So far, it wasn't too bad. The path that the map was taking her seemed to be a back road. Tresse walked along it, hardly seeing another soul. But she could hear the faintest echo of a firefight, probably resonating from over the hill beside her. That was most likely where everyone else was at, she decided. According to the GPS, she only had about a kilometer left before she reached the village. If things kept going like they were, she would have those credits in no time.

Just as she thought those words, she heard a thunder of engine sounds behind her. She whirled around to see what was coming at her. A convoy was charging at her at full speed. From the lack of Republic insignia on it, she guessed it was a separatist vehicle. Which meant it was time to duck. Twisting her body, she jumped off the road, ducking herself into a sparse bush. Crouching down behind the bush, she hoped they hadn't seen her. She held her breath and blaster tight as they passed by.

Either they didn't see her or didn't care, but they kept driving. Not in the mood to tempt fate, she stayed hidden in the bush until they vanished from sight. Counting down by threes from a hundred, she decided it was clear enough to go. Bits of twigs and dirt stuck to her already messy clothes, so she brushed them off while climbing out of the bush. Now there was new rip on her pants, small but still annoying. Of course, with the increase in her pay, she could afford to buy a whole new outfit, so it was only a small loss. Maybe she'll get something blue this time, instead of this clearance priced beige disaster she currently was wearing. She liked blue.

When she finally had an idea of what additions she wanted to make to her wardrobe, Tresse found herself at the edge of the town. It was an older town, wore out from years of dry winds and the recent war. Like the rest of this planet, it was faded gray. Another glance at her map told her that the remote center was going to be right in the middle of the town square. So, now she would just have to sneak in amongst all the seps and simply waltz up and jam the jammer. Good thing the walk here was fairly easy because this part was going to be a doozy.

Double checking her weapons, she casually walked through the gate. Head high, she did her best to exude an air of confidence. If she acted like she belonged there, then people would be less likely to question her presence. However, everyone around seemed to be too busy with their own troubles to notice her. Families were rushing around her, trying to keep track of their children. Sep soldiers stood at the corners, threatening with their bayonets. Ronto drawn wagons filled with worldly possessions nearly trampled her. Basically, the entire town was in chaos. The seps must have been taking it over, and anyone who didn't like it was high tailing out. Keeping her head down, she navigated the crowd.

Tresse had almost made it to the center when an armed soldier stepped in front of her, "Where you going, girl?" He growled at her. He was a big guy and definitely grumpy. His bayonet shined in the sunlight.

She looked at the ground, holding her arms around herself, "Finding my father," She whimpered as pitifully as she could.

The soldier laughed, unkindly, "Right, good luck with that. Now scat before I gut you," He grabbed her arm, ushering her away.

"Please, don't!" She cried out, still keeping the lost girl persona. Twisting her arm, she struggled to shake his grip. He laughed even more and pushed her to the ground. Genuinely losing her balance, Tresse fell into a puddle of rain water and ronto dung. Now her clothes were covering in mucky slime. She sat, stunned, her heart starting to race. Her fists clenched the mud as she turned to face the guard as he walked away, guffawing, "Cripes," She muttered, pulling out her blaster. She hated being angry, but this fine gentleman had just earned her scorn, "Hey, come back and try that again!" She yelled at him. He turned, confused at her sudden spite. For a moment, he considered turning away until he saw the blaster in her hand aiming at him.

"Why, you little-"He pointed the bayonet at her. But since he had been so focused on her blaster, he didn't notice the hard clump of mud in her other hand. She flung it, grinning as it splattered across his face, covering his eyes, "Oi! Get her!" He yelled to his compatriots as he scraped the filth from his eyes. Several soldiers turned to face her. All were armed.

Cripes.

Tresse spun on her heel, charging away from the brawl and to the remote center. Time to modify her plan since her stupid compulsive need of justice had basically blown her original plan to bits. Instead of strategy, it was time for pizzazz and explosions. The guards raced after her, the crowds making it impossible for them to shoot at her. Bobbing and weaving through the crowd, Tresse pushed and pulled people out of her way.

Racing to what looked to be most promising as the remote center, she pulled out two grenades from her ammo pouch. Without stopping, she tossed them through the open window right into the control setter. She twisted sharp to the left, away from the building, and grabbed her detonator. Pressing the switch, the explosion surged, the wave knocking her and everyone in the square off their feet. Landing in another nasty puddle, she scrambled back up, grabbing a different kind of grenade. The guards were quickly regrouping as they realized she had just destroyed their super weapon. No longer interested in arresting her, they fired shots at her. One bolt skimmed her arm, but she ignored the burning pain and kept running. Every couple paces, she dropped another one of her special grenades onto the ground. She jumped over the fallen citizens, "Excuse me!" She apologized as her boot skimmed someone's head. They grunted angrily at her. Deciding that she was far enough away, she clicked her detonator again.

The grenades flashed hot white as they spouted out a thick gray smoke. The smoke clouded over everyone's vision, but she ran just ahead of its blinding gas. More shots were fired, but they all missed. She kept running, through the gate and back onto the road. Behind her, she could hear the sep soldiers yelling as they struggled to follow her. She needed to get off the open road, fast, or else she was a sitting duck.

Veering from the path, Tresse hopped back into the brush, vegetation clinging to her filthy clothes. Sure, she smelled nasty, but the muck would block her scent in case they got hounds after her. Suddenly, however, the ground vanished beneath her feet as she unwittingly ran over an open ravine. She fell straight down, not having time to scream or catch herself before she landed smack into a creek.

Water rushed up her nostrils as she struggled to get up. Coughing, she looked up and realized she had fallen into a drainage ditch. And a drainage ditch meant a culvert pipe would be near. Slightly less than perfect, she decided, but she'd take it. She splashed through the water that was up to her knees, scanning for a pipe. Finally, she saw one not too far off.

Tresse dragged her soaking body into it, trying her best not to gag on the stench of the pipe. Hunching forward to avoid touching her head on the top of the pipe, she hurried in until it became too dark to really see anything. She crouched down, cold mud up to her ankles, and waited. She could hear the trample of soldiers racing after her on the road above her, but after a couple minutes, everything grew quiet.

Counting backwards again, this time by threes from three-hundred, she waited until she was comfortable with the security of her position. Careful not to get her comm wet, she pulled it out of her pocket, dialing Skavak's frequency.

"Captain!" His voice bellowed in the cavernous pipe, startling her. Quickly, she turned the volume way down, "I've already heard what you did. Blew up the control center, now the Republic can get their cannons back. Impressive. Plus, you managed to incite a riot in the town. Bonus-,"

Before he could continue his rant, Tresse interrupted him, "Yeah, yeah, I know, yay me. But right now I'm cornered and literally ankle deep in dung. Wanna offer me a hand?"

Corso appeared next to Skavak, "Hey Captain, I can come get you. Upload your coordinates and I'll come for you as fast as I can,"

Great. Sweet farm boy was going to come get her and be all nice and gentlemanly. He was a nice guy, but definitely unnerved her, "Fine. But don't take all day,"

"Be there in a sec!" He eagerly ran from the holo view.

Skavak shook his head, "Nice kid, but a little too soft for his own good,"

"No kidding,"

He hung up, leaving her to wait for her knight in shining armor to pick her up.