I do not own Star Wars The Clone Wars.
Odette sat in a dark corner of a bar on the lower levels of Coruscant. She was on a solo mission for the Chancellor. He had sent a request through the Jedi Council for her to infiltrate the Separatist and gather intel. It was easy to do so as a Bounty Hunter. All she needed now was to get hired. Which is why she was sitting in her armor, her cloak thrown over one shoulder and her hood down. She was looking to get noticed.
She didn't have any back up for this mission. Vos was off on his own. She had to admit, a month with him had boosted her confidence in her skills. Aunt Bo had given her a good foundation and the jedi had pushed her to new heights. Now it was her turn to prove what she could do with what she had learned.
Someone walked by her table, sliding a holo-com across the table. Odette pulled the disk closer before turning it on. She wasn't surprised to see a Confederacy Senator. Odette stayed quiet as she watched the Senator.
The Senator let out a sigh, seeing the bounty hunter wasn't going to be the one to speak first. "You're the Coruscant Mandalorian?"
"I don't belong to the planet." Odette answered. She partially wondered why a Confederacy Senator would risk contacting a bounty hunter in enemy territory. "What's the job?"
"Down to business I see." The Senator straightened herself up. "I need you to deliver supplies. We have people trapped on a Republic occupied world in need of food and medicine."
"Tell them to surrender. They'll get prison rations, but it's better than starving." Odette didn't understand why people had to be so difficult.
"That's not an option." The Senator spoke. "Can you help us or not?"
"It'll cost you. Getting passed a Republic blockade is not going to be easy." Odette knew she could get passed them, but that was because she knew the clearance codes. A normal bounty hunter wouldn't.
"We will pay whatever is needed to ensure our people survive." Odette had to admit, the dedication to their plan was admirable. "Can I count on you?"
"I'll be in touch when it's done." Odette hung up on the Senator and pocketed the holo-com. She then got up from her seat and left the bar. She made her way through the streets of the underworld to a hanger. She smiled as she rounded the corner and saw her ship. Or at least the ship she had purchased for her cover as a bounty hunter.
Odette got onto the Razor Crest and started it up. She settled in and found herself looking forward to this mission. It had taken a week to find a job that would give her a chance to get behind enemy lines. She checked the holo-com and found coordinates for a pick-up point in Separatist space. She lifted off and began her ascent into the atmosphere.
Once she was cleared for her exit she plugged in the coordinates for a neutral planet. She didn't want to get flagged by the republic. No one knew about her mission other than the Chancellor. He hadn't even shared the details with the Jedi Council, claiming it was important as few people knew about it as possible. So if she got caught, she would be treated like an enemy until someone recognized her armor or they removed her helmet. As far as anyone outside the council knew, Odette was on a meditative retreat following the loss of her battalion.
As she traveled through hyperspace, she reviewed the job she has received. She was delivering food and medicine to a small cell of Separatists that were holding out against the republic occupation on Jeddah. It was understandable how they were able to stay hidden, Jeddah had plenty of places for smugglers and pirates to hide out, so why not add rebels to the mix?
She was picking up her supplies on Dantooine. Then she would jump back into a neutral space before jumping back to Republic space before making a final jump to Jeddah. The less suspicion she got the better. So she would enter the atmosphere opposite from the blockade and approach the drop zone on the surface.
The last thing she wanted to do was obviously give the cell away. Then she wouldn't be able to get anymore jobs from the Separatists, which meant no more spying opportunities. She bet the Chancellor would probably have more missions like this one if it was successful. So keeping her cover intact as much as possible would be a benefit.
Picking up the supplies had been easier than Odette had expected. They had all of the cargo for her ready to load as soon as she landed. Once it was secure, they gave her a tracking fob that would lead her directly to the drop sight. Then she was off to make her way to Jeddah.
Approaching the near desert planet was a strange experience. Odette had helped liberate Jeddah from Separatist control with Pong Krell. They had left a small garrison to hold the planet. Then it was taken back by the separatists. It only recently returned to Republic occupation thanks to Master Mundi and his Marines. Odette really hoped she didn't run into any trouble with the clones. Bacara was not a clone she wanted to fight against.
She turned on her cloaking as she got closer to the planet. The Republic Blockade was on the other side of the planet, so their scopes didn't reach out as far on this side of the planet, but she didn't want to risk anything. She quickly made her decent to the planet's surface and followed the fob to the drop sight.
The fob led her to a canyon of sorts. It was all carved and looked ancient. She spotted someone waving her down and set the Razor Crest down on a flat section of rock. She checked the fob and confirmed it was the location as it turned off. She headed down to her cargo hold and opened the doors. She was greeted with many scared and hopeful faces. These rebels looked terrible.
"I've brought supplies and medicine." Odette said as she stepped aside from the door. A few of the men climbed the ramp and began off loading the supplies. Many of the others thanked her as they took the crates into their hideout. Once all of the supplies were offloaded, Odette handed them the tracking fob. "I'll be going now."
"We could use a fighter like you." Odette watched the man. "Mandalorians are said to be the best. Even though you look small and young, you could probably take on more clones than we could together." The man pleaded, knowing they weren't too far from being captured or surrendering. These supplies were just to stay alive. They had no hope of winning this fight on their own.
"This isn't my fight." Odette answered as she climbed the rest of the ramp into her ship and closed the door. She took off and continued down the canyon. She looked beside her at the duplicate fob sitting in her copilot seat. She would have to drop that off at a republic base soon, otherwise those people might just die anyway.
She wasn't too surprised to see a Republic base at the entrance of the canyon. What did surprise her was the internment camp present. She could see the rows of buildings that housed the prisoners-of-war as well as rows of people that looked to be heading into the canyon. Odette didn't understand what was going on.
"Unidentifiable gunship." A voice spoke over her com. "This is restricted airspace. Land immediately and prepare for inspection and interrogation." That wasn't good. "If you do not comply, you will be considered hostile and shot down." That really wasn't good.
Odette quickly plugged the fob into her com and began transmitting the fob code. She hoped they got the message without her having to say anything. Odette sensed the ion canon blasts and dove to avoid the two shots. She pulled up and to the side to avoid crashing. She quickly turned her shields on as her system warned her of incoming fighters. "I guess I'm a hostile now." She muttered under her breath as she checked the status of the code transmission, halfway there.
She banked hard to the left, fighters flying past her. "Unidentified Gunship, land immediately or you will be shot down." Odette rolled her eyes and shook her head. Did they not notice her transmission? Or did they think someone else was sending them. She straightened out and flew back towards the base. She was in the clear from being shot, but they could still use rockets, if they had them equipped.
She checked the status of the transmission again, almost there. She was coming up on the base and the ion canon. She could see the canons moving and preparing to fire on her once more. "Let's try something crazy and stupid." Odette prepped hyperdrive and the engines. She waited until the fighters lined up more directly behind her. She assumed they didn't have rockets since they weren't fixing at her.
Her com beeped, announcing the transmission was received. She braced herself before pulling back the throttle. Then she reversed the engines and pushed the throttle all the way. Odette still jerked a bit as the ship lurched backwards towards the fighters. The fighters broke off and Odette cut the engines and set them back to forward. She hoped the heavy engines would pull the ship down and back. It did and the Razor Crest pointed to the sky.
"Unidentified Gunship, Stand down." Odette rolled her eyes as she started the engines and jumped to hyperspace.
She let out a sigh as the blue streaks of hyperspace flew past her. "That was not my best idea, but it worked." She settled in for the remaining trip back to Dantooine. No need for a detour this time.
Landing on Dantooine was interesting. She returned to the same depot she picked the cargo up from. She was met by the same Senator who hired her. "I did my job." She handed over the holo-com. "The rest is up to them."
"Thank you." The Senator spoke calmly. "With word of Death Watch and their ideal, I was hesitant to hire you for this job."
"Death Watch is one group trying to do what they think is right for their people." Odette watched as the Senator nodded slowly. "If there's nothing else..."
The Senator cleared her throat. "If you do not have another employment to get to, there are other cells in need of aid."
It took Odette almost month to finish her mission. She had been across the galaxy and back, delivering supplies, troops, or weapons to various Separatist cells. As far as she knew, every cells she went to was captured at some point after she left them. No one suspected her due to the cells being in dire conditions, but Odette knew it was only a matter of time until they figured it out.
Odette parked the Razor Crest in it's usual docking bay, having rented the bay for the next year. She would check on it in a day or two, just to keep anyone from thinking it was abandoned. As she locked up the ship, she double checked her security systems, just to be safe. Once she was satisfied, she walked off the ship and raised the ramp.
Next she would need to report to the chancellor, but first she needed to change. So it was off to the jedi temple for her. She would have to take a long and convoluted route back to the temple, just to throw off anyone who might be tracking or taking note of her. It was rare to see a Mandalorian on Coruscant, especially with what was going on with Death Watch.
While most of the galaxy focused on Death Watch and the War. Odette's thoughts dwelled on the jedi and the clone army. During her mission and the jobs she did while on her mission, Odette saw a lot of things she hadn't seen as a padawan. Prison camps, starvation among prisoners-of-war, and just how harsh some of the clones were towards Separatist prisoners. And the Jedi who were with those clones did nothing about it. Some may not even know what was going on, but that didn't excuse that it shouldn't be happening.
Then there were the talks and propaganda the Separatists said about the Jedi. That they were evil and were a disgrace of what they once were. How they were hypocrites for claiming to be peace keepers while they led a war. No matter how much it hurt, Odette agreed with them on some level. The Jedi certainly did not live up to their claim of being peace keepers. They served the republic, meaning those outside of the republic didn't matter to them, and that wasn't right. The Jedi shouldn't take a side. They shouldn't have taken a side in this war.
All too soon Odette arrived at the temple and snuck in using a side entrance. She waved to a guard as she passed his post. The guard stood still, not acknowledging her greeting or denying her access. Odette continued on to her room where she removed her helmet and all of her armor pieces and pistols. She then threw on a new jedi tunic and boots before heading out to report back to the Chancellor on her mission. Then she would have to give the same report to the Jedi council.
Odette managed to get to the senate building without being stopped by anyone. This was definitely going to be easier if she reported to the Chancellor before reporting to the Council. The council would advise her not to say certain things to the Chancellor. She didn't think that was right. Palpatine led the Senate, he needed to be well informed.
Odette made her way to the Chancellor's office, being ushered in as soon as she told an attendant she was here. Odette entered the cool office and felt herself relax a bit. There was just something about this office that seem to resonate with her. She didn't feel this way the first time she had entered, but she found she rather liked it.
"Odette." Chancellor Palpatine greeted the young jedi knight. "It's good to see you are well. How did your mission go?"
Odette returned the Chancellor's smile as he walked over to her from his desk. "It's is good to see you as well Chancellor. My mission went well. Several cells that were scattered across newly liberated systems have been rooted out. They trust me for now. I also managed to instal several probes that will become quite valuable once we push further into separatist territory."
"Excellent." Palpatine smiled as he patted the girl on the shoulder. "And what of their influence? What are they saying about us? How are the neutral systems reacting to it?" They began walking back towards the Chancellor's desk as they spoke.
"They say the Senate is corrupt. That there is no fixing it. The only way forward is to tear it down and start over." Odette doubted this was anything new. "The neutral systems aren't too keen on either side. Starting from nothing will involve a lot of mistakes and still the possibility of corruption, but trying to fix the system will be just as hard and will take just as long."
Palpatine let out a sigh as he sat in his seat once more. "Much of the same then. What do they say of the Jedi and their role in this war?" Odette opened her mouth to speak, but closed it without a word. Should she voice her thoughts? Could she? "Be honest my dear. You have my word that it will not change my opinion of you. Nor will the council hear of this from me. Your mother has made her position clear on the matter. A bold move considering who your father is."
Odette nodded. She knew her mother was on the side opposing the jedi being involved in this war. "I...I agree with my mother. The Jedi shouldn't have gotten involved. They should have been the ones to mediate between the Confederacy and the Republic from the start."
"I see." Palpatine answered neutrally. "Was there anything else you wish to tell me about what you saw? Perhaps how our army looked from their side?"
Odette looked down from the Chancellor's gaze as she recalled what she saw from the clones. She knew war was brutal and there wasn't always a chance to show mercy. She had learned that first hand with Pong Krell, but she hadn't expected to see it across so many battalions. "It doesn't really matter how we look from their side. It's exactly how we see them from our side."
The Chancellor nodded slowly. "And what of the Jedi? How do the Separatists view them?"
Odette found herself still unable to look at the Chancellor, feeling a slight bit of shame of being a Jedi. "Their view is justified. The Jedi have chosen a side and are fighting, rather than doing their duty of keeping the peace."
"Do you exclude yourself?" Palpatine asked, catching the knight's disassociation from them as she had spoken.
Odette steeled herself as she looked up, meeting the Chancellor's gentle gaze. "Even though I have removed myself from the active fighting, I am still at fault. I have fought and I have taken a side."
"It is difficult to admits one's faults, be proud you are able to do such." Odette was surprised to hear how gentle the Chancellor sounded. He gave her a warm smile. "I apologize for keeping you so long. I'm sure the council would also like a report on your findings."
"Thank you for your time Chancellor." Odette gave the man a bow before heading for the door. Form there she made her way back to the temple, preparing herself for a possible lecture for not reporting to the council first.
It's nice to finally get something out.
Sorry for taking so long. With lockdown I've had to pick up more hours at work.
Now for a bit of business, I've hit a bit of a crossroad here. I'm debating if I want to continue this story into Rebels, or if I want to rewrite Rebels, or end the war peacefully. Honestly I'm stumped.