Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues
Lando and Garballa boarded the Falcon. "So, where is this droid?"
"He's right…" Lando paused, realizing that Omega was nowhere in sight. "Um… wait here a second." Lando rushed to the cockpit. "L3, please tell me you did not remove the restraining bolt from Omega."
"You have no right to restrict his ability to move."
Lando had to resist the urge to tear his hair out. "Where did he go?"
"I don't know. He took the Emerald scanner and left."
"Urrgggh, he's gonna ruin everything!" Lando groaned. He went back to Garballa. "So… slight problem. The droid is… missing. And it might be roaming around inside your mine killing everyone it sees."
"Is that supposed to be some sort of joke?"
Then they heard an explosion.
"Don't worry! I can fix all this! Just let me find him!" Lando ran out of the Falcon and into the mine.
Han landed the Ghost on Lothal.
"What makes you so sure he'd come here?" Greedo asked snidely.
"He said he was looking for the Jedi. Which means sooner or later, he will end up here."
"So, we're just supposed to wait for him to show up. For all we know he's already been here and left."
But the Emerald detector was going off, which at least meant there was an Emerald here.
Greedo picked it up. "What do you know? Looks like coming here wasn't a waste after all." They followed the device, which led them to the capital building. "Looks like these Emeralds have already been found."
"Don't worry this place is run by those old, dumb droids from the Clone Wars. This'll be easy." Han reassured him.
They walked in the front door.
"Greetings, citizens. How may I be of service?" The droid at the reception desk chirped.
Han stepped smoothly forward. "See, we've lost something that's very important to us and we heard it was here somewhere."
"What did you lose?"
"A large, glowing gemstone."
"We happen to have two of those. Was it silver or yellow?"
"Ah, it's been such a long time I don't remember. Why don't you bring both of them out here? Maybe that'll jog my memory." Han suggested.
"Okay, let me just… wait a second. I was told these gemstones are from a completely different universe. How could one of them possibly be yours?"
"Um… we're also from another universe." Han lied.
"You don't look like those other people who came from that universe."
"Was one of them short, blue, and annoying?" Greedo asked.
"Yeah, he was the one who brought the Emeralds here!"
"That's the guy who stole the Emerald from us!" Greedo shouted
"I thought you said you lost it." Roger pointed out.
"Yes, we did lose it. But then it was stolen." Han picked up the thread of his tale again.
Kalani walked in and observed the scene. "What seems to be the problem here?"
"Oh, these two claim to be the proper owners of one of those Emeralds we have."
Kanani studied Han and Greedo for an uncomfortably long amount of time. "…All current data confirms that you are lying. Leave now or you will be arrested."
Greedo whispered to Han, "Now what, genius?"
"Don't worry, I have another idea." Han quickly pulled out his blaster and shot Kalani and Roger. "Come on, let's go!"
They ventured deeper into the building. A damaged Kalani picked himself off the floor and activated the alarm.
As Omega gunned down another group of thugs that tried to stop him, he heard a familiar voice.
"Omega, stop!"
Omega turn his head to see Lando running down the way he came.
"What are you doing!"
"Acquiring the Chaos Emerald."
"I had a plan to get the Emerald! And you just ruined it!"
"Well, my plan is working perfectly so we shall continue doing this my way."
"You can't just run around down here blowing things up!" Lando protested.
"I am very certain that I can."
"Omega, this is a mine shaft!" Lando practically screamed. "If you keep firing missiles willy-nilly, you're going to cause a cave-in! And if that happens, you'll be trapped down here!"
"But then how will we acquire the Emerald?"
"Haven't you ever thought about once, maybe, using words?"
"That sounds like a very inefficient way of killing someone."
"I mean negotiating!" Lando spat.
"Negotiating is not a part of my skill set."
"Have you ever thought about learning how to negotiate?"
"I have not. Negotiation has always been a job performed by someone else. And I am the one they bring in when negotiations fail." Omega intoned.
"Well why don't you come with me, and I'll show you how it's done."
The two walked back outside, where Garballa is waiting with a bunch of his men.
"Lando! You better have a good explanation for this!"
"I apologize. It was just a simple processing malfunction. I rebooted him, and he should be just fine. Isn't that right, Omega?"
"Affirmative."
"That droid of yours killed over a dozen of my guards!"
"Well, I told he was capable." Lando said in a bragging tone.
"You have no deal!" Garballa exploded. "Leave here now!"
Lando sighed. "Well, that's just too bad. I guess I'll just have to sell him to someone else. Perhaps the Black Sun will be a bit more interested. Say… aren't the Hutts currently at war with them? Sure would be a shame if they decide to use Omega to attack this place."
"Is that a threat, Calrissian?"
"I'm just stating the facts here. Whoever gets this droid is going to have the power of an entire army at their disposal. I wanted to sell him to you, but you said we have no deal."
"Or I could destroy you both right here!"
"Well you could certainly kill me, but Omega? I wouldn't bet on it. And if I'm dead there will be no one left who can control him. How about instead, we come to an agreement? You help me get my business back from the Mandalorians, I give you the deadliest droid in the galaxy, and everyone walks away alive and happy?"
"What about the Emerald?" Omega asked.
Lando inwardly facepalmed.
"You're trying to steal the Emerald from me!" Garballa screeched. "Forget it! That Emerald is mine!"
"No, it is not." Omega corrected. "That Emerald is the key to my quest for vengeance and saving this universe. If I do not acquire it, then my enemies will."
"I don't care about your problems."
"You will if my enemies come here looking for it."
"And how will they know it's here?"
Omega simply held up the Emerald tracker. "If my enemies come by, they will know it is here. There is no scenario where the Emerald remains in your position. And my enemies will be less willing to negotiate a peaceful exchange. You can die at the hands of me or the hands of my enemies. Or you can give me the Emerald and survive." Omega put his full arsenal on display. "I await your decision."
Garballa sputtered. "Grrr… fine! Just take it and go! And don't ever come back!"
Omega put his weapons away. "These terms are agreeable."
Minutes later, they were flying away, Omega holding the blue Emerald.
"Amazing. The negotiating worked. I completed a mission that didn't involve killing people." Omega turned to Lando. "Thank you for teaching me the skill of negotiating."
"Yeah well, I still don't have a way to get my business back from the Mandalorians."
"Can't you use your negotiating skill on them?"
"The Mandalorians aren't the negotiating type. They're more like you."
"Would you say that that is a situation that demands killing lots of people?"
Lando smiled. "You know, come to think of it, it is."
"Then perhaps we could take a small detour on our way back to Lothal."
