CHAPTER 15: Truth or Lies

Coutless red warning lights blinked on and off continuously all around the dashboard and various control panels. Okha looked at the myriad of them as a sense of she dread sinked in. The Raven was falling apart as it sped through hyperspace toward Takodana. Her long-time home and sanctuary. Okha slowly unbuckles her helmet and places it on the dashboard. She turns it, and admires a dent she hadn't noticed before. Her thoughts dwelled on her flashback she had earlier with her mentor, “just like yours”, she quietly said to herself. The blue light from tunneling through hyperspace reflects off her face, a face that shows no emotion. Her only consolation was that the threats from the female Mandalorian attacker, Arla, were empty. That the little girl that had an immeasurable hold on her heart, Moon, was safe at home playing with Tac in the garden.

After taking heavy damage upon leaving Kamino, the Raven’s hull was compromised and continued to rattle. Furthermore, the hyperdrive intercooler was bypassed. Overheating is not a question of if, but when.

It was more than obvious that their visit to Kamino did not go at all as planned. However, that was not what was bothering Okha. What bothered her the most was that their captive Duro, Eeloh Ssaah might have known or was responsible for the attack. That question he posed to her as she sped through to the cockpit kept playing in her mind:
“...so, how did you like your little visit to Kamino?...not quite what you were expecting, huh?”

Why would he pose it in such a taunting fashion? She thought.

Okha gets up from the pilot’s chair and worked her way through the shuttering vessel’s hallway. Pensive, angry, she makes her way to the cargo hold where the prisoner lay.

“What did you mean by, not quite what you were expecting?”

He laughed, “Well, Kamino is not the most scenic of worlds…”
“This ship is falling apart! Answer truthfully, and I might help you survive. Stall or answer like the lying Bantha crap that you are, and I will leave you here to go down with with the ship… do you understand?”

Eeloh didn’t like making many expressions, but it was clear that he sobered up with the matter at hand. Eeloh nodded, “I see. However, I don’t think you do.” Okha took a few steps toward the prisoner and tried to maintain balance as the ship continued to shake and rattle. Eeloh continued, “ I don’t think you see a single thing of what is happening.” He got up and got as close to her as he could without the shackles tugging. They were almost face to face. Eeloh looked straight at her within inches of her, “we are all pieces in their Dejarik game. I am surprised you didn’t know better than to bring me to your home. Bring me to your ship. Lug me around. I guess they knew you better.”
Okha’s heart sank, “You had a tracker…?”
“What’s even more surprising, is that your man didn’t know any better.”
“HE IS NOT MY MAN.”
“Oh… I guess you don’t see that either… or… should I say, remember…”
“What are you talking about?”
“Afterall, it was your choice. It is what you wanted.”
“Stop talking like I am supposed to know something…” He assertively interrupted, “All because you couldn’t live with yourself.”
Okha was caught off guard. She was tempted to respond in kind and interrupt even louder, but decided to stay silent.
He continued at a lower, slower pace, “The only option was for you to forget. Forget what you did. To all of them. Forget what you did... to her.”
Okha’s face remained stone-cold, “What did I do… to her?”

“You abandoned her. You were so keen on obtaining your own freighter. Avenging your family. You gave her away.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The war. The need for clones. It never truly ended. However, it needed to shift. The advantage of gender was explored only by those with a true open mind.”
“Female Clonetrooper army? What’s the big deal about that?”
“Bigger than you know. You were... different. You were the only one capable of bearing children. Originally, you and your sisters were designed to be barren. But, there was something different about you. They either missed it, or made you that way… “

“So, I am a clone. It explains why Kamino felt so familiar. But I wasn't raised there. There must be another place. My sisters, they must be there.”

Eeloh began to show a hint of a smile, “see? Do you understand now?”
“No, I do not. Although I can now assume my memories of my family were forged. But, Moon is very real. I would never abandon…”
“Your child? Well, it looked like you had your priorities. It doesn’t matter what you THINK you feel for her, you are not capable of loving her.”
Okha’s eyes began to water, “what about the father?”
Eeloh’s smile widened, “oh, you know who it is. You forced him to make you forget it all, so that you could live with yourself for giving her up.”

Suddenly, the ship dropped out of hyperspace. As it approached the planet’s atmosphere, the hull could be felt rattling uncontrollably. Alarms began to wail once more.
Okha remained calm staring at Eeloh Ssah, trying to hold back her tears.
Several of the ship’s panels could be felt rattling loose. A few dropped off, as the computer’s alarms confirmed:

HULL BREACH… HULL BREACH...

Eeloh began to show a level of nervousness, “So, are we getting out?” Keeping her balance despite the ship’s instability, Okha continued to stare in silence.
The nervousness turned to urgency, “We need to leave… NOW!… I… I told you everything I know.”
“But you lied…” “I DID NOT LIE!!!”
“I WOULD NEVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT!” Okha took a deep breath to calm herself, and continued, “Not someone so small and innocent…”
“That is because you don’t know WHO YOU ARE, ARLA!!”
The silence was deafening. She wanted nothing more than to strangle the truth out of him. However, if he was telling the truth, there were other throats to strangle.
Suddenly, the Raven began to shake violently. A large piece of the ship’s hull broke loose and the ship began to lose pressure.
HULL BREACH… HULL BREACH…
“You are lying. And I do not believe you can assess what I am capable of.”
Okha did an about-face and ran to the cockpit, grabbed her helmet and strapped it on. Alarms and lights continued to blare. She made sure the ship was still inroute to the mountains where her home resided, and headed back to the cargo area.
Eeloh’s face showed a sign of relief, “I thought… I thought you were going to leave me…”
Okha reached into one of her belt pouches and produced what looked like a key.
“Here”, she threw it onto the ground several feet from the chained prisoner. She pointed at the wall behind her, “There is a spare  descent pack right behind that panel”, she closed the pouch on her belt, and proceeded out the cargo bay without looking back, “Happy Landings…”
With the rattling and ship's loss of stability, the key began hopping and sliding all around the cargo bay. Eeloh chased the key, trying to keep balance himself.
“ARLA!!”
Okha continued out the cargo area and headed to the main ramp. Despite the loss of air pressure and turbulent winds, she could still hear Eeloh’s screems as she opened the ramp.
“ARLAAAAA!!!! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!”
“AAAARLAAAAA!!!!”
Without hesitation, Okha jumped and ignited her rocket pack.
Smoke from the ship made it difficult to see the pieces of debris scattering all around.
One such piece found its way to her rocket pack.
BAM!!!
Inside her helmet, alerts began blaring. Suddenly, her controlled descent became a free-fall.

CHAPTER 14: FLASHBACK

It was a beautiful morning on Takodana. The sunlight pierced through the trees. The sounds of flurrgs can be heard croaking and convors chirping in the distance. The only other sound was that of armor hitting at high impacts.

Within the secluded trees, two mandalorian-clad warriors stood their ground in an attack stance. One male and the other female. The female Mandalorian warrior was known as Okha Zaan, the Huntress of Mandalore. Her armor looked relatively new. A few scratches, and dings. For as long as she could remember, Teräs-Kasi was a hand-to-hand combat skill Okha wanted to perfect. Her opponent/mentor, wore a heavily worn armor that had seen plenty of combat. The outermost green gave way to an undercoating of yellow, and bare metal. The red accents around the visor had also seen a fair share of action, as bare metal was clearly visible revealing a directional impacts.

BAM!!!
Another blocked hit. Okha took a deep breath as she planned her next move. She drove her right gauntlet into his ribcage right behind the area the armor ends.
CRACK!!
Not enough for a knock-down, but will definitely slow him down.

“Must you be so predictable...”, her mentor said in a taunting fashion.

In that moment, something clicked inside Okha’s mind. She was holding back. She knew she wanted to knock him down, and finally win a fight. But she had to change it up. She needed to deliver a knock-out blow. One that would be considered fatal. Within a mere second, and before her opponent could say the next set of words, she revs up her jetpack and springs upward with a force she alone would never be capable of. She target’s her opponent's head and delivers a blow to the leftmost forehead with a sound that will never be forgotten.

BLAMMM!!!

The impact was so hard, the sound rattled all the surrounding convors in the trees and took flight. Her opponent's head reels back, and his entire body follows. Losing his balance and bearings, he breaks his fall with his hands, rolls on the ground and tries to sit up. She can hear his moaning and grumbling under the helmet.
Okha removed her helmet, and triumphantly cradled it with her left arm, “How’s that for predictable…?”
Her defeated mentor got to his knees. Shaking his head slowly, he begins to unbuckle his helmet and regains his footing. “Better, much better”, he heavily breathed the words as he removed the helmet and looked straight into Okha's eyes, “one day, you will not be able to afford holding back. One day, you will not be able to allow emotions to dictate the next move.”
Okha knew he had noticed. She had cracked his ribs countless times, for her it was a victory, but her opponent was never really defeated. After all those sparring matches, he finally removed his helmet. She saw his face. But it was short lived, as he proceeded to look at his helmet, admire the new dent, and proceeded to put it back on.

Okha had a feeling that this would be the last time they would meet. Unable to express her sadness, she looked down at the ground and tried to focus on the gratitude she felt. “Look, I want to thank you for all the times you’ve met with me. All the times you’ve instructed me and allowed to spar and improve my fighting style.”
Suddenly, she felt the touch of his gloves softly lifting her chin. She allowed him to gently lift her head.
He lightly shook his head, “No. Do not thank me. It is I who needs to thank you. For it is you who has taught me.”
Okha could not believe what she just heard. She felt that there was nothing she could’ve offered or provided to be worthy of such praise.

“Now that I have something to always remember you by, so should you.” Her mentor reached into a satchel he had always brought with him. Okha did not even recognize what they were at first. Gleaming in the sunlight, each hand held a purely reflective silver Westar-34 pistol. He hadn't spoken much of his past. However, she was certain that they belonged to someone that was near and dear to him.

Okha was at a loss for words. She kept staring at the gift in awe.
Just as he took a step back, he assured her, “I wouldn't entrust these to just anyone.”
She knew in her heart of hearts that this was the last time they would spar, but she didn't want it to be goodbye. There was a connection between them she could not explain. “How will I ever find you again?”
“You might not.” Okha's face gave away her confusion and concern. He continued, “I have word on an Imperial matter. I'm sure you heard about their station.” Okha’s voice showed excitement, “yes, that it was an inside job! That's great news, I'm sure there's a lot of credits! Please let me know if there's an Imperial matter I could offer services for. I'll never be able to afford my own freighter and crew with the little jobs I land at Maz's.” He somewhat interrupted Okha's thoughts, “The Empire isn't everything you'd want it to be. I know you have dreams of having your own crew and one day avenging your family and the untimely death if your brother, but you might want to rethink your strategy.” Okha was taken back. She had confided in him childhood memories that were traumatic and dreams of creating a crew to potentially find those responsible. Not to make small talk, but because she thought he might have actually cared. She never thought to have such things used against her. She felt betrayed as her eyes began to well up, “strategy? You think everything I do is part of a strategy ?”
“Okha, I can be reckless. You cannot. You may not understand this, but you are more important than you know.” Okha's face read a new level of confusion with tears beginning to pool in her eyes. “Become who you are meant to be. But please... take care of yourself.” He gently held her hands that were still holding the Westar-34  pistols, ”Like I said, I wouldn't give these to just anyone.”
With that, he turned away, picked up his satchel and headed back to his ship.
Okha tried to get his attention, “you know I will need to find you one day.”
He continued to walk away without hesitation. She resisted the urge to chase after him, and projected her voice as the distance between them increased, “how can I find you?!”
He kept walking and did not break his stride, “Maz will know. Tell her, Boba Fett needs me.”

CHAPTER 13: HOME

The once hidden lab in the Kamino facility was now easily found with all the chaos. Okha had managed to best an unusually large super-battle droid, and take down one of her attacker’s henchmen. However, over another half a dozen attackers had just bolted into the lab. Surrounded, and nowhere to go. Alone, and no one on her side. Driven, by her courage and an urgency to get home to a little girl she found herself caring for so much. A little girl that called herself Moon.

Will she still be there?
Will she be OK?

After the threats from the so called Arla, all she could think of was getting to Moon and hold her in her arms. At the same time, Okha’s mind was trying to assimilate everything she had just experienced. Arla, the unknown Mandalorian-clad female, knew what she was looking for. She was ready to attack and take what she needed by force. Somehow, she also knew where to find it, and that they would be there.
To add fuel to the fire, she identified herself as sharing that name: Arla. A name she had never heard before.
The worst part, she knew of Moon. Where she was, and her potential.

How is this possible?
How did this come to be?

Okha repeatedly asked herself as she scanned the room to count ten attackers surrounding her. As each of them readied a weapon, the so-called Arla calmly walked  towards the Lab’s door with the portable droid in hand. That droid was containing all the data Dudeel had mustered from the facility’s mainframe. Every plan, every location, every test and whereabouts regarding the ultra-classified female clone army. As the attackers closed in, Okha found her helmet under a desk. It would be impossible for her to run to it in time before the nearest attacker would intercept.
Accepting death again as a possible outcome, Okha closed her eyes and tried to reach out to Moon. She felt nothing.

Suddenly, a panel on the side of the room blew open.
BOOOM!!
Emmaneld bursted out firing blasters at every possible attacker.
Reluctantly, the one now known as Arla, turned to spectate. She did not even flinch. Any stray hit on the female Mandalorian armor bounced right off.
Emmaneld could only manage to take down three of the attackers before the others got in close range. He quickly holstered the blaster and grabbed one of the melee weapons that were dropped and ignited the energy blades.

Okha had made the best of the opportunity, as she ran and grabbed her helmet. Getting home was everything to her. Nothing else mattered. Everyone else was just in the way. The data might have been important, but was not a priority to her. Okha ran towards the lab door only to find three attackers gang up. Each had melee weapons with energy blades. Okha drew her Westar-34 pistols, but one of the attackers quickly disarmed her by sweeping his blade right through them. Okha gasped as her heart sank. Not because her weapons were neutralized, but because of their significance. The pistols were entrusted to her by an old mentor. Someone who saw in her more than she ever did. In that instant, Okha experienced a flashback into that moment they were first given to her.

Boba.
Boba, you would be so disappointed in me.
She thought to herself as her eyes filled with tears.

Without any delay, Okha returned her focus to the matter at hand. She let go of what remained of the pistols and ignited her miniature flame projector. The closest attacker was engulfed in flames. Yelling and screaming, the attacker found himself at the other end of Emmaneld’s weapon. The others surrounding Okha took various steps back. This was her chance, and she knew it. The opening was almost large enough to get to the door. However, the remaining two attackers did not want to back out from the fight.

Emmaneld chimed in, “I got this, just go. I’ll hitch a ride with Dudeel.”

Okha did not like backing out of a fight, but did not hesitate in this case as she ran toward the door. A quick look around the corridor, and Okha noticed that Arla was nowhere to be seen. Although she was disappointed, the urgency to get home took over as Okha ran through the corridors straight to the landing pad where she left her ship, the Raven.

Home. I need to get home!

Suddenly, around the corner, two of those unusually large super battle droids came into view. With no time to spare, Okha ignited her rocket pack and took to flight. The two droids armed their blasters, and began to fire. She sped right through them.

Okha arrived at the landing platform, and bolted to her cloaked ship. The only visible part was the cargo ramp. However, the falling rain drops gave away most of the ship’s silhouette.
“Wait, where is Dudeel’s ship? “ Okha wondered to herself. They shared the landing pad, but it was nowhere to be seen. Looking around for a moment, she then decided not to waste time and continue to the Raven’s cockpit.
As she ran through the cargo hold area, she could hear her imprisoned Duro prisoner, Eeloh Ssaah in a taunting tone, “so, how did you like your little visit to Kamino?” His snickering face could almost be seen through the narrow slot on the cargo area door. He continued in a taunting fashion, “not quite what you were expecting, huh?” Okha tried to ignore him. However, what he had just said could not be ignored.

Wait… does he know?
What if he managed to relay information to those attackers?

In any case, she knew she would have to deal with him swiftly. And, it would have to wait. The urgency of getting home to Moon was all that mattered.

Running into the cockpit, she got all her systems up and running as fast as she could. Just as she began to take off, the Raven received a heavy laser blast that shook the entire ship.
BOOOOOM!!!
“WHAT?!?”
An unmarked vessel, circling around began unleashing weapons fire onto the Raven.
“NO!!!” Okha yelled.
“I don’t have time for this!!”
Okha knew she didn’t have anyone to man her turrets. Her only chance was to continue the lift off procedures and make the jump to hyperspace.
BOOOM!!!
As Okha reeled back from the impact, “I’ll just have to ram you!” as she set for a collision course with the unmarked vessel.

Suddenly, another ship emerged and began to draw its fire.
“Is… Is that…?”
“Dudeel!” Okha screamed in happiness, and paused.
“Dudeel?”, Confused, Okha realized their tiny know-it-all was not much for arming his ship. Nor getting into high-speed maneuvers.  However, she’s glad he was proving her wrong.

Over the comms channel, Dudeel’s broken-up voice could be heard, “Go!! Get out of here! I’m waiting for Emmaneld…” Again, Okha seemed confused. Dudeel was not the one to care for anyone. Dudeel’s voice continued, “... he’s got my coveted high-powered blaster from Terrilia.”

Okha shook her head and broke a smile, “Thank you! Thank you, Dudeel!”

“NOW, GO!!!”

Okha proceeded to do something she never did as a bounty hunter: she punched in the coordinates straight to her home on Takodana. There was no time for the random jump sequence. Nor was she sure the ship would survive all this punishment. Once completed, she ignited the hyperdrive, “Let’s go Raven!!”
The hyperdrive engine rev’d.
Sputtered, then whined.
Nothing.

Looking through the flashing dashboard, Okha quickly realized the intercooler was not doing its job. Bypassing it would mean overheating the hyperdrive and probably losing the ship. Perhaps it would arrive. Perhaps it would not.
She quickly tore open a panel, switched the bypass as a few more hits from the unmarked vessel found their way onto the Raven’s hull.
More red lights and alarms began blaring through the vessel.
Suddenly, smoke and fire could be seen on the exterior.

“DAMN YOU FORCE!!” Okha slammed her fists onto the dashboard.
“If there ever was a time to be with me… BE WITH ME NOW!!!”
She knew the ship had sustained a large amount of damage. She knew her options were limited. Her faith in the force was laughable. However, after what she had experienced earlier today, she was ready to believe.
Dudeel’s voice came through once again, “What are you waiting for?!?!?”

“Force… if you are real… be with me now - or NEVER Bother me again!”

Dudeel’s voice came through the comms yet again, “Okhaaa….?!”
She turned off the comms. Reached for the hyperdrive, “Moon, I am coming home!”
The engine wailed and the entire ship shook like never before. Okha closed her eyes, as her thoughts dwelled on Moon and how much she needed to see her, one last time.
The unmarked vessel outmaneuvered Dudeel’s ship and had a clean shot at the sputtering Raven. In an instant, two large homing missiles were released. Dudeel’s eyes widened, “Okha!!! Get Out of There!!!” Just as the missiles were about to contact the hull, the Raven bolted out of sight.

Okha slowly opened her eyes to realize they had entered hyperspace and were inroute.
The ship continued to shake and sputter. She manually silenced the alarms that continued to blare. Although she could not see the ship’s exterior, she was certain parts of the hull were coming loose.

Perhaps this was a good opportunity to visit her Duro prisoner, Eeloh Ssaah.

CHAPTER 12: A WAY OUT

Black smoke, debris and dust everywhere. Much of the dust and debris had found itself on Okha’s face, hair and mouth. After the blast, Okha found herself face-down on the ground with her eyes burning. Suddenly, she found herself coughing and trying to clear her lungs of whatever she had inhaled. As her ears continued ringing from the sudden explosive blast, she managed to get herself up to her knees. A quick look of the surroundings revealed that the blast had transformed the magnetically sealed door into fragments and sent everything in the lab into disarray. A moment after the explosion, a large droid, reminiscent of Tac - but far larger, had entered the room, drew its built-in weapon on her and remained still.

Right behind the enormous droid, the silhouette of a humanoid could be seen through the smoke. It entered the room as graciously as it could, avoiding stepping on debris and parts of the door mechanism scattered about. The figure stood right beside the giant droid and looked around without a sound. As the smoke began to clear, it was evident that the figure was also wearing mandalorian armor. The flight suit was a deep, deep purple. Most of the armor was a polished silver that reflected its surroundings like a mirror. Alongside the unknown mandalorian, there were two other dark figures flanking her. Soon after, two more figures approached the room and maintained watch just outside.

The Mandalorian-clad figure took a few steps, stopped and signaled toward her. The droid disarmed the built-in weapon in its right arm, and began to walk towards Okha.

Ignoring the pain, and gathering some thoughts from the entire experience, Okha got to her feet as quickly as she could. Covering her nose and mouth, she continued to cough as she tried looking around the room for her helmet and locate the weapons Emmaneld and her had brought back from the armory. The shockwave had sent everything in different directions across the room. As she turned her head back to her would-be attackers, the gigantic droid was already over her - ready to place his left hand around her neck. Okha tried to jolt back, but it was too late. The hulking droid’s cold steel claw worked its way between her clavicles and the tender areas just below the base of her skull. The droid’s servos hummed as it began to lift her entire body off the ground.
Instantly, Okha placed her feet against the droid’s chest and pushed away. Nothing. She even ignited her jetpack for a long, strong burst. The droid did not budge. If anything, it allowed the claw to dig deeper into clavicle, one snapped. Ignoring the pain of the fracture, Okha pointed her flame projector at its head.
Whoooooosh
The droid’s head was engulfed in flames. Yet, it did nothing, nor did it move.

“There is no point to persist”, a strong, yet feminine voice projected from the mysterious mandalorian-clad attacker. “Go ahead, try your mini-concussion rocket. It may hurt you more than him…”
Okha gasped and struggled to keep air going through her windpipe. “Whaaa… ttt..”
“Oh, what’s that? Yes, he is made entirely of pure mandalorian steel. The REAL mandalorian steel, that that cheap imitation foil you have on”, she said with a chuckle.

Okha continued to gasp, as her face began to turn purple. “Whooo… ggg…”

“Oh, what’s that?... Who am I?...” She paused and chuckled to herself. Okha could imagine a large grin under that helmet, with an array of teeth she would love to paint red with its own blood.
“My poor, poor little girl. Can’t you tell?”, she motioned her hands to her chest. With her fingers gently curled inward toward her breast plate, she let them fall across her navel and caress her hips. At the end of her gesture, she allowed her palms to face outward and flared her fingers outward,  “I am no one.”
Keeping her hands and fingers flared out, she began to take steps toward her. Okha continued to gasp for air. She came to within an arm’s reach of Okha, and continued, “but, to you: I am your worst nightmare.”
She proceeded to the workstation, undocked Dudeel's portable Droid and shook her head. “Tisk tisk, working so hard for someone else to take the credit. Didn't you learn anything from being a supposed bounty hunter?” A mocking laughter ensued.
Suddenly, she stopped, “oh, oh my, how rude of me! I really haven't answered your question, my child.” Making fists with her hands and placing them on her hips, she shifted her weight to her left. Slowly, she cocked her head in the same direction, and continued in a very slow, mocking tone, “next time you look in the mirror, and see your failures - the failures you should have not allowed.” She proceeded to motion her fingers from the top left of her helmet to the bottom right. “Then, and only then, you will know who I am.”
Okha knew she was mocking that scar on her face. She had experienced enough.
Okha points her mini-concussion rocket at the unknown mandalorian female and fires.
In an instant, she dodges it. The rocket continues toward one of her henchmen and explodes.
Laughter. Nothing but laughter from her attacker, despite the loss of one of her men.
Once her laughter ended, she continued, “that’s right, perfection. Perfection, my child. I am that which you’ve tried to obtain your entire life. And now, you probably despise.” She paused, took a look at the portable Droid in her hand, “which reminds me, now I have everything.  Everything: perfection, power and now, your life… yes, your life...  time to end it.”

Without warning the droid tossed Okha across the room like a ragdoll.
BAM!
THUD
Knocking whatever little air was left in her lungs, Okha coughed and tried to breathe through her bruised windpipe.
“Before you die, you might want to know my name. Oh - but you SHOULD know it already!… after all, it is only the name of your TRUE self.”
Okha could not believe what she was hearing, and almost did not care. At first, her thoughts focussed on survival, breathing and finding a way out. She managed to locate the scattered weapons Emmaneld and her had brought in earlier. However, her helmet was still nowhere to bee seen. As the huge droid’s steps began to feel closer, her thoughts shifted. Death. If death was a possibility, her only desire was to see Moon one last time. An unexpected yearning to hold her in her arms and tell her how much she loved her bagan to take over her entire mind.
Boom
Boom
The Droid's steps closed in.
Okha’s thoughts did not deviate from Moon. If anything, they became stronger.  Suddenly, she could hear her screaming, “Okha!!!...”
What?!... How can this be ? Am I remembering?
Not too unlike her first encounter with Moon, she could hear her calling her name.
“OKHA!!! OKHA ZAAAAN!!!
Although light years away, it was as if she was in the same room with her. In a moment of clarity, she accepted the possible mental connection.
Is she in trouble? Or… does she know that I am in trouble? Okha thought.
The hulking droid’s footsteps continued to rattle the ground as it got even closer. Her instincts would typically kick-in and react to the matter at hand. However, her thoughts remained with Moon. Her mind began to fill with feelings of longing, with an additional feeling Okha could not identify.
The thuds of the droid’s footsteps got closer and closer. Its left hand opened to reveal an array of powerful talons hidden within each of his four claws.

The mandalorian female spoke one more time before she turned her away as to leave the room, “Goodnight, my sweet Arla…”

As the droid leaned over with his left arm extended to reach for Okha's head, time slowed down to an almost stand-still. The feeling Okha could not identify was some sort of power - a power she had never experienced. Perhaps she has seen a glimpse of in Moon’s eyes. It was now within her - surging, raging.
How is this possible?!
Okha took a deep breath. She felt an overwhelming surge of strength and speed take over her entire being. Her thoughts and actions became one. In a fraction of a second, she reached for the droid’s wrist with her right hand and stopped it from further advancing. As Okha’s eyes looked up at the would-be attackers across the room. The droid’s servos could be heard squealing. The mandalorian attacker stopped just as she was about to exit the Lab, and turned her head. Her would-be guards were beside themselves, looking at each other, not knowing what to do next.

Moon, my funnel flower, is this you?

In an instant, Okha pummeled her left gauntlet into the droid’s hand, crushing it. In that instant, all the all the talons that were about to dig into her skull, dropped to the ground like useless scrap.

The Mandalorian figure continued to turn, faced Okha, and remained motionless.

Reeling back from what just happened, the droid readied his right-arm blaster. As it pointed the weapon at Okha, she took another deep breath, ignited her rocket pack for a short, yet powerful burst. Once again, she reached for that unbridled power. Okha made two fists and pointed them at the droid’s chest.
BOOOOM!!! The rocket pack ignited.
POW!!! The droid’s metal exterior gave way to its inner chassis and soared across the room.
KABAAAM!! The droid’s metal slammed onto the floor near the would-be attackers. Twisted, mangled and inoperative.

Okha felt that her connection with Moon began to fade. However, she refused to slow down. She took flight and grabbed a double-bladed melee weapon, one of several she had brought back from the armory. One of the Dark-clad attackers leapt at the opportunity to fight and confronted Okha with another staff-like weapon that was on the floor.
His armor was unlike any she had ever seen. The helmet was smooth and contained a grid of steel across the front, covering its face. The writings on the side of it was unique. Several parts of his shoulder armor had metal spikes that protruded anywhere from 6 to 10 inches. The chest plate contained symbols and insignias that did not resemble any known language. In a show of abilities, he began to twirl and spin the staff in every which way. He projected his voice and began chanting and screeching a war cry for the ages. Suddenly, the staff transformed to produce multiple blades at each end.
Okha remained calm holding the melee weapon in her left hand.
She took a deep breath, and within a split second, unholstered her right WESTAR-34 Pistol and took a shot between his eyes. The attacker fell to the ground with a thud. Motionless.

“Who’s next?!”

From behind the Lab’s door entrance, the remaining two henchmen that were standing guard, began to pace towards Okha. The Mandalorian female warrior raised her left hand, and the two immediately stopped.
“Impressive. Most impressive. But we both know that wasn't you, my dear.”
“What are you talking about?”
“By this point, she's probably fast asleep and can no longer help you… And, let's imagine that you do survive this, you are too late.”

Okha's heart sank. “What do you mean?!”

“There was no way I was going to let you have this much fun without having a babysitter for the little nuisance in your life.”
Okha's eyes widened. It was impossible for her to hide her sudden desperation. Her sudden urgent need to run back to the ship and head back home to check on Moon.
“You were sloppy Okha. Very sloppy.”
Within seconds, the room got overrun with dark-clad, armed soldiers.
“I have what I came for,” as she held up the portable Droid, “and now, I need to leave,darling.”
She turns as to leave, with a confidence that this time she was not turning back.

CHAPTER 11: THE ENEMY WITHIN

Kamino was a planet immersed in water and in an almost constant state of storming rains. The inhabitants were deemed expert cloners across the galaxy and throughout the ages. Their prominent cloning facility appeared to be completely abandoned. As Okha continued to walk through the hallways, at every turn, she found something that felt all too familiar.
Approaching a doorway, she noticed it was locked. She proceeded to try to hotwire it. After a few seconds, opened. Slowly, she took steps into the room. Once inside, she looked around and realized that it was a personal quarters. “Why do I know this place?” she softly asked herself. As she continued to look through the room, she found some clothing some pieces and articles that looked very familiar to her. Among them, she found a gauntlet of Mandalorian design.
Suddenly the door chime sounds that almost startled Okha. “It's only me”, announced Emaneld. Okha immediately put the items away. She noticed his confusion and awe of the location. Okha began to walk out of the room. “I can't believe this whole place looks completely abandoned. Although it seems like it could go operational right now if you turned the right knobs and push the right buttons.” Emaneld nodded in agreement, “I wish I understood what happened here. I suspect that after the Clone Wars, this facility was no longer needed. It does not seem like the Empire came and took it apart. However it does seem like it was further used for some other things. Emaneld took look around the quarters, “does this room look familiar to you too?” Okha paused in thought, “It does. And the familiarity is scaring me more than I'd like to admit. Even though I have no memories of it whatsoever.” Emaneld frowned, “how is that?” Okha closed her eyes and shook her head lightly, “It's like I've been here before.”
Emaneld remained quiet for a moment, looked around the room one last time, “Maybe we should go check on Dudeel  and see what he has found so far.” “Agreed”, she nodded as she followed Emaneld out of the room . Just as they began walking through the halls Okha experienced a vision, “Stop!” Emaneld stopped in confusion and looked at her. “Let's go this way”, she pointed down another hall to their left. Eventually, they found a very large room filled with several kinds of weapons, thermal detonators and melee weapons. Okha knew exactly where to go and where to get certain things. “Is this an armory?”, Asked Emaneld. Okha kept looking through the assortment. Grabbing a few blasters, thermal detonators and blades, she handed them over to Emaneld, “here take these.” He looked confused but did not say a word. Okha continued out of the room and back towards the lab where Dudeel was. Emaneld broke the silence, “I don't know too much about the Kaminoans, however my understanding is that they their ancestors used to help smugglers and spice traders survive long-distance space travel before there was hyperspace. I can't take the credit for the knowledge, I'm sure I heard Dudeel talk about it.” Okha looked confused, “How did cloning help them?”
“Well, in addition to cloning, they were able to generate memories.” Okha gave Emaneld another confused look. Emaneld continued, “it was a process. First, they would also try to preserve them through some form of induced hibernation. Second, the clones had all the memories required to complete the mission.” Oka continued to listen in disbelief as they proceeded towards the lab door where Dudeel was. Emaneld stopped walking and looked into Okha’s eyes, “in case the original host or captain did not survive the long trip, or the hibernation process, one of the clones would. All the clone would need was a simple command to trigger the memories.” Emaneld paused for effect, “Then, that clone would be the new captain and take over the mission.” Okha’s eyes widened as she frowned in both confusion and disbelief. “Well, here we are,” Emaneld pointed at the lab entrance.

As they entered the lab, Dudeel was in his element. He was retrieving all types of data and information, pictures and photos logs. Okha and Emmaneld put the weapons and armament they had collected on a desk nearby. Just as Okha placed her helmet next to the armory items, she experienced a sharp zing in her head. She closed her eyes and winced. She could almost hear Moon’s voice in her head. Almost the same as during the mission. However, this time, it was accompanied by pain in her head.
Why is she calling for me again?
 OKhaaaaa! OKHAAA!!!
The pain intensified.
Suddenly, Emaneld placed her hand on her shoulder, “everything OK?”
Okha gasped, opened her eyes and the pain suddenly stopped. She looked at Emaneld and looked around the room, “yes, I am fine.”
Emmaneld’s face showed a level of disbelief, but seemed to go with it. After a moment of regaining her thoughts, she approached Dudeel and casually asked, “found anything?” Dudeel looked over and smiled, “anything? This is a mega jackpot of information. I have never seen so much data before.” “Data on what?” “All kinds of experiments most of which were unsanctioned these are all experiments that were carried out by those who believed that there was a better way.” Emaneld interjected, “a better way?” “Well, there was the order by Syfo-Dias, and then there was extrapolated efforts in case the order failed. Plus there were other contingency plans... things I never would have believed possible.”
Okha and Emaneld looked at each other and both shared a feeling on concern and confusion.
Dudeel continued, “however the most interesting thing was the possible creation of an all-female clone army.” Again, Okha and Emaneld looked at eachother. Emaneld asked for clarification, “ you mean a clone army comprised of all female soldiers?” Dudeel replied with a smile, “absolutely! it was deemed here that female clones would be better in combat due to their ability to read the opponent's emotional state. They would be better to adapt to the circumstances and navigate the terrain better. However the order was clear that it would be all male clones.”
“Why?” Okha shrugged as she shook her head.
“It would appear they did not want there to be any emotional interference whatsoever. No distractions, or potential for any emotional entanglements with other soldiers. OR… the ability to have offspring of their own. Therefore the Kaminoans followed the order as it was asked.”
Okha’s head began pounding. Her thoughts kept racing. She placed her hands against her temples and shifted them toward her eyes, “why would any Kaminoans go rogue, they had a great scheme going. Why ruin it?”
Dudeel continued to sift through the data, “apparently, there were those who deemed necessary to look at other possibilities. Wage their own war perhaps?... Some of them actually took it further. If my interpretation of data is correct some of them went as far as to actually carry out experimental batches.” Okha chimed in, “where are they?” “It does not say. in fact nothing here confirms that they were actually done in this facility.”
Okha approached the screen, “if not here, where else?”. “Wait, there’s more, you are not going to believe this. There are some things here that are heavily encrypted. Based on what we can decipher, they hint at the possibility that…” Dudeel paused and looked at both Okha and Emaneld, “they were planning to create a force-sensitive clone army.” Okha’s eyes widened, “a force sensitive clone army? How is that even possible?” Emaneld chimed in, “ I believe these Kaminoans were capable of pretty much anything, I was explaining to Okha before that they were even capable of inserting memories.” Emaneld looked at Dudeel as he explained further, “I think in one of the conversations we had, I remember you saying that before hyperdrives, long-distance space travellers sought these cloners.” Dudeel finished the train of thought, “to make the trips by helping them preserve their bodies, maybe in carbonite.” With a slight pause, and a smirk Dudeel continued, “they created false memories for their clones in case one of the preservation methods failed in transit.”
Okha shook her head in confusion, “so, the clones also had memories implanted in them so that whichever one survived, that clone would have the ability to continue the mission and do whatever else needed to be done.” She paused for a second while shifting her attention between Dudeel and Emaneld, “even though the original captain might have perished?”
Dudeel nodded, ”that is correct.They became so good at it, they were known through the galaxy as the ones to go to for all long-distance travel, and cloning needs.” Dudeel paused for a minute, “however, once hyperdrives and faster than light became the norm, they were not sought out as much. They kept to themselves, perfected the art and waited.” Okha raised her brows, “waited for what?” “The right time.”
Suddenly, there was a large pounding sound. The floor and structure shook. Everyone looked at eachother and around the room. Okha ran to the door and locked it. “What was that?”, asked Dudeel with a noticeable amount of fear in his voice and face. “Not sure I want to know”, pointed out Emanled. “Okha?” “This door is now magnetically sealed. It sounds like they are coming this way.” “Not sure I want to know who they are, but if that is now sealed, is there another way out of this Lab?”
Okha tried to close her eyes and focus. The room did not seem as familiar to her as the other locations in the facility. She began to look around and search for hidden doors or air vents. “We cannot stay here. They will find us.” Dudeel jumped out of the station and began to follow Okha whichever way she went. “Did you get all the data?”, asked Emaneld. “No, but my portable droid did... “ Suddenly, Dudeel gasped, “OH NO! It is still interfacing with the data station!”
Suddenly a very large BOOMING sound pounded against the room’s door.
“Okay everyone, I found a way out!”, cried Okha. She produced a Mandalorian iron blade from her right gauntlet and began to pry along a seam on a wall. Within seconds, she dislodged a panel that was meant to hide an adjacent room. “COMON!!” Okha waved over to Emaneld and Dudeel.
BOOOM!!!
The magnetically sealed door began to form a dent.
Emaneld ran to the dislodged panel. “Common Dudeel!” “But, the data…!!” Dudeel didn’t know which way to go.
BOOOOM!!!
It was all too loud and all too close. Dudeel jolted to the opened panel, “Okha, the data - it’s all in the portable droid interfaced with the data station!” “Okay, you go with Emaneld, I will take care of it.”
“OKHA!!!” Emaneld screamed as she shut the panel behind her trapping Dudeel and Emaneld inside the other room as returned to the lab.
Okha ran to the station just as…
BOOOOOM!!!
The magnetically sealed door exploded open. The concussion from the blast sent Okha reeling against the data station and fell to the floor.
Ringing.
Continuously ringing sound in her head.
Okha slowly looked up. It was impossible to see anything through the dark smoke. Even more so, difficult to breathe. Coughing and almost gagging, she managed to get up and look for her helmet. Again, it was impossible to see through the smoke. It was not were she left it.
The explosion must have knocked it to somewhere else in the lab, she thought to herself.
Covering her mouth, she was about to reach for the portable droid, but in that moment, she heard the rumbles of large, heavy steps entering the room. Unable to see through the smoke, the silhouette of the figure was all she could make out. It pushed and threw parts of the door across the room like they were weightless. It was huge. She was not able to make out the details, but it reminded her of a super-battle droid. However, it was far larger than Tac, and far bulkier. Each step rattled the ground. A blaring red eye scanned the room and then honed in on her. It immediately locked and loaded it’s built-in weapon from its right arm, pointed it at Okha and remained motionless.