During the era of the Clone Wars, Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos undertook a mission to liberate the family of Marg Krim, the newly appointed leader of the Pyke Syndicate, from the clutches of the Black Sun on the fiery planet of Mustafar. Master Ziton Moj, the head of Black Sun, had abducted Krim's family as a consequence of Krim's refusal to unite the Pyke Syndicate with Black Sun. Unable to trust his own forces, Krim enlisted the help of two bounty hunters—Asajj Ventress, a Nightsister and former Sith apprentice of Dooku, and Quinlan Vos, an undercover Jedi Master—to carry out the rescue. Ventress and Vos journeyed to Mustafar, where they successfully freed Krim's wife, Tezzka Krim, along with their two children, Laalee and Vram, after confronting Ziton and his subordinates. While they were successful at reuniting Krim with his loved ones, the Black Sun retaliated by launching an assault on the Pyke Syndicate's base located on Oba Diah.
In the time of the Clone Wars, the Pyke Syndicate, a criminal organization operating from their homeworld of [Oba Diah](/article/oba_diah], which was also the Pyke base of operations, specialized in distributing various illicit spice substances. The Pyke Syndicate eventually found themselves in conflict with the Black Sun, a more extensive and established criminal enterprise. Marg Krim, the new leader of the Pyke Syndicate, declined an offer from Ziton Moj, the leader of the Black Sun, to merge their respective criminal empires. Moj responded by orchestrating the abduction of Krim's wife, Tezzka, and their two children, Laalee and Vram. Unable to depend on his own personnel to save his family, Krim sought the services of two bounty hunters: Asajj Ventress and her associate, Quinlan Vos.
Asajj Ventress, a Force-sensitive woman from Dathomir, previously served as Count Dooku's Sith apprentice and was a member of the Nightsisters before becoming a bounty hunter. Quinlan Vos was a Jedi Master who had agreed to participate in a clandestine mission to assassinate Dooku, hoping to expedite the end of the Clone Wars. Disguised as a bounty hunter, Vos partnered with Ventress to gain her confidence, carefully concealing his true identity and Force powers. After collaborating on several assignments, Ventress was contacted by Krim's associates while she was visiting Level 1313 on Coruscant.
Ventress and Vos journeyed together to Krim's palace on Oba Diah where the crime lord implored the bounty hunters to rescue his family. He also emphasized his desire to demonstrate to both Black Sun and his own subordinates that Marg Krim remained a formidable figure within the Pyke Family. Krim voiced his concerns that some of his underlings wished for his family to die, as it would eliminate the need to align with the Black Sun. The Black Sun was imprisoning Krim's family within Ziton's fortress on the volcanic world of Mustafar.
Upon their arrival on Mustafar, Ventress and Vos landed their starship, the Banshee, on a landing platform located at the edge of a mining town overlooking a river of molten lava. After acquiring two lava fleas from a Mustafarian, they proceeded to a local establishment known as The Last Resort. While at the bar, Ventress and Vos noticed a group of Falleen Black Sun guards, who stood out among the miners who frequented the establishment. Working in unison, Ventress used her charm to entice one of the Falleen guards into the restroom.
Inside, Ventress and Vos subdued him, coercing him to reveal the location of the Pyke hostages. After Ventress inflicted pain on his arm, the Falleen guard disclosed that they were being held in the main holding cell of the "house" within the Black Sun Fortress, situated on the upper level and left-hand side of the building. He also revealed that the doors were protected by defenses and that the facility was constantly guarded by twelve individuals. Having extracted the necessary information, Vos rendered him unconscious and left him in the last toilet stall.
Ventress and Vos advanced toward the Black Sun fortress, which loomed over the mining facility and the dwellings below. The "house" mentioned by the Falleen guard was positioned atop a massive tower that served as the central architectural element of the fortress. The two bounty hunters approached the fortress's perimeter and established a vantage point on a storage building. Although the fortress appeared impenetrable, Vos identified an unguarded overhanging balcony within the "house".
To reach the balcony, Vos deployed a liquid cable launcher, while Ventress activated her plasma cable. After scaling the tower, the two bounty hunters landed on the balcony, which was adjacent to the main cell. Inside, they encountered Vram and Laalee, who were overjoyed to see their rescuers. However, their mother, Tezzka, was not present in the room. Shortly thereafter, the Black Sun guards sounded the alarm, and several Falleen guards began rushing toward the room. Trapped, Vos and Ventress decided to escape using the same route they had taken to arrive.
Using the Force, Vos signaled for their lava flea mounts to meet them at the storage building. After securing the two children on their backs, Ventress and Vos descended by using their Force abilities to leap across several building structures. Ventress and Laalee successfully landed on their lava flea. However, a blaster bolt struck Vos, causing Vram to lose his balance and misjudge his jump. Vos managed to use his Force abilities to land on a rock and then used the Force to levitate the boy before he could fall into the lava flow. Having safely rescued Vram and Laalee, the two hunters returned to the Banshee on their lava fleas.
Back at the Banshee, Ventress treated Vos' burn injuries with a medpac. Despite Vos dismissing it as a minor wound, Ventress insisted on sterilizing the wound and applying bacta-treated bandages. To complete their mission, the two bounty hunters now had to locate Laalee and Vram's mother, Tezzka. After Laalee handed Vos a small locket containing a miniature hologram of her mother, Vos was able to use his psychometric powers to deduce that Zito was keeping Tezzka within his palace in the fortress. Vos shared this information with Ventress, who questioned how he had obtained it.
After securing Laalee and Vram to containment chairs, the two bounty hunters embarked fifteen minutes later on their mission to rescue Tezzka Krim. While Ventress occupied Moj and his entourage, Vos would search for the children's mother within Ziton's fortress. Their rescue mission was timely because Ziton had just learned about the children's rescue and had issued orders to his henchman Kurg Utal to execute Tezzka. Before Utal could carry out his orders, his head guard brought in Ventress, who claimed to be an envoy from the Pyke Syndicate sent to negotiate the hostages' release.
When Ziton inquired about her offer, Ventress demanded to see the children and Tezzka first to verify their well-being. Ziton offered to show his wife but claimed that the children had to "wait" first. Ziton instructed Utal to bring Tezzka but whispered that he planned to behead her in front of the envoy to send a warning to Krim. He also hinted that the envoy would be next. After Utal had left to fetch Tezzka, Ziton confronted Ventress and recognized her as one of the intruders who had taken the children. Ventress rebuffed his claims and insisted on getting back to business.
Before they could continue, Tezzka entered the room with Vos beside her. Ziton attempted to reach for his weapon, but the "stranger" shot it out of his hand. Ventress then killed one of Ziton's Falleen guards and snapped the arm of another. Ziton's guards fired on Vos, but all of their blaster bolts missed the intruder. Ziton, who was well-versed in martial arts, then fought with Vos but he was unable to match the prowess of the Force-user. After Ventress knocked Ziton to the ground, she used the Force to Force choke the Black Sun crime lord before warning him not to threaten Krim's family again. Vos, Ventress, and Tezzka then took the opportunity to flee aboard Ventress' starship, which had been parked within the fortress' grounds. Ziton and his henchmen attempted to shoot down the Banshee but were unsuccessful.
Having completed their mission to rescue Krim's wife and children, Ventress and Vos traveled back to Oba Diah where they reunited the crime lord with his family. During the journey, Vos befriended the children who begged him to stay with them on Oba Diah, a request which he declined. As a reward for bringing his family home safely, Krim paid them double the amount he had initially offered. The two bounty hunters shared the reward among themselves.
While departing Oba Diah on the Banshee, Ventress and Vos caught sight of a Black Sun fleet of starfighters and Interceptor-class frigates emerging from hyperspace. The two hunters quickly realized that Black Sun had come to settle scores with the Krims. Unable to aid the Krims, Vos and Ventress fled into hyperspace. Vos' guilt at his inability to protect Krim's wife and children led him to reveal his Jedi identity and true mission to Ventress. Asajj agreed to assist Vos in his mission due to her hatred for Dooku but insisted that he would only be able to overcome Dooku by training in the ways of the dark side of the Force.
The rescue of Marg Krim's family was later mentioned in "Index of Organizations," a survival compendium sent out by Carson Teva during the New Republic Era.