The Mandalorians made it through the tunnels and came to a doorway at the end, Jango took the lead with his blaster raised at arm's length as they crept to the edge. Jango peeked through and his jaw dropped at the sheer size of the cave. It was big enough for a small town or village inside, though the only housing structures were maybe a dozen huts that surrounded one large bonfire, the outer part of the hidden town was surrounded by a moat of water. It was impressive that the whole thing existed, but no one knew it. He wondered just how much the governor knew about what was taking his townspeople.
Jango's attention was caught by movement towards the water's edge on a smaller peninsula, three Taavarians were standing on the outer rim, while another three were making their way down the bridge. The first, Jango realized, was the leader that quickly put him on his backside. The other two had their hands full trying to contain a being, half their size. She was struggling against them like a wild animal, shouting curses and a long string of impolite insults. Jango immediately knew it was Kira.
"What's the plan, Mand'alor?" Mij asked, peering over Jango's shoulder. "Just barge in blasting like madmen?"
Jango paused trying to think of the best way forward. They had to hurry, whatever they were going to do to Kira was going to happen in just moments, but he knew if they went barging in, they would likely get tossed around like ragdolls, but time was of the essence, and he struggled to decide the best approach. He had to think of some way that he could get both Kira and Jense out without dying first.
The Taavarians brought Kira to the center and forced her to her knees. The two who brought her there now held her still with the Force. The leader came up behind her watching her struggle before slowly making his way to face her.
Jango felt a panic arise in his chest, he assumed that since whoever he spoke to on the other side of the wall was still alive, the process wouldn't kill Kira, but he also needed her Force ability to release Jense from the prison he was being held in.
"We're going to bomb the place." He said, grabbing the thermal detonators from one of the many pouches around his hips.
Kal, Wad'e and Mij exchanged concerned glances.
"You know, Fett, I was joking when I said we were going to go in blasting like madmen…" Mij said, he laughed but anyone with half a brain cell could tell it wasn't genuine.
"Surely there are better ways of rescuing her, Jango." Kal said. "If we bomb the place the whole tunnel will collapse, and we'll all die."
"Then we'd better be quick." Jango said as he shoved the thermal detonators in Kal's hands. "Those things took us out, so we have to take them out before they have a chance. I don't foresee us getting out of here alive any other way. We have to be able to catch these things off guard and incapacitate them before they can do the same to us. Who knows how many more of those things are in here."
Kal's face was hidden beneath his helmet but the doubt he had on Fett's plan showed on his face, he knew trying to go up against the Taavarians would be challenging, but they had already killed three. They could do it again. The only one that actually concerned him was the leader, but Jango was right, they would need to get the drop on them in order to rescue Kira before they stole the Force from her. He sighed in defeat.
"Alright, we will set the charges," Kal said. "You get close to Kira and be ready to grab her when we give you the signal. We're going to have to be quick if we want to get her and Jense out before the place falls apart."
Nuenet slowly circled Kira, coming up from behind her. She listened to each step until he was in her field of vision. He stood in front of Kira, his eyes closed as if he were meditating, and his arms folded together in front of him with his hands pressed tightly together. For as gifted as Kira was in the Force, she was powerless against the hold the Taavarians had on her. None were touching her, but it felt as though a thousand hands were on her, forcing her to remain still. Try as she might, she would not be escaping their grasp without help. She knew Jango was smart, but she didn't even know where she was. Even if Jango was still alive, the likelihood of him finding her before the Force was stripped from her was highly unlikely. Still, she prayed that he would come to her rescue.
"I realize you are giving your life to feed ours, but your sacrifice will not be in vain," Nuenet said, his mouth didn't move an inch, but his words flowed through her mind just as easily as if he'd said them aloud. "Your Ashla will keep our remaining people alive for several more years on just your sacrifice alone. Your kind, the Jeedai, are powerful and we will forever be grateful to you and your Ashla."
Kira's nose curled in anger. "There are only six of you left," Kira said. "Your time has come and gone, your species' time has come and gone. You cannot even reproduce normally so instead you steal from others. You're killing people because you're holding onto something that has died a long time ago. It is time to let go. This is wrong and you know it."
Nuenet's eyes remained closed. "We do what we must to survive," he said. "You were no different when you killed my hunters."
"You're killing people because you're selfish. You're using other's Ashla to live unnaturally long lives and look, I get it. Dying is not on my top priority list but you can't keep doing things like this. Let me and the others go." Kira said, she doubted she could convince the Taavarian to release her but that didn't stop her from trying.
Nuenet's eyes opened, the blackness of his eyes gave Kira the creeps. "It was your people's selfishness that brought us to where we are now. It is only justice to take back what is ours."
"You did this to yourselves. Don't be surprised when your karma comes calling and ends you all. My absence will be noticed, and others will come to destroy you." Kira warned.
She hoped Jango would find her but if he was unsuccessful-or worse- already dead, she hoped Mace would search for her if she died in the cave. Part of her believed he would search the galaxy for her but the other half of her believed he would do the Jedi thing and… let go… after enough time had passed. He had a way of letting go of his attachments in a way Kira struggled to, and she knew she might not ever achieve it the way Mace had. There was a reason Mace was on one of the highest seats of the council and Kira could only wish to be like him.
"Your warnings have been received, Young One." Nuenet said and took a step closer to her. Kira tried to back away but the grip on her was as tight as ever. She would be going nowhere unless they released their grip on her and that wasn't likely going to happen anytime soon. Kira felt that regret she had felt when she first came to Mes Cresta resurface, if she hadn't asked Jango for help, she wouldn't be there. Then again, even if she wasn't there, Jense, Kal, Mij and Wad'e would be and Jense would still have been captured. She doubted Jango would have joined Skirata on his job but either way, she would have never found Jense if she had waited. There was a silver lining, she supposed. If they made it out alive, that was.
Nuenet let out a long breath before the remaining Taavarians took a few steps closer, surrounding her. They allowed themselves to slip into a meditative state, their heart rates slowed, and their minds cleared. One by one, each rose a hand towards Kira. Nuenet being the last to raise his towards her.
"May the Force be with me." Kira said under her breath, closing her eyes. She had no choice but to accept what was to happen to her. Even if she lost the Force, she would fight until her dying breath to save herself, Jense and the Jedi.
The Taavarian to her right began speaking in a language Kira couldn't begin to understand. Kira felt a sickness grow in the pit of her stomach as she felt the Force slowly becoming more and more active in the air around her. She felt a tingling in her skin that was rapidly turning into pain. It felt like a thousand needles were being pricked into her skin and shoved down deep into her flesh.
Despite this, Kira knew that they were trying to break down her walls, the Force seemed to be held within a box inside Kira's mind. As long as the box was shut and locked, the Taavarians couldn't take her Ashla, but the Taavarians has thousands of years of practice at cracking mental blocks of Jedi stronger and better than she was. They slowly and expertly hacking away at the metaphorical lock. Kira put all of her strength towards protecting her mind, focusing within and growing numb to the physical world. The world around her went silent in her concentration.
Kira felt the ground beneath her rumble like a bomb went off, a deafening explosion that was muffled behind the walls of her mind… until she realized bombs were actually going off. The first loud explosion detonated near the end of the cave. The Taavarian's Force grip on her body and mind was broken as their attentions turned from Kira to the explosion. Once she was free from their grip, the explosions grew louder as her concentration retreated from her own mind to the physical world. Then another went off at the opposite corner, then another. The ceiling of the cave shuttered and groaned with the sudden impact.
"You did this." Nuenet growled at Kira, his hand forming a fist in anger.
It wasn't as if Kira didn't warn him bad things would happen if he didn't stop but before Kira could make any smart remarks, another bomb went off, this time in the water behind the peninsula. The water shot into the air in waves before slamming into everyone who stood near it. Kira and the Taavarians went tumbling to the ground, being thrown in all directions as the waters blew over them. Kira hit the ground hard landing on her stomach.
Kira wasted no time trying to recover herself, she had a small opportunity to escape, and she wasn't going to let it pass her by. She tried forcing herself to stand but without the use of her hands, the task was difficult. The ceiling groaned again as the walls started to shake and began toppling down near the end of the tunnel where the first bomb went off. She managed to get to her knees before someone's arm looped around her midsection and hauled her to her feet.
"You know, you're a lot heavier than you look, Jedi." An accented voice said in her ear.
Kira immediately recognized it as Jango's. "Jango!" She exclaimed, "You came for me." She was almost certain they would find Jense and leave her if they were able to find them at all. She would have kissed him then and there if she could and she would happily plant a fat one right on his bucket head so long as he got her out of there.
"Don't flatter yourself," Jango said, as if he hadn't spent the last few hours losing his mind about her. "We need you to open the door to your father."
Kira gave a side glare, the thought that she could have kissed him quickly disappeared. There were times, short, fleeting moments where she actually liked Jango, but then he would say or do something that would completely change her mind. Kal Skirata was right, after all, Jango Fett was a selfish shabuir. If they ever got out alive, went their separate ways and she never saw him again she wouldn't necessarily be too upset by it.
Jango was making his way towards the stairs that led to the way out, his boots hitting the ground hard as the cave's tremors grew louder. He had just about made it when his feet swept underneath him, toppling both of them over. Kira's face slammed into the ground and her chin split open, her shoulders popped loudly. Jango was lucky enough to land on top of her and avoided most of the impact.
"Dank ferrik, Fett!" Kira cursed, tasting blood in her mouth. The skin on her chin split and bright red blood flowed from the wound. "Anyone ever taught you how to walk on your own two feet?"
"Shut the kriff up, Jedi, do you ever just shut your mouth?" Jango growled, pushing himself up on his forearms. "I should have left you for those things."
Kira looked over her shoulder to glare at him, the coolness of his chest armor pressed against her back. She threw her shoulder back, shoving him off of her and looked back to where the Taavarians were. Nuenet had regained himself first and was on his feet looking every bit angry and ready to spill blood. "Shit. Cut me loose, Jango!"
Jango's head snapped to Nuenet. His hand went for his blaster, but Nuenet was faster. He used the Force to take hold of the WESTAR-34 before throwing it to the side and holding his hand up to Jango.
The invisible hands wrapped around the Mand'alor's throat and grew tighter each passing second. Jango's hands flew to his neck, struggling to breathe. Kira fought against her bindings as a series of red blaster bolts came flying through the dust and smoke. Kal, Mij and Wad'e broke through the clouds of debris, Wad'e's arm raised sending a wrist rocket sailing through the air towards Nuenet. Nuenet was fast but not fast enough to dodge the incoming attack. The Taavarian's grip on Jango released when the rocket collided with him, sending him sailing back in the blast.
Jango dropped to the ground gasping loudly with his hand on his neck. Kal and Mij raced to his and Kira's sides and pulled them up to their feet.
"I knew this was a bad idea!" Kal shouted as the cave was rapidly starting to collapse.
"We have to go!" Wad'e shouted.
"We have to get Jense!" Mij shouted back as he dragged Jango behind him trying to encourage the Mand'alor to keep up.
Jango pulled himself free from Mij's grasp and grabbed the black lightsaber hilt at his hip. He fumbled with it as they ran before he found the button and ignited the blade. He grabbed Kira's shoulder, stopping her for a moment to cut her bindings.
Kira let out a moan of relief as the bindings fell free from her hands. She turned and trotted backwards taking hold of Jango's arm trying to take her lightsaber from him, she glanced over his shoulder and saw Nuenet back on his feet with two others. She stopped, letting go of Jango's arm and his grip on her lightsaber before sidestepping to let him pass her.
He stopped the moment he passed her to try to keep her with him. He'd gone through enough effort not to have her by his side until they escaped to the surface and to safety. She threw her arms out, her mouth twisted into a scowl as a wave of the Force went flying through the air crashing into the Taavarians. Now that she had the use of her hands and therefore use of the Force, she was going to let them have it.
The ceiling above her had other opinions though. The entire cave would collapse in just mere moments and if they didn't hurry, they would all be crushed and Jango wasn't about to let that happen. Kira used the Force to throw the falling chunks from the ceiling at them with all her might.
One of the ceiling chunks she threw slammed into one of the other Taavarians and crushed him like a bug. The cave groaned loudly as the walls on the far end, where the bombs first went off collapsed entirely. Kal and the others had already made it halfway up the stairs towards the exit tunnel before they realized Jango and Kira were not behind them.
"Jango! Kira!" Kal shouted trying to urge them to hurry up.
Jango grabbed Kira's arm and dragged her behind him. "Leave him!" He shouted back at her, and he raced to the bottom of the stairs before throwing her ahead of him and pushed her forward.
Kira fell to her hands and knees with the force from Jango's push, she pushed herself back up crawling a few steps on all fours before she regained herself enough to get back on her feet. Jango's thighs were burning from the long flight of stairs, he took a moment to glance back at the Taavarians needing to get a visual of his enemy. All but Nuenet were crushed beneath the fallen ceiling, and he was struggling to dodge the falling rock. If anything, the explosion did catch them off guard. So, technically Jango's plan did work, now he just had to make sure it worked long enough to survive.
They had just about reached the top when he felt a pull to his lower leg, pulling his feet out from underneath him. He fell forward hard, barely catching himself with his hands. His head snapped back and saw Nuenet holding his arm out to him. He pulled his arm back to yank Jango off the steps. He let out a muffled scream as he scrambled to get ahold of something to keep him from going over the edge of the stairs.
Kira heard him cry out and immediately turned to help him. She grabbed Jango's right forearm in both her hands, putting all her weight into her heels to keep him from going over. "Kal!" She screamed. "Light his ass up!"
Kal responded in seconds, firing his blaster at Nuenet. The blasts knocked Nuenet's grip on Jango, the blasts imbedding themselves into his shoulder. He cried out in pain, Kira pulled Jango up by his arm, he grabbed hers with his free hand and pulled himself up.
"Go! Go! Go!" She shouted as they both went through the tunnel opening holding tightly onto the other.
Kira and Jango ran straight into Kal and Wad'e. "We have to get Jense!" Kal said, pushing Kira away from him lightly.
"You don't need to remind me a thousand times, Skirata! Lead the way, dammit!" She shouted over the rumbling as all five turned on their heels and raced down the tunnel. It only took a few moments before they came to where the prison cell was. "Why didn't you get him first?" She demanded as she slid to a stop in front of the slab that covered the doorway.
"The man in there said you had to use the Force to open the door." Wad'e said.
Kira nodded hearing the rumbling from below get louder as the cave-in got closer. She held her hands up before throwing them to the side. The slab door flew to the side as if it was weightless. She ran in first and saw Pao'l and Khane with their eyes wide and Jense still unconscious.
"What the hell is going on?" Khane demanded. "What did you do?"
She called her lightsabers to her from Jango's belt and ignited both. She didn't bother responding to Khane as she sliced through the bindings around his wrists. "I'll explain later! Follow them and don't stop for anything!" She said pointing to Mij and Wad'e. Kira swung her blade again, cutting Pao'l's bindings.
The old man had old sores on his wrists and his strength was obviously not what it was before he'd gotten trapped down there. Kira could only imagine that the Taavarians had especially liked him specifically because of how well he would have been trained in the Force. He was a master, and his Force ability would have been significantly stronger than Khane. Kira deactivated her silver lightsaber before holding her hand out to him. He took it and she hauled him to his feet, pulling his arm over her shoulder.
"Jango!" She called. "Take him up! Kal, help me with Jense!"
Jango would have rather left the Jedi to die but he did as Kira demanded, this was not the time to argue with the fiery apprentice and took her place, pulling Pao'l's arm over his own shoulders and wrapping his arm around his back. Pao'l groaned in pain, he seemed to have limited use in his legs as Jango dragged him towards the door. Kira shoved her silver lightsaber in Jango's free hand.
"If anything tries to stop you, Jango. Cut through them." She said, Mace would have been very upset with how willing she was to just give up her lightsabers to him but even if she didn't like him much, she did trust him enough to save her life and giving one of her lightsabers to him felt necessary.
Jango stopped at the doorway. "Kira, you get him and get your ass up there. If you get killed-"
"Yeah, yeah I'll never talk to you again." Kira said, waving him off as she and Kal went to Jense. She looked back at him when he didn't move. "Jango! Go! I'll be right behind you. I promise!" She pointed towards the door to emphasize she meant it. Jango hesitated a moment before dragging the old Jedi towards the surface. The last thing he wanted was to leave her and Skirata behind but there was little he could do, and Kira wasn't going to listen to him if he tried to argue with her. Plus, it would take both Kira and Kal to drag Jense to the surface.
Kira cut Jense's bindings, he slumped to the ground like a ragdoll.
"Shab, Vod." Kal cursed.
Kira deactivated her lightsaber and knelt beside him as she grabbed his shoulder and gave him a shake. "Hey, wake up!" She said, giving him another shake. She slapped the side of his helmeted head one way, then backhanded it back the other way. "Wake up!"
He groaned. Kal grabbed her shoulder to stop her from slapping him anymore.
"At least he's alive, save your strength, Ad'ika." Kal said. "Help me lift him. We'll get him to a bacta tank as soon as we can."
Jense's eyes opened barely, his vision was fuzzy, and his mind was having trouble processing exactly what was happening and where he was. He could barely even remember what had happened to him at all. As his vision slowly became clear the first thing his eyes laid upon was a woman with raven black hair that was tied into a disheveled knot at the base of her skull. He thought he must have died and gone to the manda.
"...Lenore…?" Jense muttered as he weakly lifted his arm to touch Kira's cheek. "Lenore?"
Kira glanced at Kal in confusion as Jense's hand dropped from her face. They both moved to either side of the Mandalorian and pulled one of Jense's arms over each of their shoulders. Kal and Kira were the same height at only five-foot-four while Jense was well over a foot taller than both and weighed more than half of Kira and Kal's weight combined, he wasn't fat either it was pure muscle, and carrying a man of that size proved a challenge for the pair.
"Damn, why do you have to be so damn big?" Kira cursed as they pulled him back through the doorway, his feet dragging behind him. "How do we get out of here, Kal?" She asked, she had no recollection of how she came there or where they were so Kal was their only way out.
"Follow me." Kal answered.
"Lenore…?" Jense asked again, groggily.
"Oh, shut up." Kira muttered to herself as she readjusted Jense's arm on her shoulders.
"You're not getting away, Jeedai." Nuenet's voice rang in Kira's mind. She hissed and turned her head and saw him climbing up through the tunnel on his hands and knees. The cave rumbled again before the town below collapsed completely. The end of the tunnel before the cave then collapsed and trapped Nuenet beneath the rubble. The creature let out a cry of pain as the weight of the rock crushed him.
"Oh, yes I am! Kal! Run!" She said, breaking out into a sprint forcing Kal to keep up with her.
She could see the opening of the tunnel and heard the roar of the waterfall beyond it. Kal and Kira ran to the opening before both of them, with all their might, launched Jense into the water before they leapt in after him just as the tunnel collapsed behind them. The waterfall shook before it began to collapse under itself.
Kal and Kira's heads broke through the water as Jense's body surfaced, face down. They both swam as fast as they could, grabbing him. Three different sets of whip cords came shooting out at them, wrapping around each of them. Kira looked up to see Jango, Mij and Wad'e pulling them in and away from the fall zone.
When they were close enough, they waded knee deep into the water to grab them. Mij grabbing Jense, Wad'e grabbing Kal and Jango grabbing Kira. Kira released her grip on Jense as soon as Mij took control and allowed Jango to grab her upper arm and pull her up. She grabbed at him, hanging onto both of his forearms as she tried to get control of her feet, stumbling as she did so.
Jango, for as much of a jerk as she thought he was, was a welcome sight and his steadiness was a relief. He pulled her up as she grabbed his shoulder and let herself fall into him. Her forehead burying itself into his chest.
Kira's breath was ragged as she clung to him. "So… does this mean I owe you now?" She said looking up at him. "You know, since you saved me this time?" She joked tiredly as she allowed Jango to pull her to shore.
Jango couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he brought her to dry ground, she released him and let herself fall to her knees.
The group looked back at the waterfall or lack thereof. If Nuenet made it out alive all of them would be extremely impressed and so, they all waited a few moments. When nothing happened, they all were convinced that if Nuenet was alive, he wouldn't be for much longer.
Kira laid down on her back and let herself take in a few long, deep breaths. When she felt somewhat okay, she turned her head towards Jense. "Is he okay?" She asked, sometime during the escape he slipped back into unconsciousness.
"He will be." Wad'e said as he dragged him to the shore and laid him out with his face up. "He's going to need a bacta tank though." He grabbed Jense's helmet and pulled it off.
"He's a lucky shabuir." Mij said as he and Kal came up last out of the water.
Kira immediately sat up and forced herself to her feet, she had to know what the man looked like. She had to know what Kal meant when he said that she looked like a Kenvor. When she went to Jense's side and looked down at him, she understood. If there was a male doppelganger of her; it was him.
Jense Kenvor had fair skin, though he barely had any wrinkles to show he was old. His hair was black as deep space and was cropped short, thin shaven around his neck with slightly longer hair towards the top of his head. He had a thin layer of facial hair that grew around his jowls, chin and upper lip and he had a few faded scars on his cheek, one on his chin that caused the hair to stop growing around it. He was a decently attractive man, but he looked younger than what Kira imagined he would be. Kal had mentioned they knew each other as boys but Kal looked to be in his mid-forties, easily while this man looked to be closer to late thirties.
"I told you, you looked like a Kenvor." Kal said as he made his way towards her. "He has the same color eyes as you, too."
Kira looked over at him and forced a laugh. "I suppose you did." She said, looking back towards the collapsed waterfall. She could no longer sense Nuenet or the other Taavarians and hoped that would be the last of them. She found she had no remorse for destroying an entire species, she wondered if that was the Jedi in her that was so detached or something else. "We need to get out of here though and him back to Mandalore. We're not out of the woods yet."
"My ship is at least a two days' trip away," Jango reminded her. "We'd better get moving."
The Mandalorians let out a sigh of exhaustion. They'd been going nearly nonstop since the Taavarians first arrived and were desperate for rest. None of them could tell exactly how many days had passed since they'd first encountered Nuenet but they knew for sure that it was the late afternoon now and night would be coming upon them soon.
"Jense's ship isn't far off," Wad'e said. "Once we get there, Kal and Kira should take Jense back to Mandalore. The rest of us will stay behind and collect payment from the governor."
"You'd better charge him extra." Mij said in disgust. "That job was nothing like he made it sound like."
"What about them?" Jango asked, motioning his head slightly towards the tree line where Khane and Pao'l were sitting. Khane was tending to his master's wounds but obviously paying very close attention to his Mandalorian rescuers. For being a Jedi, Khane had a distrust of others that rivaled the Mandalorians themselves.
"Let me talk to them," Kira said. "If they agree to my terms, would you be willing to take them to Mandalore, Kal? I will bring them back to Coruscant on the ship I left there."
"What about the ship they came in on?" Jango asked, he was just as suspicious of them as they were of him. He had gotten used to the idea of Kira being around, but he was not willing to play friends with any other Jedi. One was enough for him.
"According to them, it crashed." She answered.
"Leave them here." He said. "They can get to the city and call for help then. We did enough Jedi rescuing for one day."
Kira could sympathize with Jango's discomfort around Pao'l and Khane but in a sense, they were an insurance policy that she couldn't give up just yet. "I need them," Kira said. "I have to explain my disappearance from Corrie somehow and they are my scapegoat. I don't want my master knowing I've been poking my nose around Mandalorian stuff. So, as long as I have them, I have my secrets… As long as they don't feel like sharing."
"Make sure they don't." Jango said with his arms crossed over his chest.
Kira bowed her head in a slight nod to him. "I'll go talk to them." She said, Jango returned a nod and she turned on her heel.
She walked up to the two Jedi and crossed her arms over her chest. Khane's eyebrow rose, Kira hesitated before walking towards him. Pao'l had been the master, but Kira knew it was Khane she had to convince not to tell the Council– and more importantly– Mace, her secret rendezvous with the Mandalorians. She knew he was suspicious of her, and she could appreciate his suspicion now that it was obvious now that she hadn't just met the mandalorians on Mes Cresta and that she had known them prior to arriving on the planet. She stopped a few feet from him with her arms crossed and a frown on her face.
"I knew you were lying." He said, his voice wasn't entirely accusing but it also wasn't playful banter either.
"I admitted to lying." She countered but she was in no mood to play any games with the Jedi. "Look, I can get you both a ride back to Coruscant safe and sound with the Mandalorians."
"But?" Khane asked, already knowing there was a catch.
"I need you to agree to my terms."
"What terms?" Khane asked for his master, the older man was weak, and Kira was sure he would also need the use of a bacta tank as soon as possible.
Kira looked between Khane and Pao'l before her eyes settled on Khane's. "When the Council asks you what happened here, you say that you put out a distress signal– which I received and that I went to rescue you and that's why I left Coruscant so quickly."
"That's not what happened." Khane said, his green eyes narrowed. Kira could already tell he would make an excellent Jedi Master one day. He obviously took his duty very seriously and that is what made Kira nervous. She needed him to not be a Jedi at this moment.
"I know," She said plainly. "But that's what you're going to tell them. You're going to tell them all about the Taavarians and how they could steal the Force out of someone and how they stole the Force from both of you. You're going to tell them everything that happened here but you're not going to mention anything about any Mandalorians."
"They're kind of a key piece to this story." Khane said and looked over her shoulder at them, Jango watched every move Khane made. Khane didn't know anything about Jango Fett, but he knew by just looking at him that he was a dangerous man that was not to be crossed.
"And you're going to leave them out of it, or I can't promise you'll ever make it back to Coruscant." Kira said, her warning may not have been said aloud but the message was well received.
He let out a sigh. "Without them, we'd all be dead."
"I know." Kira said, she would have been dead too if it wasn't for them.
"Before I agree," He said. "You have to tell me the truth."
"What truth?"
"Why are you really here?" Khane wasn't going to let it go, he had to know if Kira was involved in something that could later cause more problems. Mandalorians and Jedi did not have a good history so seeing a Jedi and Mandalorian working together made him nervous and the way Fett watched him made his skin crawl.
Kira frowned and hesitated before motioning her head towards Jense's unconscious body. "Because of him." She said.
"I knew it."
"I think…" She said struggling to get the words out of her mouth. "I asked the Mandalorians to help me find him because I think he is my father." Kira avoided Khane's eyes for a moment not wanting to see the typical Jedi look of disapproval that she was so used to seeing from her master.
Khane's expression dropped, he put his hand to his chin as he pursed his lips tightly together. "You're putting yourself in a tough situation, Kira." It wasn't as bad as he thought but it still didn't make it any better. There were reasons why Jedi were not to seek out their birth families and if Kira was a Mandalorian it directly conflicted with her life as a Jedi. The Mandalorian way was to serve their own, forming tight-knit family bonds, the Jedi way was to serve others and to remain free of attachments.
"I know." She said, she knew she had made things harder for herself the moment she saved Jango Fett from the fighting pit on Tooma and every moment she spent with him and the others like him only made her situation harder. She knew it but she had already accepted it and she was willing to risk it all. She looked between Khane and Pao'l. "I need you to swear on your lives that you will not say anything about them to the Jedi, the Council or otherwise."
Khane let out a sigh before he looked towards his master for guidance. Pao'l shrugged. "If not for the Mandalorians we would be dead." Pao'l said. "And without them, we will die out here. I am weak and I cannot make it out of these woods without assistance, even with you Khane. So, we'll accept your terms, Padawan."
Kira bowed her head. "Okay," She said with a nod. "Let's go home."