"Old friends, like old swords, still are trusted best"

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Chapter Twenty-One

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Translations

Neod - a term of endearment roughly translating to "babe" or  "honey"

~*~

Ziro the Hutt had been broken out of prison. Correction Ziro the Hutt had been let out of prison because a group of assassins held a group of prominent senators hostage. Due to the high-profile nature of the mission, you and Obi-Wan had been pulled from the front lines. The Council had also insisted on giving you... help. So they offered up one of the top Jedi Shadows, one of your and Obi-Wan's oldest friends, Quinlan Vos.

"Ah... Sir, you seem troubled," Cody commented as he and Drifter waited with you and Obi-Wan for Quin to appear.

"Quinlan Vos has that effect," Obi-Wan sighed.

"Ah... Yes, that Jedi has quite a reputation."

You chuckled, "A Shadow's job is to remain unknown, but Quin can't seem to help himself."

"You know each other?" Drifter asked.

"He's one of our closest friends. He's been present at many important moments in our lives," you revealed, alluding to the wedding that officially never happened but that all the clones still knew about.

"Yes, and let's just say that he's crazy," Obi-Wan summarized.

"Ship entry from the west, Sers."

A drop ship hovered above all of you for a few moments before a figure emerged and jumped off, "Hey Obes, (Y/n). Commanders, looking good. Obes, you look worse for wear. So do you, (Y/n). I see you've got some new accessories," Quinlan tapped his ears, referring to your hearing aids.

"Good to see you too, Quin," you smiled. It had been too long since your little group had gotten together, and even longer since Quin had been around. He'd been doing undercover work constantly since the war began.

"Yes, well, if you could tell time half as well as you can stick a landing, we wouldn't be behind schedule now, would we?" Obi-Wan asked with a tight smile.

"Same old Obi-Wan," Quinlan clapped Obi-Wan on the shoulder, "I've read the briefing."

"I find Jabba the Hutt suspicious, it was a mess when Ziro kidnapped his son and I wouldn't be surprised if he still had it out for him," you suggested, nodding goodbye to Drifter and Cody as the three of you walked toward the ship you were given.

Quinlan hummed, "My information indicates that Ziro has damaging evidence against the Hutt Council. My guess is they've taken him to the Hutt home planet, Nal Hutta."

"We'll follow your lead then," you acquiesced. Quinlan's information was almost always trustworthy, especially when it came to underworld matters.

"As for this bounty hunter, Cad Bane, we must capture and return both him and his quarry, Ziro, to the courts. I'm assuming I can trust that you'll stay focused on the goal."

"You wound me," Quinlan exclaimed dramatically, "Underestimated by my closest friend."

"Calm down Quinlan," you rolled your eyes, taking the pilot's seat, "I'm flying. I don't trust you."

"Hurt again by someone I love!" Quinlan allowed Obi-Wan to take the co-pilot's seat and he took the spare. Quinlan was silent for a few moments before he spoke up again, "The ship is clear."

"Since when do you Force scan ships for listening devices?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"Since I've found them on the transports I use for sensitive missions. Someone is listening in, trying to get information. I don't know who, not yet, but I'll figure it out."

"Something about this war seems wrong overall," you replied, "All the Jedi can feel it, but we're being so suffocated by all the fighting and politics that we can't stop and think about it."

"Some of the high tier shadows are looking into it, but when one trail starts, another ends. Whoever is controlling this war knows what they're doing."

~*~

Nal Hutta was a disgusting planet full of disgusting people. It was the center of the slave trade in the outer rim, and the mere thought of exiting the ship when you might see someone of your kind made you sick to your stomach. It was good that Anakin wasn't chosen for this mission. You were sure he'd be able to handle it.

When you announced yourselves as Jedi to the guards in front of the Hutt palace, the three of you were immediately allowed entrance. The Hutts were in the middle of a show dominated by Twi'Lek dancers - slaves, you suspected. You hated them all, and you desperately wished to kill them.

The music halted when the Hutts noticed your arrival. Gardulla spoke, and the droid next to her translated.

"How goes the war?"

"Great Gardulla, we bring unfortunate news. Ziro the Hutt has escaped our custody with the aid of the bounty hunter Cad Bane."

None of the Hutts even acted surprised at the news.

"The great Gardulla already knows this, Jedi Knights."

"I'm beginning to think you're the ones who broke him out," Quinlan boldly accused.

"And why would the great Hutt families do such a thing?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

You placed a hand on Quin's shoulder, "The Hutts are our... allies." The tread carefully was silent but clear. Quinlan nodded and stepped away, his eyes on a cup on the floor.

"Mighty Gardulla says, you are lucky to be with a Jedi as wise and attractive as Pavond, or you might not be allowed to leave here alive."

"Maybe next time I'll come alone, hmm?" Quinlan asked sarcastically, setting the cup on a tray a Twi'Lek was holding.

"We only came to deliver the message. We shall be leaving now," Obi-Wan bowed, though not nearly as deep as he would have for an ally he truly suspected.

Gardulla spoke again, and the three of you paused to avoid offending her and creating an incident.

"Mighty Gardulla offers Pavond a place here at the palace for 1 million credits a standard month. Much more generous than the small salary of a Jedi."

You sucked in a breath. You should have expected it. The Hutts ran the slave trades, owned them. You were a rare commodity staring them down. Still, you felt sick and struggled to control the shaking in your hands.

"Thank you for the kind offer, however, my place remains with the Jedi. Good day," you bowed your head and walked out with Obi-Wan in front and Quinlan behind you as subtle protection.

"I can't believe they were bold enough to actually make that offer," Quinlan hissed.

"We'll get off this planet as soon as possible," Obi-Wan assured. He took your hand and squeezed it for a short moment before letting it go and moving on.

"Ziro was here. He was holding one of those cups," Quilan commented after all of you took a moment to be angry and move on from the offer you were just given.

"Nice work," Obi-Wan complimented.

The three of you made your way to the holding cells within the palace. The two guards were unconscious, and there were no prisoners.

"Zero has escaped, and I think he had help."

"We need to hurry, it can't have been that long since he left," you stated, turning around and hurrying to get out of the palace.

Once all of you were outside, Quinlan began to work. It took him a few minutes to pinpoint the general direction that Ziro had gone in, leading you and Obi-Wan deeper into the swamps.

"I understand your tracking talent, but why wouldn't Ziro leave the planet? It's illogical. He knows he's being looked for here."

"Something is keeping him here."

"If we'd brought a droid, this would go faster," Obi-Wan complained.

A giant water snake burst from the water and wrapped itself around Obi-Wan. There was a slight struggle before Obi-Wan managed to stab it with his lightsaber so the snake would release him, then again through the head to kill it.

Quinlan called back teasingly, "Are you finished messing around? We're trying to catch Ziro, remember?"

"Which way have they gone?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Well, since you're suddenly so interested in my tracking abilities, they went this way."

"We never doubted you, Quin," you patted him on the shoulder and continued on.

Around three-quarters of the way to your destination, the tell-tale sound of a motor came from behind. The three of you ducked behind a large tree and watched as Cad Bane and his robot companion came by.

"Looks as though we're not the only ones after Ziro."

"Competing with Cad Bane is going to make this much harder," you sighed, "And here I was thinking things could be easy for once."

"Only in our dreams, darling."

It wasn't much further to the small abode that Quinlan claimed Ziro stopped at before he continued on. Quinlan pulled his lightsaber from his belt and you smacked him upside the head for it.

"You are not going to slash the door down when you can simply use the Force to open it," you waved your hand and the door slid open, "Honestly. I can't believe- ugh!"

The house smelled absolutely foul, like sewage and a general lack of cleanliness times a million.

"Ugh! It smells like something died in here.

"Break in my house, will you, smart guy?" A giant hut was at the center of the home, which was where the worst of the smell was coming from.

"Thousand pardons, madam," Obi-Wan offered an apology he didn't truly mean.

"I got trouble for you, too, mister fancy pants," the Hutt threw a Sha'rellian toop at your general direction, though it didn't hit any of you.

"We're not here to harm you," you assured her.

"That'll be a first for tonight."

"Meaning? Meaning, first, my deadbeat son and his limp-lipped girlfriend come in and sponge me out of my starship. Then some slime sap and his droid charge in and force me to give up the skinny on where Ziro's headed."

"Big hat?"

"Yeah, Chad-something out for blood. You wanna kill my little boy, too?"

"No, madam, but if we don't find him before Bane does, your son will not be so lucky."

The Hutt stared the three of you down for a few moments before speaking again, "Teth. Ziro's heading for Teth."

"We need to get to Teth, and quickly."

And the three of you were on the move again.

~*~

The three of you got back to the ship and left for Teth as quickly as possible. It was a quick flight there as it was close to Nal Hutta, but every moment felt excruciating knowing that both Ziro and Cad Bane had a head start.

There was a ship in an isolated area of Teth, and the Force guided you there. Landing the ship on a rock column large enough for it, the three of you leaped out and moved toward the largest section of columns that would provide enough space to hide the diary.

There, there was the wrapped body of a Hutt long dead, and the freshly killed body of Ziro, with two blaster wounds to his chest.

"Who could have done this?" Obi-Wan wondered out loud.

"Who could have done this?" A figure emerged from the shadows, "Bane!"

"Looks like we're both too late for the party."

"So this is not your handiwork?" You asked though it didn't seem as clean as Bane's work normally was.

"No. I wouldn't have made such a sloppy kill. Doesn't seem like much sense hanging around here, or making any trouble between us."

Obi-Wan scoffed, "Are you forgetting how you held the Senate hostage? I may not be capturing Ziro, but you are going to prison."

"Well, now that you mention it, the Separatists are paying a million credits a head for a Jedi, and triple that for Master Pavond alive."

The three of you drew your sabers the same moment Bane drew his gun and ran. The terrain of Teth was tricky, with rock columns making up the majority of the area. With some assistance from the Force it was easy to jump between them, but still potentially dangerous.

Bane shot down the column Obi-Wan was standing on, leaving him to grab on to the edge of the next closest one. Trusting Quinlan to continue the chase, you paused and grabbed his hand to help him up.

"Thanks."

"Anytime, neod."

The two of you carried on just as Bane got an advantage over Quinlan and kicked him down. The two of you leaped toward Bane and knocked him off his feet. You threw the gun he dropped over the edge of the column.

The Force screamed out a warning, and Bane's little droid came up from behind with Quinlan's lightsaber. Obi-Wan summoned it to his hand and you sent the droid flying with a push from the Force.

Bane activated his rocket boots and began to fly off whilst still shooting. You deflected a shot just right and knocked the gun out of his hand. When that blaster was lost he flew right toward you and managed to snag Quinlan's lightsaber from Obi-Wan's hand. He was surprisingly skilled with it, and you couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever used one before.

You kicked the lightsaber from his band. Something slid down from his gauntlet and he stabbed you in the leg with it. Immediately, you began to lose feeling in your body and collapsed to the ground. You heard Obi-Wan scream in pain and forced your head to the side so you could look at him.

"Obi-Wan?" He grunted in response, his robes slightly smoking. He must have been electrocuted, "I can't feel anything. Feel free to go on without me."

You heard the noises of a fight occurring ahead but you couldn't bring yourself to move your head enough to see it. Then there was the sound of a starship starting and taking off, and Obi-Wan and Quinlan's voices grew close. It seems that they were unsuccessful.

"You good, (Y/n)?"

"I can't feel anything and I can't move, what do you think?" You asked in response.

Each of them grabbed one of your arms and pulled you to your feet. You grunted and nearly slipped out of their grasp when you got to your feet. Obi-Wan slipped his arm under your knees and pulled you into the bridal carry.

"This would be romantic if I could move and if Quinlan weren't here," you mumbled into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I'm ruining your romantic getaway."

"Oh shut up, Quin. You've always done this."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Remember when you stole a ship and crashed our wedding?"

"When are you going to stop bringing that up?"