In the hangar bay, Anakin sat in Bane's cockpit, examining systems he had already checked countless times before.
"What exactly are you looking for?" Pietro asked, watching Anakin scrutinize the navigation display in Bane's starfighter.
"Trying to find an alternative method to track Bane's flight path," Anakin explained, inputting several commands that displayed various planets the bounty hunter had visited. "R2, can you cross-reference these coordinates with fuel consumption data?"
"So there has to be another way to track him down, right?" Pietro said, leaning against the ship's hull before quickly stepping back. His entire sleeve was now covered with black residue.
"What's wrong with this guy's maintenance routine?" Pietro muttered, brushing the soot off his arm. "I'm starting to wonder if Bane ever cleans his ship. There's ash everywhere."
Hearing this observation, Anakin seemed to have an epiphany and said with growing excitement, "R2!"
The astromech droid beeped in acknowledgment.
Pietro asked curiously, "What did you discover?"
"When you mentioned the ash just now, it triggered a memory, but I couldn't quite grasp it initially. Bane has traveled to numerous locations—he must have refueled regularly. Fuel consumption patterns..."
"What are you getting at?"
"Bane may have erased all his navigation data, but his fuel consumption records—" A new planet appeared on the display between Rodia and Naboo.
"What's that world?"
"Mustafar."
"Mufasa?"
"Mustafar," Anakin corrected with urgency. "It's a planet in the Outer Rim territories. An extremely remote mining world."
"What's significant about it?"
"The planet's surface is covered with volcanic ash, molten lava flows, and active volcanoes. Ash—Bane must have landed on Mustafar, and those children must be imprisoned on that planet."
Anakin leaped out of the cockpit and strode toward his personal starfighter, the Twilight. "At this point, Mustafar represents our most promising lead for locating those two kidnapped children."
"Do you really think we'll find the children there?" Pietro asked with concern.
"That depends entirely on whether we can reach them before it's too late."
Plo Koon and Mace Windu, accompanied by Commanders Wolffe and several trusted clone troopers, maintained constant surveillance over their captured bounty hunter to ensure he didn't attempt any escape maneuvers.
The coordinates provided by the Duros bounty hunter led them to an isolated asteroid field, where they eventually discovered a hidden safehouse camouflaged among the floating debris. Larger vessels couldn't navigate through the dense field, so Plo Koon and Mace Windu were forced to transfer to a smaller transport for final approach.
"You've brought us quite a distance, Bane," Plo observed calmly as he maneuvered their transport to dock with the station's outer hull. "We're in neutral space territory, if my recollection is correct."
"In case your memory's gotten fuzzy, have you forgotten there's a galactic war raging?" Bane asked sarcastically. "The bounty hunting business is absolutely thriving, but staying alive amidst all this chaos remains challenging. Now, do you want your precious holocron returned or not?"
Mace and Plo exchanged meaningful glances before turning and signaling to their clone commanders to remain alert for potential ambushes.
Once the docking connection was properly secured, the airlock opened, and Bane was compelled to walk ahead of the two Jedi Masters to prevent the bounty hunter from leading them directly into a trap.
"I don't sense any children in this facility," Plo pointed out with growing suspicion.
"Why would I keep them here?" Bane replied with obvious disdain. "Does this place look like a nursery to you?"
Mace simply directed a withering glare at the bounty hunter.
"Anyway..." Bane gestured casually and motioned for the two Jedi to observe, "there's your precious holocron."
In the dimly lit chamber, both Jedi Masters spotted a distinctive blue glow emanating from the far corner of the room.
"I'll retrieve it for you," Bane offered with false helpfulness.
"That won't be necessary." Plo grasped the bounty hunter's shoulder firmly and extended his other hand. The holocron trembled slightly under the Force's influence before floating directly into Plo's waiting palm.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm began sounding throughout the facility, accompanied by strobing emergency lights.
"What's happening—?"
"What have you done?"
"You triggered the proximity sensors, Jedi," Bane said with obvious satisfaction, watching as hidden wall panels began opening.
Within moments, multiple automated turrets emerged from concealment, targeting the Jedi with deadly precision.
"And I'm the only one with immunity to my own defensive systems."
Both Jedi immediately ignited their lightsabers and faced the weapons array with practiced wariness.
Bane calmly walked to a nearby control panel and began inputting a complex sequence. As each key was pressed, a concealed door began sliding open.
"Farewell, Jedi," Bane taunted before sealing the door behind him.
"No! You cannot escape us, bounty hunter!" Mace Windu shouted, rushing toward the sealed entrance.
Plo also began pursuing their quarry with determined urgency.
Suddenly, another bounty hunter emerged from the shadows and fired several precisely aimed blaster bolts at the Jedi, effectively blocking both of their advance.
"You're moving too slowly for my taste."
"Come on, you're the one who kept me waiting, Aurra," Bane replied with irritation.
The two criminals then prepared to make their escape.
"Aurra Sing, Master Vos would be deeply disappointed in your choices," Plo called out to her, causing the former Jedi Padawan to hesitate momentarily.
"How dare you speak his name in my presence!" Aurra fired several shots in fury and roared defiantly, "He abandoned me! Have you Council members conveniently forgotten that betrayal?"
"We don't have time for your personal grievances," Bane said, slamming the emergency release button. The escape pod immediately jettisoned from the safehouse into open space.
The two Jedi Masters could only watch helplessly as Bane escaped their grasp once again.
"We recovered the holocron," Plo said, holding up the glowing cube. "But... we still feel as though we've failed in our primary objective."
"I fear such pyrrhic victories will become increasingly common in this war," Mace replied grimly.
With their mission technically accomplished but emotionally unsatisfying, the two Jedi Council members departed Bane's abandoned safehouse to rejoin the war effort.
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