Author's note:

I apologize sincerely. I somehow missed the section in Tali's part where I wrote poorly enough to confuse myself. I like to think that I'm improving over time, not getting worse. I simply had to remove this mistake and re-upload the chapter. I apologize for any inconvenience and confusion.

One last time, I plan on continuing this story. I'll be doing a short spinoff for the in-between of Mass Effect 1 and 2 then I'll be continuing onto 2. Of course before that I have other stories to finish so this will be on hiatus for now.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, Mass Effect, or any associated characters.

A Hunter Out of Place

Epilogue: Another Bounty Gone Wrong

The lights and energy that came off the star did much to soothe the Illusive Man's growing concerns. There were a lot of disturbing reports coming from his spies and informants. There was always so much to do and so little time.

A holographic image blinked to life before him as he read the report once more. His agents keeping track of Commander Shepard had initially sent him a report about the Collectors attacking the Normandy close to a week ago. It read, "A foreign ship similar to the appearance of the rumored Collector ships appeared a month after the battle with the Reaper and engaged Shepard. It fired at the Normandy using a laser weapon similar to that used by the bounty hunter Jango Fett but in a concentrated stream. Shepard was lost during the ensuing fight." That would put his plans behind. Shepard was to play an integral role in his plans for stopping the Reapers so he couldn't allow her to stay dead.

What was more disturbing than the attack itself was the speed of the Reaper's retaliation and their apparent tools already in the galaxy. Initial reports had believed that the Reaper's were stuck outside of their galaxy for now thanks to the events that transpired on the Citadel more than a month ago. It only took them a month and the Reaper's had taken out one of their biggest threats.

It had been a week since the battle and the death of the Commander and a new report helped alleviate some of his stress. Shepard's body had been found. It was intact enough that they could most likely bring her back given time. Unfortunately with the speed of this retaliation, the Illusive Man was worried they didn't have the time. He had already put some of his best and brightest on Project Lazarus and he had high expectations for the success of it. For now he'd have to put it away as he had more pressing concerns.

The Council had been quick in trying to backwards engineering the foreign technology found on the bounty hunter Jango Fett. It would still take years or possibly decades to fully develop it but he imagined that within the year they would start developing prototypes. By another year or two they would start arming special task forces with these weapons; mostly likely Spectres. What they didn't know was that they had been infiltrated and that any progress that they made would be Cerberus progress as well.

What was more concerning was that the Quarian's had gotten ahold of the Slave I. Tali'Zorah nar Raaya had been accepted by the fleet upon her return and had been working on the Slave I with help. They were known for their brilliant technicians and engineers. They would have it figured out with time and the Flotilla wasn't welcoming to newcomers, especially Cerberus. The Quarians would have an advantage over humanity and that was something he couldn't allow. At the moment he couldn't do anything about it but plans were underway to ensure that humanity would gain the technology hidden within that ship. For now he'd just have to be patient.

There were also hidden elements moving behind the scenes. The Shadow Broker was making moves to acquire as much of the strange technology as he or she could. It made sense but the sheer lengths being taken seemed out of character. Something was wrong but he hadn't gotten word from any of his agents searching into the matter. He'd have to make sure they hadn't been compromised.

Another image displayed itself on his monitor. A video feed of a man standing before the Council greeted him as his eyes switched from the Councilor's to the man. The man was wearing a plain white long sleeve shirt and pants with cuffs around his wrists. They were meeting in a private room and he was extremely interested in how this series of events would unfold. The idea of recruiting the bounty hunter to his cause had crossed his mind but the man was currently out of his reach.

Of course there was Anderson on the Council now, a fact he was infinitely grateful to Shepard for. Despite bureaucracy slowing the process down, Shepard's backing of Anderson given him the position in about a month. Humanity finally had a say in how matters went in Citadel space but he doubted it would help the defendant here. Anderson had only heard stories of the man but never met him. Video records of the bounty hunter were also surprisingly scarce.

He had also looked into the man's records and had come up frustratingly short. There were no records of a birth, history, or family. The only records were from two months or so when he appeared during the first Reaper sighting. It was like the man had appeared out of thin air. He would have his agents look into his background more for now. No man could keep his secrets hidden forever and no one appeared from thin air.

Jango was no politician. He wasn't a people person, persuasive, or a conman. He could make deals with his employers for his services but the only time he had ever had to be persuasive was when he had led his own clan. Even then it was mostly by force; Mandalorians didn't follow you unless you were strong and got results. He also hadn't had to deal with getting caught before unless it was part of the plan.

He was understandably unsure about his current situation standing before the Council. They had drug him off to a secluded room with no witnesses and he was worried that they planned on executing him. Thinking about it for longer than a few seconds made him realize that they wouldn't; most of the Councilors were against such acts and they were curious about him or more accurately his gear.

Over the past month they had kept him in isolation after he recovered. They questioned him endlessly about his technology and where it had come from. They were also curious about who he was too but he had given them nothing. Besides he didn't have to tell them, Tali had the information now so it would no doubt become public over time. He wasn't exactly happy about it but it was out of his control.

The month where Shepard had protected him from the politicians and bureaucrats had been strange. Being bed ridden for so long was a foreign experience for him. What was a more harrowing to endure was trying to cope with his missing arm. For the longest time they hadn't allowed him to even attempt to use his new prosthetic arm. He'd often find himself trying to grasp at an item only to realize that his arm was no longer there. With time he was sure he could overcome this handicap, he was tougher than most.

Of course coming to the Council chambers he had been allowed the use of his new prosthetic limb. They didn't want to make it look like they were being unkind to someone who had lost a limb protecting the Citadel though most of the general populace didn't know that last part.

The feeling of his new limb was strange. It responded to his commands and he could see it moving but there was a certain disconnection with it. He couldn't feel it moving like his own arm had so he had to blindly trust that it was moving when he wasn't looking at it. This also made grasping for objects hard as he had to look at whatever he was trying to grab. He couldn't simply feel his hand wrapping around whatever he desired to grab. He'd also have to retrain his trigger finger with his new arm eventually.

He had heard that there were more advanced limbs that could connect the nerves in his body to his arm to simulate the feeling. The thought crossed his mind that the Council simply didn't want him having too advanced prosthetics out of safety or out of a certain grudge against him. He would deal with it for now until he could get a replacement.

There was also a limp to his gait now as his leg had been severely injured. The arm that had pierced his appendage had torn through the muscle and sinew in his leg and had torn a hole all the way through. The doctors were surprised he hadn't succumbed to shock and bled to death. Jango had paid for it later as walking had proved incredibly difficult at first and only after over two weeks of therapy was he able to limp his way to the chamber he stood in now.

The most disturbing event had been Shepard's death. He wasn't exactly fond of her but she was better than most of the beings he had met in this galaxy. She was also one of the people that was actively working against the Reapers. Her disappearance only a month after the battle was worrying. More importantly it meant he didn't have the support of a Spectre at his back to keep him out of trouble.

"Jango Fett. You have been charged with assault and battery, disturbing the peace, theft, kidnapping, and first and second degree murder," the one he knew only as the Turian Councilor said. He could feel the glares coming from the Council. Except for the Salarian which had a more quizzical nature about him; he was a weird one.

There was a long silence as they either tried to let it sink in or intimidate him. Either way it didn't work, he had been through worse. The Asari Councilor continued, "normally we would have an immediate public trial and imprisonment, however there are certain factors that would inhibit this." Jango had an idea of where this was going but let her continue. "We have reason to believe you have information that could be vital into the investigation behind the Commander's death."

This was just another way to pry into his secrets to hopefully get information on the technology he had; he wouldn't bite the bait. Besides he had a general idea who did it but that was it. It wouldn't get him out of this situation; the Council was in complete denial about the Reapers. "We also understand that you refuse to share this information, disappointing," the Salarian said in a quick and factual tone.

The only reason he hadn't been sent through a public justice system and to a prison was because they wanted all his technology from him. They weren't that heartbroken over the Commander. In fact as far as he knew, they still hadn't released publicly that he had been arrested. "Due to your stubborn and willful disregard to perfectly normal requests, we have decided to send you to a facility where you will remain until you're more willing to cooperate," the Turian Councilor spoke afterwards.

There was an odd look on Anderson's face and Fett figured he disagreed with his fellow Councilor's decisions. He was still relatively new to the whole thing that was evident. "That's why we've decided to make use of the Purgatory facility for the time being. You will remain here until such a time as the Council has need of you," Anderson spoke as his face went through a wide range of emotions, most being close to disgust. Jango didn't speak a word during the entire process. He was damned if he spoke and damned if he didn't.

Tali felt bittersweet about many of the events that unfolded over the past month. Jango had evidently lied to her; well really she didn't know. No one had seen him since the battle for the Citadel and he hadn't tried to contact her so she assumed he was in some sort of trouble. When she thought back on it, Jango had hidden most things about himself. She had a general idea of his attitude but not who he truly was.

That all changed when she had gotten away from the Citadel. She had been sad about leaving Jango behind despite only traveling with him for a month but in that month he had taught her many things even if he was a stubborn old man. She had always been better with building ships instead of flying them but Jango had in essence forced her to become a better pilot. She wasn't the best but Tali personally believed given time she could give Joker a run for his money.

That was if she decided to pursue that. Without Jango there she initially didn't know what to do. Her idle curiosity turned to the information that Jango had given her. She now had full unrestricted access to the ship and the files stored on it. So with ample free time and some supplies left over by the bounty hunter she began reading.

It took a solid week of reading and tinkering with the ship before she truly understood where Jango had hidden many of his files. The initial access had led to an over abundance of information she had to sort through before she could find the juicer pieces of information. It might not have taken as long if she didn't have her own decisions to make about her own future.

This changed once she found the credits Jango had stored up over his time in her galaxy. It had been put into near untraceable accounts and all the information for accessing them was stored on the ship. She now had plenty of credits to spend and she was able to leisurely read through the files at her own pace once she had gotten hold

She almost couldn't believe it at first. The idea that he was from an entirely separate galaxy was absurd in her mind. How could one go from one galaxy to another in the blink of an eye? But the truth now lay before her as she continued reading. An entirely separate galaxy with so many species and beings it seemed absurd.

It had taken time but she had sorted through most of the information over the following days after she had found some of the more well hidden files. There were most likely still some she hadn't found but she had found and read most of the files in his ship now.

This entirely separate galaxy fascinated and completely changed her viewpoints on a lot of things. The idea of the Force seemed preposterous in her mind but in this galaxy it seemed to be a widely accepted thing. She also couldn't deny the possibility after seeing the footage of Fett fighting the Dark Jedi. The fact he was such a well-known bounty hunter in his own galaxy surprised her but the more she thought about it the more it made sense.

Fett had high tech equipment and training with no one knowing where he had come from. It was like he was from a different galaxy. His lack of knowledge on the Flotilla and other obvious facts about the galaxy made sense now. All this technology was fascinating to be sure but the sheer amount of species in his galaxy was staggering. So many different kinds all (mostly) coexisting.

In fact his whole mission involving the Bando Gora had fascinated Tali. The drugs that were offered had given some insight but moreover it was interesting to see him interacting with others in such a joking manner. She wondered what had changed or if perhaps he had a more soft side after all. The cult's hideout had been the most exciting part of his journey and she had watched on in fascination as he took down his rival and the Dark Jedi after.

There was bad blood between the two warriors. She couldn't figure out what but this other Mandalorian had done Jango Fett wrong somehow. There were a few references to a clan that he was no longer part of. The idea of him losing his family saddened Tali but also brought some clarity to his attitude.

Probably the most impressive thing was that he had impressed the right people enough to have an entire clone army made in his image. The idea was boggling and somewhat depressing. Being born to fight and die didn't seem like a bright future for anyone.

Then she got to how he got here. Possibly the most interesting piece of technology was this tiny little device that had been used against him. The pale being that had chucked it at him had run for its life just after. The bounty hunter initially thought it was some kind of explosive that the files deemed a "Thermal Imploder" but upon closer inspection the pictures between the two didn't match up. Tali guessed that this was the device that had sent him here.

Her digging had later revealed that he had a rough childhood; his parents being killed to then be raised by a clan of warriors. Only something bad happened to this clan as well as they were somehow tricked. A lot of her initial anger and frustration with the Mandalorian dissipated as she continued reading. He was distant because he had been hurt before. In fact the only thing he had close to a family anymore was his clone son Boba and now he was stranded in an entirely separate galaxy from him.

A new feeling of pity grew inside her for the bounty hunter but she squashed it. Jango wouldn't want her to feel pity for him, the stubborn fool that he was.

She reflected on her past experiences with the Mandalorian. She had always felt at arms-reach with him but reading over these files made her realize he was like that with everyone. In fact he had opened up to her far more than most everyone he knew. Tali was grateful that he had taught her how to pilot the Slave I, even if it was trial by fire. Even if it was all hands off training he had still taught her how to survive in an unforgiving galaxy. In fact because of him now she could return to the Flotilla if she wanted to with her head held high.

With the new schematics and information in hand she decided to head back to the Flotilla. With all this, she'd be welcomed back as a hero. She'd had an entirely separate decision to make before she returned however. A new galaxy would revolutionize hers. Not to mention the technology and the force as there were several schematics inside the ship's files.

Did she want that though? Was a galaxy with this knowledge a safe galaxy or would it lead to disaster? What if they found a way to get to this galaxy? Would there be peace? There were too many questions she didn't have answers to. She decided to wait. She downloaded the files onto a separate drive before deleting the current ones off the Slave I records. She'd keep the schematics for the ship's weapons and tech on the Slave I but she'd keep the knowledge on this new galaxy to herself as well as some of the more dangerous schematics. She'd also hold onto Jango's secrets for now too.

She was back amongst her own people. It had been roughly a few days travel followed by a week of just visiting family. She was accepted back and almost immediately assigned one of the head engineers of reproducing much of the technology aboard the Slave I. Some had of course asked questions about the mysterious bounty hunter but she had avoided them all so far. She didn't know how long it'd take or even if she would see Jango again but she was grateful. One day she would pay him back for what he had given her and also smack him upside the head for leaving her on all those missions.

"Tali, I need to discuss some details about the engines with you and I figured you were hungry so I made dinner." Tali turned to the sound of her father's voice and smiled underneath her helmet. A lot of what she had was thanks to Jango but her father had helped her most of her life. For now she'd focus the here and now.

She felt her thoughts linger on the bounty hunter as she walked towards the kitchen despite herself. She hoped that one day the bounty hunter would found his way home and not be so out of place in an unknown galaxy.

A large figure sat in a chair inside a dimly lit room. He had been keeping track of the incident since it had first come to his attention. He knew Sovereign would fall during the fight from the information his informants had gathered. Now he just needed to focus on his own goals. He had to prepare for later threats Reaper or otherwise.

Now that he was thinking of it; a holographic file appeared in front of the figure. The Illusive Man's spies had been found or at least the majority of them. This was good news but overall didn't matter. The spies wouldn't have been able to find anything crucial on him, besides Cerberus's spies had given him vital information on the technology being backwards engineered by the Council. Of course he had a better source but it was always good to not put all your eggs in one bag; a human saying that he had taken to heart.

Of course he could have his own informants gather enough information to break Jango out of prison but he didn't need him. In fact his place in prison served the figure well; the bounty hunter wouldn't be able to interfere with his plans.

Shepard's death was disturbing as even his own reports hadn't accounted for the Collectors working for the Reapers. A disturbing development he would have to deal with later. For now he would focus his efforts on the Quarians, everything else had been accounted for. His spies inside the Flotilla had been digging but had little success so far. It mattered little, given time he would get what he wanted. Even if he didn't, it would only be a minor setback.

A different holographic image displayed itself as he made a call. It rung for only a few moments before a pale, tall, and lengthy figure presented itself on screen. "Hello Broker," the pale figure greeted in a slow and soothing tone. "I did not expect to be hearing from you so soon."

The Shadow Broker smirked although the other being wouldn't know it as the encryption kept his true form and voice hidden. "I was just calling to inform you we have made headway with the Council research and you'll have more information shortly," he replied as the voice filter changed his voice to sound lower and menacing. "I also wanted to inform you the bounty hunter has been sent away to Purgatory."

The pale figure nodded his head in satisfaction before replying, "good. I did not want to deal with him again but more importantly this new research will speed up my own. Given time I'm sure I can recreate the technology from my own home for your use." The soft tone hid malicious intent for the Mandalorian but was quickly dissipated as he continued, "and given enough time I can recreate top tier clones for you."

The Broker's smile grew wider before he replied, "excellent, we don't know how much time we have before the Reapers return. I'll leave you to your research Rei Den." A few moments later and the image dissipated as the broker began moving other pawns into place.

Rei had plans of his own. Of course he wouldn't break his deal with the Broker but he also wouldn't slow his own research. It was with this thought in mind that he turned to a round device on a table. "You will be my greatest creation with time; after all, perfection cannot be rushed."

Stripped of his armor, stripped of his weapons, but never stripped of his pride Jango was being escorted to his cell. The guards believed that they could simply cuff him, a mistake he would exploit later when the time was right. He was impressed by the space prison however. It reminded him of the rumors of a Jedi prison hidden somewhere in his own galaxy. Prisoners couldn't escape if they had nowhere to go except into the vacuum.

His trial had been short and his escort here had been nearly as short. He had little time to reflect on the past few months in this galaxy. His thoughts drifted to Tali, his most immediate concern. He hoped she was doing alright wherever she was now. He supposed she most likely went back to the fleet and to her people. It was for the best; he was more of a lone wolf after all.

Then his thoughts turned to his son and home. He would have to keep his son waiting far longer than he liked. The bounty hunter knew one day that he would escape this prison and rebuild his funding so he could find or pay for a way home. He admitted that he had gotten caught up in the hunt and he was definitely paying for it now.

A jumpsuit had been given to him and he was to be put into one of the public sections. It would be interesting to see the kind of lowlife that this prison attracted. The guards were somewhat annoying; he had already seen several cases of inmates being beaten for the smallest mistakes. He would have to play his cards carefully here.

The Reapers were another concern he was going to face during his stay here. He doubted that their plan was foiled after this one attempt. Supposedly there were more of them somewhere. If he could, he'd find his way home and never look back. He preferred his own galaxy where things made more sense and there were no Mass Relays.

Many of the inmates hooted and howled at the new guy as Jango was thrown into a small elevator. It went downward several floors before opening. Several inmates were already standing in front of the elevator. One of the cockier ones stepped forward before asking, "hey new guy, what's your name?"

Jango shrugged his shoulders as the cuffs automatically unlocked themselves. "Just call me Fett," Jango replied as he stepped out of the elevator with a limp to his gait.

This is it. This is the end of this first book? Part? Arc? This is actually the first story I've finished on fanfiction. I'm rather proud but I also know that the earlier chapters could use work. Maybe one day I'll go back and redo it.

For now just know that I plan on doing a miniseries between this story and the Mass Effect 2 one. I'll probably call it Jango's Misadventures or something like that. I figure that I'll post one last chapter after this with the information for the new story when it's finally up or perhaps I shouldn't?

For now thank you for reading this story and leaving your many comments and replies. I appreciated writing this and improving my own writing. This story is going on hiatus so don't expect to see the next part for a while.

Thank you for reading and I hope to see you again someday.