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No matter the efforts of the Jedi or the Republic, the galaxy'll always stay the same rotten place. I learned that long ago working as a bounty hunter, but began to see it even more when I became a P.I, taking cases that the Senate either had no time for or wouldn't dare touch. Work is scarce because of my past affiliation with the Seperatists, not to mention my demand of cash upfront. Like me or not, however, I always get the job done, and on this particular day, the job was coming from an old Jedi adversary of mine from my bounty hunting days.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice, Bane." Anakin Skywalker said as I stepped into his apartment. "Nothing's short notice when there's money involved." I replied. "How's Padme?" "That's one line you haven't crossed yet. Let's keep it that way." he growled. "Let's get down to business. Why did you call me out here?" I asked. "More importantly, what made you think I'd help you in the first place?" "I know we're not exactly on the best of terms, but there's no denying that you're damn good at what you do. Maybe even the best." Anakin replied.

"Besides, this case...Let's just say it hits more than a little close to home." he continued. "...Something happened to Ahsoka?" I ventured. Nodding solemnly, he replied, "She disappeared on a mission to Muunilist about a week ago." "Muunilist is a Seperatist system," I snapped, "What the hell were you thinking sending her there in the first place?" "She was supposed to try & capture the leaders of the Banking Clan to gain some leverage with the Seperatists!" he snarled. "The escort vessels said they lost contact with her ship upon landing." "All right, all right, I've got a couple buddies on Muunilist." I said. "I'll have them keep an eye out for Ahsoka & head there myself, do a little looking around." "Thanks, Bane." "Don't mention it."I growled as I started towards the door. "It's what I do."

Sighing deeply, I glanced down at the holopicture of an all-too-familiar face clutched in my gloved hand as I approached the front door of the Dogen-Kel Cantina. If there was anyone who knew something about Ahsoka's disappearance, it would be this man, and fortunately for me, Anakin had already contacted him about my arrival.

A meaty hand stopped my forward movement & snapped me out of my trance, drawing my attention to the 2 huge bouncers standing in the doorframe. "No one allowed in." the first man growled. "Come on, man, you can't squeeze in one more person?" "Sorry, bro. Place is packed. Wouldn't want to piss off the fire marshal, you know." the second man said. Subtly, I reached into my jacket & wrapped my fingers around the cold grip of the hidden blaster pistol sitting in my shoulder holster. I didn't want to kill these men, but I might have to if they kept interfering...

"It's alright, fellas. He's with me." a deep, male voice said from behind the 2 bouncers. I scowled as the guards parted & the owner of a voice, a tall, blonde, human in white body armor, appeared in the gap between them. "Hello, Cad," Captain Rex said, "I'm sure you're not any happier about this than I am, so why don't you come inside & ask me what you need to ask?" "Sounds good," I muttered, reluctantly following him into the bar, "The sooner I'm out of here, the better."

"Barkeep! Another round over here!" Rex shouted as I took a seat opposite him in a small booth. "I assume this is about Ahsoka's disappearance." he continued as a waitress sat down 2 glasses full of red liquid on the table. Eyeing my cup with disdain, I nodded & asked, "What all do you know?" Shrugging, he took a swig & replied, "Not much. Apparently, she disappeared almost as soon as she arrived. Now I'm not sure what exactly happened to her, but rumor has it that either the Hutts or the Banking Clan took her & are keeping her somewhere. There's an old warehouse on the other side of town that the Hutts used to stash smuggled weapons & spices. If you're gonna start looking somewhere, I'd go there." "Thanks for the info. And the drink." I said, sliding out of the booth.

"Not so fast." Rex called, downing the last of his glass's contents with a quick gulp. "You're not the only one with questions. I know the hard feelings between you & General Skywalker have eased a bit since you quit bounty hunting, but I still think there's an ulterior reason to you taking this case." "I know what you're thinking, and you're sorely mistaken." I growled. "She's with you now." "You're mistaken too," he snapped, "She's not mine anymore. I found someone else a long time ago. Bet you're glad to hear that, huh?" "Please." I scoffed. "I still care for Ahsoka, but anything between us is ancient history." "I see." Rex said, settling back into his seat. "Better get moving, then. Clock's ticking."

I didn't trust Rex. I had expected some hard feelings towards me, but his speech was much too angry & dodgy for just the usual poorly suppressed jealousy. The more I thought about it, the more I suspected him, but for the time being, I didn't have much choice but to check out his tip.

15 minutes later, I drew my pistol as I slid open the warehouse's heavy door & cautiously surveyed the pitch-black room. Slinking forward through the darkness, I grinned as I stepped into a long, narrow hallway, 3 doors on the left. "Let's see what's behind door number 1..." I muttered softly, rearing back & shoulder-checking the door. As I stormed into the dimly-lit room, I dropped my gun & rushed over to one of several unconcious young women of varying species tethered to the walls by lengths of chain running to cuffs on their wrists & collars on their necks.

"Who did this to you?!" I whispered urgently, shaking the girl gently in an attempt to wake her. "G...Get out of here...He's still here...Still here..." she murmured softly. Swiveling towards the door, I watched with horror as a shadowy figure raised my dropped weapon & fired a shot straight through the wan, yellow lightbulb, plunging the room into darkness. I sank to the ground beside the girl & activated my comlink as the door's lock clicked. "It's me," I whispered, "I'm in something of a pickle & could use some help." The loud scraping of metal on metal filled my ears until it stopped in front of the door. My mystery assailant must've blocked the door from the outside. "Come immediately. I'm at the warehouse."

2 seemingly endless hours later, I shielded my eyes as the door & its barricade fell in two pieces & a bright blue glow filled the dark room. "It's about damn time." I growled, pushing myself to my feet & walking towards the doorway. "You really have no right to be complaining," Plo Koon replied as he walked over to one of the girls & placed 2 fingers to her neck, "You weren't very specific about which warehouse you were in. I've been searching them one by one for 2 hours." "I already gave them basic medical attention." I said. "Except for the initial struggle against their kidnapper, there seems to be no physical damage. They should all be just fine." "I suppose I should thank you, Bane," the Kel Dor replied, "You saved these young women from a life of slavery. But at the same time, I must warn you-stay away from this case. We'll find Ahsoka, but let the Republic handle it." "My faith in the Republic is somewhat shot." I growled, following the Jedi Master out of the enclosure as a dozen clone troopers stormed in. "And why do you say that?" he inquired. "Because the attacker who trapped me in there was wearing clone trooper armor."