Padawan

Aurra Sing was a famous bounty hunter, known by her cruelty and efficiency. For the years she had been around, she also received the unofficial nickname of Jedi Killer. Nobody knew why she was so focused on killing jedis, but normally, if the job involved murdering one of the peacekeepers, she would accept without even asking about the payment.

Aurra had a personal reason for hating the jedi so much. But more important than that, she found killing them especially enjoyable.

When Dageer saw the bright orange clothes that she was wearing, his mind finally clicked. Before, when General Di had told him about what happened inside Jabba's room, he felt that something was missing. That something was the bounty hunter. The protocol droid they met said there was no one on other rooms, and everyone had to be together with Jabba. So where was the bounty hunter? Now he knew.

Even though his whole body was numb, his mind was still working. However, besides shooting, he couldn't think of any way to get out of their predicament. Meanwhile, General Di and the bounty hunter were sizing up each other.

"Aurra Sing, you already received your reward from that Hutt, didn't you? So why keep chasing us? Confronting a jedi can only end badly for you, winning or losing."

"Rararara... you misunderstood me, jedi. Jabba hired me to capture that youngling for a good sum of money, but after that my job with him was over. The reason why I am after you involves no money. It is completely personal."

"... What have I done to you? Or is it not me, but the Jedi Order as a whole?"

Sing got deadly serious. Apparently General Di had added salt to an injury, and her face was now full of hate.

"You are right, it is not just you but your kind. The powerful and invincible Jedi Knights, fighting for the freedom of the galaxy. You really fight well when the one who employs you is the Chancellor or the hippocrates from the Senate. But when a little girl needed your help, not one of you moved to rescue her."

The way that Sing said that sounded like she was telling a story about someone else, but Dageer felt the truth was different. He was quite sure the bounty hunter was talking about something that happened to her a long time ago, way before the clones were created.

"Aurra, I understand your rage, but there are only ten thousand jedis in the galaxy. We can't save everyone, but we do our best. Killing us will only make things worse for many other little girls just like yo... just like the one on your story."

In response to General Di's pledge, Sing laughed. She and her droids approached, and Dageer saw General Di make eye contact with Ragout. They seemed to have come to an understanding, but what could they do in this situation?

"Aurra, if you don't stop now, I will have no other choice but bringing you to a Republic prison."

General Di made a motion of turning on his lightsaber, and at that instant everyone's attention was focused on his hand. Taking advantage of the millisecond that General Di had bought to him, Ragout jumped high. Even with his legs tied, he still reached a height of five meters in the air, and at the same time did a backflip.

The end of his stunt brought him just behind one of the IG-88 assassin droids. This droid was also the one who was holding the cables that tied him. Ragout landed on his feet, and used the Force to push the droid five meters away, at the same time making him drop his weapons.

General Di then threw Ragout's lightsaber to him. The padawan caught it in the air, and in a fluid motion turned it on, and cut the cables on his legs.

It was the first time Dageer saw Ragout's lightsaber. Different from General Di, he had a pale green lightsaber, almost yellow or maybe white. It was also smaller than the one from his master, but it seemed to fit better with the small frame of Ragout.

Having got his lightsaber back, Ragout jumped once more, not as high as before, but just enough so he could slice open the head of the nearest IG-88.

"You!"

Sing certainly didn't expect what happened, but she showed her instincts as a bounty hunter. She neither stood still, nor went after Ragout. What she did was press the cables, sending more electricity through it. Dageer, Commander Keeli and Brain all started screaming in pain, and were out of the fight for good, or at least until they were cut free.

Then, Sing turned to General Di, and at the same time her partners - the Nikto and two IG-88 - faced Ragout. It was clearly a trained maneuver, and one they had executed many times. Amidst his pain, Dageer thought why Aurra Sing was with a Nikto and not the red-skinned pig-man.

The bounty hunter was firing her blaster wildly, but General Di deflected each and every laser. He was able to do that against an army of droids, so one person wasn't difficult. He slowly approached her, and although Sing tried to run, she was surprised when Metal appeared behind her and held her arms.

With a swift motion, General Di cut the barrels of her pistols, and Metal kicked her at the back of her knee, making her grunt in pain and fall to the ground. When she got up, his lightsaber was at her neck.

Almost at the same time there was a shout of pain. The Nikto that was fighting Ragout had dropped to the ground as well, his hands holding where previously it was his left leg. His two companions, the assassin droids, were pieces on the ground.

Metal picked up the control on Sing's pocket and crushed it, freeing Dageer and the others from the cables.

The battle which had started with them as the losing side was turned around and won so quickly that Dageer was surprised. When Ragout helped him up, Dageer accepted gladly. The padawan had won his respect, or at least a part of it.