Chapter 1:

Unknown Location,

Uscru District,

Coruscant

Jango Fett watched Zam Wesell as she watched for her assassin droid.

Ten years had passed since he had taken that offer from Tyrannus- real name Dooku. Dooku had been seeking a template for a Clone army for the Republic; and in the heat of the moment, Jango had accepted, on the condition he be given one clone, free of age acceleration and loyalty conditioning. It was impulsive, but for the past decade he'd been planning to use the Sith Lord's scheme to his advantage. He'd picked the best of the best of his own Mando'ade, as well as some aruetiise to train the clones. Since then, he'd been haunted by the feeling a dear price for this would be payed someday.

He could feel it more pronounced than ever; the next phase would happen soon.

Not to mention the current political state, what with some star systems leaving the Republic to join a united separatist movement, under the leadership of Count Dooku, and the Republic set to vote on the Military Creation Act, a bill that would legitimize the creation of a grand army of the Republic, should a civil war break out.

His presence on Coruscant was because of this vote. Nute Gunray, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation, wanted to silence the one influential voice who opposed this bill: Senator Padmé Amidala. The Nemoidian could claim the hit on the Senator was because she had humiliated him a decade earlier, but Jango wasn't that fooled; Gunray was one of Dooku's supporters, and Dooku was using his grudge against the former Queen of Naboo to ensure that the army- the clone army- would be voted for in favor.

All of a sudden, Zam pulled her rifle out of her Koro-2 Exodrive speeder, taking aim immediately. Staying out of sight, Jango's HUD gave him a zoomed in view of the direction Zam was targeting; a Jedi Knight clung for dear life to her assassin droid; when her shot destroyed the droid in flight, the Jedi succumbed to the laws of gravity. Zam jumped in her speeder and fled.

This was going to be a long shabla night.

###

Chapter 2:

Uscru District,

Coruscant

The tracking marker for Zam's speeder placed it in the Uscru District, where it remained stationary.

After Jango had relocated to a building on the outskirts of the district, he magnified the forward vision of his HUD, which revealed her speeder to be a fiery wreck being put out by local firefighting droids.

He did another scan of the area, only to see Zam running through the crowded streets with a Jedi Padawan in hot pursuit. The two bolted into the Outlanders Night Club.

Right at that moment, his comm- the one issued by Dooku himself- beeped.

Jango held the commlink, a small hologram of the Sith Lord standing tall with an air of nobility in the palm of his hand was looking up, staring practically through the visor of his helmet and into his eyes. Before ending the call without room for an affirmation from Jango, Dooku only said four words: "The time has come."

Just like that, his intuition had proved itself correct.

In that moment, he'd realized that the whole reason he was on Coruscant in the first place, was the Sith Lord manipulating him again, just like he had ten years prior. The whole hit on Senator Amidala, hired by Viceroy Gunray, had been orchestrated by Tyrannus himself. The timing; the special clue to be left for the Jedi sitting in his ammo belt; and Zam. His enlisting of Zam while waiting for the call, was yet another Sith manipulation; and one that slid perfectly into the next puzzle-piece.

Repercussions would be dealt with later.

***

Awhile later, Zam emerged out into the back alley behind Outlander's, missing half her right arm; the Jedi Padawan who chased her, and the Jedi Knight that had been dislodged from her assassin droid, aided her outside, shoulder-to-shoulder.

Jango zoomed in on  the three of them. The the backs of the Jedis' heads faced him, but he could see Zam's face clearly. He saw her mouth, "It was a senator from Naboo."

The opportunity was presenting itself.

Jango retrieved the Kaminoan dart-gun from his ammo belt, placed the sole dart in the chamber. As he took aim, the timing was impeccable: she was just about to spill his name to the Jedi when he fired, the dart striking its mark.

The noise of the dart-gun drew the attention of the two Jedi; they turned their heads in his direction.

Jango launched his jetpack, making sure they saw him.

The chronometer was ticking. The fate of the galaxy- the fate of Mandalore- was at the point of no return.

###

Chapter 3:

Uscru District Morgue,

Coruscant

The effects of the poison had worn off by the time Zam Wesell's body had been delivered to the morgue. She knew better than to start moving whilst the body bag was sealed; through it she could hear shuffling and footsteps, and the muffled voice of the medical examiner telling his assistant to process the body.

After a while, someone deactivated the seals on the body bag, and opened it.

Zam's eyes were blinded from the side by the light in her peripheral vision. A young Falleen male's face filled most of her field of vision. She ran the knife in her hand through his chest before he could let out an outburst.

Awkwardly, Zam managed to sit up and stumble off the hover-gurney to the floor.

Between the poison and the injury to her right arm, Zam was in no shape to alter her appearance.

Fortunately the morgue was closed for the rest of the night; fortunate that the medical examiner put off his autopsy until the morning. That would make for an easier escape; and that was an opportunity that she could not afford to squander.

***

The Works,

Coruscant

Jango Fett was putting Slave I through her preflight checks when a junker speeder pinged on his radar.

When it parked haphazardly, a one-armed, furious Clawdite clambered out of the cockpit. Without hesitation he opened the door, giving Zam just enough time to get on board before closing it and taking off.

***

Jango entered the med bay to find Zam sitting on the bed, treating the cauterized wound on what was left of her arm.

He took off his helmet, set it down. When he tried to examine her wound, that's when she struck; her fist, his jaw in one swift strike.

"You son of a bitch!"

Jango flexed his jaw, making sure it could still function. He'd been expecting that.

Since she'd expended her energy blowing off that bit of steam, he could finish tending to her wound for her. He owed her for what he did to her; he'd make sure the Kaminoans pay that debt.

Many things raced through Jango's mind. But the most frequent were his mando'ade, his clone army, and his son. Time would tell the ultimate price he'd paid, and very soon.