"And so," finished the clone advisor, "You will be working with Jedi Master Shaak Ti."
Boss stiffened. "I thought we had informed the Republic of our wishes to stay unaffiliated with Jedi."
"There was nothing I could do," Said the clone on the hologram. "She insisted on coming. Master Ti can be rather…persuasive."
Boss was unfazed. "I refuse to work with some force sensitive fool. Jedi always assume they're better than the rest of us, and I will not be lowered to the rank of foot-soldier."
The clone advisor gave him a quizzical look. "Do you even know who Shaak Ti is?"
The Clone Commando paused. Though he had not seen Shaak Ti, he had heard of the legendary Battle of Ord Ibana and Dagu. He must be a great fighter to escape messes like those.
With the clone's lack of answer, the advisor smirked underneath his helmet. "The Jedi has made it very clear that you will all be of equal rank. Trust me, this Togruta will not be arrogant and pompous like other Jedi. You're coming up on the rendezvous. You'll meet up soon. Advisor out."
And the hologram fizzed into nothingness.
Boss stood, stunned for a moment. He had just been forced to work with a Jedi.
Suddenly, he was furious. With a snarl, he viciously kicked the projector. It flew across the room and landed in several pieces.
Still fuming, he walked towards the stern of the shuttle. Passing a window, he saw the massive assault ship looming above them like a silent sentinel. He gave it a glare and continued on his way.
He entered the back room, and was greeted by several heads snapping up to look.
Sev was polishing his rifle. "So, what's the news?"
Boss glared at him from under his helmet. "We," he said, "Are going top have some help on this mission."
"From who, Omega?" Fixer inquired.
"No." Said their leader. "From a Jedi."
Sev dropped the cloth he was using. "A JEDI!"
"A Jedi." Boss confirmed.
"B-b-b-b-but why?" Scorch stuttered.
Sev snarled and threw his rifle to the ground, storming off and crossing his arms. "Because, with so many against-the-odds successes, the Jedi must be feeling threatened."
Fixer gently placed a gloved hand on his comrade's shoulder. "Perhaps he just wants to make sure the job is done well-"
"They don't trust us then," Sev growled. "I'm not sure which is worse."
"Maybe he just wants to see us in person," Scorch joked.
Sev gave him a look that would have made a rancor pee in fright.
Scorch shrank visibly. "Sorry."
"Enough chatting, Deltas," Boss snapped. "We have a mission. Our orders are simple. Infiltrate the Separatist command post, blow the controls, and get out of there before the whole thing goes sky high. With any luck, we'll be out of there and done before the Jedi even gets in."
"Yeah!" Scorch said, hopping up and down with anticipation. "The Jedi will be so pleased, we'll get medals or something."
"In addition to the ones we already have?" Sev quipped.
"Never say 'no' to medals," Scorch countered.
"Well, keep that mindset, Deltas. We're about to dock with the cruiser and meet the General. Let's hope he's not a total stiff."
Oh, how disappointed he would be.