Chapter 12 War Escalates Part 2

Balmorra…

The dirty and polluted capital city of Balmorra was hardly a place anyone wanted to be, lung problems and diseases were very common here as was a number of other health conditions.

But for two fugitives now hiding in an alleyway the desperation to not be here was even greater.

Haron had gotten himself and the Senator to the most secluded place he could find shortly after they escaped their crashing ship. He looked around with careful eyes to make sure that they hadn't been spotted but for now at least they were safe.

"I can't believe such a wealthy planet could be this polluted and destitute." Padmé said with astonishment as she could easily see the pollution clearly in the sky and the factory workers on the streets who all were all tired looking and very thin.

"The corporations run this planet and they are the ones that get the profits, any government is beholden to them and if has any power at all is in their pockets which I warned you about before we came on this mission." Haron reminded her angrily. "Besides at the moment we have other problems; namely that we are stuck here on this planet with no way to contact the Republic and even if we did they couldn't help us."

"I know, but if we found some government figures who are sympathetic they could help us, I have some contacts here that could help." Padmé said and Haron again thinking she was being naive shot that down.

"Like the senator that you were so sure you could trust? No...the only way off this planet that might work is to use the Underworld. It is not trustworthy but it is perhaps the only option we have." Haron told her with annoyance before adding. "This is far from the lofty heights of the Senate building or the pleasant plains of Naboo Senator, you're in a different world now...literally."

"Don't patronise me! I know we are in a bad position here!" Padmé said back with anger, not liking his tone and the stress getting the better of both of them before she gritted her teeth and asked him reluctantly. "So what's the plan?" He seemed to know this sort of place far better than she did.

"First thing is to get you a better disguise." He said, looking at her white jumpsuit and cape, it was eye catching and showed her off well he admitted impassively but it was for precisely those reasons that it was going to get them noticed. "I can repaint my armour and that will throw off some people but you need something that says criminal not politician. Something like that." He said seeing a female human mercenary walking up the road nearby. He pointed it out to her and as best he could judge the woman and Padmé were roughly the same size.

Before she could say anything he activated his dart launcher and fired a sleep dart into the other woman's unprotected neck. He rushed forward and caught her before dragging her into the alley with them.

"You can't just steal a woman's clothes!" She said hotly but Haron merely said off hand.

"I'm not stealing her clothes, you are. Leave her yours if you care so much but change quickly while I keep a look out, I won't watch." He promised before going to the mouth of the alley while Padmé reluctantly began undressing the woman and herself. Haron did as he promised and didn't peek at either woman. The street remained clear and thankfully it seemed to be the middle of the night so fewer people were around, taking advantage of the moment's quiet he took the small camouflage kit from his belt and started repainting his armour into a different colour. He frowned at his limited options, knowing that he would have to restock it next chance he got but applied the dark grey and black paint he had to his armour. Covering the usually green was relatively easy and while it was still eye catching he was likely going to need it this time Haron thought with trepidation.

"Does this meet your expectations?" Padmé asked, bringing his attention back to the here and now where it should be he thought to his own chagrin. Turning he saw she had done as he had asked and changed into the mercenary's outfit, armoured boots with some light plates on the legs and arms of the jacket and trousers with her brown hair tied back in a ponytail and a pair of tactical goggles on her head. Armoured gloves protected her hands and she had even thankfully swapped weaponry now having a A280C Heavy Blaster Rifle strapped to her back and a pair of DL-18 blaster pistols at her waist with some extra ammo packs.

"Brilliant, now you look like a mercenary. Now we need to get moving, it won't take them long before they start looking for us." He told her and they dived into the network of alleyways beyond Padmé, still annoyed at having to steal someone else's clothes while he hadn't asked him.

"Your armour hardly blends in either Duke Ordo! Why don't you find yourself a new outfit?" She asked him hotly which only made him smirk a little.

"A Mandalorian never parts with his armour and there are many Mandalorian mercenaries around the galaxy that I should be able to move unchallenged. Besides I have a feeling we will be needing the advantages it brings." He finished as the ducked into the seedier parts of the city, not liking that statement at all and wondering just what they might have to do to get off this planet before the Separatists caught up with them Padmé just followed.

- x -

Some distance away from the pair of fugitives, a man wearing expensive looking robes stood over the crash site and waited for the droids to complete their search but already he knew that they would not find any bodies.

Tol Skorr could feel in the force that he was wasting his time with this search and decided to turn his attention to the city.

"Droid Commander." He said coldly to the idiot machine that was in 'charge' of these ridiculous battle droids carrying out the search.

"Yes general." The droid said in its annoying machine voice but he pushed down his annoyance, wishing he had competent organic troops.

"Search the city, if they were in the ship we would have found them by now. Put their descriptions out to all the garrisons and triple security at all spaceports." Tol ordered and the droids in their irritating way said.

"Roger Roger."

Tol meanwhile was already ignoring them, he was already mentally preparing himself for the hunt ahead.

It took a bit longer to find the seedier parts of town than Haron had hoped but the more lawless areas were far easier to hide in and if they were to find smugglers on Balmorra this was the place.

The eclectic people certainly were different as was the bright dazzling neon signs all around and smoky environment. Haron hadn't been in a place like this for awhile but he still remembered two pieces of advice that he thought best to pass onto Padmé who he made sure was close to his side.

"Remember, watch your step people in these places aren't so easy to reason with. Criminals respect strength so if you are challenged answer back in kind." He told her quietly which was a bit difficult given the loud music blaring out of the different places all around them. Padmé thankfully did hear him and nodded. Glad to have made sure that she knew that he continued looking around for the most disreputable bar he could find.

He found it quite by accident when a rodian was thrown out of a second story window ahead and a pack of drunk Zabraks came out singing at the top of their voices. Haron smiled inside his helmet and led them inside, Padmé to her credit didn't hesitate to follow him inside and the dingy interior was exactly as he had pictured it. Lots of different people crowded around tables and the bar drinking a variety of dodgy looking drinks and playing games of pazaak all over the place while loud music echoed all around. It was so loud that Haron could barely hear himself think but he walked straight up to the bar regardless and pushed a drunk Duro out of the way to make room at the bar, barely anyone noticed and before Padmé could go to check on him which would be unusual around here he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up to the bar.

"Two Ryloth twisters." Haron ordered from the older human that was running the bar who nodded and went to pour two of the least alcoholic beverages on the menu. Haron waited till he was done and when the old man brought the drinks over Haron paid him but also slide a few extra credit bars over. "And some information, my friend and I are looking for a smuggler...one that can get off world fast." He added and the old man nodded, clearly used to this sort of request and pointed out a figure in the corner with a bunch of the thugs around them. Haron nodded but then saw a pair of Mirialian men getting handy with Padmé out of the corner of his eye.

"No thanks not interested." Padmé said firmly and stayed away from their grasping hands, her irritation rising. But the two men just kept slurring in what she presumed was huttese and kept reaching out, one grabbing her wrist. That was when she remembered Ordo's words and lashed out with a punch to the offending man's face. She could put quite a bit of force behind her fist and had the advantage of the man being drunk, sending him straight to the floor.

This unfortunately led to him knocking his friend over who fell into an unstable table containing the drinks of a rather angry group of Trandoshans who all snarled before punching or slashing at those around them in a blind rage. Faster than you could blink this spread through the bar and soon everyone was doing it.

Bottles and tankards were being smashed over people's heads, fists and legs flying everywhere and yelling filling the air. Haron gritted his teeth and seeing Padmé in the middle of the chaos cursed under his breath before throwing himself in the bar brawl.

He smashed his armoured gloves into the faces of a few thugs on the way to Padmé who to his own surprise was actually holding her own quite well. She punched one of the Trandoshans before kicking him away and then smashed a bottle over the head of another. Haron was a bit surprised but was just glad she had taken some of his advice to heart and smashed a Quarran in the face before throwing him into a group of brawlers.

Eventually he managed to reach Padmé and just as a hulking and scarred wookiee prepared to charge straight at them when somebody started firing a large blaster into the ceiling. It took a moment for everyone to finally stop but they all turned to see a group of Gamorreans standing around a fairly tall Bith dressed in fairly good quality robes. Haron realised that this was who the bartender had directed him towards before the brawl broke out.

Gesturing towards the alcove just behind them Padmé and Haron shared a look before following her, it was a tight spot and Haron made sure his blasters were within quick reach if needed. Sitting at the small table the Bith introduced himself.

"It seems you two are capable fighters and my employee at the bar tells me you are looking for a smuggler." He said in Huttese which Haron nodded before replying in the same language.

"Indeed, we have a job lined up off world that we are eager to get too but our last job got us on the authorities notice. So we need a smuggler to get us off world as soon as possible." Haron said to the Bith who nodded with its own version of a smile on its face.

"I see, I have some good smugglers on my payroll but I need something first in return." The Bith said. Haron could sense he was being truthful about having smugglers that could get them off world and that was at least a start so he asked.

"What's the job you need done?" Haron needed to know just what needed to be done and the Bith said with a sly voice.

"One of the factories has a set of heavy battle droid plans which have interested a buyer who has so far failed to acquire them. I have arranged a most advantageous price for the plans I only need someone to retrieve them." The Bith said and Haron now understood what he wanted.

"Very well, give us the location and where the plans are stored and it's done." Haron said knowing it might seem suspicious to just accept but he made it as realistic as possible by making his voice sound as frustrated as possible. The Bith accepted it and pulled out a datapad which showed the location of the factory relative to their current position and the layout. Haron nodded and got up to leave, Padmé following him looking confused.

"What just happened?" She asked as they finally left the bar and the lessening of the sound was a blessing as it was giving her a headache.

"We do a job for him, he gets us off world. Basically we have to break into a heavily fortified factory and steal some plans for the boss over there. Once we do then we get a ride off world, I would prefer to just steal a ship but the spaceport is the first place they will look for us so this might be our best option." Haron said, wishing they could just take a ship but it was too risky.

Padmé immediately looked uneasy about that.

"Do we know who he is selling it too? What they would use it for?" She asked with anxiety over just what they would be handing over and who too. Haron gritted his teeth before he answered, morally she was right but practically did not they have a choice.

"Normally I would agree but we have no other options right now, if we try to steal a ship we will probably get caught and as skilled as we are I would rather not have to face an army of droids." He told her, they were only two against an entire planet here after all even with his powers and skills which he would need in a fight like that. He and his people were trying to keep a low profile so the last thing he needed was for people to learn just what they could do, the Jedi and Sith especially.

"How do you know the underworld so well?" Padmé asked, trying to change the subject and hoped he knew what he was doing. He smiled and said with a bittersweet feeling.

"My family has a tradition, the heir when they turn sixteen they must go out into the galaxy and not only survive on their own but thrive. One of the quickest ways of doing that is interacting with the underworld, I worked as a bounty hunter and a pirate hunter for a good while before I returned home and both of those professions bring you into contact with the Underworld." He admitted to her and she widened her eyes at that. She had somehow thought his nobility he would have been protected at all times, never wanting for anything but she had to admit she knew little of Mandalorian culture.

The pair didn't speak after that, making their way towards the factory that hopefully would get them a way off world. Haron just hoped it was soon as he felt an attempt to find them through the force which he rebuffed easily enough, it was not strong or precise enough to be Dooku so at least the man himself wasn't here but still Haron was worried that a force user was hunting them and just hoped they could get off world before whoever was hunting them caught up.

Coruscant, the Core Worlds…

Blissfully unaware of the danger that his wife was in on Balmorra Anakin was tending to his own ship which was grounded for a week or so to receive some much needed maintenance before returning to the front lines. He was using the time away from combat to read up a little more on words of Revan, Anakin had been struck at how Revan had managed his war effort. Against the Mandalorians Revan had been willing to make sacrifices to advance his goals because in the long run it saved more lives than working on saving everyone. Anakin personally while knowing that people died in war all the time had no intention of sacrificing his soldiers like disposable chess pieces to win battles. But the ideas it had given him on feints, counter attacks and the use of deception were already forming into new and better battle plans in his mind.

But Anakin was also surprised at how much Revan had cared for people of the galaxy too, after seeing what the Mass Shadow Generator had done he had sworn against using weapons like it ever again and used assassin droids and more surgical strikes to achieve his goals after that experience. Anakin had realised that often structures especially political or military ones were often dependant on one or more key pieces that once removed would cause nearly the entire structure to crumble.

Kill a few instead of many.

Anakin was a little troubled as he could see a few...similarities between himself and Revan, the desire to help and the frustration with the Jedi and their overbearing rules as a whole. He knew how Revan's story had ended and vowed to himself to avoid those pitfalls if he could with a shudder at how Revan had turned from noble Jedi to Sith Lord before becoming a Jedi again but then realised that whatever role he took on Revan was always himself.

Doing what he thought best for the galaxy.

He dearly wished he could talk with someone about these thoughts but knew with Padmé off world there was no one else he trusted enough to speak too about this. He certainly couldn't speak to Obi-Wan because that would mean admitting that he had the writings in the first place and unless he wanted the Jedi Council breathing down his neck more than they already were he couldn't have that.

Mind you Anakin thought to himself with irritation, they were perhaps too busy pushing for more members of the order to be given positions in the military while Duke Ordo wasn't here to object. So maybe they were starting to forget him Anakin thought with a little relief to have a fewer people looking over his shoulder.

He was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of men talking outside his quarters and deciding to stretch his legs Anakin went to see what the commotion was about when the ship was supposed to be on down time. He soon found Captain Pellaeon walking down the corridor and asked him.

"What's the disturbance captain?" Wondering just what could be worth such animated conversation. The good captain with a grin told him.

"The Mandalorian bodyguards watching the boy Ordo asked you to keep an eye on are challenging the clones to a shooting competition. Fancy a look sir?" Pellaeon said, while a professional military man he knew friendly competition was not uncommon and could keep the men focused and alert. Anakin was intrigued wanting to see first hand how the clones compared to the Mandalorians and so he said with a grin.

"Lead the way captain."

So the Jedi and the Captain walked down the corridor towards the landing bay where they saw a group of clones overseen by Rex shooting at training remotes while next to them a bunch of Mandalorian warriors were doing the same, taking it in turns so each person could be given a fair turn. One of the clones had just finished and then much to Anakin and Pellaeon's surprise Din Djarin stepped forward with an actual blaster pistol in his hand.

He then started shooting at the fast moving remotes and was astonishingly good at it, he rarely missed and seemed to have a razor sharp focus unusual in boys his age. Even Rex, the professional soldier was impressed.

"He shoots well." Rex said with a nod which was high praise Anakin knew and once the boy had finished he noticed Anakin who told him.

"That is some impressive marksmanship for someone your age, your parents must be proud." Anakin said with a smile which suddenly disappeared the moment he felt a sharp pain in the boy who immediately lost the smile he had been wearing. One of the guards came over a put a comforting hand on Din's shoulder while Anakin, Rex and Pellaeon all looked on confused. Another of the guards explained to ensure they understood just what had hurt the boy so much.

"Din's entire family was wiped out in a Separatist raid on the colony where they lived." The guard told them sadly while putting a hand on the boy's shoulder to try and comfort him. Din himself now with strong grief surging through him spoke.

"Duke Ordo was the one who found me, he and his warriors fought off the attack and when a droid was about to kill me...he came and shot it down. He took my hand and helped me find my family and stayed with me all the time. He and his men saw to the funeral and moving everyone else to a safe place before he took me into his home...he accepted me into his family and treated me like a son." Din told them with his eyes watering a little as the darkest days after the death of his family came up again in his memory. He still felt the pain of their loss as keenly now as he had back then and worried for his foster father all the more. "Now here he is without help and I don't want him to be alone."

Anakin was struck with a great sense of unease as he felt those feelings echo in himself, remembering that day when Qui-Gon and later Obi-Wan had done the same for him. When lost and alone they had given him a future aside from being a slave and the day when his mother had died in his arms...Padmé had been there for him that day and soothed his hurt as best as she could.

What Din had gone through reminded him too much of his own experiences and remembered the worry he had felt when Qui-Gon had been out of his sight which had only been made worse when he had learned the Jedi Master had died at the hands of the Sith and when he had seen Obi-Wan and Padmé in danger, how that feeling had resurged. Din like him was worried for his mentor and Anakin could feel it boiling over in him, so he did his best to ease his worries as best as he could.

"Duke Ordo is a warrior, a fierce and capable one who has managed to beat me more than once." Anakin told him with a small smile. "Those we love are the ones we fear for the most and I can tell you I fear for the safety of those I care about too but...we have to trust them to take care of themselves sometimes while we make sure we are safe too." Anakin said, not sure if he was making things better or worse with this as comforting others was not his area of expertise. Obi-Wan and Padmé were far better at this than he was.

"It is his duty, all of us must stand by our duty and given how well he commands others and leads battles I have no doubt he is able to handle himself." Captain Pellaeon said over his shoulder feeling a sympathy for the boy too. Rex too was unsettled, his own upbringing not helping him much in what to say to the boy.

Anakin with all the tension around them decided to try and break it with the best way he knew.

"Since we have some free time, would you like a flying lesson?" Anakin asked Din, surprising not only the boy but everyone else. Anakin knew nothing more relaxing than flying and it seemed to his mind the best way to relief the boy's stress. Din himself Anakin noticed with a little satisfaction looked excited at the idea. The guards however looked uneasy but as Din turned to them, asking silently for permission they said.

"As long as one of us is with him." The guard in question said and Anakin nodded with a smile.

"Good then we will take one of the shuttles, no time like the present." Anakin said and with a smile Din followed him to a nearby shuttle with a guard following a little reluctantly. They walked up the ramp and strapped themselves into the seats. Anakin turned to Din, now more comfortable being in a familiar space.

"Now these are your basic flight controls..." He said to the boy who looked very interested which only fuelled his own satisfaction as he took the boy up into the air and even let him manipulate the controls a little.

Din he noticed with relief was now much more relaxed and enjoying himself as he sat in the cockpit, Anakin was glad of this enjoying the time doing a much more relaxed task. Both their concerns now gone.

Yavin 4, the Outer Rim…

The fourth moon of the gas giant known as Yavin had a long history with both the Jedi and the Sith and had many secrets protected by its fierce and dangerous jungles. The group of Jedi selected by Yoda had thought this might be a good thing as the jungle had hidden many of the sites and the powerful force aura of the planet should help hide any who had to hide there from the dark side's eyes. Not to mention there was a Jedi shrine and enclave here from ancient times that they could restore.

What they had not been expected when they had landed was to find an enclave of Dark Jedi who was using the planet for the exact same reason they had come here!

"I did not expect to need my lightsaber so much on this assignment." Master Glaive said with a smile on his face as he duelled one of the twenty dark Jedi that had hid themselves here while his fellows engaged the others. Glaive easily struck down the little human who dared try to fight him before attacking the Aqualish who had the nerve to attack his apprentice.

Master Kuro meanwhile was proving just how deadly she could be as she duelled the apparent master of this group, a Devaronian who was doing his best to ward off her rapid Ataru based gymnastic assault. He swiped at her but while he was so busy trying to swipe at her with his lightsaber he failed to notice that that the vines of nearby planets were reaching out towards him until too late. They surged suddenly and wrapped themselves around his legs and arms before he could even react he was so focused on Kuro who with her opponent now restrained wasted no time in simply severing his head from his body.

The brutal dispatch of their enemy would shock those that didn't know Master Kuro well but those that did knew it was entirely in character. Many thought she was too harsh or ruthless to be a true Jedi but she simply had a more hard-nosed idea of what a Jedi should be and what it took to make one which was probably one reason why so many of her training tactics were so hard and brutal.

The Dark Jedi were hardly a match for them and before too long the entire enclave had been cleared out, Glaive was almost sad it was over as he had not expected to get the chance to fight some dark siders on this mission. He nevertheless swallowed his disappointment and regrouped with his fellows outside the temple. Master T'ra Saa and Master Fay who both looked very tired were waiting to meet them.

"We managed to exorcise the spirits of Exar Kun, Naga Sadow and Marka Ragnos from the temples. They certainly put up a fight but we were able to force them to move on." Master Fay said looking flustered as getting rid of force spirits that corrupt and powerful had taken both her and Master Saa working together and exhausted them both. "Not to mention Master Yaddle managed to convince the two Jedi guarding the ancient shrine that we were only here to help and they agreed to protect and maintain the enclave in case it is ever needed."

The discovery of two Jedi here had also been a surprise but it was not unheard of for Jedi to exile themselves to places like this in search of isolation to commune with the force for whatever reason. The two Jedi were of that mindset, seeking to find a greater understanding the force by deep meditation.

"So we will rebuild and expand the Jedi enclave while making a second hideout in another of the temples here just in case. We will copy the database we found in the old Jedi Library and transplant it to another site to ensure it is protected." Master Rak said, his fur not helping much with the hot jungle.

Master Fay nodded, glad in some ways that their first attempt to create a Jedi hideaway had been so successful. First they had purged a rotten order of Dark Jedi, exorcised three very dangerous Sith spirits, found the perfect place for a hideout that required little work and a very important ancient Jedi Archive all at the same time. Also now they were able to search the other temples without interferance they might find other artefacts hidden here.

She just hoped all their missions were this beneficial for the Order she thought with a smile. She turned to see Maris Brood helping a slightly limping Zule Xiss back to their ship for some medical treatment and smiled, glad the two girls were helping each other. Building a strong bond regardless of what the Jedi said could only make you stronger Fay thought.

Unknown District, Balmorra…

Tol Skorr was growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in the search, how difficult was it to find one Senator and one Mandalorian? He asked himself with annoyance at the droids. He tried to reach into the force for some kind of hint to where to look but it was like something was blocking him, keeping him from sensing them much to his own frustration.

Apparently at last though an informant had something useful, a pair of people had been seen walking through a rather seedy section of the city one of whom was wearing Mando gear even if it wasn't the right colour. Tol was about to follow up on this when he was stopped by an urgent call from his master Count Dooku.

"Tol Skorr, I am most displeased that you have so far failed to locate the fugitives. My other acolytes would have captured and killed them by now." Dooku said sternly and giving him an imperious stare. Tol knelt and told him with urgency.

"There have been complications, they have proven far more resourceful than anticipated but I now have a solid lead on them." Tol said quickly, eager to not disappoint his master and the man that had not only saved his life but trained him in using his powers far better. Dooku merely stared at him with critical eyes for a moment before saying with a cold threat.

"Do not fail me Tol Skorr, I am reconsidering my faith in you."

Dooku then closed down the transmission and for a moment before he reigned in his feelings Tol felt a good degree of panic at the Count's words. He was in competition against the others for Dooku's favour, the one that won would be the man's true apprentice and receive power and knowledge unlike anything they had known before and he refused to give that opportunity to his rivals Tol thought anger.

So he stormed into the cantina where the pair had last been seen and to the booth were a local Both crime lord held court. His guards stood between him and the Bith but Tol was in no mood for distractions and so quickly drew his lightsaber and ignited it. A ruby red blade erupted from the hilt and with his anger and frustration flowing Tol started cutting his way through the pathetic and stupid Gamorreans the panicked expressions on their faces actually giving him a sense of satisfaction. The stampede of other people fleeing the cantina only made the fear he was creating feel so much sweeter Tol thought with a thrill running through him.

Cornering the Bith crime lord in the alcove he reached out with his hand and wrapped the force around the criminal's throat, lifting him off the floor and with his eyes now virtually entirely yellow said with a dark smile on his face.

"Now, where did you send the pair that came in here looking for a way off world?" Tol asked the Bith who was grasping at his throat, desperate for breath.

- x -

A distance away now Haron and Padmé finally arrived at the factory complex they were meant to infiltrate, it was an enormous structure and the high perimeter wall was a fairly big obstacle in its self but Haron carried Padmé and himself in via his jet-pack, the force guiding his timing and flightpath so he could avoid the very intense sensor grid and land them on one of the external walkways.

"Do all Mandalorians use jet-packs?" Padmé asked, not liking the feeling of being carried like that although she was glad that Duke Ordo at least was appropriate in the way he held her and did not let his hands wander. Haron himself just nodded before saying.

"Nearly all Mandalorians feel naked without one." Haron said with a smirk before they started stealthily moving along the walkway till they found one of the doors that led inside. Haron took out his small slicer kit and carefully wired it up to the door before activating the small computer which immediately started breaking the door code, seeing this Padmé again was struck by the number of gadgets he seemed to have. It honestly felt ridiculous for someone to have so much kit on them which he would probably never use but she was grateful when the little slicer kit cracked the door code and gained them entrance to the factory.

Once inside the factory the machinery was silent and the sheer size of the inside was vast, looking down over the gantry they were standing on showed it went underground as well and so Haron called up a hologram schematic of facility and compared it to their present location. Haron saw the secure data room was three levels above them.

"Come on, let's get this over with." Haron said and Padmé to her credit did not argue and ran after him up the walkways, carefully avoiding the security systems till they arrived at the secure data room. Haron did not waste time and hooked up his small slicer kit to the terminal nearby and began to hack into the security systems. This set he noticed were understandably better than the one that locked the doors and would have stumped most programs but he had the advantage of his sister's special work. Soon the security alarms and laser tripwires humming ceased as they shut down and Haron went over the main terminal to hook up the slicer kit to it instead.

It was much easier from that moment on as all the data and plans within were transferred to the datapad he was carrying before to make sure that no one could discover just what they had stolen Haron started a purge of the database. Unplugging the unit he walked back over to Padmé and out of the secured data room when they saw the enormous roof door suddenly open.

A small starship with glaring lights flew down to the interior landing pad, Haron and Padmé shielded their eyes from the bright lights but as their eyes adjusted they could see a squad of battle droids disembarking from it followed by a man in a strange twisted version of Jedi robes. Finally the lights shut down and they were able to see a number of B1 battle droids arrayed against them led by the adult human male with long blond hair and a short beard along with some claw shaped scars on his forehead. Haron could feel the force coming off the man and even without that he knew who he was.

"You led me on chase but it is over now." The man said with a smug smile. "The Count wants you dead and I will carry out my task."

"Then I hope you fight a lot better than you fly Tol Skorr." Haron taunted the man before telling Padmé who was staring at them with apprehension. "Although the Jedi Order hasn't exactly wanted to admit it a number of their knights defected to Dooku early in the war. Tol Skorr here is one of them and one of Dooku's ex-Jedi lackeys." Haron said taunting the man who looked to be easily worked up he was almost foaming at the month. "You deal with the droids, I will handle him."

"Are you sure?" Padmé asked, really not liking the idea of dealing with a Jedi even one who no longer served the order. Haron however just said flippantly.

"It will be a strain I know but he is hardly worthy of your time Senator, I will just be taking out the trash." Haron told her with a smirk inside his helmet as he unsheathed his spear and stood ready. Tol just like he predicted flew into a rage and leapt straight at him with his lightsaber already in hand.

Padmé herself meanwhile dived out of the way and drew her two borrowed blaster pistols, shooting at the droids who clumsily returned fire. She would have thought the Trade Federation would have upgraded their targeting systems by now Padmé thought with disbelief, they were as bad at shooting now as they had been during the Invasion of Naboo years ago. Then again she supposed as she managed to find some crates to take cover behind and continued shooting them down, they were designed to overwhelm with numbers not quality.

- x -

Haron meanwhile was dealing with a far more dangerous opponent.

Tol was like an enraged beast attacking him with a furious bashing of heavy cleaves, Haron was glad of his regular practice with Anakin as it had helped him develop his own skills and learn more about fighting people with lightsabers and Tol while full of rage was nowhere near as powerful or as fast or as skilled as Anakin was.

Haron felt himself find the flow of the fight and it became easier to judge Tol's animal-like moves, his spear spinning to block each strike of his lightsaber but he did admit as a hit came a little too close to hitting him in the leg he had better end this fight fast Haron thought with a grimace.

Drawling on the force more to augment his body Haron pushed forward when his spear made contact with Tol's lightsaber he shoved hard to the right and with the lightsaber out of the way for a second or two Haron hit Tol with a stunning spell fired from the kyber crystal shards in the fingers of his gloves. It caught the man completely by surprise and allowed Haron to stab his spear straight through the man's neck.

Tol's face was frozen in the brief look of shock at the sudden penetration of his neck which had stabbed at the lower part of the brain, killing him almost instantly. Haron pulled it out and let the man's body fall to the ground and as Tol's lightsaber fell from his grasp which Haron scooped up and held in his hand proudly before clipping it to his belt.

Turning around he saw Padmé was a far better shot than he had given her credit for, he should he admitted to himself stop doing that and was glad to see she needed no help from him to deal with the droids. When she was done she came over looking a little worried.

"We need to get out of here before more droids show up." She told him and he nodded.

"Agreed, and since our fallen friend here was kind enough to bring his own ship...it seems a shame to let it go to waste." Haron said gesturing with his hand to the ship that was still parked just behind them. Now the blinding lights were off and he had a moment to study it Haron recognised it as a Corellian Engineering Corporation KR-TB 'Doomtreader', a fast and reasonably well armed light freighter. It was a bit of break away from the company's usual design style but Haron loved the look of the ship all the same.

Padmé was surprised for a moment but then relieved as she realised they won't need to sell the plans they had stolen to get off world and smiled a little. It might be stealing again but she would be very glad when they were finally off this planet.

"That is does Duke Ordo." Padmé said and Haron said with a smirk.

"Then let's get off this rotten rock immediately, Senator Amidala." Haron said and the pair moved quickly up the loading ramp to the small cockpit of the light freighter. Haron without missing a beat sat down in the pilot's seat and began the take off sequence while Padmé took over the co-pilot's seat.

Once the ramp was retracted and the airlock sealed Haron activated the thrusters that lifted them upwards and out of the factory before engaging the sub-light engines and sending them rushing as fast as they could out of the atmosphere and into space. The sight of the all the Separatist warships worried them for a moment but none of them realised that they had control of the ship and once clear of the planet's gravity well they set the co-ordinates and activated the hyperdrive, taking themselves far away from Balmorra.

Coruscant, Core Worlds...One Day Later…

The moment Haron and Padme landed their 'borrowed' starship down on the landing pad they found themselves surrounded by a fairly large group of Clone troopers, Mandalorian warriors and Senate Guards while the Chancellor and a rather anxious looking Anakin and Din stood there struggling not to run over to the landing ramp as it extended and allowed Haron and Padmé to disembark.

Haron had at least taken his helmet off but Padmé was still dressed in her stolen mercenary gear and the sight of them brought a lot of strange looks not to mention concern from Anakin and Din but they told them.

"Might we retire to your office to brief you Chancellor, its been a rather long few days." Padmé said with an exhausted sigh and the Chancellor nodded looking intrigued.

"Indeed, I am eager to hear your report on what happened at Balmorra. And how you came to come back with a different ship and outfit than you left with." The Chancellor said casting his eyes to not only the ship they had arrived in but the way Padmé was now dressed.

The pair of tired adventurers nodded and after sharing an encouraging smile with Anakin and Din went to follow the man, accompanied with the Senate guards and Haron's bodyguards. Once they arrived in the office the two began to report what had occurred on their mission. Anakin's face became positively stormy when he learned the senator that had contacted them had led Padmé especially into a trap.

"Then when we were raiding the factory we were ambushed by a squad of droids and one of Dooku's Jedi." Padmé said which got Anakin's attention and he started looking really worried but then Padmé added. "But while I dealt with the droids, Duke Ordo fought the Jedi one on one and defeated him."

The looks Haron then received especially from Anakin and his own guards was priceless, Anakin was shocked and looked a little impressed while his guards and indeed Din as well looked at him with near awe. Jedi were renown fighters and very difficult to kill by normal means except with a very large numerical advantage. Only a handful of people had ever managed to kill a Jedi one on one and now Haron had done just that. The lightsaber that was hanging at his waist was proof of his victory and all of them looked at him with newfound respect.

Anakin meanwhile was fuming at what had happened to his wife and was just very glad that she was okay and glad Haron had been there. He was distracted a little again by the sight of Padmé in his combat suit that she had stolen, he was struck with images of her fighting in it and while it was not particularly flattering to her in his mind perfect figure, he found it insanely attractive.

Unknown to him Palpatine was glad of the anger that the betrayal and ambush on Amidala had created in Anakin, not to mention the story he had heard regarding the little orphan boy that followed Ordo around. Anger he thought, that was a good start and it would Palpatine thought be a good place to start on developing hate. It also amused him that Dooku had failed so completely and would enjoy making sure Dooku remembered his failure later.

- x -

Haron meanwhile was escorted out of the office by his guards and Din going back down to the landing platform where they had better privacy. Haron turned to Din and gave him an uneasy smile but Din told him.

"Duke Ordo...I'd like to go back to Reijar."

Haron and the guards were surprised at his announcement, Din looked down at his shoes before saying.

"I know that your duty needs you to be here now, to watch the Republic and the Separatists and that me being here is a burden and a distraction." Din said sadly before Haron stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder and kneeling down so they were face to face.

"Din you are not and never will be a burden to me. I am proud of how far you have come and know that one day you will be one of our greatest warriors." Haron said intensely, wanting Din to accept his words. "If it were more secure here then I would be glad to have you here but for now I need you to be safe. I have our warriors with me now and there is a lot of work to do." Haron said giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze which made Din smile a little.

"Besides I have a job that I need you and Moria to do for me." Haron said reaching for the datapad which contained all the plans and designs he had stolen from Balmorra and then Tol Skorr's lightsaber. He handed the pad and the lightsaber to Din and the indicated warrior who perked up at the mention. "Take these back to Reijar, tell my wife and sister to exercise caution especially with the datapad, I have no idea if there are any surprises on it but perhaps we might be able to make some use of it. As for the lightsaber, remember it can cut your arm or leg off so don't mess around with it." He said to them both who took them with the utmost care.

Haron then added with a conspirational tone.

"If we are to rise again then there is a critical element of our past missing that would serve us well, that pad might be a step in the right direction." He said hinting that perhaps the droid tank designs might be very useful in restoring a very famous weapon in their arsenal. The older warriors or those more aware of their ancient history caught on to what he was hoping they might recreate. None of the originals had been discovered anywhere as far as they knew and it made the work harder so they would have to start from scratch.

"Can I fly the Razor's Crest?" Din asked and Haron was a little bemused at this and said.

"Not until you get your licence but when you do, that ship is yours." He said with a slight smile, he did have a slight attachment to the Razor's Crest but Din it seemed had developed a love of it and maybe when he finally needed a ship of his own the small ship would suit him.

Besides he thought, he had a new ship of his own to work on turning his attention back to the KR-TB he had 'acquired' on Balmorra. It already had a good engine and decent parts but there were improvements that he could make and he would enjoy looking into the possibilities. It also needed a name he realised and decided to call in Canderous.

However turning to the other warriors he became more serious and started giving his instructions.

"Now for the rest of us we need to start establishing our network of informants. While we might be working with the Republic right now that will change in the future and information will be key to ensuring we do not suffer another excision." He said sternly and all of them nodded, all of the knowing full well the devastation the last one had reaped on their people. "So we will begin by finding people who monitor the space ports and comings and goings from Coruscant. Knowing who and what comes and goes from Coruscant will be a good start on creating a network of our own."

They all nodded, even Din as they became all business. Haron thought back again to Luna's vision and wondered whether they were making any headway in preventing that nightmarish future or not but since they had little to no guidance on what steps to take and when to take them they would just have to take it one day at a time.

Reijar, the Ordo System…

Ara and Deera were sat around a desk feeling rather bored as they listened to the ship designers and engineers they had hired to correct some of the flaws in the Dreadnaughts that they had acquired. It was an important issue that needed to be addressed but the people giving the presentation were making it so boring that honestly they felt like their brains were slowly draining out of their ears with each moment it went on.

"And by re-routing and replacing computer systems in the following sections we have managed to reduce the crew requirements for each ship from two thousand to just one thousand three hundred. Improvements to the hyperdrive management and motivator systems." The chief engineer said with a very excited voice. Clearly he found it fascinated but Ara and Deera were fast becoming ready to bang their heads against the desk to try and recover some kind of sensation.

The only good thing that came from this was that they had managed to correct most of the issues inherent in the design and the shipyards could begin refitting the dreadnaughts. It would take a couple of years to get them all finished and crewed but by the end of it they would have a fleet of over two hundred ships ready to defend themselves with.

Dooku's Estate, Serreno…

"I expect success with our next operation my apprentice, the plan to kill Ordo and Amidala was a complete failure and I do not accept...failure." Darth Sidious said to his apprentice coldly who merely kept his eyes down.

"I assure you master that Tol Skorr's failure will not be repeated. Our interdiction of key hyperspace routes will leave the Republic stretched thin and vulnerable. I have assigned Admiral Trench to complete our conquest of the planet Christophsis. He will not fail." Dooku told his master who had some news of his own.

"He better not, the Republic has dispatched Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi to liberate the planet and rescue Senator Organa's aid efforts. Do not fail me again my apprentice." Sidious added before closing down the transmission.

Dooku fumed quietly as he rose to his feet, near burning with resentment at his master's attitude and high demands. He had done everything that was asked but still he held secrets back, still he criticised...still he constantly reminded him that he was the apprentice.

Dooku would dearly like to take Sidious's place as the master but knew he was not strong enough yet or had a suitable apprentice to aid him in this struggle. Ventress was a useful tool and had the potential to become very powerful with more tutelage but she was far too crude in her methods to be his true apprentice. While his search went on though he would take a greater effort to find other Sith temples that had yet to be checked for valuable artefacts and secrets that could aid him in overthrowing his master or give him an advantage over the Jedi at least. His examinations of the Dark Holocron that he had stolen from the Jedi Temple before he left had yielded some potentially very interesting opportunities that even his master didn't know about.

The failure of Tol Skorr irritated him too, he had clearly underestimated Haron Ordo and paid the price for it but he expected more from his acolytes. He would have to increase the training of the others and try to recruit more to fill out their ranks, perhaps he considered find himself a good apprentice that would truly be a more useful tool to him. He would also have to work more on his plans with Pre Vizsla so he could install the man as a puppet to rule Mandalore, that he thought would give Ordo something to worry about.

With those decisions made he returned to his recruitment drive, his in-depth knowledge of the Jedi from his time as a master he began to consider potential recruits. Some Jedi he knew would be annoyed at being kept away from the war and could well be open to joining him after the Order and Republic had failed them so much.

With that he got a dark smirk on his face and went to his desk and started work.