"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚."

Leaving Tatooine this time wasn't as hard since I wasn't wanted by the Hutts anymore. But it was hard saying goodbye to Enzo and Wes. I hugged them both and they wished me luck with the war.

Anakin and I made it back to Coruscant and we were already met with terrible news. Obi-Wan was distraught. Death Watch had taken Mandalore and the Duchess Satine was being held captive. Obi-Wan always waved me off when I asked about her, but that was alright. Anakin gave me the goods on her and Obi-Wan's relationship.

"Sil, I'd appreciate your help if you came with me to Mandalore," Obi-Wan said. He knew I'd say yes, but he always felt it polite to ask before bringing me along on a dangerous mission such as this. Especially since we would be going without the support of the Republic due to Mandalore being a neutral system. It would just be us.

"Of course."

"No," Anakin answered and a look of shock crossed my features. I knew he was worried, but he'd have to do better than that if he wanted to keep our relationship under wraps.

I gave Anakin a look and he immediately neutralized his tone. "It's dangerous," he reasoned. "You two won't have any backup."

"I agree, Anakin, but I've got an idea," Obi-Wan reassured Anakin and laid out his plan. At the end, Anakin had no choice but to agree.

***

Obi-Wan and I were making our preparations to leave in the hangar. Anakin had been so kind to lend us his horrible excuse of a ship. For all his reputation of being a great pilot, his ship was in terrible condition.

Cody walked in to greet us with a smile he couldn't contain.

"While you were off on Tatooine, I picked out some new shinies for the 212th. I thought you'd like to meet one of them," Cody said holding back laughter. He had a new trooper at his side who shuffled nervously on his feet, his helmet clutched tightly at his side.

"Its nice to meet you," I offered a smile and held out a hand to shake.

"Nice to meet you too," he said quickly and shook my hand, refusing to meet my eyes. It was obvious there was something he didn't want to reveal, but Cody seemed fully intent on doing so.

"What do they call you, trooper?" I asked so I'd know his name.

Cody grinned and gave the shiny a nudge. He looked up at me and bit his lip before answering.

"Pinup."

I stood silent at his answer, my mouth slightly parted. "Did you say pinup?" I asked slowly and tried to hold back my rising laughter.

He nodded in confirmation and blushed hard. I immediately understood that this particular trooper was probably named by his squad or his batch mates. It wasn't a name of his own choosing. But I couldn't help finding the name hilarious.

"They call me that because I was caught posing in the mirror," the shiny continued in a quiet voice. "Boys said I looked like a pinup model."

I covered my mouth as a huge smile took over. I held in my giggles as I looked at Pinup smiling lightly.

"Are you okay with that name?" I asked. "If you're not, I'm sure General Kenobi will let you pick a new name for Cody," I said nodding my head in the commander's direction. Cody stiffened and Pinup broke into a smile.

"Nah, it's alright," Pinup said. "The name's alright with me. It's just, telling the story again and again can be a bit much sometimes," he said turning red again.

"Alright, well I'll see you two later," I said as Obi-Wan called for me. Cody and Pinup nodded in acknowledgement and I headed for the ship.

Soon, Obi-Wan and I were hurtling through space on our way to Mandalore. I played some music to fill up the gloomy atmosphere of the ship and hopefully raise the Jedi's spirits. His anxiousness resonated across the ship and it was getting to me.

"So what do you think of this song?" I asked Obi-Wan to get his mind off the Duchess.

"It's alright," he replied not really paying attention to my question.

"Well," I started. "It's better than whatever honky tonk you like to listen to."

Obi-Wan gave me an amused look and shook his head. "It's much better than your silly skiffle music." We sat in comfortable silence until the sound of something rattling between the walls of the ship caught our attention. I lowered the music to listen carefully. It was Anakin's ship acting up again, being the piece of junk it was. Obi-Wan and I shared a look. Neither of us wanted to deal with whatever problem the ship had.

"There's nothing wrong with the ship if you can't hear it," I said and turned up the music to drown out the broken sounds of the ship.

***

After a rusty landing on Mandalore, Obi-Wan lured a Mandalorian guard, stole his armor, and headed for the palace. I waited in the ship so when Obi-Wan got his girlfriend we could make a fast exit.

Obi-Wan had been gone for a while and I chuckled to myself thinking about how he was doing as an undercover Mandalorian. I pulled out a ration bar and started to eat, but out the window I saw Obi-Wan and the Duchess arrive at the landing pad on a speeder. They weren't alone. Mandalorians fired on them as they ran towards the ship.

"Sil, start the engines!" Obi-Wan screamed through the comms.

My ration bar fell out of my hand and I frantically got the systems running. I immediately regretted the choice we had made to use Anakin's ship. It was taking forever to power up. I was so absorbed with kicking the control board I didn't notice Obi-Wan and the Duchess entering the cockpit.

"Sil, let's go!" Obi-Wan said and I punched another button.

The engines roared to life and I quickly got a hold of the controls, lifting us off the landing pad. But we didn't get far. Incoming missiles tore the ship apart and we had to escape. We fell out of the cargo bay door and rolled onto the landing platform. Fire and wreckage surrounded me from the ship's explosion. In a daze, I crawled behind some debris and hid from the people approaching Obi-Wan and the Duchess. As far as these people knew, the Jedi had come alone.

It was hard to make out in the thick smoke, but I felt his presence. Maul and his brother Savage were here. Then I understood it. This had all been a trick to lure Obi-Wan to Mandalore. I gritted my teeth as I watched them take the pair away. Once they were all gone, I dragged myself out from under the debris and scrambled towards a speeder that had been left behind. I looked down at my clothes to see them riddled with ash. After I rubbed my stinging eyes, I revved up the speeder's engine and headed for the palace.

I met no opposition until I reached the entrance. Two Mandalorian guards stood by the doors. I slid off the speeder and hid behind a toppled tree. Quietly, I brought out both of my blasters. I aimed for the gap between the Mandalorian's chest plates and shoulder guards, knowing that the armor they wore was impenetrable. I fired swiftly and they grasped their arms in pain. I bolted from behind the tree and kicked off one of their helmets. I blasted the guard in the head while firing on the other, but my shots hit his armor. I ended up in a scuffle with the Mandalorian. His helmet slipped a little and I took the opportunity to punch his exposed throat. He stumbled backwards and I shot him dead.

I flung open the doors and walked into the great hall. Maul sat on the throne and Obi-Wan was on the floor, overcome with sorrow.

"You've got a lot of nerve being alive, Maul," I said loudly, my voice echoing off the walls.

Maul scoffed. "So do you," he said. He then gestured to the other Mandalorians to capture me.

I did my best to fight back, but with so many of them it was hopeless. One of them shot a wire that wrapped around my shooting hand and another wire tied my arms to my sides. I dropped to my knees and they took away my blasters. As they brought me to Obi-Wan's side, my heart jumped to my throat seeing he was holding the Duchess in his arms. She was dead.

"Obi-Wan-" I began.

"Have them both imprisoned," Maul cut me off with a delighted smile on his face. "Perhaps the Jedi will feel miserable knowing I have yet to kill another one of his companions," he finished.

The remaining Mandalorians led us away and I seethed at how evil Maul was. I had seen the lightsaber wound on the Duchess' body. I couldn't even imagine the pain Obi-Wan must've been going through. They led us to the prison and as we were about to go inside, one of the Mandalorian guards dropped to the floor. Obi-Wan and I shared a look and got right to attacking the other guards.

Another Mandalorian in blue painted armor appeared and made quick work of Maul's men. She picked up Obi-Wan's lightsaber and cut our bonds, introducing herself as Bo Katan. Other Mandalorians came to our aid and Bo Katan said she was here to help us. She handed us jetpacks which I took eagerly.

"You ever used one of these before?" she asked.

"Not the Mandalorian ones," I grinned knowing these were much better than the military issued jetpacks. Obi-Wan put his on while I admired mine.

"Let's go," Bo Katan said and we we took to the skies.

Blaster fire whizzed past and I turned my head to see Maul's soldiers in pursuit. A bolt hit my jetpack and I frantically shoved it off my back.

"Obi-Wan!" I shouted as I plummeted. The jetpack I had discarded exploded into a colorful array.

Obi-Wan flew down half way and used the Force to pull me back up. He grabbed my arm and joined up with Bo Katan's Mandalorians, but the Death Watch still shot at us. I felt my hips for my blaster and cursed when I remembered they had been taken away. We flew through the air defenseless.

"Take this!" Obi-Wan shouted over the wind and tossed me his lightsaber.

My eyes widened in shock. "I don't know to use this thing," I protested, but still ignited it.

"Oh please, Sil," Obi-Wan said. "I know Anakin's given you a few lightsaber lessons."

I bit my lip at his comment. I deflected the shots that came our way, but I wasn't able to redirect the fire back at our pursuers.

We descended onto a landing platform and I gave Obi-Wan his lightsaber back. One of Bo Katan's Mandalorians tossed me a blaster, my fingers curled around the familiar weapon. I fired rapidly back at the hostiles. The hangar bay door opened and I was met with the sight of explosions, fires, and lasers ripping across the platform. It was a battlefield. I stared emptily at the sight and then my eyes met Obi-Wan's. All this violence had been the result of a single person's hatred.

"Maul must really want you dead," Bo Katan remarked as she ran up to us.

"You have no idea," Obi-Wan replied almost monotone.

The battle ensued and I knew this planet was lost. Even if it was neutral, warfare had erupted here and it was here to stay.

Missiles rocked the surface as Obi-Wan and I ran for a ship. Bo Katan told us to tell the Republic what had happened to Mandalore and of Maul's taking over. I dashed into the ship as they shared a few more words. Soon we were off and flying for Coruscant.

***

I put the ship down on the landing pad at the Jedi Temple. Obi-Wan and I exited the ship. People were surprised to see him in Mandalorian armor, but the lost look on his face stopped them from asking questions. Anakin rushed over to us.

"Where's my ship?" he asked smiling.

I made a gesture for Anakin to stop talking. He understood and shared a look with Obi-Wan. Anakin sensed something was wrong and decided not to pester him. Obi-Wan left in silence and I released a sigh.

"Maul was on Mandalore, Anakin," I said quietly.

"What?" he asked in disbelief.

I nodded. "He took over Mandalore just to lure Obi-Wan. Then he... he killed the Duchess. Right in front of him."

Anakin stared at me in shock, his mouth hung open. His heart reached out for Obi-Wan, but he knew his master wanted to be left alone at the moment. Something in Anakin's eyes changed as he looked at me. He brought a hand to my face as if he just realized I was still alive.

"At least you're okay," he smiled uneasily.

"Yeah," I shrugged and then picked up the jetpack Obi-Wan said I could keep. "But on a lighter note, you don't have to use the Force to throw me off cliffs or onto high places anymore," I smiled. "Now I've got a Mandalorian jetpack!"

"What's stopping me from using the Force anyways," Anakin crossed his arms and shot me a sideways smile.

"Because I don't want you to and it freaks me out," I pouted and his face softened.

"Fine," he agreed. "But I'm gonna make some modifications." Anakin snatched the jetpack out of my hands.

"No!" I shouted in protest. "Anakin give it back, that's my jetpack!"

I tried reaching for it but he started walking away with long strides.

"Don't worry Sil, I'm gonna make this jetpack even better than it was before," he said proudly and I ran after him. "Hmm, I'll enhance the thrusters, shorten delay, increase airtime..."

Anakin rambled on about the adjustments he was going to make while I reached to get it back. Everyone knew how much Anakin liked to tinker with things and I was afraid the jetpack would be destroyed before I could even use it.

"Anakin no! You're just going ruin it!" I pleaded and he stopped.

"What, I'm serious." He looked at me deeply. "This jetpack is damaged and I want to make it even better for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Anakin said and then smiled. "Come on, I'll show you."

We went to his room and this time it was a mess of metal parts, tools, and gadgets. Anakin sat on the ground and pulled apart the panels of the jetpack. I winced as he did so, but I kept quiet. I had faith in Anakin's promise and let him do his work.

While he wired, twisted, and put pieces together, Anakin got lost in his own world. He sat focused and worked fluidly. I smiled thinking about how unlike a Jedi he seemed in this moment. He wasn't training or leading or doing anything necessarily heroic. Sitting there with this tongue sticking out a bit, Anakin looked at peace. He was doing this because he wanted to. Not because someone told him to do it. I wondered what Anakin might've become if he had never been a Jedi.

"You'd make a great mechanic," I said breaking the silence.

"Of course I would," he replied and I rolled my eyes at his cockiness.

"I mean, this is something you're good at because you love it," I said sitting next to him. "This type of work isn't exactly associated with Jedi."

Anakin stopped for a moment and looked over at me, pondering. "I'm glad the Jedi never found you," he said and went back to his repairs.

"Why not?"

"You're not trapped into this life," he explained gesturing to himself. "I wish I was a Ranger like you," he said and I smiled. "Serving with the Jedi, learning about the Force, doing all the good things and helping the galaxy, but you're not bound to it either. You can live your own life."

I thought about what he said and I found myself agreeing. Why couldn't there be a middle ground for Jedi? The only way people operated was in extremes.

"But if you weren't a Jedi, I might not have met you," I said leaning against him.

Anakin smiled and brought an arm around me to pull me closer. "It's the will of the Force you're here with me. I don't care what the Council says about attachments."

I giggled at his words and looked up at him to see him smiling down at me. Anakin pressed a kiss to my forehead and I snuggled into his chest.

Anakin sighed contentedly and mumbled to himself. "What could possibly be so wrong about something as beautiful as this."