Mira's P.O.V.

"Master Secura! Master Kenobi!"

Mira flung herself through the medical bay door, skidding to a halt as she caught sight of the two Jedi masters.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her face full of worry.

"A little the worse for wear but not badly hurt," Kenobi replied, "I'm afraid our men fared much worse."

His face fell, prompting Aayla to lay a comforting hand on his arm.

"I'll say," a clone commander sitting across from them spoke up, "My men were dropping like flies. Those two were practically unstoppable."

Mira's brow furrowed.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, "I should have gone. I should have helped."

"You'd already done more than enough," Kenobi assured her.

"The mission was successful," Aayla added, "That's all that matters now."

"And the plans?" Mira queried.

"We can't know what Bane's done with them until we've started our interrogation," Kenobi answered, perplexed.

"Well, I'm glad you two are safe," Mira said, turning to leave.

"Wait, Mira," Kenobi said, "I must know. Are you willing—"

"No," Mira cut in, "I don't want to talk to her."

She exited the medical bay, stopping just outside the door and burying her face in her hands.

I can't face her. Not again. Not so soon.

An image flashed in front of her mind's eye, depicting her sister's dismayed face. She could hear Rain screaming her name, pleading with her.

I wish I could just forget her existence. That way it wouldn't have to be so painful.

But she could never forget. Her twin's existence was stamped on her life, leaving a scar that she knew would never heal.

How could the loving sister I knew ever have been capable of such darkness?

The sound of Aayla's voice suddenly dragged her out of her forlorn thoughts.

"You must be thinking it too," she said, addressing Kenobi, "Rain had the opportunity twice to kill me. But she didn't. What if...what if the old Rain isn't really gone at all?"

"I feel the same way," Kenobi admitted, "But that doesn't change the damage she's done. She's made it clear that she is an enemy of the Republic, and we must act accordingly."

Mira walked away, letting their voices fade.

It's impossible, she thought, The old Rain is gone forever. There's nothing of her left.

The sound of Rain's voice crying her name resounded in her head and Mira quickened her pace, paying no attention to where it was she was going.

I wondered...I wondered for so long what it was that drove her away. I wondered what I'd done wrong.

She broke into a run, the corridors flying past her.

If I let myself believe that there's still a part of the Rain I knew that's alive and well, I'll never be able to move past this.

She slowed, taking in her surroundings. After a moment it dawned on her that she was in the cell block. She began the long walk past the cells, watching as one by one they passed by her, empty and cold. She was about to turn around and leave when at last she found one that wasn't empty. She stared through the softly humming forcefield, taking in the quietly patient figure sitting behind the table there.

"Well, hello, little lady," Bane greeted, seemingly unperturbed by his situation, "I'm assuming since you're on the outside of that field instead of the inside that you're Mira? It's too bad we couldn't be properly introduced before. Allow me to rectify the situation. Cad Bane, at your service."

Mira said nothing.

"You two really do look exactly alike," Bane remarked, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the table.

"Where are the plans?" Mira demanded, finally finding her voice.

"Don't waste your breath, sweetie."

"Fine. Then tell me about that wager."

Bane's mouth twisted into a smug grin, a curious light illuminating his crimson orbs.

"Perhaps your General Kenobi told you about his little undercover stint?"

"Yes."

"And he told you about the tournament on Serenno?"

"Yes."

"Well, your sister and I made a wager that if I survived the tournament, she'd owe me a kiss."

Mira's jaw clenched, her stomach twisting in discomfort. Bane noticed, and his eerie smile widened.

"Does it bother you?" he asked.

Mira's frustration spiked and she spun on her heel, making to leave.

"I'm sure you'll be interested to know that we dropped the wager."

Mira halted, waiting for the conclusion. Bane, confident that he had her attention, took his time.

"We decided to take things a step further last night."

Mira stared straight ahead, silently fighting down the disgust she felt welling to the surface.

"What?" Bane said, "Isn't that what you wanted to know, darling?"

Mira broke into a run, leaving Bane's cell far behind.

I hate him. I hate him!

She stopped, gripping her hair with both hands.

That disgusting sleemo. How could Rain ever—

The thought cut short, leaving nothing but silence.

There's really nothing redeemable about her anymore, is there? Master Kenobi was right. She's made her choice...and it's time to act accordingly.

Rain's P.O.V.

Rain's eyes slid open, revealing the gray walls of her cell. She shut her eyes tightly again, uttering a groan.

"Glad to see you're finally awake," a voice said.

Rain's eyelids snapped open once more and she sat up, greeting Kenobi with a cold look.

"Where's Bane?" she demanded.

"We thought it'd be better if you two were kept separate," Kenobi explained, "Now if you'd be so kind as to tell us where the plans are?"

"I want to talk to Mira," Rain insisted.

"She doesn't want to talk to you."

Rain felt a sting of sorrow but pushed it away quickly.

"I can tell you where your plans are, but I have conditions."

"You're hardly in a position to bargain," Kenobi pointed out.

"You think Bane's ever going to give them up? Either you meet my conditions or you can kiss your precious plans goodbye."

"And what are these conditions exactly?" Kenobi asked skeptically.

"I get to talk to Mira," Rain said, "And Bane goes free."

"No deal."

"Good luck with Bane then."

Kenobi sighed heavily, "If I can get Mira to agree to talk to you, would that suffice?"

Rain would've said yes in a heartbeat, but something held her back.

"No," she said firmly, "Bane. Goes. Free."

There was a moment's silence.

"Is he really worth that to you?" Kenobi asked quietly.

Rain turned her head away, letting her gaze fall.

"I don't know yet."

There was another pause.

"I'm afraid I cannot agree to your terms," Kenobi concluded, turning to leave, "I'll just take my chances with Bane."

"Wait!" Rain said, "I want to know why you defended me on Nal Hutta. Why risk your cover for me?"

Kenobi turned back, holding Rain's gaze with his own.

"Because I saw a girl who regretted her decision."

Rain's expression twisted into a scowl.

"I regretted leaving Mira," she said, "Nothing else."

"Your actions today say otherwise."

Rain said nothing, and Kenobi left it at that, striding away and letting the silence press back in.

So that's it, huh? I'm just going to rot here until they find another cell to toss me in, and then I'll rot in that one instead. So much for—

The ship lurched suddenly, throwing Rain against the wall. An alarm started to blare overhead and the forcefield trapping Rain inside her cell abruptly flickered and vanished. Rain jumped to her feet, catching herself just as the ship jolted again.

Grievous! she thought, It's about time!

She raced off down the corridor, running headlong into a pair of troopers.

"Halt!" one shouted.

Rain pushed out her lower lip.

"No," she pouted, raising her hand and smashing them against the ceiling as easily as ragdolls.

Stepping over them, she pressed on, keeping an eye out for Bane's cell. But as she approached the last one in the line, she found it empty. She bit her lip, contemplating what to do next. She had no doubt Bane would be fine on his own, but she needed her lightsabers, and above all else she needed to find Mira.

But she could be anywhere. Where do I even begin?

Mira's P.O.V.

Mira stumbled onto the bridge, fighting to keep her balance as the cruiser swayed and jerked.

"What's happening?" she demanded, "Is it the Separatists?"

Master Secura was running back and forth, frantically shouting orders. She didn't even seem to notice Mira's entrance, but Kenobi did.

"Yes," he answered, "Three of their cruisers just dropped out of hyperspace. They're trying to flank us now. Considering our numbers, we have no hope of fighting them and making it out of this alive. But our hyperdrive was damaged in the first impact. We're doing everything we can to get it fixed; we just need to buy ourselves enough time to get it up and running again. I'm going down to the detention block, but I'm afraid I may already be too late."

"I'll go with you," Mira volunteered.

Kenobi hesitated briefly before relenting, "Very well then. Stay close."

"I will, Master."

Rain's P.O.V.

Rain bounded forward, working her way ever closer to the bridge. Reaching the end of one corridor, she turned into the next without even slowing pace, only to collide with someone just exiting that hall. They fell in a tangle of flailing limbs, scattering a number of small objects onto the floor. Rain was about to scramble to her feet when she noticed that one of those small objects was her lightsaber. Looking over, she saw its twin lying within arm's reach. She snatched them both up before leaping to her feet and assuming a defensive stance. She was quick to relax her guard however when she saw who it was she'd run into.

"Bane?"

The bounty hunter picked himself up off the floor, looking slightly annoyed as he adjusted his hat. But Rain, completely ignoring his irritation, flung her arms around him, squeezing him tightly.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" she exclaimed. "Wait," she backtracked, releasing her suffocating embrace and stepping back, "You're okay, right?"

"I'll be better when I'm off this ship," Bane said, seizing Rain's wrist and dragging her after him, "Let's go."

"Wait!" Rain protested, "I can't leave without Mira!"

"Well, you're going to."

Rain wrenched herself free.

"You go on ahead," she insisted, "I'm not leaving until I find Mira."

"You're really going to risk your freedom over this?" Cad snapped, "What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?"

Rain hesitated.

Say I do manage to find Mira, she thought, What then? I'd never be able to convince her to come with me, and even if I could, where would we go?

She took a deep breath.

"Okay," she relented, "Let's go."

Mira's P.O.V.

Mira stared at the empty cell before her. Kenobi appeared equally distressed. Lifting his arm, he activated his wristcom.

"Secura," he said, "Lock down the ship hangar."

"What?" came the confused reply, "But we have fighters engaged—"

"You're just going to have to trust me," Kenobi insisted, "Lock it down!"

He turned to Mira.

"We need to get to that ship hangar."

"What about the fighters?" Mira asked.

"The sooner we can get our prisoners detained again, the sooner we can open up the ship hangar again and get out of here."

Rain's P.O.V.

Rain felt her footing slip as she was jerked to halt, Bane catching her from behind and yanking her out of sight of the ship hangar.

"Wait!" he hissed, "That hangar's crawling with clones!"

Rain gave him a blank look.

"Yeah, so?"

Bane's crimson eyes narrowed.

"Look," Rain said, brushing off Bane's hold and giving him a mock salute, "Just leave it to me."

She unhooked her lightsabers from her belt, stepping into the hangar. At first glance, there were only two or three fighters left, each of them swarmed by repairmen working frantically to get them up and running. Scattered throughout the hangar bay were twenty or so troopers keeping a casual watch.

Okay then. Let's see how this goes.

"Hi, guys!" she shouted, igniting her lightsabers.

All eyes turned in her direction and within seconds the hangar had erupted in a firefight. Rain sprang forward, cutting down the nearest clone before turning to catch an incoming blaster bolt. It ricocheted off her blade, tearing through her shooter and continuing on its course. Rain dove behind one of the ships for cover, sending the frightened repairmen running. She waited there as the troopers closed in on her position, counting the steps of their armored feet. Then she leapt onto the nose of the ship, reaching through the force and ramming a handful of men into their fellow clones, taking out a large number of them all at once. One by one, the few remaining fell as Rain returned their fire, leaving the hangar empty of hostile activity.

"Tada!" Rain said, jumping down from the nose of the ship and deactivating her lightsabers.

Bane crossed the hangar to where she stood, offering some mock applause.

"Congratulations," he said sardonically, an edge to his voice as he added, "You left over half of them alive."

"I prefer having minimum casualties."

"An assassin that prefers minimum casualties?" the bounty hunter echoed, "You clearly don't know your job, sweetie."

"Let me worry about my job," Rain snapped, "Can you get this ship fixed or not?"

"That's the least of our problems," Bane said, "In case you hadn't noticed, darling, the shields are up."

Rain spun around to confirm the statement, swearing under her breath when she realized it to be true.

"Then we're already too late."

"Maybe. But if they were smart, they would have made the jump to lightspeed the minute Grievous' forces showed up. It's obvious they can't, otherwise they wouldn't have deployed all their fighters."

"Sooooo should we get an escape pod instead?"

"You're not going anywhere," said a voice.

Rain groaned at the sound of Kenobi's arrival.

"Do we really have to do this twice in one day?" she demanded exasperatedly.

Then her eyes fell on Mira and her voice abandoned her.

I can't fight her. Not again. But I don't know how to make her listen to me.

Kenobi's wristcom crackled to life suddenly and Rain heard Aayla shout, "Kenobi! The hyperdrive is working and we've recalled all our starfighters. We need to open the hangar bay."

"Wait—" Kenobi tried to protest.

"We cannot delay any longer!" Secura cut in.

Almost before she had even finished speaking, the hangar's shields dissipated and a wave of fighters descended on them. In the blink of an eye, Bane had latched onto the closest one with his grappling hook. Wrapping his free arm around Rain's waist, he pulled them onto the wing of the vessel. The second the cockpit was open, Cad dragged the pilot out and flung him over the side before taking his place.

"No!"

Rain looked up quickly to see Kenobi racing toward them, Mira right at his heels.

Sorry, Mira.

Rain tapped into the force, pitching them backward as far as she could.

"Get in!" Bane ordered, seizing her by her belt and hauling her into the cockpit.

Rain caught herself before she came crashing down on him.

"This wasn't built for two—"

"We don't have time!"

Pulling her onto his lap, Bane closed the cockpit, plunging the ship into reverse. They pulled clear of the shields just as the last Republic starfighter entered the safety of the docking bay. Turning sharply at a ninety degree angle, Bane propelled their fighter out of range of the cruiser. Rain watched as mere seconds later the Republic ship shot away, vanishing in a burst of light. She should have felt relieved, but instead a somber sentiment hung over her.

It didn't last very long however.

"Well, that went better than expected," Cad said suddenly.

Rain stared at him in surprise.

"We just got stranded in a desert, failed to come up with a plan, and were captured by the enemy," she recounted, "And you call that 'better than expected'?"

Bane just smiled in his own infuriating way. Rain cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Whatever," she muttered, "Just get us to Grievous' ship, will you? This isn't exactly comfortable, you know."

"I think I could get used to it."

Heat flooded Rain's face, making her all the more painfully aware of the tight space.

Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up!

"We have to get this precious intel to Grievous, remember?" she prompted, pulling the brim of Cad's hat lower over his face, "Do you need me to take over piloting for you?"

"Don't worry, darling. I know what I'm doing," Bane assured her, readjusting his hat.

Rain couldn't help but feel there was something odd in the way he'd said that.

After boarding the Invisible Hand, Rain and Cad were ushered straight to the bridge where Grievous was waiting for them.

"Ah," the caped figure greeted them, his reptilian eyes zeroing in on Rain, "Assassin. I am..." He paused, seemingly trying to conjure the right word for what he was feeling. "Overjoyed to see you unharmed."

Rain barely had time to contemplate the odd word choice when Grievous shot straight at her, his claw-like hand closing around her throat and lifting her effortlessly off the floor. Panic flooded through Rain, her hands instinctively flying to the object cutting off her air supply in a fruitless attempt to tear it away. Her nails slid harmlessly across the durasteel surface of Grievous' armor plating, her legs flailing uselessly. It was completely unexpected, but the image that her mind conjured was one of Master Secura, mimicking the same desperate thrashing that she herself was now performing.

"You waste my time and my resources," Grievous hissed, "All because you cannot fulfill a simple task without requiring a rescue! And now you have nothing to show for this absurd expedition except your own sorry skin!"

As Rain's lungs began to scream for air, she was plunged back into the vivid memory of sinking beneath the stormy ocean waves of Kamino. Her thoughts fused together and rose in a voiceless shriek that reverberated inside Rain's skull, only silenced by the sound of Bane's familiar tones.

"I think you're forgetting something, General," the bounty hunter spoke up, "Your assassin's job was to escort me to you, and she's done that now. I'm the one who's going to make things worth your while. So why don't you put the little lady down and let me get straight to business?"

Rain's vision was starting to blur, her limbs feeling heavy. Grievous appeared to have no intention of releasing her when suddenly his grip opened, allowing air to flow back into Rain's body. She crumpled like paper when she hit the floor, wheezing loudly.

I can breathe, she thought, trying to calm her wildly pounding heart, I can breathe. I'm alive.

As the shock of the moment began to wear away, something clicked in her mind.

Bane just saved my life.

It was a strange thought. Well, maybe not so strange as the first time something like this had occurred. Though in the previous case it hadn't been her life that had been saved.

It had been during the tournament on Serenno, before Rain had come to realize Hardeen's true identity. Moralo Eval had invented a brutal series of tests inside a contraption he liked to call 'the box'. As Rain, Dooku, and the Phindian watched, the box effectively whittled away at the number of bounty hunters until there was only a handful of them left. And all the while Rain stood there tensely, silently wishing she could tear her gaze away from this barbaric tournament but finding herself unable to. She didn't even want to blink for fear of missing the crucial moment that would decide the fate of her prior travelling companions. She hardly knew why she cared so much. She told herself after they landed on Serenno that she was happy to be away from them, that she didn't care what happened to them afterward. But somehow she felt she had been too harsh. Hardeen had been so nice to her, but she hadn't even offered him a goodbye or a good luck. Of course, Bane was another matter altogether.

"I couldn't care less if you dropped dead."

That's what she'd told him. It might've even been true at the time. But as the remaining bounty hunters tackled the final test, shooting a holographic target with a sniper rifle or else falling to a fiery death, Rain was witness to a surprising turn of events. Hardeen, who had been able to outsmart each of the box's devilish traps up to this point, seemed to have successfully ticked off Eval. After watching Hardeen masterfully hit the swiftly moving target five times in a row, Eval challenged him to do it again.

The only problem was that there were four cartridges left in the rifle.

As the deception was realized, Rain leapt forward, grasping a fistful of Dooku's cape in her hand.

"Master—"

But it was too late. The platform beneath Hardeen's feet disappeared and Rain saw him start to fall.

Then, at the last possible second, Bane knelt down and released his grappling hook, catching the plummeting figure before the flames below could reach him. Lifting his head, Bane turned to face the spectators. He couldn't have possibly known where they were, as the room they stood in was hidden from view, but he was looking right at them.

"If you're going to kill him," he said, "Do it like a man."

Rain had thought it oddly noble of him, but now all she could hear were her own words resounding in her head.

"I couldn't care less if you dropped dead."

As she lay sprawled on the floor of the Invisible Hand, trying to catch her breath, she pictured the moment when she'd run headlong into Bane on the Republic cruiser. She could hardly remember the last time she'd been so happy to see someone alive and well.

I don't want him to die, she realized, Even if he's completely insufferable. I couldn't let that happen.

She pushed herself to her feet, watching as Bane sauntered over to the holoprojector on the bridge. At the push of a button, his gauntlet ejected a small chip which he plugged into the projector.

Of course he kept it there! Why didn't I think of that?!

Grievous and Rain watched as the image of an unfamiliar battlecruiser sprang up before them. The assassin's brow furrowed.

"Is that—"

"The plans for an advanced battlecruiser," Bane cut her off, "As I understand it, the Republic only has a prototype so far, but with this information in your hands, General, any hope they had to use these plans to tip the scales of the war will be lost." He retrieved the chip, returning it to his gauntlet. "Of course, considering what it took for me to get them here, I'd say they're worth much more than my usual rate."

Oh, here we go.

Rain hung back and tried to tune out the ensuing argument over the price of the plans, but it proved very difficult as things quickly escalated to threats before quieting down again. By the end of it, Bane was walking away with a million credits and a new ship. Rain half wondered what he was going to do with all that money, then decided she didn't want to know.

"So, little lady," Cad addressed her, "Care to act as my escort one last time?"

"Where to?" she asked.

"The ship hangar. I think I've worn out my welcome here, and my ship is already waiting for me so I see no need to stick around."

Rain took the lead and Bane fell into step with her. Rain waited until they were well away from the bridge before speaking up.

"Thank you," she said, "For coming to my rescue."

"Looks like you owe me now, darling."

Rain rolled her eyes.

"How much do rescues cost?" she asked sardonically.

"Well, let's see," Bane said, slipping an arm around her waist.

Rain sidestepped away from him, freeing herself from his hold.

"Let's not repeat last night's events," Rain said calmly, "It was a one time thing."

A sly smile crossed the bounty hunter's face.

"Shame," he said, "I enjoyed it."

So did I, but I won't give you the satisfaction of saying so.

Unable to think of anything to say and not wanting to pursue the subject any further, Rain picked up her pace, keeping her eyes dead ahead. When they reached the hangar bay, she halted, turning back to Bane.

"Well, till next time, I suppose," she said awkwardly.

Bane gave a slight nod.

"Till next time, little lady."