Between Light and Dark

R2 Come Home

The Razor Crest lands near the pair of Jedi fighters. Shutting down the engines, Cadria hops down the ladder to the hold. "Ok, Roxy. I'm going to help the Jedi. After I close the hatch I want you to engage ground security protocol." The astromech beeps at her. "I'm only helping right now because Boba is still in the system. He's all the family I've got, beside you." She goes down the ramp and approaches the men.

"Your astromech is programmed to feel?"

"R2 is kind of a . . . special case." The droid pops out of his port in the fighter. "He's got a lot of personality, that's all." Skywalker pats it.

"You encourage it too much."

"In my experience, droids can develop personalities and become attached to their owners. Better to have a droid with you than against you. I've left mine aboard my ship, to ensure no gundarks tear their way in."

"Ghost, we appreciate your offer to help, but I have to inquire as to why you offered in the first place." Windu crosses his arms.

"Come on, Windu," Cadria teases. "I know you're smarter than that. You had your blade by my neck just a few months ago."

"Geonosis," he sneers. "You're here for Boba."

"He's my brother. But I won't obstruct justice. I'll let you take him in if we find him."

"What about Aurra Sing?" Skywalker questions.

"Free reign, along with whoever she's hired."

"Deal," Windu relents, walking away, his black and yellow astromech following.

As they approach the wrecked cruiser, she listens to the Jedi bickering. Chuckling under her helmet, she decides to flip down her range finder, searching for movement and anything of interest. On the bridge, a Mandalorian helmet lights up on her visor, set up on one of the consoles.

"Ghost, keep up!"

Looking over at the Jedi, Cadria simply activates her jetpack, flying up to the bridge and letting her feet lightly touch the metal. Men, clones of her father, lie scattered, perfect circles burned into their armor and uniforms. She kneels beside one of them, tracing the round scorch mark on a soldier's chest. A vision of Aurra Sing pointing a blaster at her fills her mind. She senses the Jedi enter the bridge; they made good time. "They're dead." Her fingers cross the clone's cheek. "Killed by Aurra Sing."

"You can't know that," Skywalker denies. "Can you?"

"I can do everything you can do. And more," she says simply.

The Jedi contact the rescue ship while she looks around. Suddenly, the sun glints off something. The helmet. Her scope tells her that the paint job matches her father's, but it's not made of beskar.

"Is that a Mandalorian helmet?" Skywalker steps closer to it.

Fire enters Cadria's mind as Windu shouts "Anakin, no! Drop it!" Her hands fly up and briefly deflect the flames that fill the bridge, but the blast's force knocks her into a wall.

-

Boba stands on a cliff with Aurra, Bossk, and Castas.

"Mace is dead," the woman says with a smirk. "Are you happy now?"

"I want to make sure he's dead," Boba tells her, walking back to Slave I.

"There nothing left of Windu to find Boba."

Castas grunts. "I want to get off this planet, now. This place is crawling with gundarks and besides, we got these hostages," he gestures to Killian, Ponds, and a navigational officer, "to drag along now."