on?" Will took the pilot's seat and saw all the consoles were flickering and expelling sparks of electricity.

"We were knocked into hyperspace and the navicomputer's coordinates were inputted incorrectly. We're heading right for a star." Bly told him.

Will tried to change the navicomputer settings or even just pull the ship out of hyperspace but nothing was responding. "Dammit! The controls are locked up!" one of the consoles by the hallway exploded in a spark of electricity and started a small fire. "Put that out!"

"I'm on it." Hevy grabbed an extinguisher and put out the fire as Will did everything he could but still nothing was working.

"Frak! The navicomputer's completely fried. We'll need to do a complete system reset if we want to bring back the navicomputer, but it'll cut off Master Skywalker's life support." Will told everyone.

"If we don't then we're all in trouble." Aayla reminded him.

"Right." Will began the shutdown process. "Shutting down primary power systems."

Rex looked at the navicomputer and saw they were closing in on the sun. "We're cutting it awfully close."

Aayla hit some switched on one of the control consoles, shutting down more power. "Ready to shut down auxiliary power."

"On my mark. Three…two…one…mark!" He shouted and she pulled the lever which shut down all primary power systems and pulled the ship out of hyperspace but also shut down systems like the artificial gravity, so they were experiencing the full G's of flying. Hevy, Fives, Echo, and Rex were thrown back and hit the wall of the cockpit. Will kept his hand steady on the controls of the ship which in this instance was like trying to keep the wheel steady of a ship that weighed over ten tons with no help. "Switch the power back on!"

Aayla reached her hand over and pulled the lever back up, turning the power back on just as the ship began to heat up from the sun's energy. The ship's systems slowly turned back on and once everything was back to normal, Will quickly activated the retrorockets and steered the ship out of the sun's path so they weren't vaporized, but the ship's systems weren't a hundred percent.

"Good news, bad news. We're not gonna crash into the star but we are gonna crash. Brace for crash landing!" He told them as the ship barreled down to the surface of a nearby planet. The heat from the sun combined with the heat from flying down to the planet too fast gave the ship a coating of fire. One of the engines broke off, making the reentry even bumpier until they finally crashed down onto the planet's surface and carved out a huge impact crate before skidding to a stop.

With the ship a giant fireball, they couldn't stay inside for much longer. "Everyone out!" Bly shouted and led the path to the exit. Will and his squad plus Rex, Commander Bly and the other clones cleared the ship as Ahsoka and Aayla Secura carried Anakin out just as the fuel lines exploded.

Once the danger was over, everyone took a breath and relaxed a little. Aayla and Ahsoka set Anakin down as BD-8 popped out another stim unit which Ahsoka took and administered to her master.

"Well, we made it. And Master Skywalker is alive." Aayla pointed out.

"I'm just glad he wasn't awake to see that landing." Ahsoka added.

"Yeah, not my best one." Will muttered as he cracked his neck. "All right, let's put that fire out and take inventory of what we have."

Will, Ahsoka, and Aayla used the force to put out the major fires which allowed them to head into the ship's wreckage to scavenge anything that managed to survive the crash and the explosion. There's wasn't much except some rations and spare ammo which meant they were stuck with what they had. They built a mock-tent to put Anakin in and a fire but despite BD-8's stim vials, he needed medical attention.

"Anakin doesn't have much time. We have to find help tonight." Aayla told everyone.

"Ok, you and Bly go south. Will and his squad will go east. Rex and I will stay with Anakin." Ahsoka planned out but Aayla had another idea.

"No, Ahsoka. In order to get help quickly we must work together."

"I can't just leave him. Master, I know if I was hurt, he would never leave me behind." Ahsoka told her.

"I know this is hard, Ashoka but Anakin has to stay behind, and we have to go now." Aayla told her. "There's nothing more we can do for him. We must do all we can to get off this planet. As a jedi, it is your duty to do what is best for the group."

"She's right, Ahsoka." Will added. "None of us are gonna be fine unless we get help and our communications system is down. If Anakin has any chance of making it then time is of the essence. We need to find someone who can help him."

Ahsoka looked at her master and felt conflicted but they were both right. Commander Bly then walked over with a small stone slab. "Commander, you're gonna wanna see this." He handed it to her, and she saw a carving of a large tree with two figures at the bottom. One an animal and the other a humanoid lifeform. "Looks like we're not the only ones on the planet. There has to be some kind of something here."

A distinct animal cry was heard in the distance that put everyone on edge. "Well, that's not foreboding. What's the plan, Master Secura?" Will asked.

"We're going to find the people who live on this planet." She told him.

"But how? We have no idea where they are." Bly pointed out as Ahsoka took stone slab.

"It seems to me that the locals live near giant trees." Ahsoka suggested.

"Then that's our best bet." Will added as she looked at Anakin.

"Be strong, Master. Just a little longer. Rex will watch over you." She told him.

"It is time to go." Master Secura told her.

"Don't worry, kid. I'll take good care of him." Rex promised.

"Hevy, Fives. You two stay with Rex and look after the camp. BD-8, you too. Your stims can keep him stable." Will suggested and the three nodded as BD-8 crawled down his shoulder and onto Five's.

"Captain Rex, keep your locator beacon on. We should be back by daybreak with whoever or whatever lives on this planet." She told him.

"Understand, General Secura." Rex answered before looking at Ahsoka. "Hey, kid. Good luck."

"Take care, Echo. Try not to have all the fun." Hevy told him as Will, Echo, and Ashoka left with Master Secura, Commander Bly and some other clone troopers. They began to long trek through the lush terrain hoping they were heading in the right direction of the large trees where the local inhabitants would be.

Picking a direction and heading that way, they walked along a pathway of dirt and grass that wasn't as covered by fauna as the rest of the area. That either meant that these paths were carved out by the local inhabitants for ease in traveling or a predator walked through these paths enough that it affected the ground. He was really hoping for the first one.

Will looked over at Echo who was looking at the scanner every few minutes and adjusting the range. "Anything yet, Echo?"

"Sorry, sir. I've got this baby searching a three-kilometer radius and I'm not picking up anything. It's the farthest I can do with what I have on me and making sure we don't lose the battery right away." Echo replied.

"Hopefully, we'll find something soon." He commented when he noticed Ahsoka still looked conflicted about leaving Anakin. He could feel it and so could Master Secura.

"I can still sense your worry for Anakin, your attachment to him." She told the Padawan.

"It's just—I get so confused sometimes. It's forbidden for Jedi to form attachments, yet we are supposed to be compassionate." Ashoka explained.

"It is nothing to be ashamed of, Ahsoka. I went through the same process when I was your age with my own Master." Master Secura admitted.

"Really? You?"

"He was like a father to me. I realized that for the greater good, I had to let him go. Don't lost a thousand lives just to save one." Master Secura wisely put it but Ashoka still had some trouble with the idea.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean that I can't try to save his life."

Ahsoka wasn't the only one who had issues with the Jedi code as Will had his own internal doubts and misgivings. Not to the point that he was going to join the dark side and rebel against the order but where he had some healthy questions on the validity of their code. He's even mentioned this to Obi-wan who helped him with his teachings and assured him that his own Master Qui-Gon Jinn had his issues with the rules of the Jedi Order. Guess Obi-wan had a habit of working with mavericks.

The group continued their trek as the son began to set while back at the camp, Rex, Hevy, and Fives and the others were on high alert. After an hour of walking, Echo picked up something on the scanner and they could see it was a grouping of the large trees they saw on the stone slab. The stone slab didn't do them justice as they were massive, probably as tall as some of the biggest buildings back on Coruscant.

They took a look around and other then some old tree pods that were on the ground, there wasn't any sign of life and Echo's scanner didn't pick up anything else in the area. Commander Bly walked over to one of the large tree trunks to check for any kind of holes or well in the ground but nothing. "I don't see any signs of life."

They heard some rumbling and saw a huge pod fall to the ground. "Look out!" Will rushed forward and tackled Bly out of the way, saving him from being crushed. More pods fell to the ground as Ahsoka, Master Secura, and the others quickly ran underneath the large tree trunks for shelter.

"No wonder it's deserted. It's a death trap. You'd have to be crazy to want to dodge those on a daily basis." Ahsoka commented as Master Secura noticed some drag marks and turned over dirt on the ground.

"It looks like someone or something intelligent enough to figure out a use for the pods has dragged them away." She told them. Bly turned on his helmet lights so they could see the drag marks. "All we have to do is follow the trail. Let's go!" And follow the trail they did.

Back at the camp, Anakin was starting to wake up because he sensed something nearby and it wasn't friendly. Despite being in tremendous pain, he managed to push himself up onto his knees and then his feet before taking a few steps. He managed to take one step out of the makeshift tent before he collapsed to the ground in pain. Rex, Fives, and Hevy rushed over when they heard the thud.

"General. Are you all right?" Rex asked, turning him onto his back.

"Be—Behind you!" Anakin muttered.

[Screech!]

They turned and saw a large quadrupedal avian creature leapt from the brush and pounce on Rex. It was a Mastiff Phalones, an extremely dangerous carnivorous predator. Before the creature could eat Rex's face with its beak, Fives pulled out a blaster and hit it in the face. It hurt it and caused the Mastiff Phalone to screech before it rushed back into the foliage. Hevy sped up the rotary blaster and fired some bursts in the creature's general direction, giving it a good scare if he didn't hit it.

"Rex, you all right?" Fives helped him back to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm good." Rex assured him as they helped Anakin back into the tent. BD-8 crawled over and popped out another stim vial which Rex used to heal Anakin, but it was just a temporary salve at the moment, and they were running out.

Back with Will, Ahsoka, Echo, Master Secura, Commander Bly and the other clones who were continuing to follow the path of the drag marks. Running along the path as they came to a small clearing, Echo's scanner picked up three life signals closing in.

"We've got contacts." Echo whispered and they all stopped to ready their weapons. Bly, Cameron, Lucky, and Flesh readied their blasters as Ahsoka and Aayla held their lightsabers in front of them. Echo looked at Will and held up three fingers before making a circular motion and then closing his hand into a fist.

Getting the signal, Will closed his eyes and took a breath before unclipping his lightsaber from his belt. The second he heard a twig snap his eyes snapped open and he activated his saber before hurling it through the air.

A Mastiff Phalone leapt from brush towards the group only for the saber to spin by and slice off some of the fur and feathers on its back and made a small gash. The creature landed with a thud and groaned out in pain as two more leapt out from the side, but Will fired a stream of fire from his flamethrower. The fire scared the two Mastiff Phalones who squawked and reared on their hind legs before rushing back into foliage. Echo blasted the wounded the Phalone in the head, killing it as his scanner showed the other two running away as fast as possible.

"We're clear." He assured everyone.

"Nice catch on the scanner, Echo." Will force pulled his saber back to his hand and hooked it onto his belt.

"Yes, good work." Aayla added. "Let's keep moving."

The group took off running again as much as they could, stopping every now and then to catch their breath and after what seemed like a couple of hours, the sun started to rise. The sun and moon cycle on this planet must be different. They stopped at the top of a hill and saw over two dozen tree pods set up like a small town with small alien creatures walking around.

"Pod Central. We made it." Ahsoka smiled as they slid down the hill and slowly walked to the village.

"Holster your weapons. We don't want to be seen as a threat." Will told the clones and they nodded, holstering their blasters. Everyone walked slow and stayed in view to avoid being seen as a threat to the villagers which were Lurmen. About a meter in height, with two arms, two legs, a tail and their bodies covered in fur, but they wore clothing.

"Hello?" Ahsoka waved at them but saw that almost all the Lurmen seemed afraid of them.

An elderly Lurmen wearing a yellow robe with a long white beard walked forward, most likely the leader of the village. "What have you come here for?"

"We are peacekeepers. We are Jedi from the Galactic Republic. Our ships crashed a few miles away, and one of us is very badly injured. We need your help." Aayla pleaded.

"Violence breeds violence. Jedi are no peacekeepers." The Elder stated as he looked at their lightsabers.

"We're fighting for freedom." Ahsoka assured him.

"And freedom and peace require fear and death?" The Elder asked. "We colonized this system to find solace from your wretched war. We came here to find peace. You must leave. You will only destroy what small amount of peace is left in the galaxy. You will only bring the destruction of us."

"That's something that none of us want." Will took a few steps forward and got down on one knee. "We're not here to change your beliefs on our order or our place in this war. I assure you we had no intention of coming here and disturbing the hard work you've done for your people to keep them safe. We were on a mission to help people we care about when circumstances led our ship to crash but I assure you elder that no one knows we are here, so the war has not followed us. And we come before you not as warriors, soldiers, or peacekeepers but as people who are in dire need of medical help. Even if it's just medical supplies. A friend of ours is gravely injured."

Will's wise words and his elegance might have done a little to sway the elder who signaled a young Lurmen over. "I cannot ignore a plea for help. I will send my son Wag Too to help your friend. He is a healer but only one Jedi may go with him. The others must stay as insurance. We wouldn't want a surprise attack on our village or the kidnapping of our only healer."

"Of course." Will promised.

"Padawan Vizsla and I will stay with the clones. Ahsoka, go and help your master." Master Secura told her.

"No! The clones and his blaster cannot stay. He will go with the youngling." The elder ordered.

"I can handle it. I don't—" "Of course. Whatever you wish." Will stopped Ahsoka before nodding to the other clones to follow the command. "Don't fight him, Ahsoka. Just go with the others and help Anakin. We'll be fine."

"I don't need help. I can handle myself." Ahsoka pointed out.

"This isn't about you staying safe. It's about making the elder more comfortable with us. If that's his condition to help Anakin, then we'll stick to it." He told her.

"Be careful, Padawan. Those creatures are still out there." Master Secura cautioned.

"Don't worry. We'll be back soon." Ahsoka led the way back as Bly, Cameron, Lucky, Flesh, and Echo followed along with Wag Too who jumped into the air and began rolling like a ball to keep up.

The Elder, Tee Watt Kaa still felt uneasy about allowing the Jedi to stay but he couldn't deny a plea for help. Hopefully, they would return soon, and this would be over. "Follow me." Tee Watt Kaa told the two Jedi who followed the leader to his hutt in the middle of the village.

"You handled yourself well, Padawan." Master Secura told him.

"Thank you, Master. Obi-wan is a good teacher in negotiating and diplomacy. Just because I prefer a fight doesn't mean I don't know when to negotiate." He replied as they entered the elder's hutt and sat down.

The Elder poured two cups of tea and handed them to the Jedi. "Here. It will restore your energy."

"Thank you." Master Secura replied. "I'm sure you are aware that the Jedi did not initiate the Clone War. Our only intention is to end it and restore peace to our galaxy."

"What difference does it make who started the war and who only wants to end it? No side is free of fault. It takes two to fight." Tee Watt Kaa reminded her.

"But isn't liberty worth fighting for?" Master Secura asked him.

"But is it worth killing for?" He asked back. "Fighting for something doesn't necessarily mean you have to destroy everything in your path. Only when you lay your arms down and pursue a course of nonviolence can you make this claim to me that the Jedi are peacekeepers."

His words did a lot to make Master Secura and Will think about the war and their place in it. "I understand your point of view, elder but the situation is much more complicated than that with variables that are out of our control."

"I find that hard to believe. The option of not to fight is something that you always can control." The Elder informed him.

"But what if in our inaction, the action of the Separatists take more lives that we could have saved?" Will postulated. "I understand that you don't believe in our war or our place in it, but the Jedi come to the defense of others and we have done that. Personally, let the politicians and the Senate take the blame for the start of the war with the Separatists but the Jedi have given their lives to help people."

"And does this helping people need to be done through violence and war? Violence just breeds more violence." Tee Watt Kaa told him and Will actually scoffed at that line which both the elder and Master Secura caught.

"The whole galaxy has been shaped by violence that predates long before the Jedi ever existed. And I have a feeling it'll continue long after all of us are no longer alive. But so long as I am alive, I will do what I can to help people. If it be through diplomacy and non-violence, then I will take that route if I can but if can't be then I choose violence." Will proudly declared before finishing his tea and standing up. "Thank you for your hospitality. I could do with some fresh air."

He walked out of the hutt and took a deep breath before walking through the village. Some of the Lurmen stayed away from him but most nodded and smiled at him which he was happy to return. When he arrived at the edge of the village by the surrounding foliage, he sat down with his legs crossed and did some meditating. In through the nose, out through the mouth and feeling the force flow through him.

"I sense great conflict within you, Padawan."

Will opened his eyes and saw Master Secura standing in front of him. "Not so much conflict as…my mind wrestling with competing ideas. It's time like this when I long for the time when I was young, and things seemed simpler."

"I believe that many wish the same as you." She told him, sitting down next to him in joining his meditation. "I fear these internal conflicts will continue to arise among the order so long as the war continues. What is on your mind?"

"Nothing serious, Master. It's just these talks of right and wrong and what should happen versus what has happened makes my brain hurt." He told her. "I respect the Elder's stance and his beliefs, but I also know that his line of thinking only works in an ideal situation."

"And the war has proven to be anything but ideal." She finished.

"Exactly. He's right that the Jedi shouldn't be generals in this war but in the past, we have been just that. The Jedi lead the Republic against the Sith Empire a thousand years ago. It's been a long time, but people tend to forget that we were warriors when we needed to be."

"I'm impressed that you know that." She commented.

"I was one of the few younglings who spent a lot of time in the archives looking at the old files. I think Master Jocasta Nu said I went there more often than some of the masters. I spent a lot of time looking through the old archives on the Jedi-Sith war and we were generals back then, but I guess things were simpler." He said. "But I also know that it's because of our inaction that things have escalated this far."

"What do you mean, Padawan?" Aayla was curious as to where he was going with his point.

"The conflict with the Separatists and the war and Dooku feels like something we could have prevented if we were more proactive instead of reactive. Like we could have stopped the war before it started." He stated. "We're peacekeepers and serve the Republic but half the time we're stymied by the bureaucracy and corruption. I mean, the Trader Federation and the Banking Clan still have their senators in the Republic despite the fact that they are aligned with the Separatists. It's just…ugh, it seems like everything is against us and we just let it happen."

"It's never been in the Jedi's way to lead. We're peacekeepers, Padawan, and our job is to the galaxy and the Republic, not to govern over others." She reminded him.

"Yes, I understand Master Secura, but good guardians and peacekeepers also have a responsibility to keep the body that they work with in check. That's what makes us different then the army of droids the Separatists control. We have free will and can understand when something is going wrong. If we truly were guardians of peace, we would have reached out to the worlds and leaders before they joined the Separatists and worked to root out the corruption of the Senate and stop the likes of the Trade Federation and Banking Clans from seizing such power." Will said before letting out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, Master. It's just…I'm ready to fight and due my part for the war but I can't help but feel that this war is for nothing."

The Twi'lek Jedi sensed this conflict in the Padawan, and it was deep. Not deep enough to warrant concern that he was drifting to the dark side but considering everything they've been through with the war it was almost a guarantee that these issues and self-conflicts would arise. Especially with Padawans who were experiencing the war, these thoughts and internal conflicts brought about by the war would continue.

"These are heavy thoughts, Padawan, and given everything that has happened it's normal that they should arise. This war has changed much of what the order taught you and of our place in this galaxy. That is why your master is here to help guide you along your path and Master Kenobi is one of the best. Trust in him and in the force and you shall find your answer." Master Secura told him.

"Yes, Master."

He felt some solace in that answer but not a lot. If he did find an answer, he was partially worried about what it would be. He continued meditating as a way to calm his mind and train in the force. It wasn't until a few hours later did Ahsoka and the others return. Anakin had regained consciousness but was still weak and injured so Wag Too took care of him. Apparently, the oil from the pods was a pretty good healing salve so he was out of danger. Now they needed a way off the planet.

Line Break xxxxx

With Anakin healed and out of danger, the next priority was trying to get off the planet. Seeing as how the Lurmen didn't have any communications equipment, that meant they needed to use the scrap from the wreckage and whatever they had to try and cobble together a working distress beacon for the Republic. The Elder allowed them to stay in the village as Anakin healed.

A day had passed, and Will spent that time meditating or working on trying to cobble together a makeshift distress beacon from what they had. He was sitting on the ground with all their communicators and whatever they could scavenge from the wreckage as he tried to build something. He had Echo helping him, but it was kind of asking for the impossible. He was good but not that good. Hevy and Fives were with Rex keeping watch as Cameron, Lucky, Flesh, and Commander Bly helped around the village as a way for thanking the Lurmen. Bly helped two Lurmen lift up a basket of fruit which one Lurmen handed to him as thanks.

Hevy was cleaning his rotary blaster and Fives was fixing his helmet when they heard the thoom of a ship's engine. Rex took out his electrobinoculars and looked around only to see a Trade Federation battle droid carrier ship descend. "Commander Bly, we've got company."

"Friendlies?" Bly radioed back.

"Negative, sir. It's a droid ship and coming straight our way."

"Acknowledged. Get back here." Bly told him as he put on his helmet and walked over to Will and Echo. "Sir, we've got incoming. A droid ship."

"That's not good." Will replied as he and Echo began putting everything away in their packs.

Bly walked over to the healing tent where Anakin was being tended to by Wag Too. Aayla and Ahsoka were with him. "What is it, Commander?" Anakin asked.

"We've got a Separatist ship incoming."

"This is neutral space." Wag Too pointed out.

"It won't be neutral for long, not if the Separatists have their way." Anakin tried to lean up but grabbed his side in pain. "Help me up. Ugh!"

Anakin staggered a bit as Wag Too and Ahsoka tried to get him to stay still. "Don't struggle. I'm sorry, but you're still too injured to move." Wag Too told him as they all heard the ship's engines closing in.

"What menace have you brought to our village now, Jedi?" The Elder Tee Watt Kaa accused them.

"You can't blame them, father." Wag Too told him.

"He's right. The Separatists don't even know we're here." Ahsoka added.

"And they can't know. We've got to hide." Aayla said as Will rushed over with Echo, Hevy, Fives, Rex, Cameron, Lucky, and Flesh.

"That's not a good idea. We can't hide here. For all we know they don't know we're here. If we're discovered, then we risk this turning into a fight and putting the Lurmen in danger." Will pointed out.

"Listen to the young one. You can't stay here." Tee Watt Kaa told them.

"But you'll need our help. You can't fight them alone." Ahsoka pleaded.

"We will not fight them at all. We would rather die than to kill others."

"You're going to surrender. But how can—" "Ahsoka, stop. If the Lurmen want to remain neutral, we won't drag them into a war." Anakin told her.

"See to it that you leave. I must see what our new visitors want." Tee Watt Kaa walked away to go meet with the Separatists.

"We need to move now. Clean up and make sure everything we leave nothing behind. The Lurmen can't have anything Republic-issued here." Will pointed out.

"He's right, go!" She told Bly who took Cameron, Lucky, and Flesh to grab anything else they could have left behind.

"Let's go." Anakin told them as Rex and Fives helped him to his feet. Wag Too gave Ahsoka some extra healing supplies for her pack as they began to make their way to the edge of the village. Bly, Cameron, Lucky, and Flesh joined them with everything they had, and they escaped into the nearby brush just as the Separatists droids began ransacking the place.

"Why are they ransacking our homes? We've done nothing to them." Wag Too was beyond shocked to see this kind of hostility.

"Violence. That's what those droids are programmed for." Ahsoka told him, not liking what she was seeing at all. "Can't we do anything?"

"No, and if we're discovered all the Lurmen will be slaughtered." Master Secura reminded her.

"Echo, led us away." Will told them as Echo led the path into the tall grass, using his scanner to keep watch for anything in front of them. A small microchip fell out of Will's pack as he ran into the tall grass which was picked up by BD-8 who quickly escaped into the tall grass to avoid being seen by a battle droid.

General Lok Durd, a Neimoidian weapon's engineer for the Separatist Alliance was the one who arrived on Muridan with his droid company. Showing absolutely no care for the Lurmen he terrorized, he walked into the village with his aura of superiority as his battle droids stood at attention.

"There is no evidence of any weapons or Republic contraband, General."

Lok Durd smiled before looking at Tee Watt Kaa. "In the future, we may conduct more periodic searches like this one, in order to maintain security."

"Because we are such an obvious threat to you. We will offer no resistance." Tee Watt Kaa informed him.

"Your species is smarter than you appear." Lok Durd signaled his droids to follow him as they left the village.

Wag Too walked over to his father once they were gone. "Father, are you ok?" His father gave him no response but judging by his face he wasn't happy. "At least the Jedi escaped.

"Yes, but they nearly brought harm to our entire village."

"But now, thanks to you, we're safe to grovel before every petty tyrant who enters our system." Wag Too told him.

"You would mock our very way of life? I have just ensured we will have peace."

"Yes, but for the moment and at what price? Are you not concerned about the Jedi at all?" Wag Too asked as their conversation was starting to draw a crowd.

"I have no quarrel with the Jedi, but we cannot help them without being drawn into their war." Tee Watt Kaa told him before walking away.

Wag Too sighed at his father's stubbornness before looking at his friend. "Tub, track the Jedi. Follow them and make sure they get off world."

His friend nodded and left the village to find the Jedi who made it a safe distance from the village and were now resting.

"You know, I can't figure those villages not wanting to fight. [Scoff] No pride I guess." Rex commented.

"I call it no courage." Ahsoka added as she ate a ration bar.

"Sometimes it takes courage to stick to one's beliefs, young Padawan, as any Jedi well knows." Master Secura wisely put it.

"The elder is just doing what he thinks is best for his people. They're farmers and healers, not warriors. If we had stayed, things could have gotten really bad." Will told them all.

"Come on, sir. Are you telling me you didn't want to fight?" Fives wondered.

"Oh, I did, Fives but I'm smart enough to know when to pick my fights." Will replied making Master Secura smile. "In the middle of that village with the Lurmen all around, they'd get caught in the crossfire. We protect the Republic and fight the Separatists, but we don't put innocent lives in harm's way."

"Well put, Padawan." Master Secura told him.

"We need to find a ship. And I think the only one around here belongs to the Separatists. We know they have a landing ship. They might have shuttle." Anakin planned as Will's hearing picked up something moving in the brush, so he looked at Echo and tapped his ear then wrist.

"Sir, are you talking about stealing one from the clankers?" Rex asked. "Count me in."

"We need to find them first." Master Secura suggested as Echo subtly checked his scanner before putting up six fingers and then tightened his fist. Will nodded before looking over at Hevy and putting up one finger, then pointing behind him.

Ahsoka ate her ration bar when she saw a probe droid in the grass watching them. Before she could say anything, Will turned and fired his grapple cable around the probe droid's legs to keep it from leaving as Hevy threw a droid popper. It went off and short-circuited the droid, taking it out of commission with no fuss and no chance of it signaling for help.

"Whoa…" Ahsoka and the others weren't sure what happened, but it did.

Will undid the cable as he walked over to the droid and smiled. "Nicely done, Echo. You too, Hevy."

"Easy target practice." Hevy joked.

"What just happened?" Anakin asked.

"The general heard something in the grass behind him, so I checked the scanner. When I confirmed it was a droid, he signaled Hevy to ready a droid popper. Good thing too. Last thing we need is the Separatists knowing where we are." Echo explained.

"But you didn't even say a word." Bly pointed out.

"We've prepared hand signals for situations like this and a few others. It was all the General's idea. Helps to be prepared." Fives replied.

"Wow. Starting to wish I had thought of that." Anakin commented.

BD-8 crawled down Will's shoulder and took a closer look at the probe droid before speaking to him in Droid speak. "Huh, not a bad idea, BD-8 and I think we have enough."

"What's is it?" Master Secura wondered.

"The droid is down for now, but I think we have enough supplies to repair and reprogram it. Only this time it'll be on our side." He replied.

"And we'll be able to find out where the Separatists are and what they're planning." Anakin added as Will brought the probe droid over to get to work.

After about an hour of rewiring, recoding, and repowering, the probe droid was operational again but now under their control. Will even synched up the droid's scanner and camera to feed to the holovid he had in his forearm guard. The droid led them to the Separatist base about 200 kilometers to the southeast. The Jedi and clones took up position on a branch of one of the tall trees while the probe droid went into the Separatist camp as the perfect Trojan Horse.

They used their binoculars to get a look from a distance and it wasn't the best news. "I sure hope you're feeling better master, because look what we found." Ahsoka handed him her the binoculars.

"Heh, I'm getting stronger all the time, Snips." Anakin assured her as he took a look to see a small Separatist base set up around the droid carrier ship with high walls, search lights, and spider droids perched around. "But I'm not sure I'm ready for that."

Will monitored the probe droid's feed from his holovid so he saw everything it did. The probe droid just hovered around the camp, drawing no second thoughts from the battle droids as they saw it was one of theirs. He got a glimpse of a shuttle they could use but getting to it could prove tricky. "I see the shuttle but it's not going to be easy. Manned walls and searchlights with droids on roving patrols." Will told them.

"This is going to be interesting." Fives joked as Echo's binocular picked up movement from the carrier ship.

"Sir, can you maneuver the droid to the ship? I think there's something going on." Echo told him. Will had the probe droid move around and saw two AAT-1 Droid tanks disembarking the carrier ship with a third followed behind but it had been modified with a launcher in place of where the cannon used to be.

"Looks like the Separatist have got a new toy." Anakin commented.

"I think we can hear what the general is saying. Hold on." Will had the probe droid situated itself someplace inconspicuous before zooming in on Lok Durd who was up on the wall inspecting everything.

"Is the defoliator capsule ready?" He asked and his technician gave him the go ahead. "Today is a grand day for the Separatist cause. We test a new weapon of my own design, which is capable of catastrophic destruction. A weapon which will destroy organic matter but leave machines unharmed. But first we need two volunteers. The volunteers are you and you. Go to that ridge."

Two battle droids walked away from the base over to a nearby ridge as Lok Durd contacted Dooku on his communicator. "Count Dooku. I have located a world in which we can test my—excuse me, our new weapon."

"I hope it turns out to be worth the expense. You may proceed."

"Yes, my lord. Ready? Aim! Fire!"

The cannon on the AAT-1 tank fired the capsule high into the air before it impacted the ground and released an explosion along with a literal wave of fire that scorched the entire landscape. Grass, bush, and even small animals were killed.

"That is some toy. It took out every living thing." Ahsoka said when they saw the two battle droids by the ridge were unharmed.

"As you can see, the landscape has been destroyed and the droids are undamaged." Lok Durd told Dooku.

"Impressive. But now we need to know how effective this weapon will be against living creatures."

"Of course. I specifically chose this planet because it is inhabited. The colonists will make excellent test subjects." Lok Durd informed him.

"Proceed, then. I eagerly await the results." Dooku's transmission cut out after that.

"Prepare to move out!" Lok Durd shouted as the three tanks and most of the droids began marching out of the base down the road to the Lurmen village.

"We need to stop them." Will stated.

"And we will. First, we'll take out the droids' communication station. Then, after we get a shuttle, we'll go back and help the Lurmen." Anakin told everyone.

"But Tee Watt Kaa said he doesn't need our help." Ahsoka reminded him.

"There's a difference between pulling innocents into a war and leaving them to extinction." Anakin wisely put it as the group made their way down the large tree and over to the Separatist base. Anakin, Bly, Rex, Cameron, Lucky, and Flesh would approach the base through the tall grass on the east side while Ahsoka followed Master Secura from the North leaving Will and Rathtar squad to approach from the south. There were droids manning the search lights up on the walls with several more doing roving patrols inside and around the walls of the base.

Ahsoka and Aayla stayed lowed as they maneuvered past the search lights and hugged the wall while Anakin lured the droids away and took them out. Two droids walked past the south wall doing a patrol walk. Hevy and Echo slowly followed behind them and unsheathed small vibroblades before grabbing the droids from behind and stabbing them in the neck. They hit a weak point which instantly shut the droid down. The droids were put into the tall grass as Will force jumped up onto the wall and sliced three droids in half with his saber as the rest of the squad followed with ascension cables. He saw Ahsoka and Aayla take out the droids by the search lights before dropping down into the base, so he followed suit and took out two more droids.

Ahsoka opened up the main gate so Anakin and the others could enter, all of them staying quiet and crouching to avoid being seen. Anakin, Bly, and Rex moved over to the communication station and took out the three droids with ease. Fives grabbed one passing droid by the neck and ripped its head off. Aayla finished taking out the droids on the wall as Will entered the large carrier ship and took out the droids inside. Once all the droids in the base were taken care of and the communication system was disabled everyone reconvened by the shuttle ship.

"Sir, shield generators!" Rex pointed out two nearby ones.

"Let's take them with us." He replied as they moved them onto the shuttle. Will got into the cockpit with Ahsoka, Aayla, and Anakin and started up the shuttle as the clones brought the shield generators onboard. The probe droid followed too as Will piloted them out of the empty Separatist base and to the Lurmen village.

When the Lurmen saw the shuttle arrive at their village, many were concerned about another new group but relaxed once they saw it was the Jedi.

"Everyone please, please listen. The Separatists will be here in moments." Aayla told them.

Tee Watt Kaa was not happy to see them again. "What are you doing here? I told you not to return."

"I'm afraid the Separatists don't care whether you're in the war or not. We need to get you to safety before they arrive." Anakin stated.

"We will not abandon our homes!" Tee Watt Kaa stubbornly refused to leave.

"You don't understand. The Separatists are coming here to test a new weapon against organic life. They see you just as targets. Let us get you all to safety so you can live." Will pleaded with him.

"If it is our destiny to be destroyed in your war, so be it." Tee Watt Kaa finished and left back to his hut.

"Well, that could have gone better." Fives pointed out.

"Looks like this has turned into a defensive situation." Will stated.

"Yeah. All right, let's move the spare pods in front of the road into the village and set up the shield generators." Anakin ordered.

They quickly got to work as the clones and Jedi moved spare tree pods to the front of the village as a defensive barrier while also moving the shield generators to the middle of the village, so the shield encompassed everything. Will had BD-8 use the shuttle's communication system to send out a distress signal to Admiral Yularen. Hopefully, he'd get it soon enough.

Will moved another pod into position using the force as Tee Watt Kaa and Wag Too walked over. "Pray, stop what you are doing. Stop building that wall! I did not ask you to defend us."

"This battle is coming, Tee Watt Kaa. You can stand by your beliefs but let us stand by ours." Will told him only for the elder to walk away.

"Thank you for what you are trying to do. I'm sorry but I cannot help. My father is very…strong willed and set in tradition. Many others agree with me, but we were raised under a very strict code. We must respect it, even if we don't agree." Wag Too told them.

"It's fine. We'll take care of it." Ahsoka told him. The Lurmen nodded and rejoined his people as Will walked over to Hevy who was doing inventory of all the weapons and supplies they had for the fight.

"How's it looking, Hevy?"

"Not great, sir. We've got eight thermal detonators, seven droid poppers and Echo's got about six grenades for his DC-17m. Other then that, we've got assorted small arms and I've got about a three hundred rounds left in the rotary blaster." Hevy told him, looking over their meager ammunition.

"And the launcher? Do you have any ion rockets?" Will wondered as Hevy held up his pack to show him.

"Only two, sir."

"Then we'll have to save them for the tanks." Will suggested as Rex spotted the Separatists company closing in.

"Droids incoming. We've got eight minutes, tops!"

"All right, let's get the shield generators ready!" Anakin shouted as Bly and Echo prepped the shield generators. "They Separatists won't charge us if they can hit us from long range first. But if we can withstand that weapon, we'll draw them in."

Lok Durd was situated comfortably in one of the AAT-1 tank's gunner seats as the droid army marched to the village. "When Count Dooku sees how successful my weapon is against civilian targets, I will no doubt be promoted to a more, mmm…substantial position within the alliance."

"Ok, right…" The droid lieutenant in the other tank looked through his binoculars to see what was happening in the village. "Well, the villagers appear to have put some pods together in a barrier around the village."

"Pods? How quaint." Lok Durd took a look and saw the Jedi moving the pods with their minds. "Jedi? What are they doing here? Halt and ready the defoliator!"

The droids did as he ordered, loading a defoliator capsule into the launcher. "Good-bye, Jedi. Fire!"

The launcher fired the capsule high into the air for everyone to see. "Incoming!" Rex quickly got behind the pod wall.

"Turn on the shields!" Will shouted as Bly and Echo did.

A large dome shield appeared around the village as the defoliator capsule released its wave of fire. But as they hoped, the shield was able to keep the fire from hitting the village.

"Now, they'll have to get their hands dirty and meet us face to face." Anakin said.

"Squad 1, prepare to charge!" Lok Durd shouted.

"Prepare to charge." A droid replied.

"Charge!" Lok Durd ordered and the first company of battle droids marched towards the village.

Anakin, Ahsoka, Aayla, Will, Rex, Bly, Fives, Hevy, Echo, Cameron, Lucky, and Flesh grouped up just at the shield's edge to see the droids closing in.

"That's a lot of clankers." Ahsoka commented.

"Just means there's enough for all of us." Will added.

"We've got to stop them before they get through that shield." Anakin said as they all stepped out from the shield and readied their weapons.

The Jedi took the lead, deflecting and blocking blaster fire as the clones fired back. Anakin, Ahsoka, Aayla, and Will charged forward, slashing and slicing through the droids with ease while Bly, Rex, Hevy, Echo, Fives, Cameron, Lucky, and Flesh fired back with their blasters, having plenty of targets to hit. Ahsoka jumped in the air, deflecting two blaster bolts before landing and slicing through three battle droids. Anakin blocked and parried blaster fire and slashed nearby droids, being a bit more cautious and stationary as he was still recovering from his injuries. Aayla charged forward, using a whirlwind saber spin to deflect blaster bolts back into the droids before turning and slashing one in half, then kicking another in the face before blocking more blaster fire. Will blocked and parried blaster fire with ease as his form-3 Soresu training had made him very adept at this. Several whirlwind and figure-eight spins and he was a practically a shield, deflecting blaster fire back at the droids. It wasn't long before all the droids were taken care of.

"That wasn't so tough." Ahsoka gloated.

"That was just the first wave." Anakin told her as more battle droids and super battle droids marched towards them and opened fire. The Jedi blocked and deflected blaster fire while cutting through droids while the clones kept up the covering fire, but the high volume of blaster rounds and presence of droids made it much more difficult.

Will backflipped into the air while blocking blaster fire and saw the tree pods when he got an idea. "Rathtar squad, Delta formation, Beta Maneuver behind me. On my signal!"

"Roger that, sir!" They replied as Will deactivated his saber and concentrated.

"Mando, what are you doing?!" Ahsoka shouted, blocking and deflecting blaster bolts so he didn't get hit.

"A plan, Ace." Will used the force to lift one of the tree pods out from the shield and in front of him. "You guys might want to move!"

"What?" Anakin wasn't sure why he said that as Will concentrated and held his hands together, pooling the force between his hands. When he felt he had enough, he released a charged force push that sent the tree pod towards the droids like a boulder. The Jedi had moved out of the way and saw the tree pod roll through the dirt like a super speed bowling ball and crush any battle droid in its way.

The second the tree pod was launched, Will reactivated his saber and ran after it with Rathtar squad following behind him in a single file fashion so they were a smaller target. They kept blasting the droids and Will blocked and deflected blaster fire as they neared the tree pod again which they took cover behind.

"Droid poppers first." Will told them as Echo, Hevy, and Fives nodded. They each threw a droid popper from behind the pod and they went off, taking out a good chunk of the droids before Will force pushed the tree pod up again to move the cover forward. Will blocked and deflected blaster fire as Fives was right behind him with his dual blaster pistols and Echo was blasting away with his DC-17m. "Hevy, ion rocket at the tank closest to the launcher! Everyone else, cover."

"Got it!" Hevy fired his last burst from the rotary blaster and dropped it before unslinging his rocket launcher and taking aim. Fives and Echo tossed out two more droid poppers, taking down more droids and giving Hevy a second to line up his shot. Once he had a lock, he fired, and the rocket flew through the air before it hit the tank. Releasing a charged ion pulse, the rocket disabled the tank and the droids inside.

"The pod's almost done. One last push! Hevy, take out the other tank. The defoliator's mine!" Will force pushed the pod once more as it crushed a few more droids before a heavy volley fire from three super battle droids blew it to pieces. Will leapt through the smoke and slashed the three super battle droids in two as he charged towards the weapon. The remaining tank opened fire at him which he was able to avoid, using the force to enhance his speed but since he had the attention on him, it freed up Hevy to reload and fire the last rocket.

"Bang." He muttered, pressing the trigger and firing the rocket that took out Lok Durd's tank. Echo switched his DC-17m to grenade mode and fired a volley of three grenades, taking out a few more droids as Fives rolled forward, blasting several droids in quick succession.

Will closed the distance to the weapon and sliced through the droids in the way before jumping onto the tank and dragging his saber through the body, then slicing the cannon barrel in two. The tank exploded and the weapon was useless as a defoliator pod rolled on the ground over to Lok Durd.

"Help! I'll be defoliated!" He scrambled from his disabled tank and ran away as fast as he could, but Will force lifted him into the air. Lok Durd slumped in defeat. "There goes my promotion."

The weapon's technician scrambled to leave only for Hevy to tackle him to the ground and restrain him. Fives and Hevy walked over with their blasters smoking and destroyed droids around them. "Clankers are taken care of." Fives told him.

"Nice work." Will activated his communicator. "Master Skywalker, I have Lok Durd and the weapon is destroyed."

"Roger that. All the droids here are taken care of as well." Anakin replied, seeing the remains of the droids all over the place. "Nicely done, Padawan."

"It's so, Mando. Has to have all the fun." Ahsoka commented.

"That was some nice maneuvering, though. We better start doing some drills, General. He's making us look bad." Rex told Anakin.

"Maybe some drills wouldn't be a bad idea." Anakin replied as he saw Will and his squad walking back with Lok Durd and the weapon engineer. "He's a good leader and commander. Just wait until he commands his own legion."

The Lurmen were kept safe, no one was injured, and even Tee Watt Kaa admitted that he had to thank the Jedi for their brave actions. Lok Durd and the engineer were restrained and put on the shuttle as they got word that Admiral Yularen was nearby. Time to get back to the war.

Line Break xxxxx

22BBY: The Negotiator Flagship

It was nearing the end of the year 22BBY and the clone war still raged on. The Outer Rim was still tense with action as the war didn't seem to have any indication of ending anytime soon but the Separatists clearly had the advantage. The Jedi and Clone army of the Republic fought valiantly against the droid army of the Separatists, but their losses outweighed their victories at this point in the war.

Onboard General Kenobi's flagship, the Negotiator, Will and Rathtar squad were in the engineering bay working on the improvements to their armor. Will and the clone technicians watched as the forge had melted down the commando droid parts and metal back into its ore form. After the mission on Coruscant and enough research and calculations, they figured out a way to use the tough composite metal that the commando droids were made of to reinforce clone armor. Once they had the ore, they poured them into a small mold the same size as the clone's chest armor so it could be fitted to the back.

Will, BD-8, Echo, Fives, and Hevy and the engineers looked at the thin chest plate made of droid metal that was in a suspension field after it's forging. "Well, at least it's still in one piece." Hevy commented.

"Looks a little thin." Fives pointed out.

"True but we're not replacing your armor. If we did that, it'd weigh you guys down. BD-8 did the calculations and at this thinness, it should still offer protection without hampering your movements too much." Will answered.

"Now, all that's left is to see if it really works." Echo grabbed the armor plate and attached it to the back of some spare clone armor before putting it on a nearby post. The white form-fitting plastoid plate armor could handle impacts, heat, pressure, and acidic vapor but adding in the droid metal plate to the back should stop a blaster bolt. "Care to do the honors, sir?"

Fives handed Will one of his DC-17 blaster pistols. "Thanks." Will held the blaster in front of him and took aim at the armor before firing one blast dead center. Like usual, the blast scorched the armor where it hit but they did hear the distinct metallic clink that was heard when a blaster bolt hit a droid. Will walked over to check the armor for himself and saw the droid metal plate wasn't pierced. "BD-8, scan."

BD-8 scurried over and scanned the armor from top to bottom. It took a few moments for the droid to scan everything but once he was done, he gave out some positive beeps. "Ok, it survived the first blast. Let's try again with something else." Will suggested.

"Roger that." Hevy held up a DC-15A blaster rifle and fired a bolt at the armor, hitting the upper chest and making another metallic clink sound. Will walked over and saw the droid armor part was still fine.

"Once more, Hevy." Will said and Hevy fired another blast and this time it did pierce through. "Ok, so like with the Commando droids, the metal can take a few shots from blaster fire."

"Better than the normal odds." Fives walked over and tapped the metal plate with his fist. "How many of these can we make?"

"With the ore we have from the Commando droids…maybe about a hundred." Echo theorized as BD-8 nodded his head, agreeing with that estimate.

"All right, let's get work on making more. I'll send word out to recover any Commando droids on the front and send word to Qi'ra to keep an eye out for any more Commando droid parts heading to smelters." Will told them as he removed the armor from the post. "Every little bit helps. Maybe I can call Galen on Vallt and see if he can do anything. If not with the armor, at least he might be able to do something with the data we took from the Malevolence."

"What data?" Echo asked.

"This was before the mission to Rishi outpost. We had to take down this Separatists super cruiser called the Malevolence that General Grievous commanded. We got onboard the ship and I had BD-8 splice into the ship's systems to get data. Granted, most of it was intel on Separatists movements which we passed on to Republic intelligence, but BD-8 was able to get some schematics data on the giant ion cannon that was built into the ship." He explained.

"An ion cannon?" Hevy asked.

"Yup. More powerful than the ion torpedoes we have on our starfighters with a longer range and capable of taking out multiple star destroyers and cruisers in one shot. We've been trying to figure out a way to miniaturize something like that with the plans we have but so far, no luck. Maybe Galen can do it." He theorized. "Anyway, let's get to work and build as many as we can. Once you three are suited up, we'll give out the rest to members of Ghost Company."

"Yes, sir." They replied.

Orto Plutonia

Republic outpost overrun! The Jedi have lost all contact with a clone security force stationed on the bleak snow-covered planet of Orto Plutonia.

Obi-wan Kenobi, his Padawan Will Vizsla and Anakin Skywalker accompanied by dignitaries from the nearby moon of Pantora, are sent to investigate the disappearance of the clone troopers on the desolate and forbidding landscape.

Several Republic gunships flew through the snow-packed and cold atmosphere of Orto Plutonia on a mission to investigate the lost of contact with a clone security force from the nearby base. Obi-wan, his padawan, and Anakin were accompanied by an attachment of clone troopers from the 501st legion along with two dignitaries from Pantora and their honor guards. Chairman of the Assembly Chi Cho and Republic Senator Riyo Chuchi were coming along to represent Pantora's interest which is kind of funny because even though the planet was a protectorate, they didn't have any real authority there on the planet because there was no one to have authority over. They never attempted to colonize the planet before, and it had no resources or strategic value besides as a possible warning system outpost like the Rishi moon.

Still, a clone detachment stopped responding to communications, so they had to go see what was going on. The Jedi were outfitted with thick winter parkas and goggles while the clones were in snow trooper armor. The gunships touched down at the base of a large stone mountain where the base was supposed to be set up and as soon as the blast doors retracted, they were hit with the cold.

"Frak, it's freezing!" Will muttered as he rubbed his arms and tried to stay warm.

"And this is the planet's tropical zone." Obi-wan commented.

"It's not Tatooine, that's for sure." Anakin said before looking at Rex. "Captain Rex, have your men survey the area. Place as many sensor beacons as you can before dark."

"Right away, sir." Rex replied. "Unload that gear! Let's move!"

R2-D2 and C-3P0 disembarked the gunship as attachment for the mission.

"Why would the Republic want an outpost way out here?" 3P0 asked as R2 responded. "The Chairman of—oh—Orto Plutonia requested it? But why?"

"Echo, scan the base and see if you can pick up anything." Will ordered.

"On it." Echo walked over to the main gate and took out his scanner. It was a little harder given the snow trooper armor and the new metal plate in his chest, but he was fine. Echo scanned away when Will noticed the Pantoran chairman and Senator walked over so he nudged Obi-wan.

"Chairman Cho, Senator Chuchi. I suggest you wait here until we can secure the area." Obi-wan told him.

"I respect your judgement, General Kenobi but I will go where I choose. This is sovereign Pantora territory." Chairman Cho told him.

"I thought this planet was uninhabited, and therefore, it's not aligned." Anakin pointed out.

"Our moon of Pantora is the only civilization in this system. I'm the one who asked the Senate to protect this planet. This wasteland belongs to us." Chairman Cho proudly declared.

"With all due respect, Chairman, this is for the Senate to decide, not us." Obi-wan reminded him.

"Ah, but the Jedi report to the Senate, which is Senator Chuchi of Pantora." Cho stated and the young Senator stepped forward.

"Technically speaking, Master Jedi, the Chairman is correct. Since the planet is uninhabited, the moon of Pantora reserves the right to continue as its protectorate." Senator Chuchi explained.

"That's true but according to Republic Senate doctrine for the classification and control of planetary systems paragraph 19 addendum 2, any planet claiming another planet or moon as a protectorate must do so before a formal senate hearing and with a two-thirds majority win." Will added. "I checked before we came down here and the Senate has not yet ratified Pantora's protectorate status for Orto Plutonia so technically speaking again, Chairman Cho, the planet doesn't belong to anyone."

Senator Chuchi, Obi-wan, Anakin, Hevy, and Fives chuckled at the statement, but Chairman Cho was less than pleased and looked downright pissed as he got in Will's face. "I will not have my or my people's authority questioned by a Jedi, let alone a filthy Mandalorian savage."

That insult hit Will hard as he adopted a sneer and tightened his fist, ready to punch the chairman in the face when Obi-wan intervened. "The Padawan is right, Chairman Cho. Anakin, stay here with the Senator, Chairman and the droids while we secure the base. Come, Will." Will walked with his master, still pissed off but had unclenched his fist. "Are you all right, Will?"

"I'm fine. Let's just get this over with. Echo, how's it looking?" Will asked as Echo put away his scanner.

"I'm not picking up any heat signatures inside nor any electrical ones. It's empty." Echo informed them.

"We'll see for ourselves. Open the gate." Obi-wan said as Hevy hit the button by the gate which opened up. There was no light on inside so the bright glare from the sun lit up the entrance to the base where they saw clone trooper helmets stuck on spears like trophies.

"Oh, man." Hevy looked at the helmets as Will removed one from a spear.

"I don't get it. Who did this?" Rex asked.

"It must be Separatists." They heard as Chairman Cho had ignored Obi-wan's order and joined them.

"I'm not sure." Obi-wan told him.

"No droid attack force would do this." Will added. "BD-8, scan the area and see what you can find. Echo, get the power back up. Fives and Hevy, gather their tags."

They nodded and got to work as Will and Obi-wan moved further into the base. When Echo restored the power, they took the lift up to the observation center where they found more dead clones but so sign of who their attackers were. No scoring marks from blasters fire, no slash or cut wounds from vibroblades or lightsabers and nothing was taken. Obi-wan walked over to the computers as Chairman Cho took up a spot at the main control console.

"Do you think the Separatists are building a forward base to attack Pantora?" Chairman Cho asked.

"I don't think this is the Separatists. These computers haven't been touched." Obi-wan told him.

"This wasn't the Separatists. No droid did this." Will said out loud.

"And how would you know, child? What right do you even have to be here?" Chairman Cho asked as Will's anger with the Chairman flared up again.

"With all due respect, Chairman, my Padawan is as experienced with the Separatists and the droids as any other Jedi knight in the order. And his knowledge in warfare and weaponry gives him a particular advantage in these kinds of situations." Obi-wan defended Will and shut Chairman Cho down. "What do you think, Padawan?"

"Are we sure this planet is uninhabited?" Will asked again.

"Yes, of course it is." Chairman Cho told him.

"What are you thinking, Padawan?" Obi-wan asked.

"I'm not sure. No blaster marks, carbon scoring, or radiation burns at all which means whoever did this didn't use a blaster. And look at the wounds here." Will showed his master the cracked armor and bruising on the clone's neck. "This was done by physical force. At first, I thought it'd be Grievous but then we'd see slash marks and heat scoring all over the place and instead the clones were killed by brute force or by these narrow impact wounds like from the spears we saw before. This wasn't the Separatists or the droids…this was someone else."

Obi-wan was inclined to agree with his Padawan given the evidence he listed and how if this were Separatists, the base would have been ransacked and the computers would have been spliced into. The question was as to who could have done this when Rex walked over. "Sir, our scouts have spotted a droid base on the other side of the ice ridge."

"We'll go with Anakin and a small squad of clones. Padawan, stay here and find anything you can. And protect the chairman and the Senator." Obi-wan told him.

"Yes, Master." Will replied as the Jedi and clone captain left. Chairman Cho gave Will another nasty look before turning his head. He didn't pay any mind to it and focused on solving this problem.

By now the base was cleared so the clones began moving gear in and taking care of the dead. Senator Chuchi and the droids moved into the base once things were clear and despite Will being in charge, Chairman Cho took control.

"I want the weapon system back online and the shields operational. There's no telling what the Separatists have planned." Chairman Cho told Clone trooper Axel. Axel glanced over at Will who was by the computers and got a nod in response, so he got to work.

"Chairman, what makes you so certain the Separatists are behind this attack?" Senator Chuchi asked.

"Look around, Senator. Isn't this carnage proof enough?" Cho asked.

"I know, but there are no dead droids here, no blast marks. The clone's injuries are not consistent with what…"

"So, you're an expert on war now, are you Senator?" Cho cut her off.

"No, chairman. No, I only—" "Let me tell you something, Senator. I have led our people since before you were born. I've seen a hundred planets rise and fall through force of arms. If it's not the Separatists out there, then it's a malevolent and aggressive enemy, nonetheless. And I will not let whoever it is jeopardize the security of the people of Pantora." Cho told her.

"But if the Jedi discover that the Separatists aren't behind this, then perhaps there is a peaceful resolution." Senator Chuchi suggested.

"Senator, I am willing to fight and die for my people. It's time to ask yourself if you are brave enough to do the same." Cho told her before leaving to another part of the base.

"Don't listen to him." Will said as he walked over. "He's just a grizzled old Warhawk who doesn't like anyone's opinion that disagrees with what he wants to do."

"You've just met the Chairman. How could you possibly know this, Master Jedi?" Senator Chuchi wondered only for Will to smirk.

"It's Padawan, Senator. And the second he's been here, he only disagreed with everything Master Kenobi and I have told him and what the evidence has shown." He explained. "You were right in the evidence proving this isn't a Separatist attack. Don't listen to him, Senator. You're very observant and have as much a say in what goes on here as you do."

"Thank you, Padawan Vizsla. What do you think did this?" She asked.

"I'm not sure but it wasn't the Separatists. You were right to tell the Chairman that his thinking is out of line. Besides, don't you rank above him?" Will wondered.

"Not exactly. I represent Pantora's interest with the Republic while Chairman Cho leads the military force and interests of our people." Senator Chuchi corrected him.

"Isn't there anyone else Chairman Cho needs to report to?"

"The Speaker of the Assembly would be the only other person that Chairman Cho would have to answer to as he speaks for the whole of the assembly." She replied.

"You might want to keep him looped in. I have a bad feeling that Chairman Cho might make this situation a lot more complicated." Will suggested.

"You mean, go behind his back without his authorization?" She wasn't sure about that idea.

"Considering his attitude, it might be a good idea to make sure his actions reflect everyone in your assembly. Keeping them looped in is just you doing your job for your people. I understand following the chain of command but a person who truly fights for their people also understands the need to stop someone when they're out of line, Senator Chuchi. I can tell you disagree with the Chairman on this. It's not wrong to stand your ground when you know someone is making the wrong decision." He told her.

"I'll take that into consideration, Padawan. Thank you." Senator Chuchi replied when Echo walked over.

"Sir, BD-8 found something."

"Show me." Will and Senator Chuchi followed Echo down to the cargo bay where BD-8 and R2 were standing next to the evidence they wound. Said evidence was a giant footprint made in the snow. "Whoa…no droid made that, that's for sure."

"Any idea what it is?" Senator Chuchi asked.

"None yet, Senator. We've checked the area, and this is the only one we found. Guess we got lucky." Echo told her.

R2 and BD-8 let out mechanical beeps, telling Will that whatever made the footprint was an organic being as they picked up trace residuals of fur and skin cells, but they haven't found a match to anything in their databases.

"What are they saying?" Senator Chuchi asked.

"It's definitely organic so not a droid but no match in their systems. So, either the Separatists have non-organics fighting for them which in this case is unlikely given that the base is still in order or we're dealing with a native species." Will suggested.

"But our surveyors have scoured this planet many times in the past and found no signs of life. It's uninhabited." Senator Chuchi told him when another clone came over to them.

"Commander, General Kenobi and General Skywalker are returning."

"Thank you." Will replied. "Let's see what they found."

They went down to the speeder bay where Obi-wan and Anakin returned on their CK-6 Swoop speeder bikes. They powered down the bikes and removed their goggles as the nice warmth of the base was a nice reprieve from the cold weather outside. Chairman Cho arrived just as they did, probably hearing that they had returned. "What did you find?"

"It seems we've stumbled onto an inhabited planet." Obi-wan told him.

"Impossible. Our explorers have spent much time here over the long history of Pantora. No one lives here. They're trespassers." Chairman Cho stated.

"With respect, Chairman Cho, these creatures, the Talz, aren't advanced enough to master space travel. I think they may have been here longer than Pantora." Obi-wan explained.

"Whoever they are, they belong to us. This whole system belongs to us!" Chairman Cho shouted.

"Your majesty, if there are life forms here, then the Senate must decide jurisdiction." Senator Chuchi told him.

"They are savages. Look at what they've done. They've slaughtered your troops." Chairman Cho told her.

"They only want to be left alone." Obi-wan told him. "The droids attacked them, and I'm afraid our outpost got caught in the middle."

"They must be subdued. They're dangerous. Captain Rex, prepare your troops for battle." Chairman Cho ordered.

"We promised their chief there would be no retaliation." Anakin told him.

"We've arranged a meeting between their High Council and you and the Senator. They want peace." Obi-wan stated.

"We can't send troopers. They'll think we lied." Anakin added.

"These creatures are little more than animals. You can't lie to an animal. They can't be trusted." Cho told them both.

"Your majesty—"

"No, it is obvious these creatures are not covered by the Convention of Civilized Systems." Chairman Cho stopped Senator Chuchi before she could say anything. "The Jedi Council has no say in the matter."

"If the Jedi are able to communicate with them, their status is in doubt." Senator Chuchi stated and Chairman Cho got in her face.

"Do you stand against your Chairman, Senator?" Chairman Cho looked at her in anger.

"She stands for her people and she's right. If Master Kenobi was able to communicate with them to negotiate a peace meeting then they do qualify under the Convention of Civilized Systems which means it is up to us and the Senate of the Republic to negotiate terms with them, Chairman Cho." Will told him, getting him to back off of Senator Chuchi and drawing his anger.

"You dare question me, Mandalorian?" Chairman Cho glared at him.

"I would remind the Chairman of the limits of his position and his duty to his people to appear as professional as possible in these kinds of situations." Will glared back.

"If we are going to meet with Thi-Sen and his council at the arranged time, we will have to leave now." Obi-wan told Chairman Cho who nodded.

Chairman Cho, in his smug and prideful demeanor walked over to one of the swoop bikes as Captain Rex walked over to Anakin. "Sir, our gunships can't take off in this storm. We don't have enough bikes for the entire platoon."

"Have the rest of the men stand by here. No matter what the Chairman thinks, we're not going to war." Anakin assured him.

Will readied his swoop bike as Senator Chuchi and Master Kenobi walked over to him. "Thank you for your assistance, Padawan Vizsla. Chairman Cho is rather…prideful in his stance." She told him.

"No thanks necessary, Senator. I'm just doing my job." Will assured her. She smiled and walked over to the Swoop bike that would be taking her.

"Still, well done, Padawan. I fear this situation may get much more complicated if the Chairman has his way." Obi-wan said.

"Then we better do our job as peacekeepers and keep the peace." Will told him.

"Be careful of your intentions, Padawan. Remember our place here. We're meant to protect the Chairman and the Senator." Obi-wan reminded him.

"True but we also have a job to keep the peace. The way of the Jedi is of wisdom and patience backed by swift and decisive action when necessary." He stated drawing a raised eyebrow from Obi-wan. "I do pay attention to your lectures. And our role as keepers of the peace for the Galactic Senate would entail preventing a needless conflict."

"Very true. Your lessons are progressing very nicely, my young Padawan." Obi-wan had a proud smile on his face as he walked over to his Swoop Bike. Will got his bike ready as Echo, Hevy, and Fives did the same.

He saw C-3P0 walked over to a bike along with R2 when he got an idea. "Hey, Echo. Are you able to get a signal off planet?"

"Sort of. I could with the equipment here at the base but with what I have on me in the field, the storm would cause too much interference." Echo answered. "Why, sir?"

"I have an idea. Hey, R2!" Will shouted and the astromech droid rolled over. "I've got a job for you, little buddy. Think you can help me out."

R2 gave an affirmative beep causing Will to smile as he put the droid on his Swoop bike. Once everyone was ready, they sped out of the base to the coordinates of the meeting place for the peace talk with the Talz. Said meeting place was the Separatist outpost that the Talz took out. They parked their Swoop bikes and set up a perimeter as Will helped R2 off his bike and got him ready.

Chairman Cho instantly took command of everything like it was a military operation. "Captain, put your men on that ice ridge. We will attack as soon as the savages arrive."

"There will be no attack, Chairman" Obi-wan told him.

"You will do as I command. This planet is under my jurisdiction!" Chairman Cho shouted.

"Nothing is under your control, Chairman. The Talz are already here." Obi-wan said as they saw the Talz come into view from around the perimeter and many were on their mounts.

"Their scouts have been following us for some time." Anakin told him.

"It seems Thi-Sen doesn't trust you any more than you trust him." Obi-wan finished as the Talz closed ranks and the clones readied their weapons.

"Easy, boys. This isn't a fight. Stay here and don't do anything to provoke them." Will said and they all nodded. Echo and R2 nodded and they followed him as he went with Senator Chuchi, 3P0, Chairman Cho, the Pantoran guards and Master Kenobi and Skywalker into the Separatist ship.

The Talz had their warriors set up much like the clones were, prepared for a fight but not engaging in one. They entered the ship as Obi-wan and Anakin bowed to the chieftain. 3P0 stepped forward and began speaking in their language. It was good thing they had him to translate. While no one could understand them, Will used the force, and felt no ill intentions or aggressive thoughts.

"They're here willingly and open for peace talks. I can feel it." Will said.

"Well, it's a good thing our instincts proved right." Obi-wan replied.

Chairman Cho wasn't happy about these peace talks at all. He felt that these Talz were nothing more than savage animals and deserved to be treated as such. "These savages have no rights here."

"Chieftain Thi-Sen welcomes you to his home and hopes you come in peace. He wishes to be good neighbors but he does not wish you to remain on his planet." 3P0 translated.

"3P0, could you ask the Talz how long they've been on this planet?" Will wondered and 3P0 translated.

"Their people have always resided in this land as their ancestors before them." 3P0 answered.

"Then they have sovereign right to this planet. We're just visitors." Obi-wan stated only for Chairman Cho to push past them both.

"Listen droid, translate everything I say and exactly as I say it." He said as Senator Chuchi walked up to him.

"Would you like me to represent Pantora in this matter?"

"Not on your life, Senator. There will be no diplomacy this time. Listen here, you savage. This world belongs to the moon of Pantora. And as the Supreme chairman and Exalted Ruler of Pantora, you will not command me to leave this planet or do anything else!" Cho stated and while the Talz didn't understand him they didn't like his tone or body language.

"Your majesty, we can't." Chuchi pleaded but he just pushed her aside.

"Yes, we can because I say so!" Chairman Cho shouted.

"That is enough, Chairman Cho." They heard and saw R2 had projected a hologram of the Pantoran Speaker of the Assembly with Echo helping to boost the communications signal.

"Speaker of the Assembly, what are you doing here?" Senator Chuchi asked.

"Listening to the situation after your urgent message to the assembly. Padawan Vizsla passed on your message of the situation on Orto Plutonia and arranged a holographic communication channel so we could stay in contact." The Speaker answered. Senator Chuchi looked at Will who winked at her. "And after what I just saw, the assembly is rather disappointed in your actions, Chairman Cho."

"Speaker, I'm only doing what is best for Pantora. This planet belongs to us as it always has." Chairman Cho told him.

"Unfortunately, it would seem it never has and your declaring war against the Talz without notification of the assembly cannot be ignored. The Assembly has decided that your actions are out of order. Senator Chuchi, you are given the authority to negotiate a peaceful settlement between the sovereign planet of Pantora and the Talz. Chairman Cho, you are to return to Pantora at once to explain your actions. That is all." The Speaker ended the communique after that.

"No. No, that can't be." Chairman Cho stuttered.

"It would appear so. Senator, you have the floor." Master Kenobi told her.

"Master Jedi, perhaps you should do this." Chuchi suggested.

"The Speaker of the Assembly gave you the authority to do this, Senator Chuchi. You represent your people, not us and you have been the level-headed one since we've been here." Will stated. "You can do this."

Senator Chuchi thought it over before taking a deep breath and stood before the Talz Chieftain. "Droid, translate for me."

"Yes, Mistress." 3P0 replied.

"To die for one's people is a great sacrifice; to live for one's people an even greater sacrifice. My people would like peace and will accept your terms. I choose to live for my people. What will you choose?" Senator Chuchi stated as 3P0 translated.

The Talz Chieftain spoke a few words before putting his spear into the ground. "He chooses to live as well." 3P0 stated.

"We will leave Orto Plutonia under the watchful eyes of the Talz from this day forth and recognize your sovereignty as a free and equal people." Chuchi said, as she bowed. The Talz Chieftain bowed along with the other Talz who were present.

"We just prevented a war." Will muttered.

"Well done, Senator." Obi-wan told her.

"Most impressive." Anakin added.

"Thank you, Master Jedi." She replied.

"Peace…Peace? With these savages? No." Chairman Cho glared at the Talz leader and reached for his blaster. Will sensed the anger and saw where he was looking.

"Look out!" He pushed Senator Chuchi and the Talz Chieftain away and took a blaster bolt to upper torso that knocked him onto his back.

"Padawan!" Obi-wan and Anakin rushed over to his aid.

"NO!" Chuchi shouted only for Chairman Cho to grab her from behind with his arm around her neck as a human shield. The Talz, clones troopers, and Pantoran guards raised their weapons at him.

"Stay back! Stay back!" Cho shouted, holding his blaster at them.

"Let her go! Echo shouted, ready to blast him right then and there if the Senator wasn't in the way.

"Stay back!" Cho shouted as Obi-wan and Anakin ignited their sabers.

"Chairman Cho, stand down and let the Senator go." Obi-wan warned him.

"You don't understand. There can be no peace with these savages! I'm doing what is best! The assembly can't see that! Peace talks, diplomacy?! The only thing these savages understand is violence!" Cho shouted. The Talz Chieftain spoke some words which 3P0 was able to translate.

"The great Chieftain Thi-Sen says that you are the savage."

"No. I'm a hero! I'm doing this for my peo—" Cho was cut off as his throat and airways began to constrict and he couldn't breathe. He dropped his blaster and was soon lifted into he air as Echo pulled Senator Chuchi away from him. Cho grabbed at his throat in an attempt to stop whatever was happening but it wasn't something he could stop. Obi-wan and Anakin sensed it and saw Will, back on his feet with his left arm dangling at his side while his right was raised in the air and his hand clenched together. The angry expression on his face was a telltale sign of what he was doing.

"Padawan, stop!" Anakin shouted but Will wasn't listening as he kept up the force choke.

"Padawan, enough!" Obi-wan shouted but it did nothing as Chairman Cho was still in the air and close to dead. "ENOUGH!"

Will threw his hand down and Chairman Cho was flung down to the ground with a thud as the pressure around his throat let out and he could breathe. He coughed up a lung before two clone troopers restrained him.

"The Mandalorian…he's a monster! Just like his people! He's just like them!" Cho shouted as he was dragged away.

"There's no one like me." Will stated before he grabbed his left shoulder and dropped to his knees. "FRAK!"

Echo rushed over steadied him as BD-8 popped out a stim which Echo used to heal him. R2 rolled over and scanned Will's shoulder before letting out some beeps.

"R2 says that the blaster bolt has hit Master Vizsla's left subscapularis with damage to the subclavius muscle group. Immediate medical attention is recommended if he is to keep full mobility in his arm." 3P0 stated.

"Right, Rex prep the Swoop bikes and take Will back to the base as fast as you can and get him to a medic." Anakin said into his comm.

"Right away, sir."

Echo helped Will back to his feet and led him outside where Rex and the others got him onto a Swoop bike and headed back to base as fast as possible. Once there, they got him to the med bay and a medic looked him over. There wasn't much but it was enough to help him.

Despite Chairman Cho's attempted assassination, the peace talk with the Talz and Pantorans was set and the Talz Chieftain even praised Will's actions in defending them. Pantora and the Talz would have peace and Orto Plutonia would remain under guard by the Talz. They already had shown they could handle the Separatists and the droids on their home environment so this planet was safe.

Obi-wan, Anakin and the rest watched as the Talz left for their village. The clones prepped the Swoop bikes as the three clone troopers were keeping watch over Chairman Cho.

"I assure you Master Jedi that Chairman Cho will face punishment for his actions today." Senator Chuchi promised.

"Of that I have no doubt. Now that you have created peace between your people and the Talz, remember one crucial thing. Make it last, senator. Make it last. And be an example to others so not only this war, but every war waged may come to an end as well." Obi-wan told her.

"I will. I promise you." Senator Chuchi got on her Swoop bike as they all returned to base. Once there, the storm had calmed down to allow for gunship travel so a clone squad was going to take Chairman Cho off planet for transport back to Pantora. Senator Chuchi was in the communication room debriefing the Speaker of the Assembly on what happened. Chairman Cho would most likely be removed from power and face trial for attempted murder.

Inside the med bay, Will was laying down on medical slab with his Padawan robes, winter parka and beskar gauntlet's removed so he was shirtless. The only thing he had on were his boots, his pants, and his necklace which he never took off. BD-8 was standing on a nearby table as his clones were situated around him with their helmets off and a medical droid was tending to his injury. The droid was using precise tools and pincers to check his injury before applying some Bacta Gel on the wound. It would heal the nerve damage and the blast wound. He'd had a scar but he'd be fine and have complete mobility in his arm.

Master Kenobi walked in and saw his Padawan being tended to. "How's your arm?"

"Stings but nothing I haven't endured before. Just clad the parka took the brunt of the shot and he didn't hit anything vital. I'll be fine in a few hours." Will promised.

"If you gentlemen would give us a moment alone." Obi-wan said and they nodded, taking their helmets with them as they walked out.

"You too, BD-8. I'll be fine." Will said as the small droid nodded and followed the clones. He adjusted his position as the medical droid wrapped his shoulder in gauze.

"Please refrain from any extraneous movement for the next several hours until you are fully healed." The droid told him.

"Understood." He replied as the droid left before looking at his master. "If you want to chastise me for what I did, you don't have to. I know what I did wrong."

"It's not that, Padawan. I sensed great anger, more so than I've ever felt in you. The only other time I've ever felt that kind of anger was when you encountered Grievous on the Malevolence." Obi-wan said. "Your emotions are a powerful force, Padawan that can lead you astray from the path."

"I know Master but the Chairman did just try to kill me." He pointed out.

"That's beside the point, Padawan. Your strength in the force is quite extraordinary for a Padawan as young as you are and that is both gift and a curse. It makes your future that much uncertain if you lose control like that." Obi-wan warned him.

"I didn't lose control, Master." Will said, getting Obi-wan to stop. "I was in control. I knew what I was doing…and I'm confident that I wouldn't have killed him. I know my limits, I know what to do…and I know what lines not to cross."

"I truly hope so, my young Padawan. I truly do. Meditate on this." Obi-wan told him. "You've been on the front for a long time. I believe some time back at the temple will do you some good."

"As you wish, Master." Will bowed his head and Obi-wan left him to heal. He exited the med bay and thought back on the Padawan's force attack during the peace talks and he felt something…familiar about the force surrounding Will. Deciding to investigate, he went to a nearby communications terminal and used his personal Hush-98 comlink to connect to the Jedi Temple Medical core.

He waited a few moments until the holovid showed Rig Nema, a female Consular Jedi Doctor of the Medical Corp at the temple. "Hello, Master Kenobi. How can I help you?"

"Hello, Rig. I would like a look at the file of my Padawan, William Vizsla." Obi-wan told her.

"Of course, processing the data to your terminal." Rig replied and the data showed up which included a picture of Will and his data when he was admitted to the temple including Midi-chlorian count which was about 15,000.

"15,000. That's his midi-chlorian count?" Obi-wan was not expecting that. His midi-chlorian count was in the 13,000s yet his Padawan was much more powerful which would explain his aptitude and control of the force at his age. He no doubt had a higher count that several Jedi Masters with the exception being that of the highest ranking members of the order like Master Windu and Master Yoda. Still, that made Will one of the most powerful padawans in the temple. Not on Anakin's scale but close.

"Yes, Padawan Vizsla has the highest midi-chlorian count among the padawans of his generation. No doubt inherited from his father." Rig Nema replied. "When he was accepted into the temple, we found a genetic match for his father."

"William never told me who his father is. Said he never knew." Obi-wan was curious as he looked at the data and next to the photo of Will appeared an old photo of Count Dooku with brown hair and Jedi robes when he was still with the order. "By the force."

"Yes, it came as a surprise to many members of the order when we ran his DNA in our system and found a genetic match. This was when he was still part of the order yes but was becoming increasingly withdrawn. Many of us still wonder how this happened." Rig Nema told him when Obi-wan remembered his time on Mandalore during the civil war.

"Dooku arrived on Mandalore to help Qui-Gon and I. We were separated and thought he was dead but when he returned…he immediately left back to the temple." Obi-wan stood there, grappling with the information. A lot of things were starting to make sense. Being Dooku's son, it made Will extremely powerful in the force as it was passed on and got stronger and with his mother's Mandalorian training, it truly made him a maverick among the order and very powerful.

The question now was whether to tell William who his father was and if he did…how would he take it.

End of chapter 4

I hoped you guys like the chapter. I thought it came along nicely and it wrapped up the first year of the clone war. 22BBY done and here comes 21BBY. Next chapter, Will takes some time at the temple before his next mission puts him in the path of an extinct biological virus that could wreak havoc on the galaxy. Then after that, he plans a relief mission to Ryloth but needs some help upgrading the Tempest. Until next time.

I hoped you guys like the chapter, Will's getting better, his training might be changing up and he's getting a bigger leadership role. Yes, he commands Ghost company for now along with Rathtar squad which will come up later in the next chapter and after that. Exciting things are coming.

Sorry for the wait. I was a little stuck with this but I'm glad I got it out for the Mandalorian season 2 finale so yeah.

Yes, Will's father is Count Dooku. A lot of my information for him was taken from the Legends canon of Dooku and I know it's technically not canon with Disney but it's my story so who cares. In this context, Dooku took the mission to Galidraan where he saw Jango Fett and the Mandalorians in action which is why he taken as the clone template. Granted, there's a lot of information on what Legend's Dooku did before he turned to the dark side, it's not really time labelled so there's no definitive timeline as to what he did before leaving the order when Qui-Gon Jinn died in 32BBY. I'll explain it later in a chapter when it comes up but basically, Dooku at this point in time around 39BBY is already becoming disillusioned with the order after the battle of Galidraan and other factors. At this point, the Mandalorian Civil War is raging with Qui-Gon and Obi-wan protecting Satine. Qui-Gon calls for help, Dooku answers as he has a soft spot for Qui-Gon and arrives to help but is also intrigued by the Mandalorians after his experience with Jango Fett.

Circumstances, which I'll go into later during the Mandalore arc, put Dooku and Will's mother Pio Vizsla in contact, one thing leads to another, Dooku leaves and Will's born 9 months later. That's the basic gist of it if anyone's confused but when I get close to the Mandalore arc, his birth will come up again and I'll explain it more then.

And for the whole Midi-Chlorian count thing, I don't think that's really canon. There's no definitive Midi-Chlorian count list besides the obvious of Anakin being 20,000 if not more and Yoda being a little below that. The information I got I took from the Generation Tech Youtube channel and their video on the six levels of Mid-Chlorian counts. If you haven't seen the videos for the channel, check it out. He does a lot of Star Wars videos.

Until next time, everyone stay safe, stay healthy, and happy holidays. Here's hoping 2021 is better.

Will Vizsla, Son of Pio Vizsla, nephew of Pre Vizsla and Mandalorian by birth. Padawan Jedi.

Birthdate: 38BBY-Age 16

Padawan Apprentice to Obi-wan Kenobi, Former Padawan of Ur-Sema Du, Son of Pio Vizsla. Nephew of Pre Vizsla.

Appearance: Dylan O'Brien from Maze Runner: The Death Cure. With Padawan braid.

Clothing:

Dark blue Padawan robes and combat boots. Combat belt with Cyan Blue lightsaber.

Ancestral Mandalorian Beskar armored combat gloves and forearm guards with weapons. Necklace with symbol of Clan Vizsla.

A black shirt, black jacket and blue pants (Casual/Undercover)

Personality: Kind, caring, quick-witted and smart. Able to adapt to situations very easily. Prone to quips to distract or enrage his enemies. Can be a bit of a smartass yet humble and works well with others. Extremely proficient in tinkering and building with electronics. Excellent pilot and mechanic. Knowledge in warfare and weapons from extensive self-tutelage at the Jedi Temple and Mandalorian training by Pio Vizsla. When triggered, can be aggressive and unhinged to a point.

Skills and Powers

Force Powers:

Force speed, Force sight, Force empathy, Force Jump, Force Stasis, Force Pull/Push, Force Throw, Force Barrier, Force Repulse, Force Precognition, Animal Bond, Mind Trick, Levitation, Lightsaber throw, force choke.

Combat Skills:

Specialized in Form 2 Makashi-Lightsaber-to-Lightsaber combat, Form 3 Soresu-Blaster counter/Defense, Form four Ataru-combines speed, strength, agility, powers, and the force for to aid in movement and combat.

Adept at hand-to-hand combat.

Mandalorian gauntlets with repulsor, grappling line, wrist rockets, flamethrower, laser splicer, retractable wrist/forearm blades, shield projector, and built-in communicator and holovid.

BD-8 companion droid

Rathtar Squad: Echo (Tech), Hevy (Heavy Weapons), Fives (Second in command)

Leader of Ghost Company of 212st Attack Battalion

The Tempest: A Black and Orange Corellian XS stock light freighter armed with 2 dorsal and 2 port laser batteries with torpedo launchers and modified ion launchers. Built with 2 powerful sub-light engines, heavy armored plating, and a modified/powerful hyperdrive system, making it powerful yet agile and extremely fast. Equipped with a modified stealth system that can bypass almost any scanner.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Star Wars or above-mentioned properties; all rights belong to their owners.