It's hard to imagine nothing.

  You ask a person to think of nothing they will often think of maybe a white void, or maybe just the colour black. Yet those are still something. Black is something, a white void is something. It’s the same way we can’t imagine no temperature. It’s an interval scale. Even at absolute zero, we feel cold, we feel something.

  Yet despite that Anakin found himself in nothing. It wasn’t a void but it wasn’t not a void either. It was nothing after all. He was the only thing that existed and even then his body wasn’t really ‘a thing’. It was a construct made by the Force, ethereal in nature while his real body was in the a Galaxy far far away.

  “Chosen one.” Anakin rolled his eyes. It wasn’t a voice, after all a voice needed air to travel though. Instead the ‘voice’ spoke from inside his mind as if he had gone crazy.

  “We haven’t talked for quite some time, when I’m not dead, what’s the deal? Don’t you think you’re a bit early? Unless Padme finally snapped and strangled me in my sleep, I shouldn’t be here yet.”

  They materialised, before him. Several glowing robed beings with different emotions sketched onto the masks they wore.

  “No, you aren’t dead yet.” A small relief he supposed. “Although at your current rate, it won’t be long. What exactly do you think you're doing? No training, no Empire, you have wealth but you aren’t investing it into any long-term goals.”

  “I am taking a different approach.” He shrugged but he felt the wave of hate, doubt and annoyance radiate from the Whills.

  “Lies!” The anger-masked being roared. Anakin always found it strange that the anger-masked one was always angry, surely the Force had more creativity than that.

  “I’m not lying, I’m playing the long game. Even athletes need time to rest. Sure this loop might be a waste but the next one will be better. I’ll come back with a fresh mind and better then before.”

  “We don’t like the idea of these ‘breaks’ becoming a habit. How many breaks will there be? One for every ten deaths? Why not make it one death one rest, better yet for every death you get ten lifetimes to relax.” One of the Whills pointed out.

  “It is a slippery slope. We put up with your phases Anakin, cause well. That’s what they are, phases. Can’t we just skip this and just get back to work? Don’t you remember your Darkside phase and how you wanted to kill us?” He resisisted the urge to point out that a 'slippery slope' is a fallacy.

  Of course he remembered and he wished they would stop bringing it up. He was desperate to get out of the loops and occasionally he would slip up, fall back into bad habits. If he couldn’t kill Palpatine then it was worth a try to kill the Whills, though that clearly hadn’t worked.

  “Look if you don’t like it, then don’t send me back every time I die.” He scowled at the near god-like beings.

  “Believe me we have wanted to, but it’s not up to us. The Force plays its favourites, it is not a kind parent who loves it’s children equally. It’s nature is to grow, to expand. It’s life, and life is constantly changing. That’s why it gives its power to those who are terrible, why behind every Galaxy-wide war the Force is always somehow a part of it. It favours those who invoke change, whether that be good or for bad. Yet for the first time ever it has admitted it has made a mistake. It gave power to the one person who could possibly keep it stagnant.”

  “Palpatine will rule the Galaxy for the rest of existence, never allowing change or growth. He is the end. And for something that breathes life into everything, it cannot stand stagnation. Whether we like it or not the ‘chosen one’ will be sent back.” Another Whill agreed.

  “Then I suppose this discussion is over. The Force wills it and so it shall be or some equally pretentious garbage you spout.” Anakin scowled.

  “You might be the Force's favourite mortal child. But we are its Whils, don’t let your ego get ahead of yourself.”

  Anakin did though, he was the chosen one. The mortal chosen by the Force to be the strongest in existence. He was the most powerful being in the Galaxy and whilst Palpatine had alluded him it wouldn’t be forever. That was the thing with infinite time, ever possibility becomes 100% with time. If you live forever Lightinging has a 100% chance of striking you eventually, and while it might not be this loop he would eventually end Palpatine.

  “It really must infuriate you, to see mortals, those weaker than you be the only beings capable of change.”

  Anakin’s eyes shot open and his head flew up till it collided hard against Obi-Wan’s bunk above him. Causing him to muffle his pained cries into his pillow. Stupid Whills. He couldn’t prove it but Anakin would blame that on them.

  He groggily got out of bed. His head hurt, and his eyes were screaming. He didn’t need a mirror to know they were bloodied. Shit, he fell asleep.

  By some miracle, Obi-Wan hadn’t awakened by Anakin hitting the bottom of his bunk with all the force his head could muster so in order to avoid a rather annoying conversation with the Jedi Anakin had done his best to quietly sneak out of the room.

  Unfortunately, it seemed fate wasn’t that kind to him as the moment he stepped out of his room he was met face-to-face with Padme who was still in her PJs.

  “You’re awake for once.” Padme raised a surprised brow.

  “We all have our off days,” He shrugged. “Why are you here? Do you just enjoy stalking me?”

  “I heard the bang, assuming from the big red spot on your forehead I assume it was you. Was it a nightmare?” Padme probed, her eyes immediately darting to his scared torso. He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. As if his slave scars mattered considering he didn’t even remember getting them. What was a problem was that she thought he was having nightmares of things he couldn’t remember.

  “No.”

  “You're lying.

  “To you? Never.” Though neither of them believed it. Yet Padme didn’t bring it up, instead, she took him by the hand. Her soft fingers wrapped around his calloused own, leading him to the head of the ship.

  They walked in silence the only sound joining them was the hum of the sub-light engine as in the approaching distance Anakin could make out Kamino from here.

  Still, Anakin’s eyes darted to where Padme still held his hand even though she had already successfully herded him to where she wanted. It was pleasant though, the warm softness of someone who hadn’t been trained since birth to fight, so for now he wouldn’t bring it up.

  “This place we are going, you told me you visited. What’s it like?” She asked, her eyes ignoring their own hands and instead looked out towards the approaching planet.

  “Kamino? Wet I suppose. It rains all the time.”

  “And the people?”

  “I wouldn’t go down that route Padme. There are people you can befriend and there are people you can’t.” He saw the way her face cringed and her unoccupied hand went to cradle her bruised ribs.

  “Kaminoans are isolationist. They don’t want Senators from other Planets trying to decide what’s best for them or what they should do.” Padme winced again. “They would sooner change their genetic code than ask for the Republic for help, which they did after they experienced a great flood which almost wiped their gene pool from the Galaxy.”

  “But you said they are building an army for the Republic, if they are so xenophobic then why would they do that?”

  “Xenophobic?” Anakin rubbed his chin in thought. Had they? They certainly wanted to remain isolated but they had always treated him with dignity. They were an elegant race. Then again he always appeared as an individual.

  “I suppose xenophobic isn’t incorrect, but they aren’t so much racist as they are weary of foreigners. It’s racism without ignorance which I suppose is better? And why? Money is a language all races speak.” He shrugged though Padme still looked displeased.

  She was a human the Republic being the main species. She got all the benefits from multiculturalism whilst still being the majority. She didn’t understand that some races just want to be left alone.

  “Don’t try to befriend them Padme.”

  “The Republic can help them.”

  “And if they don’t want help then what? Do you force occupation? Take over the Planet by force, maybe there is another flood but this time the Republic won’t stand a second extinction. They help the Kaminoans by building Republic infrastructure, have Republic personal take up residence during the great flood to help with relief support and aid. Then after the flood then what happens? The Republic leaves? No, the Kaminoians have clearly shown they are not capable of caring for themselves, the Republic is doing this for them. Does that sound familiar?”

  “We wouldn’t do that.”

  “The Republic is the whole reason we are here.” Anakin scowled.

  Before Padme could even argue a voice rang from the radio.

  “You are entering unauthorised space. We have orbital cannons and will fire if you do show an indication of leave.”

  “Shit, what do we do?”

  “Get Obi-Wan.”

  It was raining, as it always did on this miserable planet. The waves heaved up crashing against the stilts that the large domes sat upon them. Despite being an aquatic planet the Kaminoans were not so aquatically gifted as other aquatic planet races such as Nautolans, it was because of this they built cities above the waves on large stilts as the Kaminoans found that they were better suited in gene labs than swimming around in the open ocean where the wildlife could eat them whole.

  He supposed he had quite a few mixed feelings about this place, one on hand this was where Palpatine built his army of Jedi assassins. On the other Anakin had come to befriend many of the Republic war slaves that would be hatched from the incubators in the years to come. Though Rex wouldn’t even be close to being born yet, they still were figuring out the human cloning process.

  Obi-Wan, Padme and Anakin walked out into the rain, Obi-Wan pretending not to be bothered by it whilst Padme and Anakin shared an umbrella he had bought knowing that ninety per cent of the time it was raining on Kamino.

  “I know they are isolationists but I thought we would still be greeted,” Padme grumbled, clearly not a fan of the rain by the way she pushed her body against his own trying her best to fight for space under the umbrella. Not that it worked, her long Senator robes were already soaked at the bottom.

  “We are being greeted.” Obi-Wan hummed, he had his arms crossed in his robe to hide the lightsaber that was in his sleeve. “How many do you think there are?”

  “Counting the snipers on the roofs, twelve?” Anakin guessed. The Force was good at telling you there was danger but it never gave specifics.

  “What are you two going on about?”

  She got her answer when eight heavy bodies came from the sky. The rain was loud against their armour which had been forged and perfected in the high-quality furnaces of Mandalore. There jetpacks tore through the rain leaving a steam trail following them as they descended from the sky like armour-bound battle angles.

  The Cuy’val Dar. A group of Jango Fett’s personally selected Mandalorians to help him train the first clones till they could train themselves. They each had their own specialised armour and weapons and decorated with shows of their many victories whether that be scratches they left in their armour as a display of combat or the fur of the beasts they hunted.

  “Quite the distance away from Mandalore,’ Obi-Wan teased, and although he wore a bright smile Anakin could feel the anxiousness from his old Master.

  “Mandalore,” Padme whispered to herself. Anakin noticed the way she looked in awe at the legendary armour of the Mandalorian, no doubt remembering every horror story Republic parents told their children when their kids wouldn’t eat their vegetables.

  “I could say the same for yourself Jedi, I thought the only time you monsters leave your precious Republic is to slaughter in the name of your righteousness. No holy war this time?” The silver and blue one teased. He had duel pistols and Anakin could feel the danger this man possessed through the Force. There was no indication that this man was the leader from his armour as they all look individualised, yet this man clearly was the most important from the way the other’s kept their distance around him.

  Jango.

  “That’s rich coming from you, I assume you and your merry band of miscreants aren’t here on Dutchess Satine’s orders?”

  “No, I was a bounty hunter long before Mandalore changed its ways from warriors to cowards.” The Fett teased.

  “Peace is not cowardice.” Obi-Wan hissed, no doubt displeased at anyone mocking his ‘not girlfriend’.

  “And yet you carry a sword that cuts through anything that isn’t my armour in your sleeve. A little hypocritical, no?”

  “Stand back Padme.” Obi-Wan took a step forward taking his lightsaber out of his sleeve. No point in hiding it now, the blue blade evaporated any drop of rain that even came near the super-heated edge leaving a trail of steam whenever his blade moved through the air.

  “Cute, but it’s not the girl we want. However-” Anakin tuned out the bounty hunter. He heard these speeches too often to bother listening to them. Why listen when he already knew what it was all about anyway?

  It was him, wasn’t it? Dooku would sometimes send the bounty hunter after him if he ever left the Jedi Order. Usually, Jango would just come after him alone but being so close to Kamino and with another Jedi, the appeal of using Cuy’val Dar was perhaps too tempting.

  The memories of Jango’s hunts swam their way up to the surface of Anakin’s thoughts, all the times his apartment exploded into a ball of fire when he opened a door, all the times that Anakin froze in the cold starving after his ship was shot down just waiting to be hunted like an animal. At this point, Anakin was more than familiar with Jango Fett’s fighting style than Jango was himself and while he admittedly had lost a lot of his muscle and Force power, the knowledge of the way Jango fights would help him.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Anakin mused over the fight that could happen hundreds of times over in his head trying to predict out of hundreds of fights how many he would win. Jango was used to fighting Jedi and he knew that Mandalorians, for all their Jedi strategies and tricks. They couldn’t beat a more skilled Jedi one-on-one. Mandalore had lost almost every battle they had with the Jedi order and while out of every group besides the Sith they were the best Jedi killers, Jedi were just that overpowered. The Force just isn’t fair unless you have it yourself.

  Jango had fought in the Mandalorian wars, and he knew that better than anyone. Jedi weren’t meant to be fought in combat, they were to be hunted. If you fought a Jedi fairly you were doing it wrong.

  “Okay, let's get this over with I suppose.” Anakin sighed, normally he would be stronger than he was right now. Enough that he usually felt confident fighting Jango with his prior knowledge. But with the Cuy’val Dar here? This was probably going to result in a reset. Surrounded the ship would never get five meters off the ground before being shot down, the only way out was to fight.

  Anakin shot forward, the rain and his own weaker body making him not move as fast as he’d like, it would have to do he supposed.

  The first to react was Obi-Wan. The only one who could sense emotions felt his intent to attack, and as such threw Padme back onto the walkway of the ship before charging after him.

  Jango was next, his duel pistols firing off in rapid succession as his jetpack roared. Anakin knew this was going to happen he’d seen it a hundred times before and was ready for it long before he had made his first move.

  Left shoulder, right hip, left hip, right shoulder. Jango perfectly aimed his shots so that Anakin’s lightsabre would have to cross as much distance as possible to deflect them all. It wasn’t the best option against Jedi but with such little time, it was the best option Jango had.

  Yet he knew this was coming as it had before and it would again. With future knowledge of how Jango fought Anakin effortlessly blocked all shots not even needing the Force to warn him where the bolster bolts were aiming. When Jango’s Jetpack roared to life Anakin already had his hand out gripping the Bounty Hunter. The sheer force of the Jetpack tried ripping Jango out of his hold and the explosive power of the Jetpack certainly strained Anakin’s concentration. Yet he held and Jango Fett collapsed to the ground on a knee as he only got a meter off the floor.

  Finally, the Cuy’val Dar reacted and several blaster bolts rained upon Anakin who was in no position to defend himself. He wouldn’t have to thankfully as Obi-Wan pushed Anakin out of the way of a bolt that would have left him without a leg and deflected the rest with his sabre.

  “Congrats you almost got yourself killed. Stick with me, and deflect their bolts back at them.”

  “Won’t work, they are wearing either Durasteel or Beskar, either way, these blaster bolts won’t do much. We gotta get close.” Anakin got himself off the ground before a particularly nasty bolt burnt the metal where his head was. Jango was still quite some distance away and while he could try a force pull it would leave him exposed to the Cuy’val Dar to fill him with plasma.

  “I hope you have an idea then.”

  “Lose them in the city. Narrow corridors suit us a lot better than them.”

  “Optimistic that you think we’ll make it to the door.” A bolt narrowly avoided his head.

  “Well, we could stay out here. But I don’t love our chances”

  “Fair point. One three… one, two, thr-”

  “Stop!” Padme roared, her hair drenched by the rain, her robes now more water than fabric. “What are you all doing?”

  “Don’t worry Senator we will handle this!” Obi-Wan yelled, blocking a few more blaster bolts.

  “Handle what?! You here now.” She pointed at Anakin before pointing at her feet calling him like a dog owner would when their pet wandered off too far.

  “Me?” Anakin pointed to himself in confusion. He wasn’t the only one as the Cuy’val Dar was also confused by this weird display. Was this some sort of tactic to distract them? Cause if it was it certainly worked as they had stoped firing upon the two Jedi.

  “Yes, you! Here now!” She clicked her finger, the rain ruined her attempt but the insult still remained present.

  “I’m not your fucking dog.”

  “Here Anikin, Ani, Ani.” She whistled. “Here boy”

  “Piss off.” He growled but she merely rolled her eyes and marched forwards. She was out in the open as was too much of a target, if he did leave her she would be shot to death in an instant the moment they started firing again.

  “You piss off. Why is your first instinct always attack attack attack? For someone who thinks he’s so much smarter than everyone you sure don’t act like it.”

  Anakin flared his nostrils, her words getting to him more than they should have. She was just inexperienced, she still thought that peace could be attained through talking. How many times had he been called to peace meetings only for the room to explode when he entered or have several blustered aimed at him? The problem with not attacking first meant that you were always on the receiving end. He had been betrayed far too many times to fall for that.

  “Lover’s spat?” Jango teased.

  “Quite you, we are here on official Republic business. Yet you, a bounty hunter comes down here and threatens us.” Anakin did feel a small smile tug on his lips as Padme scowled the bounty hunter.

  “Maybe if your trigger-happy friend waited a few seconds he would have let me say that ‘however, Dooku cancelled his bounty on your head’. I still got paid, my time is money and so I always get a deposit on the cash up front first then the rest after. I have my money you have your life, no harm no foul. Though after being so ruthlessly attacked I suppose I should have some compensation.”

  “You didn’t exactly make it clear yourself. You come down with a group of armed warriors speaking about hunting a bounty, don’t act like your blameless either.”

  “Careful Senator, I’ve killed more important people than you for less.”

  “You haven’t met someone as important as me.” She sneered with the ego and arrogance that Padme rarely showed in her later years. Her older age and experience had yet to temper her hot-headedness.

  “Let’s calm ourselves with the hostilities. You die, we die, we all die. There is no point in fighting if we all lose so why don’t we all get out of the rain and inside to discuss the situation.” Obi-Wan sighed, forced to be the annoyed voice of reason.

  “You think I’ll die?” Jango scoffed. “In case you haven’t noticed you’re surrounded by the best fighters in the Galaxy.”

  “The Jedi know we are here.” Padme lied effortlessly. It wasn’t a complete lie, Obi-Wan probably mentioned they were heading to Kamino in his reports. Still, it would be weeks maybe even months till they realised we were dead.

  Due to the few number of the Jedi even knights were given a lot of leeway. The Jedi were very independent during missions, especially pre-clone wars they would simply let any Jedi do what they wanted so long as it upheld the values of the Jedi. They simply didn’t have enough people nor the structure of a military where they would have reports or constant information about what every Jedi was doing.

  Still, Anakin noticed how Jango flinched at the mention of the Jedi order. Most bounty hunters would.

  “Fine,” Jango growled. With a wave of his hand, the Cuy’val Dar were ordered to disengaged. And while they did mke their way back to the city Anakin and Padme stood standing in the rain waiting for them to fully disappear out of sight before moving. Only after Anakin was sure they were alone did he speak.

  “That was risky.”

  “More risky than you fighting who knows how many Mandalorians are here?”

  “Yes.” He scowled.

  “You always assume violence is the only way out. You are so sure about how everything will go, so certain that people will only react in set ways. People aren’t as one-dimensional as you think, it takes a lifetime to get to know someone.” By that logic, he would know thousands but he didn’t point that out. h

  No, he hadn’t been wrong to attack. Had this been any other loop a fight would have been unavoidable. Jango Fett didn’t talk. Fett was the Galaxy’s best bounty hunter, and had taught Anakin the way of the hunt himself. Anakin had been an adoptive son to the Fett’s once, after all, when trying to kill the most dangerous person in the Galaxy who better to learn from the best Bounty Hunter?

  He had spent a lifetime with the Fett and he knew that Jango Fett didn’t talk to a target unless the very words he used were lethal. But now he was… remarkably docile. The loops were never permanent, always some small details were different in order to keep Anakin on his toes. Small flaps of butterfly wings which would turn to hurricanes later. Yet, the change of a person’s personality? No, those were always the same. That was too big of a change. What was different this time?

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re not,”

  Jango Fett was exhausted.

  He had spent countless nights looking for a boy named Anakin Skywalker only to find out he was going by some other name called Vader. The fact that Dooku found the boy by chance first before him certainly hadn’t done his ego any good nor his bank account. Sure he had gotten a fair chuck of the credits from the deposit as well as the cancellation fee, but having word get out that he didn’t finish a mission wasn’t great.

  The Jango Fett name was only worth so much because he always got his man. Sure getting assassinations cancelled certainly didn’t hurt his wallet nor did he mind not having to spend days hunting down his prey, but his name would take a hit. Now he was going to have to take a big mission after this just so people know who the top dog is.

  The bounty hunter took off his helmet, the thick sweat coating his face cooling from the air-conditioned room. This is why he hated rainy planets. It’s far too humid for a Mandalorian. The bounty hunter collapsed onto his bed his armour causing the mattress to squeal under the combined weight of a grown bounty hunter and all his gear.

  He was tired. He had spent all morning training the functional clones and the afternoon preparing to fight Jedi. Ugh, how he hated fighting Jedi. He should have asked for more money from Dooku, after all the old man failed to mention the knight with him was Obi-Wan. Apparently, a recent celebrity in the order after some crisis on Naboo, it was a big enough deal that he had heard about it. Something about a Jedi killing some Sith which was apparently a big deal. It may have not meant much to him but it was a big deal to the Jedi which made it a big deal to him.

  Jango always kept a list of the people he should never take a bounty up against or at the very least people that he would need to be paid enough for him to never work again.

  People on the list of ‘never fuck with’ included famous Jedi such as Dooku, Yoda or Mace Windu along with the highest of the Hutt council. Jedi that no amount of preparation would do any good against and Hutts who had enough cash that Jango would constantly have high-tier bounty hunters chasing him.

  Obi-Wan certainly didn’t make ‘that’ list but he was on Fett’s watch list. People to be wary of. Though, he would maybe need to add an Anakin Skywalker to that list as well.

  According to the data Dooku stole from the Jedi Order that boy was a Padawan when he left. High grades in combat, low in studies. However, to him, high grades as a Padawan didn’t mean too much. He could handle skilled Padawans. Yet, the boy… he had no hesitation when he launched himself at him.

  Attacking first is not the Jedi way. And while the boy technically wasn’t a Jedi, the dull mantra of those warrior monks seemed to have no effect as Jango felt his heart jump into his throat when the boy charged at him. Eager to end the confrontation in just a few seconds. How remarkable and brutal. A ruthlessness Jango only saw in Jedi during the Mandalorian wars when the Jedi had been exhausted, tired and covered in the blood of their friends.

  Worse, the boy had been one step ahead of him. Jango was sure to always keep on the move, use his jetpack and keep himself a moving target so no Jedi could ever grip him with the force. Though many Jedi don’t. They don’t often use the Force offensively, preferring to enhance their own bodies. Yet Anakin had his hand out ready to grab him before he even could get in the air. He wasn’t quick so much as he was prepared for him.

  “Maybe I should just kill the boy here? I may not have the Force but I don’t need space magic to know when I see a problem in the future.” Jango laughed.

  How many years would it take for Anakin or Obi-Wan to reach his ‘don’t fuck with’ list. Two? Four? A decade? Senator Amidala sure lucked out getting Anakin, with that boy in a couple of years she will be near unkillable. A personal Jedi bodyguard of that calibre? No amount of money is worth that effort. Padawan his arse, that boy would be a problem.

  Dooku might be mad if he kills Anakin though. For some reason, the boy was still alive after meeting Dooku which is something Jango’s Mandalorian brothers couldn’t say meeting the Jedi in the War. Did Dooku already get what he wants? The bastard wanted the boy alive, usually, that meant information. Yet, the boy lacked the deformities that often were attributed to torture. Then again the boy might just be a bitch and gave what Dooku wanted up immediately, presumably information about the Jedi.

  “I suppose Dooku wouldn’t mind me killing the Jedi and the girl. He hates the Jedi and a head of a Republic Senator might fetch a pretty price.” It certainly was a novel idea, but without a bounty killing it really wasn’t worth the effort.

  “I wouldn’t.”

  Jango grabbed his blaster. His years of training paid off as the barrel went straight for where he heard the sound. Yet, the intruder didn’t seem bothered. If anything he looked bored sitting in Jango’s chair staring down the barrel of his pistol.

  “You,” Jango growled. What was he doing here? He would have known if he was being followed. How had the boy gotten here? Jango didn’t hear the door and the windows were locked tight yet still undamaged.

  Had he snuck into his room before he got here? Sure Jango was a bit tired but he had headed straight for his room, for this boy to get here before him meant he knew where his room was. But that was impossible, he’d have to find the Kaminoians ask them for his room location navigate this whole facility and unlock the door all before Jango made it, which was near impossible.

  How had he known where his room was?

  “Yes, me.” Anakin rolled his eyes.

  “How did you get here?”

  “The how isn’t important. More so the why.” The boy's hand flicked and the light switch turned off even though the boy wasn’t even close to it. Jango immediately acted on instincts, he could worry about Dooku later. What was more important was dealing with the immediate threat before him. His blasters roared illuminating the room with the glow of red plasma.

  His chair erupted in a show of heat and melted metal yet the boy was nowhere to be found. This time Jango fired again, a few shots randomly in the dark just to show the boy’s position. Jedi could fight in the dark, their vision only a luxury but without his night vision helmet Jango was at a disadvantage.

  Fett felt the weight of a teenage boy crash against him. Backed with the physical enhancements of the Force Jango heard a hard thud of flesh and bone collide hard against his armour. If the boy was in pain from running straight into hard metal he certainly didn’t show it as the once-dark room was now saturated in the blue glow of the boy’s lightsaber pressed uncomfortably close to his neck.

  “The girl. Padme, she’s off limits. Do you understand?”

  “Sorry kid, I don’t decide who is off-limits. I don’t make the bounties I just collect them.”

  “But you decide what bounties to take, and for your sake, I hope you're smart enough to know what bounties just aren’t worth any amount of credits.”

  “Are you threatening me, boy ?” He spat the word boy like it was an insult. Of course he was, you don’t exactly put a lightsaber to someone's throat for fun.

  “I know you, Fett. I know about your sister Arla, I know that deep down all you want in life is a child, a son you can teach and pass your legacy down to. I also know that now that I’ve put a lightsaber to your throat you’ll stop at nothing to kill me. Such an embarrassing position can’t get out to the other bounty hunters. They might think that Fett has spent too long at the top.”

  How had he- That information didn’t even belong to the top information brokers. The sister stuff maybe, but he had done well to kill most people who knew or would use that information against him. But a child? The only mention of it was with the Kaminoians and Dooku. Dooku was an arse but he wasn’t someone who you could easily get information out of and the Kaminons never talked to anyone that wasn’t on the planet.

  “You can read minds.” Jango sneered. “That’s how you know about all this and where my room was.”

  No wonder Dooku wanted the boy so bad, a Jedi who could effortlessly take the memories out of a person's head without them even knowing was incredibly useful. Jedi usually needed to restrain someone to force information out and even then you can train yourself to resist it. Jango himself had gone through the training and yet this boy took out the information without him even realizing it.

  “I can do far more than that Jango.” The lightsaber burned against his skin, the pain made him want to push the boy off him but that would only result in him losing his head.

  “You and I both know in a one-on-one, as we are right now? I’d win seven out of ten maybe fifty per cent if I’m being generous. You could probably swap that around if you used all your nifty tricks but I know how you hunt, I know how you talk and I know all your plans. I know every fucking thing about you. I could fucking skin you and wear you like a goddamn suit and not one fucking person would be able to tell the difference.”

  “You think the Mandalorian wars were bad?” The boy continued. “I know torture, I can use the Force in ways that will make even someone like you scream.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Padme Amidala is officially on your ‘don’t fuck with’ list.” Of course, the boy knew about that. Why wouldn’t he at this point?

  Jango questioned if he could reach for the lamp and smash the boy’s brains in. Though Jango had a pretty strong concept of the Force for a non-Force sensitive. Knowledge he was quite of as most bounty hunters laughed at the Force, believing it to be a Republic myth to scare people. ‘The magic space warrior monks of the Republic’ was something of a joke in the Outer Rim who had never actually seen for their own eyes the sheer unfair power that Jedi held.

  It was because of his rather prideful knowledge of the Force he chose not to risk it.

  “Fine.” With his rather begrudging agreement, the lightsabre turned off drenching them in darkness once more.

  “Do not mistake me for a good person Jango. I am a very selfish man,” Jango held back a scoff at the idea that this boy was a man. “I want my rest, I’m sick of elaborate plans, bored of planning for the future, but killing you though? That’s not a problem, it’s a chore.”

  With that, the room was illuminated in light as the door out of his room opened and Jango caught a glimpse of the boy as he felt. He didn’t look angry, he didn’t look scared and he didn’t even spare Jango a glance like he didn’t just threaten to kill him as he left.

  He looked bored.

  A Jedi who can read minds without even trying. Without knowing the limits of this power Jango had no real way of ambushing the boy. Could he tell he was going to assassinate him by reading his thoughts? How far did it extend? How did it work?

  Was it a distance thing? He could sense anyone with a certain imaginary sphere around him. Or was it intent based. If it was distance maybe he could pick off the boy with a sniper, though Jedi if they weren’t preoccupied could often react to snipers. If it was intent based it didn’t matter if he used a bomb or sniper. The boy would know. Fucking Jedi.

  The Galaxy’s most powerful mind reader, the Force and while it wasn’t perfected like his own the boy had a decent physical body.

  Anakin Skywalker was officially on his watch list.