Ch. 4

Rogue Shadow; three days later

As each day passed, Galen got more and angrier at himself for not finding Ahsoka. He followed all potential leads, hoping he might find a solid trail that would lead him to her, but they wound up being dead ends. Galen would actually check the Holo-Net for anything, hoping that Ahsoka may have gotten careless and revealed herself to the public. He also kept in touch with some of his contacts, hoping that they might reveal something, but apparently, Ahsoka was too smart to take jobs from major crime lords. As Galen went through ship logs of a nearby star system, hoping to find any information on the Twilight or Ahsoka, PROXY walked into the bridge.

"Master, General Skywalker is sending you a transmission from the Jedi Temple; he says it's urgent that you hear what he has to say." PROXY said, and Galen turned around in his chair and looked at his friend.

"Very well, put him through." Galen ordered, and in a flash static and light, PROXY turned into Anakin.

"Galen, it's good to see you again…" Anakin said, and Galen just nodded.

"Is this an emergency Skywalker? Or are you here for a friendly chat? Because I don't time for that latter." Galen said coldly, and Anakin just shook his head.

"No, I'm to tell you that the Twilight landed in the Temple hanger an hour ago…" Anakin said, and for a split second, Galen's hope sky-rocketed, thinking that Ahsoka may have returned home on her own. "…she wasn't in there; nothing about her location was there. All that was in there was a message she made before she sent the Twilight to the Temple. I…figured you might want to hear it." Anakin said, and Galen remained quiet for a minute before sighing.

"Fine…play it through on the Rogue Shadow's communication array." Galen said, and Anakin pressed a button from the Twilight, and a small hologram of Ahsoka appeared in front of Galen.

"Hello Master, if you're watching this message, than that means the Twilight successfully reached the Jedi Temple safely and intact. By now, you're probably thinking I'm in trouble because I left a message on this ship, sent the ship to you, and I'm not on it. Well, don't worry, I'm fine. I just needed a new ship…it was getting kind of cramp for me and Lena. Anyway, I figured you would like to know that I'm okay." The message said, and Galen just watched sadly as Ahsoka's hologram stood in front of him, silent. "Galen…if you're there…I can probably guess that you hate me for doing this to you, especially after what we did the night before I left. I'm…I'm sorry…I hated doing that to you, but…I just can't be a Jedi…not after the monstrous things I did as Dooku's apprentice. I'm hoping you can understand, but if you don't…well, I don't blame you for hating me. But Galen, remember…I will always love you. Snips, out." Ahsoka said, and the hologram disappeared, and Galen was on the brink of tears.

"Galen?" Anakin said, hoping to get a response from his friend.

"Thank you…for showing me this…Anakin. It probably won't help me, but still…it feels good…to hear her voice again." Galen said.

"Galen, can I ask you something? What did…you and Ahsoka do the night before she left?" Anakin asked, but Galen just smirked.

"Sorry master, but…I think the Rogue Shadow is about to be hit by a meteor shower, communications are about to drop!" Galen said.

"Galen, don't pull that on me…" Anakin started, but Galen spoke up.

"PROXY, cut transmission." Galen ordered, and Anakin sent one final shout of protest before PROXY cut off his internal communication array, and Anakin disappeared.

"Master, why did you tell the general that we are entering a meteor shower? My scanners are picking up no such threats." PROXY said, and Galen shrugged.

"My mistake." Galen said, and he started to stare at Ahsoka's holographic image, just admiring her, when he noticed something in the back ground; the stars in the night sky around about Ahsoka in the message, he recognized them; she was in the Mantell system, if not Ord Mantell itself. "PROXY, set a course for Ord Mantell, I think I may have found a lead to Ahsoka." Galen said, and PROXY put in the coordinates and the Rogue Shadow entered hyperspace.

Ord Mantell; a day later

When the Rogue Shadow exited hyperspace, Galen took controls of the ship and began going as fast as he could towards the planets surface. While he was flying, he just barely avoided a collision with a Corellian YT-1400 freighter, which was also in a hurry. Galen then landed at a nearby cantina hanger, and walked in, hoping to find a lead, since he didn't sense Ahsoka's presence. After taking a seat at the bar, he ordered a drink, and the bartender gave him a glass.

"What do you want?" The bartender asked.

"Corellian Ale and information." Galen said.

"Hmph…a lot of people want information these days." The bartender said as he poured the drink into the glass.

"What do you mean by that?" Galen asked, waving his hand to use a mind trick.

"Well…there was a…Togruta in here a few days ago…wanted information on a…smuggling job. Seemed kind of young though…for a smuggler…cute too." The bartender said, and Galen knew he was talking about Ahsoka.

"Where'd she go?" Galen asked.

"She went to find some biker gang about a spice run. Why? You another bounty hunter?" The bartender asked.

"What do you mean 'other bounty hunter'?" Galen asked, using the mind trick again.

"Well, when she got here, three bounty hunters tried to collect the price on her head, bunch of rookies from what I could tell; she killed all three of them, fastest quick draw I've ever scene. A couple of days ago, a Duros bounty hunter came in looking for her, looked way more serious." The bartender said.

"What did you tell him? What does he look like?" Galen asked.

"He left a couple of hours ago…went to get more information I guess…as far as what he looks like…like I said, he was a Duros, heavily equipped, blasters, armor, flamethrower…and a cool hat." The bartender said, and Galen growled.

"Bane…where'd he go?" Galen asked, when suddenly, the other patrons pulled out blasters and aimed them at Galen.

"The bounty hunter said he'd pay us a handsome sum to kill any that is going after him or his prey." The bartender said, and Galen just sighed. He then pulled his lightsaber to his hand with the Force, activated it, and jumped over bar counter and Force the bartender into a counter and ducked from the incoming blaster fire. Once the shooting stopped, Galen ran from behind the counter and began slicing through his attackers, too fast for most of them to avoid the lightsaber blade and Force attacks Galen used on them. As he blocked blaster fire from his attackers on one side, he killed some with Force lightning on the other. As the patrons kept on shoot, Galen was getting angrier and angrier, because they were slowing down his search for Ahsoka. After over ten minutes of blocking and slashing, a blaster bolt grazed Galen's arm and burned it, making him even angrier and unlocked a Sith power he hadn't used in years; Force Rage. Now even more powerful than ever, Galen decided to show no mercy and end the fight by unleashing a Force Repulse, so he jumped in air, had a large amount of Force energy surround him, and then released it in a giant burst, causing the Repulse. However, it wasn't a normal Repulse; any that were caught in the blast were turned into smoldering ash, all others were killed by being knocked into walls. With the fight over, Galen calmed down and locked at what he did, but was unaffected at all. He walked over to the counter and saw that the bartender was still alive, so he raised the man with the Force, and began choking him.

"Where is the Togruta going?" Galen asked coldly, and the man struggled for breath.

"She…she went to…Rhen Var…that's where the swoop gang leaders plan their operations…that's all I know…I swear!" The bartender said, and Galen sensed the truth in him, but he was tempted to kill the man anyway, but after spending a few seconds considering it, he dropped the bartender.

"Where's the bounty hunter that's looking for her?" Galen asked, and as the man gasped for breath, he pointed towards a back exit.

"He's…at the refueling station…he might still be there." The man said, and Galen turned around and left.

Ord Mantell Refueling Station; fifteen minutes later

When Galen reached the refueling station, it didn't take him long to find Bane, who was leaning against his ship, waiting for his ship to finish being refueled, when the bounty hunter looked up and saw Galen.

"A Jedi…wasn't expecting to find you on a backwater like this." Bane said, but Galen didn't have time for pointless talking.

"I know why you're here Bane; you're looking for a former Jedi, the Jedi you sold to the crime lord to be slave!" Galen said, and he reached out with the Force and lifted Bane in the air. "I'm surprised you don't recognize me!" Galen said, and Bane looked at Galen, and it didn't take him long to realize who he was dealing with.

"You…" Bane simply said, and Galen rammed Bane into his own ship, causing Bane to groan in pain.

"I know you're hunting her for that scumbag, Dooku, and I want to know…WHERE IS SHE!" Galen yelled, and he brought Bane closer to him and began choking the bounty hunter.

"You think you can scare me, Jedi?" Bane said, and Galen tightened his Force Grip around Bane's neck.

"I am not a Jedi…" Galen said, and Galen through Bane onto the ground, and kicked him in the face.

"Even so…I'm not going to tell you what I know…" Bane said, and Galen lifted Bane's ship with the Force, and placed it on top of Bane, not enough to kill him, but enough to keep Bane from moving.

"You sure you don't want to tell me?" Galen asked again, and Bane tried to struggle to get out from under the ship, but Galen put more pressure on him. Quickly losing his patience, Galen used one of his darker powers, which put disturbing images in Bane's head, and the bounty hunter began groaning, which continued for several minutes.

"Stop! Stop! I'll tell you where she is! Just stop with those images!" Bane said, and Galen smiled. "She's…on her way to Rhen Var…she was given a job off by a swoop gang, to smuggle some spice. That's all I know…" Bane said, and Galen, that Bane was telling the truth, lifted the ship off of him, and put it back on the ground and began to walk away. Bane then gave a quick sigh of relief, believing that he was safe, but Galen turned around suddenly, and Force Pushed the ship into Bane, and the two were sent flying into the refueling depot, and both the fighter and the depot exploded, with Bane right in the middle of it. Galen turned around after admiring his work, and made his way back to the Rogue Shadow, finally having a solid lead on Ahsoka's location.

Rogue Shadow

"Ah master, I take it you are successful?" PROXY asked as Galen walked up the ramp into the ship.

"Yes, finally…plot a course for Rhen Var…we finally have a solid lead on Ahsoka's location." Galen said.

"Master, if I may…what do you plan on doing to Miss Tano when you finally find her?" PROXY asked.

"I…don't know, PROXY… I'm going to my room. Let me know when we arrive at Rhen Var." Galen ordered, and he went to his bedroom and locked the door.