A New Path In The Force (CH 6)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Star Wars.

Chapter 6: Hego Damask II

Muunilinst...

Naruto and Talon acted as bodyguards for Aalya while she spoke with the Muun banking clan chairman, San Hill. They didn't bring Ashoka along because it would look strange for a Jedi to be there with a publicly self-exiled former Jedi Padawan.

She acted as if she were there to secure a loan to purchase additional ships and equipment for the Jedi and Republic, but it was a ruse designed to allow him and Talon to slip away unnoticed.

Their goal is to gain access to the Muun main computer system and track down everyone involved in the funding of the clone army.

The problem they were having was getting into the systems, which would usually be impossible, but they had a skilled hacker on their side, aka Laari Cruz. While reluctant to get involved with them again, she understood that if she didn't help prevent the war, then no one would be safe.

There is also the fact that Naruto basically threatened to go back to retrieve her and make her come here in person instead of doing her hacking remotely; all they would have to do is plug in a device into the Muun main computer system and she would do the rest.

Naruto and Talon were made to wait outside the chairman's office while he and Aayla were debating over the loan; the hallway had several cameras in all directions, and they were guarded by the chairman's personal guards.

Naruto looked at Talon and the red Twi'lek knew what to do without a word. "I need to use the bathroom," Talon said while looking at the Muun security guards. "Would either of you like to show me where I can find one?" the Twi'lek spoke in a seductive tone.

"Yes, there is one nearby," the Muun guard said. "I would be happy to show you the way."

"No, I will show her where the bathroom is; you remain here," said the Muun Guard 2.

"What she was looking at me to show her the bathroom, you should mind your own business," the Muun guard responded.

"Boys, why don't you both show me to the little girl's room?" The red Twi'lek asked. "I will show you two a good time if you hurry up; I really have to use it," Talon said, licking her lips.

The two Muun guards were tripping over themselves ushering Talon to the nearest bathroom, thinking they would get lucky, but they were in for a surprise.

Naruto shook his head at the security guard's stupidity, but then again, the prospect of sleeping with a red Twi'lek was just too tempting to pass up.

Twi'leks were so enslaved because of their sexy bodies and their ability to adapt to almost any environment; personality-wise, they could be anything. If you put a Twi'lek with the Jedi, she would become a Jedi, if you put one with the Sith, she would become a Sith, it was just the way they were.

Naruto didn't have to wait long for Talon to return with the two guards who were now moving more robotically and didn't talk; Talon must have worked her magic and gotten all the information they would need to get to the main system of the Banking Clan. She must have also put the two guards under her control; they should return to normal soon, but Talon would be able to remotely control them if she wanted to.

Naruto nodded to the red Twi'lek who smiled back at him; they had made some progress, he could see that. Now, all that was left was to find a way to sneak around.

Hours Later...

After Aayla had come back from her tiring day of trying to convince the Muun chairman to lower the interest on a loan she didn't really want, she and her two bodyguards returned to the blonde's ship.

The chairman had offered her a hotel room, but she rejected the offer, knowing that any room they gave her would be bugged; the safest bet was to stay on the ship, where they would have some privacy.

"So, were you two able to find out anything?" the blue skinned Twi'lek asked.

"Hmm, I haven't been able to find much yet, but I did manage to locate the main system for the banking clan. With this information, we may be able to uncover the Sith Lord or another lead." Talon replied while making a map of the location of the main system of the banking clan, which was ironically enough to be located near the chairman's office.

"Yes, that is very good news; tomorrow I'm going to try to slip away and install a device in the main system area so Laari can hack into it." Naruto stated that he would be able to make a Doppelganger of himself to sneak in and plant the device, then Laari will hack it.

Ashoka who was present throughout this, watched silently as the interaction took place, she had been training on the ship, the former Jedi really wanted to help with the mission but understood why they had to leave her behind.

Naruto had promised to take her on the next mission after they left here, as long as she continued her training, which he said he would help her with.

Next day...

The next day, Aayla went back to negotiating with the chairman of the banking clan. The same two guards were outside the office along with the blonde male and red-skinned female Twi'lek.

Naruto had made a Doppelganger beforehand and had it sneak into the same building they were in; as luck would have it, the banking clan's main computer system was located in the basement of the chairman's headquarters.

The Doppelganger was able to evade armed guards and steal their access cards to open locked doors until it finally found what it was looking for - the memories Talon had seen from the guards who had been down here with the chairman before; the main computer system connected to all the banking clans' computers.

All the blonde has to do is plug in the device and Laari will do the rest; the blonde clone did just that before disappearing.

The day was long, and the blue-skinned Twi'lek was stressed out over the chairman not wanting to even meet her halfway in making the deal for a fair loan. She was thankful that getting a loan wasn't the main objective of the mission; but if she could get one the Jedi and the Republic would only benefit from it.

Fast Forward...

It didn't take Laari long to dig up more information; they already knew that Master Sifo-Dyas had commissioned the Clone Army, but what they found out was that Hego Damask, the Magistrate of the financial lobbying group Damask Holdings, was the one who paid the majority of the funding for the Clone Army's creation.

Laari did some research on Hugo Damask; not much was found on him, but she did find a house address that was kept in an encrypted part of the banking clan computer system. It seemed as though someone wanted to keep the location secret; it was located on Hugo's home planet, Mygeeto.

After finding out that information, Naruto thanked Laari for her help and promised to pay her handsomely for it. The only problem they had now was how to get out of the meeting with the banking clan's chairman in order to follow their next lead.

"I am going to tell the chairman that I have another mission, and someone else will be taking my place; I'll just have to contact Master Yoda for him to send someone to meet us here. The information we are gathering is of utmost importance to the Republic." the blue skinned Twi'lek stated.

"That is a good enough plan, I want to go to Mygeeto as soon as possible," Naruto replied. "I think that we are getting closer to finding the Sith Lord."

Naruto didn't go with Aayla that day as her bodyguard; he just sent Talon instead. He didn't feel the need to keep up the show, and he also wanted to help Ashoka train. He realized he had been neglecting her training due to the investigation of the Sith Lord.

"So, Ashoka, how has your training been going?" Naruto asked curiously.

"It's not going badly, I have been able to advance my focus enough to the point where I can levitate four metal balls and juggle them, but I seem to hit a roadblock with my mental training." Ashoka replied, making Naruto even more curious as it was uncommon for anyone to not be able to do mental training unless something very traumatic had happened to them in the past.

"Okay, I will help you. Now, get into a meditative position, and I will enter your mind," the blonde instructed as he and Ashoka sat in a crossed-legged position on the floor of the ship.

Ashoka's Mindscape...

The blonde entered the female Togruta's mind, which was a replica of the Jedi Temple, showing just how much this place had influenced her life.

"So, what have you been having trouble with?" Naruto asked.

"There is a room in the temple I haven't been able to gain access to," said Ashoka.

"Is that so?" the blonde said while in thought; the only way for Ashoka to not have access to parts of her own mind was if someone had tampered with it and sealed some of her memories away. It could be to protect her from trauma or something with darker intentions.

Naruto considered his options; one, he could leave things as they were, but then Ashoka wouldn't be able to access the memories which might have been locked away to protect her, or option two, he could unlock the memories and help her deal with them, whether it was a traumatic experience or someone had tried to tamper with her mind.

The blonde said, "Lead the way." He decided option two was the only one he could take; he couldn't risk having someone on his ship under the control of a possible enemy or if it was a traumatic memory, he didn't want Ashoka to go through it alone.

"Alright," the female Togruta replied, leading Naruto to a large door with chains on it."This is it; nothing I've tried seems to be able to break these chains."

Naruto stepped back and said, "Let me try something."

The blonde clasped his hands together then thrust them forward, channeling the force through him, causing the chains to shake violently before finally snapping and the door flying open.

Ashoka began to shake as memories that had been locked away started to flood her mind; Naruto took ahold of her hand and they walked into the room together, with her following closely behind him.

Naruto and Ashoka watch as the memories play out with Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ashoka herself arriving on a planet called Mortis, which is inhabited by a race of Force Gods known as the Ones.

The father, brother, and sister; each embodies a different aspect of the Force. The father represents balance, the brother the dark side, and the sister the light side.

It seemed the Jedi had gotten caught up in a dangerous family quarrel between Force Gods; Ashoka apparently died and was brought back to life by her former master Anakin. All of the ones seem to die but the blonde wasn't so sure.

Parts of the memories were things Ashoka should not have known and he kept feeling a powerful presence coming from his father which shouldn't be because it was a memory of Ashoka's experiences.

As the blonde thought this, he gathered some force lightning in his hands and fired it at the father; as the blonde suspected, he caught it, proving the father was not a memory but he was real.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto shouted, his presence within one's mind being something that was rarely a positive experience.

"Peace, young one, I mean you two no harm" the father said in a calm voice, but Naruto kept his guard up.

"And why should I believe you?" the blonde questioned. "You are trespassing in someone's mind like a parasite."

"I am here for a reason," the old man said. "Before I die, I have visions of the future - one dark, the other balanced." He looked at Naruto. "Visions where you are the savior or destroyer of the galaxy."

Naruto could only stare as he thought he had gone far enough away from that prophecy crap from his past life, but it seemed even after being reborn he couldn't escape it.

The blonde could only sigh and like his lazy pineapple-headed friend from his past life he said "Troublesome," causing said friend to sneeze in the afterlife and say "Troublesome Blonde."

Chapter End.....