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      "WELL, you were right. This is bigger than we thought."

Araminta huffed at Anakin's words as they were locked in a space battle against Bane, who had been supplied with separatist reinforcements, an entire fleet and a battleship to boast, confirming Araminta's original hunch.

By the time Anakin had gotten together a battleship and his troops, no matter how quick, jumped to hyperspace and arrived in the Devaron system at the coordinates Windu had given them, the separatist fleet was already attempting to make a retreat.

Anakin had rallied to cut them off immediately, the sheer surprise of their appearance managing to give them the upperhand. Maybe Bane hadn't counted on his accomplice talking. Either way, their retreat efforts indicated that they had managed to capture Bolla Ropal, as no other Republic ships were around to put up a fight.

The thought had knotted in Araminta's stomach, that someone out there would have the ability to track down Force-sensitive children like her former superior had. She did not care one second for the Order or their future younglings, all she saw when she looked at the blue cubes was a means to recreate what Octavian had. He had sowed Force-sensitive children like seeds and grown them into weapons, and she had reaped the consequences.

Maybe that was why she had been so insistent on pursuing Bane under the guise she knew him well, maybe that was why she felt right being separate from Obi-wan for once. Her mission had nothing to do with him, even as his orders rang in the back of her head, all she could focus on was preventing Octavian from repeating in history.

"You don't say," Araminta snapped at Anakin from where they were watching the battle ensue. She had grown to loathe space combat, feeling useless standing inside the vessels and watching on.

The Jedi shot her a look before she flicked her ears and turned to see Admiral Yularen approaching, looking grave. "General, we're receiving an urgent transmission from the planet," he told them.

Anakin pulled back from the window and back to the bridge, Araminta in step with him. Ahsoka was standing to the side, watching over her Master's shoulder as she stared at the hologram of the clone trooper being received from the Republic base below them.

"General Skywalker, our base has been overrun!" the soldier shouted, blaster raised at something only he could see on his end. Araminta could hear muffled firing and explosions from his end. "There's no possibility of evacuation! They've taken General Ropal and the holocron memory crystal."

Araminta let out a breath, her face not shifting despite the dread in her at the situation being confirmed. Anakin leaned forward, as the transmission began to shake. "Do you know where they've taken him?" he asked.

"Sorry, sir," the trooper breathed. "We tried to stop them, but they left the outpost."

A moment later, blaster fire reigned down on the trooper, and he let out a yell as he tried to react to the attack. The transmission cut off abruptly.

"There's too much interference," the clone on the bridge said tensely, scanning through their system. He turned to Anakin slowly. "Transmission's been cut off at the source, sir."

"We have to find out what ship Master Ropal is on," Anakin told the Admiral, who only managed a nod.

Anakin pulled away, shooting the battlefield a weary look, before glancing down at Araminta. "You knew he'd get to Ropal before us." Araminta nodded once. "How well did you know him?" Anakin added as they moved away from the Admiral.

"Well enough," Araminta answered honestly. "He's not as efficient as a killer compared to our ranks, but if we were hired together it was a good match." The assassin sighed. "We wore masks in the field for a reason, but he'll recognise me."

Anakin regarded the answer, looking down at her in the way only he managed to. "Is this the same thing as Dooku?" he asked softly.

Araminta frowned, remembering the doubt that seeing the leader had brought back a few months ago, but she managed to shake her head. "No. There's more going on here."

"General!" the Admiral called, drawing the pair's attention back. "A Separatist command ship is fleeing the battle."

Ahsoka approached first, looking at the zoomed-in projection of the battlefield. Anakin joined his padawan, Araminta at his side. "You think they have Master Ropal on board as a prisoner?" Ahsoka questioned, looking up at her Master.

"I'm sure of it," Anakin responded. He turned his attention to Yularen. "Admiral, intercept them before they can jump to hyperspace. I'll ready the troops for boarding."

"Boarding?" the Admiral asked in exasperation. "We have no boarding craft. We were prepared to land on the planet, not to board another ship. You can't be serious."

"I am, Admiral. Thank you for your opinion," Anakin said snidely. "Now, target their hyperdrive. We don't want them getting away."

Araminta believed the Admiral would have rolled his eyes if it wasn't so unprofessional as he relented and gave the order to fire. Anakin did not wait to see the result, departing from the bridge with Araminta and Ahsoka being forced to follow.

"Do you ever think the Admiral gets tired of being assigned to us?" Ahsoka asked as they headed towards the hangar.

"Definitely," Araminta responded dryly.

Anakin sent her an offended sort of look. "The Admiral and I get along just fine," he retorted.

Araminta shot him a look, as if saying 'yeah sure.' He only scoffed at her and turned away as they entered the hangar. Rex was waiting for them, hands behind his back and clones gathered with him.

"I've rounded up three brigades, sir," the Captain said as they approached and reached earshot. Anakin nodded in acknowledgement. "Where're we going?"

"We're going to board a Separatist frigate, rescue Master Ropal, and recover an archive holocron," Anakin replied simply. Rex's posture slumped at the response.

"You make it sound so easy," Araminta remarked.

Anakin placed a hand on his hip. "It is easy."

"But we have no assault craft, sir," Rex pointed out, drawing Anakin's attention from the assassin. "Only a couple of fighters and the Twilight." Anakin hardened his look at the truth, causing Rex to straighten up. "Waiting for orders, sir," he retracted.

"And the plan is?" Ahsoka chirped. Anakin turned his annoyance to her instead. His padawan shrugged, unfazed. "Just curious."

Anakin looked away and scanned the hangar, Araminta watching him wearily, focusing on the furrow of his brow and the way his lips turned down slightly. "You don't have a plan, do you?" Araminta asked slowly.

"Do you?" he rounded on her. Araminta scrunched her nose at him, but his eyes had flitted past the top of her head. She glanced over her shoulder to see what he was staring at, furrowing her brows at the walkers– armoured, walking tanks– gathered in the corner of the hangar.

"I came down to see if I could be of any help, General Skywalker," Admiral Yularen said, approaching from behind them.

Anakin looked back to him, face lighting up. "Actually, you can." He pointed to the other side of the hangar. "Activate those walkers, Admiral."

The Admiral followed his gesture, eyes flicking between Anakin and the walkers for a second before he scowled. "You are not thinking of using those to transport the clones to that frigate," he said disapprovingly.

Anakin only inclined his head, hardly bothered by the reaction, as his padawan blinked at the machines. "Well, they are pressurised," Ahsoka said, thoughtfully.

"And they're equipped with magnetic feet," Rex chimed in. "Good call," he said to his General.

"Master, you're a genius," Ahsoka sighed, turning back to her teacher.

"I have my moments," Anakin said, smugly, exchanging a glance with Araminta, who sighed, knowing she had to follow the orders

"Those walkers are designed for terrain, not space," the Admiral continued to protest.

But Anakin ignored him. "Rex, load them up," he instructed, before turning to the two at his side. "Let's go."

Araminta rolled her eyes as she followed Anakin, jogging towards the walkers as Rex shouted behind them, "Execute battalion, take ATAT300! Carnivore battalion, walker 773! Let's go!"

As Rex loaded up the walkers and organised positions, Araminta ducked out to get changed into more protective gear to prepare her for stepping into the vacuum of space. Anakin had reminded her with all the recklessness of his plan, boyish grin on his face and eyes sparkling.

The underlayer suit was skintight, protecting any of her usual exposed skin from the elements. Her space boots, like many of the troopers', were magnetic to allow them to stick to the surface of the spacecraft, and she placed a space helmet over her neck and head. She let out a huff, slightly fogging up the glass.

As she clambered up one of the walkers, joining Anakn and his padawan, her body was far lighter without her gauntlets. They had not been repaired in time after the battle on Felucia, and as one of the few in the Republic to use such an arsenal, it was not a priority to replace them. While it did leave her feeling quicker and more agile, she also knew deflecting hits was not an option now. The bandage on her forearm was compressed beneath the space suit.

"For the record, I think you're insane," Araminta pointed out as they stood atop one of the three walkers, braced for the hangar to open beneath them and drop the walkers straight on top of their target ship.

"But you're coming with, aren't you?" Anakin asked snidely.

"I have my orders," Araminta muttered, as the warning alarm went off.

A moment later, the hangar below them opened up, revealing the top of Bane's frigate just below them. The claw machines suspending the walkers in the air released them one at a time, Araminta and the Jedis' first. She gripped the base of the cannon tightly, as they slowly floated downward and collided with the frigate.

The pilot activated the magnetic feet, and with a jolt the walker solidified its footing on the ship. Araminta exchanged a glance with Anakin, standing atop with her, and even he looked surprised that the boarding had worked as they began to advance forward, walker feet slowly but surely lifting and moving them.

Behind them, Araminta heard the second one drop, and then the third, and just in time as the droids had taken notice now, and had sent reinforcements to the surface. Fighters had been released, flying above them and firing down, as battle droids bunkered down and rained blasterfire down on them.

Ahsoka and Anakin, at the front of the three, used their lightsabers to block most of the incoming shots and deflect them back and into the fighters. Araminta and the troopers thus concentrated their blasters on the battle droids and any fighters before they could take flight, all while the walkers fired off their proton cannons in destructive blasts at anything on the surface.

"I can't believe this worked," Ahsoka said in fascination as they continued to advance forward, actually managing to make a dent in the droids' defences.

"I'm hurt, snips," Anakin chimed in from the middle of their formation.

"Vulture droids!" Araminta shouted, cutting into their banter as the sharp battle-grade droids emerged from the frigate. They planted themselves, firing rapidly at the Republic forces. Araminta ducked against the side of the walker's cannon, phantom pains running up her arm from the healing-burn on her forearm.

She removed a grenade from her freshly-stocked belt, throwing it in a low-gravity arc towards the sharp droids firing at them. She closed one eye to focus, tongue-in-cheek, as she fired a blaster shot directly at it. She missed, but after a few more shots from her dual-wielding blasters, hit it midair.

The explosion blasted a window open as Ahsoka and Anakin took the opportunity to leap forward off the walker and run along the surface of the ship, meeting the vulture droids head-on. Araminta watched helplessly, her batons and knives far from capable of felling such large enemies.

Instead, the assassin grit her teeth and continued to fire from atop the walker, her aim far from perfect. Occasionally, she would remove the pin from a grenade and throw it with the force, blasting droids up into space where they would uselessly float away.

"We're overwhelming them!" Anakin shouted over the thrum, the noises far less jarring in the vacuum of space. "Keep going!"

To her right, Rex had disembarked from the walker he was on top of, and was leading one of the three brigades forward on foot, magnetic boots clinging to the surface of the ship. Araminta flicked her gaze back to Anakin and Ahsoka, who had cut through the vulture droids.

The walkers' cannons had stopped any more fighters, and Araminta sighed as she, too, leapt down from the top of the vehicle. She moved as quickly as she could to return to Anakin's flank by default, the man acknowledging her with only a glance as they cleared the surface of the frigate.

"R2!" Anakin called, as his droid floated through the air, propelled by small jets to settle on the surface and connect into a port. Aramina glanced around warily, lips turned down. Anakin took note of her expression. "What's wrong?"

"No reinforcements," she told him. "This is a massive ship– he'd have the firepower."

"You think it's a trap?" Anakin asked, sounding cautious. From beside him, Ahsoka glanced around their surroundings warily.

"It's something," Araminta said firmly, as a small, circular doorway opened in the ship. R2-D2 beeped excitedly at the progress. Anakin shrugged at Araminta, who could only sigh as he disappeared into the chute, followed by Ahsoka and then the assassin, the clones bringing up the rear.

When they landed inside the frigate, no one was there to stop them. Anakin and Ahsoka had their lightsabers raised, while Araminta had switched out for her two batons, held in front of her defensively as she scanned the hallways from where they had entered. They were made of the same material as her gauntlets, able to deflect a shot if needed, and she was tiring of blasters.

"To the bridge," Anakin instructed, voice cutting through the relative silence.

They headed off, Araminta staying on Anakin's flank, which was harder than when she was assigned to Obi-wan. Anakin moved far more jagged, less thoughtful and more erratic. It was hard to keep up with him, and even harder to predict his moves, because they were far less logical than her usual charge.

But no matter, she kept pace and position as they encountered trouble, patrols of scattered battle droids who could barely lift their blasters before they had gunned them down. Araminta remained on constant alert as they approached the entrance to the bridge, relatively unmarred.

Anakin only needed to send Araminta a pointed look and the assassin used the force to hit the keypad, and the door to the bridge slid open. They stormed in, guns blazing, the droids barely able to put up a fight.

Araminta used her batons to cave in the heads of the two droids standing at the console before anyone could get to them, Anakin and Ahsoka deflecting any of the few shots their way. Rex charged forward and shot out the rest of the droids operating the bridge, turning the room silent.

"R2, see if you can find Master Ropal," Anakin instructed, deactivating his sabre. Araminta pulled away from the edge of the bridge and back to his side, Rex moving to his general as well, as R2-D2 interfaced with the frigate.

A holographic recording appeared, Araminta narrowing her eyes at Bane. She hadn't seen him in years now– eighteen was the last time she had worked alongside him, but he had hardly changed. The Octavian brand, covered by multiple layers, itched at her skin, at someone who had seen her in the midst of it.

His target was not her or her exposure, but there was something about facing someone who had seen her covered in innocent blood and speaking Octavian's language that sat harshly in her throat. Surely it couldn't be because she hated that someone still associated her with a version of herself that no longer existed.

"One authentic Jedi holocron and the memory crystal I was after," the recording of Bane spoke, his voice as hoarse as Araminta remembered, because she had jeered about in Octavian's tongue to her teammates. The amusement was long gone.

Ahsoka's eyes widened. "Oh no, he has both pieces now."

Araminta's eyes hardened, golden irises expanding. Beside her, Anakin looked resolute. "Rex, send a squad. Lock down the hangar bay and destroy all the escape pods. No one gets off this ship," he ordered quickly.

Rex saluted him. "Yes, sir." Araminta only heard him depart with a squad, her senses still set on bringing Bane down.

"R2, you have to find Master Ropal. Hurry!" Ahsoka said desperately.

The frigate shook abruptly, snapping Araminta to attention at the sound of a distant explosion, ears twitching. Rex stopped in his tracks as the ship tilted, wheeling back around to Anakin. "What was that?" he yelled.

"General Skywalker," the Admiral's voice came from Anakin's wristcomm. "One of the engines on that frigate has exploded. I caution you to avoid the aft section."

"How much damage is there?" Anakin replied.

"I suggest immediate evacuation," the Admiral said urgently.

Anakin sighed, shaking his head even if Yularen couldn't see him. "Not until we get what we came for."

"Self-destruct," Araminta said simply once the transmission ended. Anakin gave her an unsure look, which earned a shrug. "Bane's got what he wants. The rest is evidence."

"Rex!" Anakin called. "New plan."

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      THE PRISON AISLE was lit by dim red light, and forced them into single file. Ahsoka was ahead of the group, quickly flicking between cells, holding out a hand to sense anything. Anakin was working through more carefully, the troopers at his back and Araminta at his side, or at least as much as she could be in their limited space.

They had, again, encountered no resistance in their trip to the prison, and the quietness of the ship was starting to eat at her. Something else was going on, she knew that, but couldn't figure it out. Something told her that however they found Ropal would help her piece things together, as she watched Anakin's face harden further each time he opened an empty cell.

"Master!" Ahsoka called suddenly, the urgency in her voice causing Araminta's throat to tighten. "I found him."

The padawan had turned away slightly, as Anakin and Araminta hurried to where she was. Araminta was unfazed by the sight of the man's dead body in front of them, eyes half-closed and mouth hanging open in one final display of distress. He couldn't have been dead for long, still limp and unswollen, Araminta concluded.

Anakin swallowed thickly at the sight, also looking away and to his Captain. "Rex, have some men take Master Ropal back to the Resolute." Rex only nodded in response.

"We might not be able to find the holocron in time, Master," Ahsoka spoke up. "But, if it's destroyed with the ship no one will get it."

Anakin didn't look convinced. "Maybe, but I'd rather return it to the library personally," he said, sharply. Ahsoka frowned at the response.

The ship shook again, more violently this time, jolting their group against the wall of the prison aisle. Somewhere, metal creaked in Araminta's senses, and the lights above them went out, plunging them into darkness.

R2-D2 turned on his lights with a few cheerful beeps, Anakin looking down at him with a small smile. "Come on, R2," Ahsoka sighed, leaning down. The droid whistled as he began to lead the way, torch on his front cutting a path through the blackout.

Anakin and Ahsoka had lit up their sabres as the droid led the way to the hangar and out of the prison aisle. Araminta stayed at her charge's side, ears constantly twitching and listening for anything of note.

"You look unsure," Anakin said abruptly, and Araminta took a moment to realise he was speaking to her, expectantly looking in her direction. His sabre cast a cold light on his face, his features more carved than usual.

Araminta furrowed her brow thoughtfully. "If Ropal is dead, he might have refused to actually open the holocron," she said aloud, unable to keep the concern out of her voice.

Anakin only blinked at her, but his face shifted slightly at the idea. "Which means?"

"This is a trap– Bane needs one of you to open it for him," Araminta said with a scowl.

Anakin scoffed. "If that is the case, there's nothing he could do to get us to do that."

Araminta still wasn't convinced. She had seen enough in her limited twenty years to never doubt the capabilities of others, especially those trained and experienced in violence. But she kept quiet, refocusing on moving forward, letting Anakin think he had reassured her.

R2-D2 chortled as they turned a corner, and Anakin perked up. "R2 says we're close. Stay sharp," he told the group.

Araminta stayed close to him as they moved, wincing at the sound of Rex clanging his head on a pipe he had missed turning the corner. "Switch to night vision," he huffed.

R2 let out a high-pitched drawl as he led the way slowly, but Araminta had already picked up on the footsteps. She pulled Anakin back, putting a foot in front of him just as the tall, lanky figure crossed paths with R2-D2's light.

The droid whirred dramatically as the figure ran past and back out of sight, footsteps light. Araminta barely waited for Anakin's shout of "There!" to give chase, the absence of her gauntlets making her feel surprisingly nimble and quick as she sprinted.

She reached into her suit, fingers gripping a small throwing knife which she swung with master precision, causing Bane to lose a single blaster. He did not stop, and she threw another, aimed for his ankles. She missed, the shadows dancing along the wall from their chase interrupting her accuracy, and the blade merely grazed him.

Araminta slowed as they entered through a doorway and into what looked like a large room, no walls visible in their small circle of light, only darkness. The others paused too, weapons raised and spinning around.

The assassin heard the generators turn back on before anything, the lights above flickering with the effort as they sprung back to life, illuminating the hangar bay and the immediate threat. Araminta's eyes widened at the armed fleet of droids of all sizes in front of them, weapons raised, Bane standing in front of them with a triumphant look on his face.

"Welcome, Jedi, we've been expecting you," he announced. Araminta flicked her ears back expressively, tail twitching in apprehension as she drew a single baton and stepped a fraction of an inch closer to Anakin in preparation. Bane made a sharp forward motion with his hand, and all the droids readied. "Kill them!" the bounty hunter shouted.

Araminta drew a blaster in her other hand in a second as the shooting started. Anakin, predictably, charged forward, cutting straight through the droids and towards Bane. The bounty hunter had backed up, allowing himself to be swallowed by droid forces as a moving shield– a shield which Anakin was quickly making his way through.

Ahsoka was to his side, cutting and leaping, while Araminta worked in the wings with a baton and a blaster, constantly looking over her shoulder. Bane took a pointed step back as Anakin started to get too close, and she knew something would happen by his body language.

"Let's make this a bit more interesting!" Bane shouted over the noise, activating something on his wrist gauntlet.

"Fuck," Araminta spat as the gravity in the room ceased, sending them all into the air, hanging there. The droids stayed magnetised to the ground, continuing to shoot and Araminta flipped and dodged as best she could while shooting over her shoulder, twisting sharply.

Anakin and Ahsoka continued to fight, using their sabres effectively as they bounced off droids and debris, but Araminta didn't have the luxury to.

"Magnetics!" Rex instructed. "This is what you were trained for, men!"

All around them, the clones activated their magnetics, sticking them to any surface they were nearby to. Some of them were simply too far, and continued to shoot from the air, but enough managed to get their footing and continue to provide cover fire.

Someone grabbed Araminta's upper arm from behind, pulling her back and against the arm of a crane, where she let her own magnetics connect to the metal and hold on. She glanced over her shoulder, meeting Rex's helmet.

"Only fair," he echoed.

Araminta only blinked at him.

He released her once he noticed she was secured and continued to shoot over her head, slightly further up the crane than she was. Araminta collected herself and continued to shoot, giving in to dual shooting as she helped to take out the battle droids reigning down on them while Anakin and Ahsoka took care of the heavier enemies.

Anakin had started to go for Bane, attempting to spin and slash at him, but the bounty hunter was too quick. Araminta holstered both her blasters.

"Throw me to the ground," she snapped abruptly. Rex turned his head slightly down at her. Araminta sneered at him. "Don't look at me like that. Just do it."

The Captain sighed as he grabbed her by the arm and swung her downwards, kicking her in the back as well for added energy. Araminta dove through the low gravity and towards the floor, where she landed, magnetics in her boots sticking her to the floor.

She focused her attention on Bane, who was distracted by Anakin slicing through the air. Araminta moved, charging as quickly as the magnetics allowed her to move, bashing through a battle droid with her baton on her way and then using the force to hold it in front of her as a shield as she moved.

Once it was almost shot to pieces she threw it forward and straight into the shooting droids, which drew Bane's attention to her advances. She was a few feet from him when his red eyes fixed on her, recognition flashing across his face as she took his moment of hesitation to charge, baton held low at her side.

Bane fired off at her, and Araminta deflected, swinging her baton up and absorbing the shots, which shook through her arm. Anakin flew in from the side, forcing Bane to duck and move out of the way, as Araminta got in close enough to throw a punch, her other hand pushing his blaster-hand away.

The bounty hunter kicked out, longer limbs forcing her to dodge sharply and release his weapon, which he immediately turned on her, aimed for her stomach. Anakin swung forward, sabre blocking multiple shots from Araminta, giving her the chance to charge forward.

There was a look in Bane's ruby eyes, something wicked, and in that moment Araminta knew that he had figured something out.

She hit him, baton arcing up and under his jaw, throwing him into the air, disconnecting his own magnetics from the floor. He uselessly moved back, the holocron floating off his figure from the vibration. Anakin reached for it, at the same moment Araminta got a proper look at it and realised she had been right. It hadn't been activated yet.

Bane moved, hand to his gauntlet, and before Araminta could shout a warning, the gravity had returned, sending everyone not magnetised hurtling to the ground abruptly. The shooting mostly stopped, and Anakin slammed onto his stomach, lightsaber clattering to the side, disabled.

Araminta moved first, deactivating her magnetics and racing forward to the holocron, prepared to dive for it. But Bane intercepted, hand closing around the cube, the lights going out again, save for a few blaster shots that momentarily lit up a small area and forced Araminta to lower herself to the ground warily.

The holocron, not activated, didn't glow in the dark, and Araminta was left scrambling in silence. Silence which, despite the shouts from the clones, an order to R2-D2 to get the lights back on, allowed Araminta to hear and pinpoint the footfalls, locking onto them before she took off.

"Bane's getting away!" Araminta shouted, voice cutting through the dark hangar.

"On it!" Ahsoka chimed in.

Someone scrambled, lightsabre illuminating behind the pair. "Wait! It's a trap!" Anakin called after them.

"I know!" Araminta shot over shoulder as they cleared the hanger doors. She heard them shut behind her and slowed, Ahsoka's green sabre proving the only light.

"What do you mean you know?" Ahsoka asked, warily.

Araminta didn't get a chance to answer as the frigate shuddered again and the lights turned back on, the hallway lighting up by sections in the ceiling, slowly revealing Bane at the end. Ahsoka didn't hesitate, sprinting after him, forcing Araminta to give chase, too.

The doors began to shut behind them as they moved, stopping anyone from following them, too strategically for Araminta to dismiss her theory anymore. But she was prepared, and she was capable, she told herself. She had been set the mission, and she would be able to do it, because that was who she was.

Araminta would say sorry later, she told herself, as she wheeled around and used the force to catch Ahsoka off guard and throw her backwards. The padawan's wide eyes locked onto her for a second before another set of doors sealed them off and separated them.

The assassin hardened her resolve, as she turned away and continued to give chase, Bane having barely made ground while she had cut off her own ally. She skidded to a halt at the end. It was a deadend corridor, nothing but a sealed door on either side.

Bane slowly turned to her, looking unsurprised. "Vestor's child returns," he said, lightly.

Araminta raised a baton, the edge of it angled back towards her in the same way she held her knives. Bane barely flinched at the display, he didn't even reach for his own weapon. "Don't call me that," Araminta replied, firmly, trying to maintain the cold exterior she knew he couldn't take advantage of.

Bane scanned her up and down, dramatising the movement. "You look different."

Did he mean she looked older? Dressed in a different uniform and standing on different sides? Or did he mean it in the twisted way he might to dig into her. In the way that she wasn't coated in blood, that she had chosen to hold a nonlethal weapon to him instead of a blade.

"Stop stalling and give me the cube," Araminta said, as casually as possible.

Bane sneered at her. "Come and get it."

Araminta watched him carefully, the deadend corridor pressing on her. She knew Bane had control of the ship by the way the doors had closed behind him, the way the gravity and the lights had switched off with a simple switch at his wrist. She had to be careful.

Bane moved first and Araminta stepped to the side, holding herself on one foot as she struck out with the other, pushing his arm away from her as he advanced. She gripped the fabric of his vest and pulled herself forward, driving her knee into his stomach, and then again, before darting back and out of his immediate vicinity, striking him one last time across the face with her baton.

He reached for a blaster, and Araminta ducked and ran forward, shoving her shoulder and elbow into his upper legs, overbalancing him and throwing him to the side, where he hit the ground. She turned to him, keeping her distance as much as possible, baton brandished towards him.

Bane kicked out, spinning both his legs and twisting her baton out of her grip, which she let happen to avoid him twisting her own limbs. He got to his feet in the same movement nimbly, blaster already raised. Araminta ducked, striking up with a flat hand and shoving his arm and direction away from her, as she slipped past his defences.

Her fist went across his face, as he staggered backwards and closer to the wall, which she slammed him against, making sure she heard the back of his head crack against it as his blaster clattered to the floor.

The assassin backed up, Bane slumping to the ground. Araminta raised her own blaster to him, eyes hard, as his arms lay in front of him, cheek pressed against the floor. She realised too late, as he hit something on his all-controlling gauntlet.

For a second, silence, nothing– and then a piercing noise cut through the air. It went straight into Araminta's skull, the controlled alarm ringing in her head as she slammed her hands over her ears and staggered backwards, dropping her own blaster.

Bane acted, coming from the side and slamming her to the ground, back taking the brunt of the fall. Her head was pounding, senses cut in half as Bane wrestled her, the assassin letting out a yell above the noise. She fought through the white to bite back, feeling her nails catch on skin, and Bane letting out a frustrated shout as she resisted.

The noise stopped, probably to avoid drawing attention to their location, but even with the ringing gone, Araminta's head pounded and her sensitive ears wept at the damage. Bane knew, he had anticipated the need to control the alarms.

"Stay down," he snapped in frustration, grabbing her by the throat as he lifted her up and then slammed her back down. The back of her head ached, spinning further from the blow as Bane tried to roll her onto her stomach.

"No!" she spat back in Octavian, the language distracting Bane enough for her to kick back out, moving herself onto her back again as she brought her knee up and tried to wrestle him off him through her disorientation.

He said something, only a small grunt in her washed-out senses as he forced her shoulders down and her wrists together in front of her body. The cuffs, glowing in her dizzying view, clicked across and connected her hands together.

Something was ringing on her wrist– her communicator. "Solarii!" someone was shouting. The least of her concerns, unable to move herself to answer. "Araminta!

Araminta swung out, brandishing her connected wrists as a double fist, catching Bane on the edge of his chin. She quickly tried to push herself to her feet, rather awkwardly through the pounding headache and her connected hands, but as she braced with one knee, he hit her across the face and back down.

The ringing in her ears broke for a second as pain split through her senses, warmth cracking from her bottom lip as it split. Araminta heaved, pushing herself onto her knees as she stared down at her manacled wrists. Bane didn't make a move this time, rubbing at his chin.

"Stop struggling. The more you do, the more they will hurt," his voice was further away, and Araminta glanced up to see he had put distance between them.

"You're wasting your time, Bane," Araminta hissed, pushing herself to her feet, hating how her knees shook. "This ship's gonna blow us both up, no thanks to you."

"We have time," he hummed. "I was aiming for the padawan, but it seems we were meant to reunite."

Araminta scoffed. "No, I figured out your trap."

"My trap?" he asked, as if in mock offence.

"You need someone to open the holocron– a Jedi," Araminta told him matter-of-factly. "You were trigger-happy and killed Ropal before he could give in."

Bane chuckled. "A mistake you wouldn't have made?"

"You know me," Araminta said with a shrug.

"The bond between a Jedi teacher and his apprentice is strong," Bane pointed out. "But you already knew that? You threw the padawan far away."

Araminta tilted her head playfully. "You got the wrong prisoner then."

But Bane did not look as concerned as she anticipated, and his still-smug expression unnerved her. "On the contrary, this will still work."

Araminta scoffed. "They're not wasting time to come after me. You know better than that."

Bane only gave her a look, before he hit his gauntlet and electricity burnt out from the cuffs around her, pain blinding Araminta's already-shaking senses. She collapsed to her knees, letting out a pained hiss against the sensation as it ended.

Something beeped, an open transmission from Bane's gauntlet. Araminta blinked up at the bounty hunter, as a mechanical voice played through the room. "Sir, a Jedi is coming. He looks very unhappy– ah!" The droid's voice was cut off by the sound of clanging metal and swinging plasma.

Araminta couldn't help the way her eyes widened, but also how her heart swelled. Her plan had hinged on not being important enough to be manipulated for the holocron, she had been counting on it. She had expected Anakin to leave her to do the fighting and return in her own time.

"It seems you were wrong," Bane pointed out coolly.

Bane activated something on his wrist, and a sealed door opened to reveal a corridor that ended in an airlock. He looked back at her, but she did not move. Something cold seeped through her– dread. Had she miscalculated? The airlock waited for her at the end, ominously.

She had become a bargaining chip at the core of her mission in a completely unpredictable turn of events. She had failed spectacularly. Even in predicting Bane's plan, she had miscalculated her own capabilities and her own role in the Republic. Removing Ahsoka from the equation was supposed to be enough to keep Anakin and any of the bargaining away.

She had planned to fight, win the holocron back, and flee, avoiding Bane's manipulative plan altogether. Even if she had lost, maybe he would have left her for dead on the burning ship instead of wrapping her up to use as a hostage. Had he seen something she hadn't? Something that allowed him to predict Anakin risking everything to go back for her?

"Move," Bane instructed, stepping forward.

She pulled her eyes away from the airlock. It was certain death. It was inescapable. Her last effort might be activating the magnetics on her feet, but she would be sealed in and the oxygen would be sucked away.

She was going to die.

She was going to die.

Araminta lunged, kicking out to stop him from placing a hand to his wrist and activating anything. She twisted, manoeuvring so her heels were braced against his shoulder as she constricted her shackles against his neck, ignoring the pain it caused her as they did tighten drastically with the movement.

Bane stumbled back and against the wall as Araminta strangled him, not caring for Obi-wan's orders about keeping him alive. She would not die like this, she told herself, she fucking refused to. If the violence was all that would keep her alive, then so be it.

The bounty hunter choked, but he strained and reached for his wrist. The shackles activated, shocking her violently and forcing her grip to loosen and her shoulders to slump. Bane took the opportunity to slam her to the ground back-first, the wind rushing out of her with a gagging sound.

Through the haze, she reached up to her braids, feeling for the stiff wire she kept in some of them. A boot slammed into her ribcage, sending her flying down the corridor and sliding against the cool ground, closer and closer to the airlock hatch.

Bane stormed over, reaching down and grabbing at her hair as she let out an angered shriek and kicked back. "I taught you that," Bane snarled, holding her by only a few of the small braided pieces of her hair that stuck out of the rest of the waves, tearing at her scalp, pain shooting down her entire body from the added aching to her head.

He threw her, head hitting the floor along with her pained body. She managed to roll over, blinking at the ceiling, realising it was lower. The airlock. She rolled over, ignoring the way her head swam, and pushed herself into a sitting position to find the airlock blocked off by an orange energy field, Bane's hand leaving his wrist gauntlet.

Two rocket droids now shouldered him, even taller than the bounty hunter, cannons raised. Araminta's eyes hardened, ignoring the way her heart was racing and her skin crawling.

"What makes you think he'll do it?" Araminta hissed, mouth dry.

Bane gave her an infuriatingly knowing look, the one somebody might give a naive child who didn't know better. "I have seen that look before, from the hangar," he told her, and Araminta furrowed her brows, wondering what he had gathered from their minor interaction. "You and your partner."

Araminta pulled back from the barrier, eyes narrowed at the words. Only Bane would know what that meant– so she knew it had to be what she thought. "Skywalker won't do it," she affirmed, mouth in a line at the comparison.

"Lark would, so will he."

Something went cold in Araminta at the mention. "You're wrong," was all she could murmur, resting her cheek against the wall.

Pathetic, absolutely pathetic.

Pinned between certain death and hoping someone cared enough to give up everything they were fighting for to save her life was where she had ended up. Her wounds stung and her head ached from the effort she had put into getting away, she could scarcely imagine standing without being brought to her knees, even if she could escape the barrier that was completely at Bane's bidding.

She had miscalculated, fatally. Because even if she had made it out of here, even if Anakin did truly give it up for her and get her out, she had allowed herself to be put in the situation. It was against her nature to wholly rely on someone else coming for her.

It was different from the lab, where she had believed he was skilled enough to catch on and catch the vial. It was different from the cliff where he had simply gone by his nature and held onto the rope. This was different because if he did not actively seek her out and do exactly what Bane wanted, she would die. Her life sat solely in his hands. Again.

Bane smirked, enjoying the look in her eyes it seemed. "He's here," he announced.

Araminta glanced up at the door to the airlock room, which opened to reveal Anakin, lightsaber already brandished and held out. The look in his eyes scared her, the same sort of expression she had talked him through multiple times– anger, anything but quiet, the blue eyes a storm.

Except this time it was different. It was because of her.

"You have nowhere left to run, bounty hunter," he said, harshly.

"Let me worry about that, Jedi," Bane said calmly as he slowly turned to Anakin, the droids following his movements. Bane hovered a finger over his gauntlet and Araminta shifted onto her knees, feet braced to stand up.

"If I activate this control, the outside airlock will open, and she will be sucked into oblivion," Bane explained, morbidly. "Do you think you can kill me and then save her before she's pulled out into space? It's a horrible way to die." Anakin hesitated, Bane smirking at the reaction. "Besides, isn't negotiation the Jedi way?"

The droids moved forward, blasters raised. Anakin's face had softened, his resolve clearly shaken. He glanced past Bane, eyes meeting Araminta's from where she sat helplessly. Gold on blue, pleading in a way she didn't understand, in a way it seemed only Cad fucking Bane did.

"What do you want?" Anakin asked, deactivating his sabre. The gesture should have made Araminta feel hopeless, that he had given up the fight, but instead she felt relief. That maybe she could get out of this alive.

Bane carefully removed the cube from his jacket pocket, arms still poised to press down on the control at his wrist. "This holocron carries information I've been paid to collect," he told Anakin. "I can't unlock it, but you can. The last Jedi who had it wouldn't open it. I hope you don't make the same mistake."

The droids inched forward menacingly, Anakin staying quiet and unmoving. Araminta, too, stayed quiet. Somewhere in the distance another explosion shook the ship, only a reminder of the state of where they stood.

"We don't have much time. Hurry it up, Jedi, or she dies!" Bane pressed. Anakin's gaze flicked back to him and Araminta watched him carefully.

She should have protested, told him to leave her behind and not give Bane exactly what he wanted and what they had come to stop. But that wasn't her– Ahsoka would have made peace with it, any of the clones would have, but Araminta was not ready to die.

Sure she had come here to smash the holocron and any chance of recreating her past, but she would never do anything again if Anakin refused to open it. The lesser of two evils, she told herself, and selfishly wanting to live was what she chose.

"Solarii," Anakin spoke suddenly. She looked at him. "It'll be okay." He dropped to his knee, depositing his lightsaber hilt on the floor before stepping back. "We'll deal with the holocron later." Araminta's face softened, warmth and shame pooling in her stomach.

"How touching," Bane mused. He stepped forward and retrieved Anakin's sabre hilt, replacing it on the floor with the holocron. The Jedi gave him a glare before lowering himself back to his knees in front of the cube, closing his eyes and focusing.

The cube lifted into the air, spinning slowly, coming to a stop level with Anakin's head, his features pinched in concentration. Araminta watched in fascination as the cube split apart into fractals, revealing a second, smaller cube in the centre, with space in the middle.

"Hold it still," Bane hissed as he approached, holding out the small, blue crystal he had taken off Ropal.

It seemed to automatically react to the open holocron, hovering above it steadily before lowering down into the gap. Anakin blinked, looking back up as the shards moved back and floated into the centre, reconnecting with the inner cube but forming an expanding octagonal shape instead.

Bane took it in both hands, the blue glow blinking between his fingers. "My employers will be most pleased."

Araminta watched him tensely, now debating if he would stick to his word and release her. Maybe Anakin was less versed in such standoffs, as he actively drew his lightsaber back with the force and activated it without hesitating.

The droids shot at him immediately, but he blocked the shots, which bounced off the barrier Araminta was behind as she watched with wide eyes. He took out one of the droids, as Bane raised a finger to his gauntlet.

Araminta activated the magnetics on her boots, just as the airlock opened and the oxygen was stolen out of the space she was in. She braced against the rush, grabbing onto the inner edge of the room too, as she felt her feet slipping despite the magnetics.

"Araminta!" Anakin cried, as he threw the second droid into the control panel for the lock, the energy field separating them disappearing.

The sudden breach whisked him out as well, gripping the other edge to stop himself from being thrown out. Bane smirked at the display, using his boot jets to propel out of the room, the door sealing behind him.

It was far from Araminta's priority, as she felt her grips slipping, her feet suddenly coming away from the ground and everything behind put into her fingers, which struggled to hang on with the tight shackles tourniquetting her wrists. She could see Anakin straining to move his hand and hit the switch around the edge of the airlock from where he was hanging on.

"Skywalker!" she shouted, horror lancing through her as her grip came free and she was hurtling towards open space.

Anakin looked over his shoulder, eyes wide. "No!"

His hand caught hers, keeping her in place. She was still dangerously close to the doors, tail flicking out. Araminta strained against the rush, climbing Anakin's arm until she was all inside, as he hit the button. It closed painfully slowly, until finally the air returned and they fell to the ground.

Araminta winced at the contact, her entire body and head still hurting as she resisted the urge to curl in on herself. Anakin scrambled to her side in a second, looking down at her. "Are you okay?" he asked, desperately.

"Everything hurts," she hissed, leaning her head back.

"Hold still," Anakin instructed. A quick hum of plasma and heat at her wrists, before she could move them independently again.

"Bane," Araminta snarled as she pushed herself to her feet, ignoring Anakin's offered hand.

"He's gone," Anakin sighed, before his eyes hardened. "Why go after him?" he snapped. "You knew it was a trap."

"I thought I knew what the trap was," Araminta said, bitterly, finding it hard to look at Anakin now that the ordeal was over.

He only blinked at her, before sighing. "We have to go," he urged, racing out of the airlock. Araminta followed him quietly as they sprinted down the empty hallways. "Rex, I hope you found us a ride off this bucket!" Anakin yelled into his wristcomm as they went.

"We've got to leave now," the Captain replied. "Is Ahsoka with you?"

"No?" Anakin responded, concern lacing his voice.

"She went to look for you once the Admiral's shuttle arrived," Rex told them. Anakin grimaced. "The reactor's gonna blow. We cannot wait." As if on cue, the ship shook violently.

"Master!" Ahsoka cried, approaching from a new corridor. Her eyes widened in relief as Anakin and Araminta stopped running, the padawan catching up to them. She looked beyond relieved, taking both of them in, with no hint of resentment for Araminta. "We have to go," she said, once she seemed to have confirmed they were alive now.

"No, I'm going after that bounty hunter," Anakin protested. Araminta shot him a surprised look, not expecting the angered response. The damage was done and the ship was going down, Ahsoka's former idea of letting Bane die with the ship seemed their best option now.

"What?" Ahsoka blanched. "The hangar is this way!" She pointed sharply in the opposite direction where Anakin was headed.

The Jedi glanced down at Araminta, before back to his padawan. "I can't let Bane get away," he said darkly.

"We really will die if you do that," Araminta said, quietly. Anakin winced at the words, but she ignored him, eyes focused on the way out. Her ears were still shot to hell, useless at detecting anything before she saw it.

"Patience, Mater," Ahsoka added, voice softer. "Please."

Anakin's face relaxed as he relented. "You're right."

Ahsoka smiled as her master joined her side and they headed for the hangar, Araminta barely keeping pace through her bruises and cracking headache. They were met with no resistance as they moved, entering the hangar to the thinning battle.

Araminta's hazy vision focused on the shuttle in the middle, Rex covering the retreating troopers as they raced in. To their left, Araminta saw a fire spreading, oil and munition strewn about, sitting nicely to be set alight. That would definitely cause the reactor to blow, regardless of the self-destruct sequence initiated.

"Up there!" Ahsoka cut in, Araminta tearing her gaze away to see two troopers firing at something on the upper level of the hangar. A streak of blue skin, and Araminta's fingers automatically went to her knife.

"Get to the shuttle!" Anakin persisted, leading the way. Araminta turned away from her enemy and followed her friend to safety, speeding up the ramp and leaning against the inside of the shuttle.

They rose into the air, lifting up to collect the remaining trooper from the upper level. Bane was gone, no sign of him, but Araminta felt she was able to let it go in favour of her own survival. Anakin teetered on the edge of the entrance ramp, helping the single clone in.

"Trooper, did you get the holocron?" Anakin asked, a dangerous hunt of hope in his voice.

"No, sir," he responded with a grunt.

Anakin said nothing as the trooper headed inside, and didn't give any further orders. "Master?" Ahsoka asked at Anakin's hesitation.

"There's no time," he relented, turning and heading inside the shuttle with the rest of his group. "Rex, get us out of here!" Anakin instructed.

He moved to Araminta's side as they sped out of the Separatist frigate, leaving it to its fate. The assassin glanced up at Anakin, hating the shame she felt and the weakness every stinging wound on her skin represented. She hated that he looked down at her with warmth, looking relieved at her survival.

She remembered the anger he had borne when he had come for her, when he had stormed through a destructive-frigate and kicked down a door at the idea of her being in trouble. He had given up their mission to save her, torn her from certain death and not asked for thanks and anything in return.

Araminta felt nineteen again, and it burned at her.

The frigate exploded behind them as they fled, the blast felt even from their distance. The clones all looked at each other, maybe relieved, maybe struck by how close they had been to still being inside.

Ahsoka shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "Well, it looks like the holocron was destroyed, but at least the Separatists didn't get it," she chimed in. Anakin only nodded at his padawan, looking unsure.

Araminta hoped Bane had died painfully.

━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━

i got so unbelievably stuck on the first half of this chapter you have no idea but then i got past it and this got to over 9k words but very important, so i do encourage you to read it through in time

messed around the order and length of events here as well as some logic about where araminta was placed, but i think it was worth it to get the protective anakin dynamic and araminta realising that yes, they would actually go out of their way to save her. 

also araminta getting the shit beaten out of her will be impactful in the next chapter, but i hope it makes sense and is realistic as to why she lost the way she did, even if the plot demanded it

also cad banes ships anakinta!!

 thank you for 20k reads, hope everyone is enjoying the direction i've taken this story, please comment your thoughts <33