Chapter 15: Need Something Blown Up?
-I-
Jason almost felt bad for the delusional leader of the Coruscanti branch of the Black Sun. In-game, Samovan was a solo-able 'boss' character and one of the easiest Kingpin-level bounties to capture. Of course, knowing what had happened to the previous group that had tried to take on Samovan, Jason and his friends were well-prepared for this exact scenario. Well, minus the members of the group being kidnapped.
"Scared?" Samovan called out with a sneer. "You should be. I can easily squelch your pathetic lives and not even break a sweat. I command every single Black Sun member on this world, and what do you have? Nothing! And that's what you're about to become!"
"How long do you think he's going to monologue for?" Jason muttered to Cloake and Corso.
"If he keeps talking, I'm going to blast him," Cloake rubbed his forehead.
"I am feeling pretty embarrassed for him," Corso agreed.
"Any hostages in that freighter?" Jennson asked Oseari and Neosmugg.
"Jedi Lost isn't onboard," Oseari shook his head. "If what I'm picking up is accurate, she's still in the spaceport."
"Same for Rumblebee," Neosmugg said after consulting his datapad.
Jennson tabbed his helmet comlink. "Omega Contingency is a go."
"But I'm feeling generous," Samovan continued on in the background, folding his arms in front of him. "If all of you get down on your knees and beg for my mercy, I might just keep you alive."
The sky flashed brighter than the sun as a tree-sized turbolaser bolt flew down from high orbit and blew apart the back of the ship Samovan was standing on. Samovan was forced to leap from the freighter as two more similar bolts ripped the freighter to pieces in an ear-drum-rattling boom. The Black Sun lackeys all looked up into the sky in fear, and saw dozens of rectangular cases plummet through the air. The pavement cracked as each person-sized case slammed down. When the cases opened, individuals wearing white Scalene Armor with blue lights emerged. These individuals held blasters or lightsabers, and their uniformed, helmeted appearance, and entrance only added to the intimidation factor.
"D-ar Lance, thanks for joining us," Oseari greeted.
"We're just following orders," D-ar Lance remarked in turn.
"Maybe Leora has a point about you Sixth Line people," Oseari muttered, shaking his head as D-ar Lance
Jason had to keep himself from smirking in amusement. When it came to 'Dar,' his friend back on Earth and creator of all the D-ar toons, unquestioning soldier was not exactly how he would describe him. Seeing his toons like this was both surreal but also hilarious at the same time. "Wait until I tell Leora that."
"Please don't," Oseari deadpanned.
In the meantime, an enraged Samovan stormed down the stairs of the spaceport, a red aura flickering around him. "Do you know what you idiots just did? You just ticked off a whole host of very powerful people. Now, for you new people, I'd advise you to think long and hard about the consequences of your actions."
"That is kind of the wrong thing to say to them," Oseari said awkwardly.
As if on cue, D-ar Lance stepped forward and his lightsaber activated. "There is no contemplation, only duty."
The other D-ar Jedi all copied D-ar Lance, and a field of white lightsabers ignited.
The Black Sun army camped out on the spaceport stairs all grew increasingly nervous. Samovan, not so much. He sneered at the line of nearly twenty D-ar Jedi, and an equal number of blaster-toting D-ar.
"You are going to need more than that to stop me. Didn't you hear me? I. Am. Invincible!" Samovan waved a hand and the red aura surrounding him flashed outwards.
It was like a giant foot had just dropped down onto a group of D-ars. One moment, three of the D-ars were about to engage the Black Sun, and the next they were bloody pulps on the ground. Even their armor had been flattened into a single, bloodied sheet.
Jason's eyes widened in shock. It was one thing to hear Leora describe the power of the datacron, but it was an entirely different thing to witness it firsthand.
Insta-kill.
"See? Invincible!" Samovan roared, looking back to the Black Sun henchmen. "Kill them all!"
The army of henchmen yelled in approval and opened fire.
Jason and those in his group dove for cover among the speeders and other obstacles in the area. The D-ar force advanced behind the defenses of the lightsaber wielders. Several of the blaster-toting D-ars even controlled a scrambling device that projected a dome of energy around their formation that sent incoming blasterbolts astray. Despite the overwhelming firepower, the D-ars all endured and began to steadily eat away at the Black Sun forces.
Not that Samovan was inactive at this time. After observing the developing situation with an ever-increasing frown, he fired off a grappling line that yanked one of the D-ar soldiers manning a scrambling field in his direction. While the D-ar trooper was in the air, the criminal kingpin lashed out with a punch. The D-ar trooper was reduced to a red mist and the energy field that he had been maintaining flickered off. Another three members of the Sixth Line were immediately dropped by the heavy incoming fire.
Whether it was blaster fire or lightsabers, the red aura around Samovan negated each attack and allowed the kingpin to walk right up to his targets. He didn't always use his datacron's power to attack, however. Instead, when he reached a target he'd engage in hand-to-hand combat with beyond-normal strength. Two D-ar Jedi were dispatched in this fashion, Samovan's fists punching right through the Scalene helmets and into their heads.
For Jason, a strange thought struck him as he watched the D-ar team take on the Black Sun group. It was almost like watching a raid where the only participants were all Dar's toons—the guy named all his toons D-ar 'something'—and said raid group was on the way to a group-wipe. Even though Jennson and everyone else were doing their best to support the D-ar group, they lacked the ability to charge head-long into the withering storm of plasma and blasterbolts. And the D-ars, as great as they were against the 'adds,' were unable to penetrate Samovan's defenses, or even defend against his attacks.
"This isn't good," Corso grimaced, ducking as a plasma bolt skipped off his cover. "Those guys aren't going to last much longer out there."
"We have to do something, preferably without getting killed the process," Cloake agreed. "But with a monster like Samovan, it's like the deck's been stacked against us."
"There might be something I can do," Oseari called out to the others. "It's from Jedi Lost's playbook so it's going to take me out of the fight once I do it. But it should give us a slight edge."
"Whatever it is you're going to do, do it quick," Captain Jennson said grimly. Samovan had just unleashed his powers again and flattened two D-ar Jedi.
"Okay. All of you are going to feel a little boost in your senses and reflexes. Don't fight it," Oseari said in warning. A visible gust of air pulsed out from him as the Jedi's Force-energies suddenly went berserk. The pulse washed over Jason, the D-ars, and the others on their side, empowering their bodies beyond what they were normally capable of. Oseari collapsed from Force-burnout after buffing everyone, but the effects of his sacrifice were instantaneous.
Jason's vision became so sharp that he could even see the Black Sun members at the very top of the spaceport stairs, despite the fact that they were all wearing black and the entrance was pitch black as well. His entire body felt as though it had just gone through a very satisfying aerobic workout and his heart was thudding a steady beat. Jason drew one of his regular arrows and attached the explosive arrowhead onto it. He took a few breaths to steady himself. And then, in a single, fluid motion, he drew back the bowstring and let the arrow fly. He hadn't even needed to draw on his datacron's energy for that shot. The arrow whistled through the air, spinning in an impressing corkscrew before slamming into the topmost step of the spaceport entrance. The blast threw Black Sun members either back into the spaceport or sent them flying off the stairs.
"Everyone, on me!" Jesslyn yelled out in inspiration, leaping from her cover and batting aside a plethora of blasterbolts in the process. The effect of Oseari's empowerment could be seen in the almost godlike speeds of her actions, her blades moving so fast that they formed a crisscrossing cylinder around her
"Havoc Squad, move out!" Jennson yelled over the din. "Adrenal stims! Overclock your weapons!"
Jorgan, Elara, and Yun all emerged from their cover behind Jennson, reflexive energy shields and charged barriers activated. Their heavy cannons were all glowing brightly, the barrel or barrels beginning to turn red as they dished out destructive blast after blast. The stims they had taken allowed them to stay a respectable distance behind Jesslyn as she provided additional cover for them.
Havoc Squad's appearance and Jesslyn's advance immediately alleviated some of the pressure the D-ars had been under. The Black Sun criminals now had to fire on yet another target, and their numbers continued to drop. Caitlin'snow'mai, Skadge, Cloake, Akaavi, and Corso all used that opportunity to join the fight in full as well, further decimating the ranks of the Black Sun forces.
But Samovan didn't seem to care one way or another. The buildup of red energy surrounding him once again reached its peak, and he thrust out a hand towards D-ar Lance. Jason flinched, fully expecting D-ar Lance to go the way of noob raid party in a nightmare-level raid. What happened was completely opposite of his expectation. A powerful surge of Force energy formed around D-ar Lance a split second before the red energy made contact. The resulting collision blew apart most of D-ar Lance's armor, save for his helmet, and sent the Jedi flying backwards. But as if the Force had been guarding him, he was still in one piece and very much alive.
Jason and Neosmugg were both still crouched down at the back of the action and were really grateful that they were as Samovan then turned his attention to Jesslyn. He punched out with a fist shrouded in red energy, but Jesslyn twisted herself to avoid the attack and lashed out in turn. Her blades hit the red aura surrounding Samovan, but, as with all the other attempts, they rebounded wildly. The crime lord smirked at red-haired woman and punched out again. Jesslyn quickly brought both her sabers in front of her and the blades took the full force of the enhanced punch. Jesslyn was sent flying backwards, but she turned her trajectory into a flip, and then leaped fearlessly right back at Samovan.
Samovan sneered at her, and the red aura around him began to solidify.
As it did, Jason's eyes narrowed as he realized something. "Neosmugg, cover me."
"Wait….what?"
Jason darted out from behind his cover, forcing Neosmugg to curse and pop up to fire off a couple of rounds. As Jason ran, he pulled another arrow from his quiver and nocked it. He tapped into the power of the datacron's energy, and time slowed almost to a standstill. Even though there were hundreds of projectiles in the air, and thousands of possible trajectories, Jason managed to tune them out—mostly in part to Leora's recommendations while they had been training—to focus on the two figures in front of him. Jesslyn was practically frozen in mid-leap, her expression dark as she glared down at the man who had killed her master. Samovan's expression was almost dismissive, the red-aura circulating around him already beginning to stretch out towards the Jedi.
Focusing on just these two and praying that none of the blasterbolts currently in the air were headed in his direction, Jason released his nocked arrow. He swiftly drew a second arrow, one of the special arrows crafted by the Wookie arms-tech, and fired in quick succession. That second shot, however, had him feeling light-headed.
Time righted itself before he expected it to, and Jason found himself being tackled to the ground from behind as a volley of blaster and plasma bolts sliced through the air he had just been.
"Are you trying to get Rumblebee angry at me?" Neosmugg panted out.
Jason was too busy looking up to see the results of his shot to answer. He had noticed a couple things about Samovan's vaporizing-level attack. One of those observations was that Samovan had never used his 'vaporizing' attack more than once in a given time-period. A second observation was that Samovan needed a few seconds to actually build up that vaporizing attack. And third, the red aura around Samovan became very thin whenever he did use this attack.
Jason's arrows whooshed through the congested battlefield one after another in a surreal train. At the same time, Samovan kicked off the ground towards Jesslyn, one hand outstretched. Just as the criminal kingpin went airborne, the arrows struck. The first arrow impacted the thin red aura protecting him and embedded itself into it as if it had hit a solid block of metal. The second arrow blasted right through the first in what Jason's father would have called a 'Robin Hood' shot, and pierced the kingpin's body. But because Samovan had leaped into the air, the arrows hit slightly lower than where Jason had been aiming.
And he had been aiming for the center of Samovan's stomach.
The red aura that had been milliseconds from consuming Jesslyn suddenly retracted, and the towering kingpin fell back to the ground and staggered backwards with a ragged gasp. Jesslyn landed in bewilderment and likewise backed off. It took a moment, but then the entire battlefield seemed to realize what had just happened.
Fiery eyes locked onto Jason's prone figure.
"Sorry, my mistake!" Jason yelled out, feeling a twinge of guilt.
"You…you…you…" Samovan sputtered, the red aura around him going haywire.
Jason grabbed Neosmugg and yanked the sawbones back around cover as the red aura lashed out and proceeded to leave a small crater where they had just been. Rather than advance, however, Samovan stayed where he was, and alarmingly lashed out with his aura again in a second 'vaporizing' level attack.
"Don't tell me he has a fricken enrage timer," Jason grumbled under his breath as a speeder was squashed into a single sheet of metal.
"I'd be enraged too if someone bow and arrowed me below the belt," Neosmugg responded.
The two split up with a nod just as Samovan leveled their cover. The three rapid attacks had happened so fast that the rest of the people on the battlefield had no idea how to react.
"Die! Die! Die!" Samovan roared. His red aura flared out in all directions like a storm of tiny red bullets and sent Black Sun gangsters, D-ars, and Havoc Squad members flying every which way.
"And now he's Reaper," Jason grumbled. He felt slightly wronged. It wasn't his fault that Samovan had leaped just before the arrows hit. At the moment, Jason was too annoyed and too busy scrambling from cover to cover to be afraid.
"Stop running you coward!" Samovan snarled. His intimidation factor was slightly muted by the fact that the arrow was still embedded in its target. The type of arrowhead just used ensured that it would cause even more damage if pulled out, and Samovan seemed to have realized this. Having an enraged, towering gangster with an arrow sticking out of his pants charge at you was a really surreal sight.
"Hey, catch!" Jennson called out, hurling a blinking device at Samovan.
The kingpin ignored the Trooper and continued to stomp after Jason. The device, however, latched onto the red aura at Samovan's back, beeped several times, and then blew up in a fiery burst. This had the effect of actually staggering the kingpin.
Samovan snarled, whirling around and thrusting his hand out. A burst of red hit Jennson, but unlike Samovan's previous attacks, all it did was create a dent on Jennson's armor and stagger the Trooper. It was very obvious that the kingpin's repeated usage had drained its potency.
Elara, Aric, and Yun all fired off an explosive round at Samovan, buying enough time for them to grab Jennson and pull him behind cover. The smoke from the blast cleared, and the kingpin's standing figure reappeared. The aura around Samovan continued to flicker chaotically. He snarled in the direction of Havoc Squad and raised a hand to charge up another attack.
A finger tapped Samovan on the shoulder and the kingpin spun around to face the Cathar Smuggler. "Howdy."
Cloake then proceeded to drive his boot into the back of the arrow sticking out of Samovan's lower regions. The dirty kick's effectiveness was multiplied exponentially as the arrow was driven completely into the kingpin and almost out the other end, doubling Samovan over and making his eyes bulge. Cloake then fired his dual blasters at point-blank range, propelling Samovan backwards.
The once rowdy Black Sun members had become deathly quiet as their 'invincible' boss was knocked to the ground.
Samovan shakily got up to his feet, only to have a rush of wind breeze past him. He looked up to see Jesslyn standing in front of him, the Force charged up around her. He snarled, but a violent blast of Force energy swept him off his feet and turned him horizontal in mid-air. Jesslyn followed up the super-charged Force Sweep with a second, rib-breaking blast of Force energy that pinwheeled Samovan across the ground and left him gasping for breath at the bottom of the steps of the starport.
As Jason watched the others all have their heroic moment, he felt very conflicted.
Sticky Grenade.
Dirty Kick.
Force Sweep.
There was no way his heroic moment ability was going to be called 'Arrow to the Nuts'.
"Enough!" Samovan suddenly roared, forcefully rising to his feet once more. The dying embers of his datacron's energy flickered, and then flared. The red aura disappeared to be replaced by a poisonous green. Samovan, who looked as if he had been on his last legs, suddenly looked completely healthy and energetic. The arrow that had been embedded in him disintegrated, the damage gone.
"Okay, that's not fair," Neosmugg stated blankly.
Jason had to agree. If the color was anything to go by, Samovan had also absorbed the power of an Endurance Datacron. He remembered his vision, as well as the video from the undercover officer he had seen on Carrick Station. Definitely the Endurance Datarcron.
Several D-ar Jedi charged at Samovan with Force-augmented speed, jamming their lightsabers into the crimelord. Unlike before, no aura stopped their sabers from penetrating the man. Also unlike before, the green aura snaked out and surrounded the three D-ar Jedi. It looked as if their very lives were being sucked from them. Their sabers shorted out, and the saber wounds they had created were healed up.
Both D-ar Lance and Jesslyn gestured and yanked the three D-ar Jedi free before their lives were completely extinguished. Several blasters rang out and peppered the kingpin, but the rounds that pierced his armor healed up in the blink of an eye.
"I…Am….Invin…"
Before Samovan could finish his trademark line, a large piece of debris was projected out from the spaceport and slammed into the back of Samovan's head at high speeds. The impact was so strong that said skull was completely obliterated. Samovan fell to the ground, the green aura fading.
A Jedi Consular's Heroic Moment ability, Project.
"You do know lightsabers are designed to lop off heads for a reason, right?" Leora Lost's voice called out from the spaceport entryway.
Following that, blasterfire and several smaller explosions lit up the inside of the spaceport entry way, annihilating the Black Sun thugs who had retreated. Leora, Sallyy, Rumblebee, and Ellaera soon made their presences known at the top of the steps. The remaining Black Sun henchmen, now trapped between Jason and the D-ars, and Leora's group, immediately threw down their weapons.
The fight was over.
The group of women joined the others on the street in front of the spaceport.
"Jedi Jesslyn," Leora gestured to Samovan, who, miraculously enough, was still breathing. "You probably should finish him before he recovers."
"Jedi don't execute the helpless," Jesslyn shook her head, looking very regretful.
"He's hardly helpless," Leora rolled her eyes. "And he killed your master. You really going to just let him keep on living?"
"I am a Jedi, Jedi Lost. I would be betraying the teachings of my master if I did what you suggested."
"Don't worry your pretty little heads about that," Skadge suddenly called out. He advanced with Oseari's lightsaber in hand. "If you won't get rid of him, I will."
"He has to stand trial," Jesslyn protested.
"You wanna be the one he pastes next when he recovers?" Skadge shoved Jesslyn out of the way. He stood over Samovan's body, and held the lightsaber hilt at chest height, aiming it at Samovan. "I'm ending this filth here and now, and no one's gonna stop me. Ya hear?"
"Skadge." Caitlin'snow'mai spoke up. For a moment, everyone though that the bounty hunter was going to rein in her companion.
"What?!"
"The lightsaber opening is the other side," Caitlin'snow'mai interrupted, hand on face, hanging her head in embarrassment.
"Wha…oh, I knew that," Skadge flipped the lightsaber around.
The green aura around Samovan suddenly began flaring to full force, miraculously pulling the pieces of his skull back together.
"The Black Sun is mine," Skadge activated his lightsaber and sliced through the air.
As the Houk removed the kingpin's head, Leora suddenly thrust out one hand towards Samovan and the other towards Oseari. The green energy flooded out of Samovan and through Leora like an electrical current, before travelling on to Oseari's unconscious body. When the green energy was completely transferred, the red energy from before made an appearance, and that energy flew out of Samovan and into Leora. Leora promptly dropped her other hand and quite unashamedly absorbed all of the red energy for herself.
Jason saw this all happen. But from the reactions of everyone else, including Jesslyn who was standing right next to Leora, no one else seemed to realize what Leora had just done. He met Leora's eyes met and she winked and put a finger to her lips. Jason nodded. Despite Leora being a psychopathic klepto with a penchant for mischief, she hadn't done anything to hurt him. The fact that he was able to use his datacron abilities during the firefight had been because of her advice and help. She might be crazy, but she was a good type of crazy.
With the threat over, Rumblebee and Neosmugg immediately broke off to help patch up the injured D-ars.
Ellaera looked over all the Black Sun thugs, who were currently on their stomachs with their hands stretched out above them and being monitored by the remaining D-ars. "Okay, Samovan is dead. What do we do with the rest of the Black Sun?"
"Give 'em to me," Skadge thumped his chest. "I'll whip 'em into shape real good."
"They're technically criminals," Sergeant Elara Dorne clicked her tongue in disapproval.
"You take them off the street and others will just replace them," Skadge countered. "You let me have these welps and you won't have any power vacuum violence to deal with. You know that it's better for Coruscant if things aren't constantly blowing up in their residential neighborhoods."
"Ms. Mai?" Jennson turned to the Chiss bounty hunter.
"Let him have the scrubs," Caitlin'snow'mai waved a dismissive hand. "Skadge is Black Sun and knows how they operate. He'll be able to keep things under control."
"Jedi Lance, release the Black Sun members to Mr. Skadge's supervision," Jennson directed.
D-ar Lance inclined his head and unquestionally carried out the command. "As you say."
"Alright!" Skadge bellowed to the shell-shocked groups. "You lot are going to follow my commands. I'll shoot anyone who wants to do otherwise? All of you start cleaning up this mess. If you have any information on corrupted senators, lawmen or others, let me know and I'll reward you. This here is still Black Sun turf, and we're going to keep it that way!"
"Hey, Skadge, can I have a quick word with you?" Cloake murmured in a low voice.
"Hmm?"
"Do you mind if I take credit for bringing down Samovan?" Cloake said. "Not in the underworld of course, but on the up-and-up."
"Wanna seem like a real hero?"
"Not really," Cloake drew out the words. "You see, it has to do with the bounty on my head…"
As Cloake explained the plan to build up his infamy and take advantage of the Bounty Broker Association's neutrality, the others began to spread out to take account of what happened.
"Are you okay?" Jason asked Ellaera. Corso had likewise approached his captain to check on her.
"I am. So are the others," Ellaera smiled reassuringly at the two.
"How'd you get free?"
"It was Jedi Lost," Ellaera pointed to Leora, who was currently crouched over an unconscious Oseari. "The second she lost touch with Jedi Oseari, she snapped. She woke from whatever sedative they had her under, smashed herself free, sprung the rest of us, and…well, you saw everything else that happened after. I never saw her so furious before."
"Were you able to find Skavak?" Jason asked.
"Skavak?"
Corso answered in Jason's place. "Intel placed him with Samovan when they fled the base."
"I didn't see him. Knowing Skavak, however, he probably decided to split the second they reached the spaceport. Having a backbone really isn't his thing." Ellaera grumbled. "That just means we need to head to Justicar territory as soon as we can before he takes off with my ship again."
Corso agreed. "With Havoc Squad and the D-ars holding down the fort here, let's see if we can't make that happen."
-II-
Like all things, however, nothing was ever so simple. Samovan's defeat had sent shockwaves through Coruscant's underworld and political scene. His freakish strength and mysterious backers had allowed him to remain in power for over a decade and a half. And it wasn't just the kingpin. Most of his lieutenants, as well as allied Vigos, had been taken out during the two-day long siege of the Black Sun sector. This left the politicians who had been in bed with the Black Sun more than a little terrified of the fallout. They hadn't expected Jason's group to succeed at all, never thought that the enforcement section of the Sixth Line would actually be deployed.
They didn't have to wait long for said fallout. The content of the data crystals and discs obtained from Samovan's vault made its way onto the local HoloNet channels. Throughout the rest of the day and all through the night, everyone watched as vids of dozens of politicians making shady deals were broadcasted with full audio. All at once the debacle of the Brentaal Star and Esseles was forgotten and the heat General Garza, head of Special Forces, had been facing vanished.
The depth of the corruption led, of course, to more inquiries and investigations and the heroes who had brought down Samovan weren't allowed to blow anything up or blast anyone until the dust settled. This left Ellaera and Corso fuming, but there was little they could do. The group was now officially confined to the Senate District of Coruscant and even had D-ar 'supervisors' to ensure they didn't leave the area. This meant that all the team could do was toe-the-line.
The Jedi who had been working with Jason's group, as well as the members of Havoc Squad, were immediately recalled by their superiors. Sallyy had likewise been recalled, becoming the RPA's representative during the Senate hearings. Treek, Rumblebee and Neosmugg were at the military hospital treating the injured D-ars and Black Sun thugs. This left the remaining Smugglers plus one Caitlin'snow'mai more or less isolated in the Senate District. Restrictions set down by Rain-Eye and Senator Riah further limited their movement.
Fortunately or not, the Bounty Broker Association had a branch-office within the Senate Tower itself, letting the team acquire their rewards from the hard-fought fight. All available members of Jason's team went to the BBA branch-office.
"We've confirmed that you have eliminated the targets of these bounties," the droid for the Bounty Broker Association intoned. "Excellent efficiency, the client will be pleased."
"My credits?" Cloake smiled broadly.
"We are depositing the total bounty of eighty-million, three-hundred and fifty-five thousand credits into your account now."
Credit symbols were practically shining in Cloake's eyes as he swiftly pulled out a datapad to check his balance. He did a little happy dance and began quasi-singing. "I'm rich. I'm really rich! I can pay of Rogun, and buy a new ship. I'm rich. I'm rich."
Several people coughed loudly in the background, bringing Cloake back to reality.
"Cloake?" Caitlin'snow'mai calmly folded her arms in front of her and arched an eyebrow.
"Oh, right." Cloake gulped. He transferred twenty five of that eighty-plus million to the Chiss bounty hunter.
"Captain," Akaavi said evenly.
"What's mine is yours. Do I even have to give you a share?" Cloake almost whined.
Akaavi gave him a look that mirrored Caitlin'snow'mai's.
Another ten million disappeared.
"It was Jason's idea to take the bounty," Akaavi said, nodding in a satisfied manner as she saw the balance of her bank account increase. "You should pay him the full bounty on Samovan. After all, it was his arrow that started Samovan's downfall."
Cloake made a face, but Akaavi simply stared him down. Cloake looked away towards Jason, and then glumly transferred more credits.
Jason's wristband pinged and he looked at it and gulped at the twenty-five million sitting in his bank account. He almost felt like doing a little happy dance himself. He was actually a millionaire now.
"Ehm," Ellaera cleared her own throat.
Cloake looked at her with a dour expression. "Five million, not a credit more."
"Sure, five for me. Five for Corso."
Cloake looked even more pained but tapped the datapad again. When he was finished, he had a little over ten million credits left. He quickly pocketed the datapad, as if he was afraid someone else would try to take a portion of the bounty. "Okay. That takes care of that."
"One moment," Ellaera said. She turned to address the Bounty Broker Association droid. "Can I check the bounty on Cloake here?"
The droid's eyes flashed as its holoprojector activated and an overly large image of Cloake's face was projected. "There are multiple bounties on subject 'Cloake'. There is one placed by Rogun the Butcher for a half-million credits. There is one placed by the Exchange for three-quarters of a million credits. And there is an additional bounty recently placed by the Black Sun Vigo Skadge for fifteen million credits."
The group all eyed Cloake with greedy eyes.
"We'll take the contract," Ellaera voiced.
Cloake took a step back nervously. "Hey, remember, the deal was that Akaavi and I split my bounty. If you turn me in, I better get my cut!"
"Mr. Dheas," Ellaera waved down the BBA agent who handled the contracts. "If my group turns in Cloake here, he goes to the highest bidder, right?"
"That's generally how our bounties work, yes," the armored man looked a little confused by the question.
"Okay, good," Ellaera quick-drew her blaster and stunned Cloake. "I'd like to redeem this contract please."
The BBA agent blinked blankly at the turn of events, completely caught off-guard. "Huh?"
"The bounty for Cloake, I'd like to redeem it."
"Oh, right. BH-5Z, please take care of the carbonite processing. I'll let you handle the rest."
"Understood," the BBA droid announced. It extended one arm and spray Cloake with a layer of carbonite. It then slapped an anti-grav device on the slab that was Corso and pushed it into a slab-sized slot in the wall. The droid then walked back to the group, but paused. An ominous premonition rippled through the group. "Congratulations hunters on another successful capture. You are in luck as well, the client Rogun the Butcher has just updated the bounty to twenty-million credits. We are depositing the bounty into your account now."
Everyone in Jason's group wore their own 'oh crud' face at that news.
"Errr….Just out of curiosity, where is Cloake…I mean, the bounty, being taken?"
"He will be processed through out facility before he is shipped to the client's hangar," the droid replied. "Is there a problem?"
"No, no problem," Ellaera gulped. "Thanks for the credits."
"Are you interested in accepting another contract?"
"Not at this time, we have to go," Ellaera and the others left the BBA office. Once outside, they huddled up. "Okay, now what?"
"Well, busting him out of the BBA building is out," Caitlin'snow'mai said before anyone else could speak. "I'd rather not have a death mark on my head in all of civilized space."
"Then we just have to take him back at Rogun's hangar," Akaavi said neutrally.
"Right, because having Rogun place a bounty on all our heads is any better," Ellaera muttered.
"What are you complaining about? Rogun already has a bounty on your head," Akaavi retorted.
"Do we have to rescue him?" Caitlin'snow'mai asked. "It's not like Rogun's going to kill him."
"Jason," Ellaera looked to Jason.
"Huh?"
"What do you think we should do?"
"You're asking me?" Jason was taken aback. Though he had been responsible for many of their adventures so far, from the island on Ord Mantell to Samovan, he normally just followed the lead of everyone else.
"You're technically Rumblebee's First Officer. We're still a part of her crew. And you're probably the only person Ms. Mai won't blast right away if you choose something she doesn't like."
"True," Caitlin'snow'mai shamelessly admitted.
"You do know that the last few choices I made, we ended up getting into a firefight, things exploded, and people got hurt, right?"
"But we got rich," Ellaera said.
"You nearly died on Ord Mantell. Got hurt on the Esseles. Kidnapped by Samovan."
"But we got rich," Ellaera stressed.
"So you're basically telling me to choose the option that'll make the most credits?" Jason said wryly.
"Doesn't everyone make their choices based on that?" Ellaera asked, blinking.
Jason had to admit that Ellaera had a point. "Do we even know where Rogun's hangar is?"
"We can tail the Bounty Broker Associations' associate to it," Akaavi voiced.
"Look at all the speeders leaving the building. How would we even know which one had the fur-ball?" Caitlin'snow'mai shot the idea down.
Someone cleared their throat.
The group spun around, Akaavi and Caitlin'snow'mai drawing blasters at the same time. The person who had interrupted their conversation wasn't wearing Havoc Squad armor, but Ellaera, Akaavi, Corso, and Jason all recognized him.
"GPrime," Jason said in surprise.
The leader of Havoc Squad's Logistics Division was standing with the dark-skinned soldier who had survived on the Brentaal Star, and both were on either side of a floating slab of carbonite. The dark-skinned soldier had noticeably new cybernetic implants and smiled awkwardly at the group.
"We meet again."
"Vorvioca, right?" Jason said, recalling the man's name. "You doing okay?"
"That's right. Thanks to you and your team for patching me up, I was able to last long enough for the docs to fill me with cybernetics. I'm still getting used to it, but there are definite benefits to being able to see in spectrums other than visible light."
"What brings the two of you out this way?" Caitlin'snow'mai asked.
"I had picked up this bounty on Ord Mantell," GPrime lightly tapped the carbonite block. "Some local criminal kingpin by the name of Brogon the Beast. He was making a mess of the logistics back on that farmworld so I was tasked to…well… Anyway, I actually forgot about him thanks to all the hearings and the top-secret mission so I didn't turn him earlier."
"And the kid?" Caitlin'snow'mai waved her blaster casually at Vorvioca before twirling it in one hand and sliding it into its holster.
"Meet the newest member of Havoc Squad's Logistics Division. Any soldier who can last after facing down Sith and the Inferno Brigade has a career in logistics," GPrime said with a warm smile. "Corporal, why don't you go on in and give this thug to the BBA. I'm going to have a chat with these outstanding citizens."
"Yes, sir."
"For the last time, if you salute me again, I'll cuff that hand to your utility belt and it'll stay there for the rest of the year! We're SpecOps. Unless you want me dead, break that habit."
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." Vorvioca took control of the frozen kingpin and pushed the carbonite slab into the BBA building.
"Sorry about that. Rookies. What can you say," GPrime ran a hand through his beard with a wry smile. "So what's this I hear about Rogun the Butcher and his hangar?"
"Ah, that," Caitlin'snow'mai took a step back and pointed to Jason. "I'll let our boss explain."
Jason's eyebrows shot up. When did he become the Chiss bounty hunter's boss? "Sure. We accidently claimed a bounty on one of our friends and kinda want to reclaim him and not lose the bounty money."
"How do you 'accidently' claim a bounty on your friend?" The normally unflappable GPrime looked perplexed.
"Well…that…It all started on Carrick Station." Jason then explained the situation to GPrime, who in turn looked both bemused and amused at the same time.
"Wait, so you were basically laundering Black Sun credits through the BBA to enrich yourselves, scamming both the BBA and the Republic at the same time?" GPrime said stone-faced.
"When you put it that way, it sounds really bad," Corso scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"You're not going to arrest us, are you?" Ellaera asked nervously.
GPrime just stoically arched an eyebrow. "Do I look like a LEO? I'm a clerk that handles logistical problems."
"Right," Jason and the rest of his group nodded and relaxed.
"Although…I will have to pass this information along to through the proper channels. I think it was form Five-Six-Seven-J, or was it C?"
"Oh."
"However, Havoc Squad Logistics Division always welcomes donations from the good, upstanding, law-abiding citizens of the Republic. Thirty to fifty percent of any legally acquired windfalls goes a long way. The larger the donation, the greater the generosity Havoc Squad Logistics Division will feel towards the donor."
Jason and those with him just stared at GPrime in disbelief. Were they really being extorted by an elite member of the Republic's military?
"We earned twenty million credits," Ellaera said cautiously. She admitted the truth knowing that someone of his security clearance would eventually find out if she lied. "Would Havoc Squad like a donation of…say…seven million?"
"These are hard times for the men and women of Havoc Squad," GPrime's expression betrayed nothing as he folded his arms in front of his chest. "With the war between the Empire and Republic rapidly heating up, every credit counts."
"Eight million?" Ellaera tried.
"I'm sure the men and women in uniform deserve a little more than that, wouldn't you say? They are putting their lives on the line for next to no pay, for the safety and well-being of civilians such as yourselves."
"Ten?"
GPrime unfolded his arms and held out a hand towards Ellaera. "I knew that you were all good people the moment I saw you on Ord Mantell. Your support for the Republic military and its various branches is welcomed. To show my appreciation of your appreciation, I'll contact my people and get the location of Rogun the Butcher's hangar. After clearing out Samovan, it's only right that you chase off other criminal elements from this world as well."
"Where do I send the credits?" Ellaera said faintly.
"Here's the account number," GPrime took the datapad Ellaera held out and inputted a number. "It's only good for one deposit, so don't worry about saving the number."
Ellaera nodded and transferred the credits. In the meantime, Jason could only look on in disbelief. Not for the first time he wondered if everyone in the SWTOR universe motivated by credits? Then again, he reflected, Ellaera, Cloake, and Caitlin'snow'mai were all in the profession where credits ran everything. It didn't explain Leora or GPrime though. Though explaining Leora in the first place was pretty much impossible. And GPrime had his whole James Bond act going on. Jason sighed and resigned himself to being bemused by the material desires of a majority of his companions.
On the other hand, he was now a multi-millionaire himself. He'd no longer have to rely on charity to get his armor, weapons, and living quarters. He even wondered if his twenty-five million was enough to buy a ship of his own.
Vorvioca emerged from the building. "All taken care of, sir."
"Great," GPrime motioned towards Jason and the others. "And we just got our new assignment."
"What happened to the Senate hearing that we have in an hour, sir?" Vorvioca said in confusion.
"This is a matter involving the security of the capitol of the Republic," GPrime shook his head. "The politicians will understand."
"Sir, Lieutenant Khokho said that having Sergeant Tano attend the hearings alone wasn't a good idea." Vorvioca continued hesitantly. "And she's still tied up at the lab with those techs, working on M1-4X."
"It isn't a good idea for the politicians," GPrime began apathetically. "To waste our valuable time in pointless debate when the Imperials and scum of this galaxy are running rampant. If you'd rather spend time in the Senate Tower with Sergeant Tano, be my guest."
Vorvioca swallowed nervously, but didn't move.
GPrime checked his wrist-computer. "Okay, Jaxo's just gotten back to me with the location of Rogan's operations. He's operating behind the scenes supporting the Migrant Merchants' Guild's attempt to establish an independent sector. Oh…and it looks like one of the senators whose corruption you unmasked was supporting the effort too. One Senator Vanara Kayl."
"Are they outside of the Senate District?" Jason asked, knowing that their group was forbidden from leaving.
"Next door neighbors. The Migrant Merchants' Guild was set up as a trade consortium to support refugees and the reconstruction of Coruscant. They do a lot of dealings with various senators. Of course, this means that there's a steady flow of credits that go from the coffers of the Senate into the guild. Criminal elements like Rogun saw an opportunity and muscled their way in. Most of the senators doing business with the Migrant Merchants' Guild know this, but they have their fingers in so many other pots, that they don't care. Compared to your latest adventures in Black Sun territory, the Migrant Merchants' Guild will be a cakewalk. We won't even have to enter their HQ either."
"Technically we're not allowed to leave the Senate District. The D-ars are keeping track of us," Ellaera clarified. "So even if we wanted to go after Cloake, if he's being taken to the Migrant Merchants' Guild, he's out of our reach."
GPrime studied the group for a moment. Then he typed several more things into his wrist-comp. When he was finished, he refocused on the group. "Congratulations. General Garza has just given me the power to temporarily deputize you all so we can save an honorable citizen of the Republic from a horrific fate. She'll clear your movements with the Sixth Line, so we're free to save your friend."
The deliver had been so deadpan and devoid of emotion that Jason and those with him didn't exactly know how to react.
"Corporal Vorvioca. Contact Lieutenant Khokho and see if the techs have managed to repair M1-4X. If he's ready to get back into the field, have them meet us at the Dealer's Den."
"Copy." The dark-skinned corporal stepped away to make the call.
"You must really want to avoid those Senate hearings," Caitlin'snow'mai said dryly.
GPrime's expression became grave. "Personally, I'd rather shove a blaster under my chin and pull the trigger than answer the same questions asked fourteen different ways, have arm-chair soldiers dissect my every decision, and then give me advice about what they would have done had they been in my place. Corporal Vorvioca might be worried about the impression that Sergeant Tano might leave on the Senate, but that's just because he's new. General Garza knows that if I attend that hearing, it'd probably end with more than a few Senators suffering terminal injuries. It's amazing the things you can get away with if you accuse a Senator of being an Imperial spy."
"Speaking from personal experience?" Akaavi asked mildly interested.
"That's classified," GPrime's smile contained no warmth.
"Okay, sir," Vorvioca returned. "The lieutenant says that they can meet us there. M1-4X isn't fully repaired yet, but is still combat capable."
"The techs are releasing it for field duty and its repairs aren't complete?" GPrime frowned.
"Because M1-4X is experimental, they didn't have all the parts needed," Vorvioca relayed. "Apparently a Doctor Godera has specialized fuel-rods at his facility on Taris. Without those, M1-4X can't use its flux-cannons and its firepower for the rest of its body is only at fifty-percent."
"Good. As soon as we're done rescuing their crewmember, we'll load up and head there then. The lieutenant would never let me hear the end of it if we let Bob remain under-utilized."
"I thought we were scheduled for the meeting with the Resource Appropriation and Special Forces Oversight committees tomorrow?"
"Captain Jennson can take the lead on those. Now let's get a move out. If the BBA manage to get their crewmember to Rogun's ship before we get there, we won't be able to do anything for him."
Jason fell into step behind the others, more than a little confused. At first he thought that GPrime was a light-side Trooper. But after listening to him talk just now, GPrime seemed to be more gray-side than anything else.
It was either that, or he just really hated committee hearings.
-III-
"Do I really want to know why we're here?" Neosmugg asked, eyeing the group gathered around the three cantina-tables smooshed together.
"We kind of sold Cloake to Rogun, on accident," Ellaera fessed up.
Rumblebee blinked owlishly, as if she had misheard her friend. "On accident?"
"We meant to sell him to Skadge," Akaavi said. "But Rogun paid a higher price at the very last second."
Neosmugg rubbed at his forehead and turned to Rumblebee. "You see why I was perfectly happy staying on Carrick Station?"
Jason was sure that if this were still part of the game, the 'stupid and ridiculous' musical theme would be playing in the background. He had to side with Neosmugg at this point, agreeing with the others to turn in Cloake hadn't exactly been the smartest of ideas. "So now we've teamed up with Havoc Squad to raid the Migrant Merchants' Guild and get him back."
"And that's why you want the both of us to join you," Rumblebee concluded. "Because the likelihood of one or more of you getting shot is very high?"
"More or less," Jason and the rest of the Smugglers in the group all nodded.
"And you couldn't get even one Jedi to help out?" Neosmugg looked about the Smugglers, Troopers, and singular Bounty Hunter.
"We tried. Their masters grounded them," Corso contributed. "Apparently having a team of Jedi raid a Coruscanti neighborhood put too many people in a panic and they can't come out to play again."
"We did kind of go overboard by inviting the Sixth Line."
"We would have died if it wasn't for them," Neosmugg corrected his ex-girlfriend. "So it's pretty much the same team minus Sallyy, the Jedi, and swapping out the Havoc Squad reps?"
"Yeah."
"So where do we get started?" Neosmugg addressed GPrime.
"We just can't go into Guild territory right now," GPrime said. "Jaxo told me that with the arrest of Senator Kayl, the Guild just started open-warfare with Coruscant security. If we don't want to be shot at by the local LEOs and the Guild members we're going to need permission from both."
"I can see how Havoc Squad can get us permission from CorSec," Akaavi said. "But how are we going to obtain the Guild's permission?"
"That's why we're here. The Coruscant Security officer Jaxo recommended we make contact with is supposed to meet us right…"
A startled yell sounded from the upper floors of the Dealer's Den Cantina. The yell was cut off short as a Zabrak Coruscant Security officer plummeted the two stories, crashed through a glass display sign, and then landed painful on a table not far from where the group had gathered.
"[Gambo doesn't take orders from weak little nerfs like you,]" a Rodian chattered from the upper balcony. A hulking Houk stood next to him silently, glowering at anyone who dared to make eye-contact. The two then disappeared from sight, and the momentary silence that had filled the cantina was filled once again by the background band's music.
"We haven't even gotten to the blasting part of this mission," Neosmugg said in exasperation. He, Rumblebee, and Khokho all hurried over to the injured officer. Jason was a step behind them to help out. GPrime followed at a more sedate pace.
"Officer Anstiss?" GPrime asked.
"That's me," the Zabrak said with a groan. It looked as if she had just been beaten senseless. "I think."
"I'm the one Jaxo contacted you about," GPrime continued.
Jason shot the SpecOps soldier a slightly annoyed glance. "She was just hurled from the third floor balcony. Can you wait until the rest of us stabilize her first?"
"If you think your friend Cloake can wait, be my guest," GPrime gestured.
"Go ahead," Rumblebee said, not exactly sounding happy. "She just has multiple contusions, some internal bleeding, five broken ribs, and a concussion."
"I've already contacted the authorities, a med-team will be here in a few minutes," Neosmugg said, putting away his comlink.
"The man you want to talk to for Migrant Merchants' Guild creds was that Houk you just saw, Gambo," the battered Coruscanti Security officer wheezed out. "He's their…payment collection's expert. His office is the VIP lounge on the third floor. I tried to get a sit-down meeting with him for you, but you saw how that turned out."
"That's okay officer, we'll take it from here," GPrime said calmly. "Em-One, you have the schematics for this cantina?"
"That is affirmative, Lieutenant."
"Corporal Vorvioca, stay here and cover the civs. Bob, upload the data to my HUD."
"You sure you don't need help?" Caitlin'snow'mai asked. She was still seated, casually sipping a drink with a little umbrella in it.
GPrime smiled as if the comment was amusing and the Red Efficiency Scanner attached to his headpiece activated. "I'll be back shortly."
Jason eyed GPrime skeptically, as the bearded Trooper casually walked towards a staircase being guarded by two table-fulls of gunmen. What followed next could have easily been a scene out of one of his favorite films, John Wick.
As GPrime grew closer, he casually picked up a spoon from a table he passed. His nearing presence caused the gunmen became more alert and abandoned their card-games. Two of the gunmen lower in seniority stood up. Their bulky mass would ordinarily be enough to discourage anyone from getting closer. GPrime, who wasn't impressive physically and looked more like a bearded office-clerk than anything, paused right in front of them.
"The upstairs are off-limits. Turn around now," one of the bouncers harrumphed.
"I have permission," GPrime said coolly.
"I doubt that," the second bouncer smirked. He pulled aside his duster to reveal a wicked knife. "Now turn around. Last warning."
"Thank you for that," GPrime replied. He then jammed the spoon in his hand into the throat of the first bouncer. The second bouncer, holding his duster, was in no position to reach for the knife he was displaying. GPrime was. He took advantage of the bouncer's shock to pull the knife free and slit the man's throat. A third gunman started to stand, but GPrime hurled the knife and it embedded itself in the third gunman's head. He then stepped between the two bouncers and held them up as the remaining guards scrambled to stand and draw their weapons.
The remaining seven gunmen—three from one table and four from the other—opened fire. They were so confident in their victory that they didn't even take cover. The cantina patrons finally began running for their lives, some screaming in terror at the incessant volley of blasterbolts. The corpses of the two hulking bouncers were turned into meat-shields, as GPrime drew his own blaster-pistol and proceeded to headshot the side with three gunmen. He let the bouncer facing them fall, and then turned his focus on the other four, who had all wisely taken cover again. Not that it helped. He walked the corpse towards the nearest gunman and shoved the dead weight onto the crouching thug. While the gunman struggled to free himself, GPrime dropped to the ground, and then blasted the feet off another gunman. The maimed gunman fell back out of cover and was greeted with a headshot. The gunman who had the corpse thrown on him managed to free himself, but was likewise headshotted.
The last two gunmen exchanged wide-eyed, panicked glances and stayed low. GPrime took a burning cigarette from the top of the table, threw it into one of the open glasses of alcoholic beverage, and then hurled it over the nearby bar-counter that both gunmen were hiding behind. One of them let out a yell as the flaming liquid landed on him. GPrime then fired on the rest of the bottles of alcohol behind the bar, and a wall of flaming liquid cascaded downwards. Both gunmen popped up, flailing as they struggled to toss their burning clothes. Two more blaster shots ended their lives.
At this point in time, more of Gambo's thugs started rushing down the staircase. GPrime crouched behind an overturned table as the thugs all fanned out at the base of the stairs. Leading this much larger group was the Rodian from earlier.
"[Listen up. I don't know who you are, but you've just made a big mistake coming here on Gambo's turf,]" the Rodian said in Huttese. "[Throw down your blaster and we'll grant you a quick death.]"
GPrime tossed his blaster over the table and it landed with a noisy clatter. The cantina was mostly empty by now and dead silent. Jason's group still occupied the trio of tables at the opposite end of the room, but because they hadn't done anything, the Rodian and the others were ignoring them.
With the blaster tossed out, the Rodian and the rest of the gunmen relaxed ever so slightly. They took several steps towards GPrime's position.
GPrime followed up his actions with a single word. "Bob!"
The Rodian and gunmen were puzzled. But their confusion was cleared up at the sound of a rotary-cannon winding up. They looked across the room and saw the Republic battle-droid facing them, a rotary-cannon on either arm. Their faces twitched and they froze where they were.
"Low-lifes, this is your only chance to surrender. Otherwise I shall save the Republic the cost of bringing you all to trial and carry out a thorough cleansing of this establishment," M1-4X barked. One of his cannons proceeded to blaze a line across a nearby wall. "Throw down your weapons and get on your knees. If even one of you refuses to do so, I can only assume that all of you have treasonous tendencies."
The gangsters looked at one and other, terror in their eyes. They all threw down their weapons and hastily got to their knees. GPrime emerged from his cover and walked over to the trembling Rodian.
"I believe Officer Anstiss scheduled an appointment with your boss for me."
The Rodian nodded like a bobblehead. "[She did. I'll take you too him now.]"
"Thank you."
The minutes passed. Jason and the others suddenly heard shouts and sounds of things breaking from above. The sounds grew louder and less muffled. All eyes glanced at the third-floor balcony. And then a Houk was sent over the edge, the large man slamming in a table next to where Anstiss had landed and crushing it completely. A minute after that, GPrime was casually walking back down the staircase, using a silken handkerchief to clean off his gloves.
"And you work in logistics," Caitlin'snow'mai said sarcastically, slurping the last of her drink.
"Lots of down time," GPrime nodded. "I picked up a few things in my boredom."
"Uh huh."
GPrime then stood over Gambo, the Houk wearing a shocked expression on his face. "So, do we have a deal?"
A whimper escaped the Houk as the hulking mass of muscle nodded. "Yeah."
"Good man." GPrime crouched down and patted the Houk. "I'll have the med-teams help you out too. I promise you won't regret testifying against the leaders of the Guild. You live a good life now, you hear?"
Gambo nodded like an obedient puppy.
The leader of Havoc Squad's Logistics Division headed towards the occupied tables. Rumblebee, Khokho, Jason, and Neosmugg had taken the injured Officer Anstiss there. The Zabrak was just like all the others, her jaw stuck open.
"So I got Gambo to send word to the Guild that we're operating under his permission. As long as we don't blast any of the Merchants' Guild's people, we'll be good to go."
Jason looked to Khokho as GPrime headed towards the entrance of the cantina to greet the timely arriving med-teams and security forces. "Don't tell me you can do that too?"
Khokho laughed. "Logistic is a really demanding job."
"You can?!" Jason's eyes bulged. He had expected her to shake her head 'no' and make a joke.
"I might not be as flashy as GPrime, but I have a few moves," Khokho grinned at Jason. She looked over Jason's shoulder at the stunned Corporal Vorvioca. "Don't worry, Corporal. You'll catch up. We wouldn't have taken you in if we didn't think you couldn't."
"Thank you, ma'am," the young Trooper managed.
The med-teams quickly took Anstiss and Gambo into their care. GPrime abused the heck out of his Havoc Squad identity to allow him and the rest of the group to skip any interrogations as to why there were ten dead thugs in a popular cantina. And soon they were on their way once more.
-IV-
They had only just stepped out into the stretch of catwalks and walkways of the Migrant Merchants' Guild's dock-region when GPrime's comlink rang.
"Jaxo, go ahead."
"You want the bad news or really bad news first?"
"Bad news first."
"Got confirmation that the BBA just delivered a carbonite-bounty to a team of Guilders. Slicing through their security cams, I'd say you have fifteen to twenty-minutes before that team reaches the landing pad."
"And the really bad news?"
"Rogun's freighter offloaded a shipload of heavy-hitters who've just reinforced the Guilders. The fighting between the Coruscant Security forces and the Guild has just intensified. Of the five routes that go from where you are to the landing pad, four have been blown apart. The last is currently the epicenter of the mother of all shoot-outs."
"Yeah, we can see it from here," GPrime said grimly.
Jason empathized with that emotion. The bridge in question was easily wide enough for five or six speeders to go across it side-by-side. How Jason knew that was because there were ruined, burning speeders, five and six across at various points on the bridge. Migrant Guild gunmen might not have been the Black Sun equal, but they were armed, desperate, and had nothing to lose but their own lives. According to the briefing GPrime had given the group en route to the sector, the gunmen were mostly recruited from the various refugee camps and displaced people that the Migrant Merchants' Guild was supposed to be helping. In the face of this devil-may-care attitude, the poorly-equipped, undermanned Coruscant Security force trying to keep the Guild from advancing any further were under heavy pressure.
"I don't suppose there are any other ways around?"
"None that will let you reach the landing pad in time."
"Jaxo," Khokho spoke up. "The destroyed bridges. What's the smallest gap?"
"I don't copy."
"Bob was upgraded with bridging tech," Khokho elaborated. "If the gap between two ends of a bridge is less than thirty meters, we can use him to form a temporary platform between either end."
"Give me a sec to pull up security cams and set up an analyzing program. Okay, routing the pathing information to Lieutenant GPrime. Good luck. Jaxo, out."
Fortunately for the group, the ruined bridge wasn't too far away. At a brisk pace, with Treek riding on Rumblebee's shoulders because her small legs wouldn't have been able to keep up, they made it to their destination in under fifteen minutes. From their vantage point, they could see a freighter sitting on a landing pad and several armed guards guarding the ship. The bridge in question had been destroyed at the middle, leaving a П-shaped duracrete support structure standing uselessly at the half-way point.
"Bob, it's up to you," Khokho patted the droid affectionately.
"Affirmative." Two panels on its shoulders started to retract, while additional spikes appeared on its legs and dug into the walkway's surface. When the panels fully retracted, a durasteel cable shot out from M1-4X's chassis and soared across the gap. A metal thunking sound issued in the distance. "Cables are secure, ma'am. Bridging successful."
"Alright, let's go." GPrime gripped onto one of the cables and moved across it hand-over-hand. Khokho went to the other cable and followed suit. Instead of crawling, however, she treated the cable like monkey-bars and swung herself across lengths at a time.
"Treek, go ahead," Rumblebee placed the Ewok down. The Ewok mercenary nodded, backed up a little, and then took off with a running start, leaping into the air. A pair of glider-wings popped out from her supply pack, and the Ewok soared across the gap with ease.
Caitlin'snow'mai smirked at the others. "See you on the other side."
The Chiss activated her own jetpack and rocketed across.
"I'm slightly jealous," Corso said, before hesitantly looking over the edge of the ruined bridge and then gulping at the very long drop.
"We have no time to waste," Akaavi clicked her tongue impatiently. Rather than crawl along the length of cable, she sprinted across it like an expert tightrope walker.
"Just so you know, no amount of kolto is going to help you if you fall," Neosmugg remarked wryly, before gripping onto one of the cables and at a much slower pace, hauled himself across.
"He didn't have to say that," Corso paled even further.
"Look on the bright side. If you fall and die, you'll never know," Ellaera patted her First Officer reassuringly.
Jason took a deep breath as he contemplated whether he was fit enough to last the full thirty meters. And then he almost smacked himself in the head as he remembered something. He slung his quiver to his front and searched through the various arrowheads he had purchased. Finding the one he wanted, he affixed it to the end of one arrow and took aim at the very top of the column-supported crossbeam at the half-way point. He let the arrow fly and it sunk into the duracrete, carrying with it a high tensile line. Giving his bow and experimental tug, he smiled at the others. "See you over there."
Taking another deep breath, Jason took a running jump off the side of the ruined bridge. His momentum momentarily took him downwards, before swinging him upwards in a wide arc. The wind rushed by his face, his heart beating rapidly as he realized this was probably among the most insane things he had ever done. He couldn't help but keep his eyes locked onto the arrow embedded in the supporting beam of duracrete. If he had misjudged just how stable that crossbeam was, he was likely to have the most stupid death ever. And this time there were no respawns. It would have been strangely fitting considering all the 'stupid deaths' he had deliberately sent his toons on during the various raids he had participated in. Despite his fears, the crossbeam held, and Jason's upward trajectory swung him over the edge of the other side of the gap. He pressed a button on his bow, and the cable was cut, sending Jason into a diving roll.
Caitlin'snow'mai and Treek, who had made it to the other side first, helped him to his feet.
"Ballsy," Caitlin'snow'mai chuckled, brushing the dirt and debris off his armor.
"Stupid," Jason laughed an adrenaline-fueled laugh. He couldn't believe his little Green Arrow maneuver had actually worked.
"Yeah," Catlin'snow'mai agreed. "What was wrong with the cables the soldiers made?"
"Didn't think I'd be able to pull myself across the entire way," Jason shrugged.
"Fair point."
"[You are definitely a warrior of great skill.]"
"Thanks, Treek."
Khokho and GPrime pulled themselves onto their side of the bridge.
"Impressive," Khokho remarked, eyes shining with amusement.
Jason rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "When I first thought of it, it seemed like a good idea at the time."
Jason's actions seemed to have emboldened the others, and in another ten minutes, all of them had made it to the other side—M1-4X had some sort of super-boost that allowed him to launch himself over the gap. Unfortunately or not, their route had taken up a lot of time, and by the time they were ready to head towards the landing pad, Rogun's thugs had already appeared with a carbonite bounty floating among them.
"Not good," Ellaera's expression darkened. She quickly brought up her blaster, but then lowered it grimly. They were still too far away for a clean shot. Rogun's freighter was also packing some serious firepower and she didn't want to take the chance of it firing on them.
The group could only watch helplessly as Cloake was brought up into the freighter.
Just when they started to come up with a Plan B, something they didn't expect to happen, occurred. A powerful cutting laser sliced through the air from a nearby landing pad on the opposite side. The laser had apparently been aimed at another vessel—a Coruscant Security troop-carrier—but it had been so powerful, it lanced right through it. The laser impacted the back half of Rogun's freighter and blew apart its engines.
Jason and the others traced the source of the laser fire and were momentarily dumbstricken. A massive battle droid, easily the size of a five-storey house was being fired on by several squads of Coruscant Security personnel who all looked like ants in comparison. There were five other Coruscant Security patrol craft flying about it like gnats, likewise firing on it. But the giant battle droid didn't seem to care one way or the other. Its powerful cutting lasers sliced through the air again, and two of the patrol craft exploded like fireworks. At the same time, one of its towering legs came slamming down on a parked troop transport, and the resulting blast sent people flying.
Jason swallowed, his mouth feeling dry. Right, Coruscant had a World Boss. One that existed in the Migrant Merchants' Guild area. The SD-0.
"Come on, let's get to Cloake!" Ellaera called out, shaking everyone from their daze.
They sprinted across the winding walkways and swiftly reached the landing pad with the freighter. The guards and the Guild members who were in the area were still stunned by the concussive blast and their half-hearted efforts to stop Havoc Squad and the others ended fast. With Havoc Squad securing the outside of the vessel, the Smugglers and others entered the ship
In a short amount of time, Jason and his friends had apprehended the disoriented crew. They also located Cloake's carbonite-slab in an aft cargo bay just short of where the cutting laser had sliced through the ship.
"Alright, stand back," Ellaera said, holding the datapad that controlled the settings of the carbonite regulators. She tapped a button and Cloake's frozen figure began glowing as the carbonite vaporized.
"Wha…huh?" Cloake groaned as he plopped to the ground.
"Easy," Ellaera knelt by the Cathar Smuggler on one side, while Rumblebee evaluated him from the other.
"Where are we?" Cloake blinked, looking around.
"On one of Rogun's ships," Akaavi said emotionlessly.
"What?!" Cloake's eyes grew round and he shot to his feet, before groaning and holding his head.
"Things didn't go as planned," Jason added.
"No kidding," Cloake muttered. "Did you at least get my credits?"
"We had to make a donation to save you," Ellaera patted Cloake consolingly.
"You mean I got myself stunned and frozen for nothing?"
"You can have the five-hundred thousand, it's all we have left," Akaavi said without any emotion, conspiratorially meeting Ellaera's gaze.
"Not even worth it," Cloake muttered, waving them away.
And then things went even further awry as the entire ship shuddered and a deafening blast knocked them all to the ground.
"Get out of there!" GPrime called out through the comlink.
The sound of tortured metal was followed by the entire ship shaking again. The group wasted no time in scrambling for the exit. They were especially motivated when they noticed that the front half of the ship was a twisted wreck of metal and wires. The ship shuddered and groaned, and it started to slide towards the edge of the landing platform.
The group threw themselves free from vessel just as a massive metal leg kicked it over the edge. At first Jason thought that night had fallen even though it had been afternoon when they had boarded the ship. Then he realized that he and the rest of his group were in the shadow of a very, very, very large droid. They all looked upwards and found a twin of the droid currently decimating Coruscant Security forces.
Jason gulped and froze in terror. Two world bosses? Maybe it was the same one. He hazarded a look over at the other landing platform.
Nope.
There were two of them.
Several cameras on the underside of the battle droid focused on the sprawled out group.
"Move!" Caitlin'snow'mai yelled.
Underside panels on the droid retracted and repeater-turrets popped out. The group of terrified Smugglers and allies were once again forced to dive for cover as the turrets opened up on them. A rocket fired from the main platform careened into one of the turrets, blowing it to bits. The beleaguered Smugglers were able to take several much needed breaths of relief as GPrime and Havoc Squad did their best to draw the fire of the behemoth they were still under. But the giant robot had a lot of guns, and was able to spare some of them to shoot at targets of opportunity.
And then Ellaera's holocom began to chime.
"I'm a little busy here!" Ellaera said, frantically dodging one of the massive battle droid's towering legs.
"What do you mean? Where are you?" Sallyy's image formed on the holocom device. "And is that blasterfire I'm hearing?"
"No," Ellaera shouted over the din. "That's auto-cannon and rocket-fire you're hearing!"
The towering SD-0 droid fired its cutting laser at Havoc Squad's position, forcing them all to dive out of the way. The powerful laser sliced through duracrete pillars and durasteel crates with impunity, creating a large amount of devastation.
"How are you guys in another firefight already! You're supposed to be in the Senate District!"
"Not helping!"
Caitlin'snow'mai activated her jetpack and took to the air, peppering the large droid with her blaster pistols and wrist-rockets. This only caused the droid to target her in response. Side-paneling slid open to reveal a cluster of anti-personnel missiles. The Chiss bounty hunter blanched and frantically dove as over a dozen mini-missiles came swarming after her.
"Sallyy, just get all the support you can to the Migrant Merchants' Guild's primary landing platforms. They've repurposed two SD-0 mega-construction droids and turned them into war machines!"
More explosions. Jason's group was fairing only a little better than the Coruscant Security forces across the way in that no one had died yet. Other than they, they were mostly scrambling and running for their lives.
"Say that again? I didn't quite hear you."
"Get down to the Migrant Merchants' Guild's primary landing platforms!" Ellaera yelled. She then yelped and hurried behind cover as one of the under-side auto-turrets began tracking her. "And bring all the explosives and things-that-make-stuff-blow-up that you can! I'm sending you all the information about our situation. Hurry!"
Jason dodged one of the massive legs, but that had the effect of sending him straight out into the open. He let out a yell of his own and scrambled back for the leg as two turrets started spitting liquid-metal projectiles at him. He managed to get behind the leg just in time. The turrets stopped tracking him and instead decided to fire on Corso and Cloake's position.
Treek soared through the air on her glider and landed on one of the large legs. An electrical current, however, sent the Ewok flying right off it a moment later. Jason once again had no choice but to leave his cover, otherwise the Ewok would be flung off the side of the platform. He performed a diving catch, and then dragged the both of them behind the engine block of the ruined freighter. Ellaera joined them a second later, holocom in hand, panting heavily.
"Okay, I get the situation. I'll put in a call for heavy support," Sallyy was saying.
"Great," Ellaera managed with a tired smile.
"You do know I was calling you because the senators wanted to interview you, Jason, and Ms. Mai about the events in the Black Sun Sector."
"Send them our apologies," Ellaera breathed out.
"Ellaera, Jason, Treek, it's headed your way!" Rumblebee yelled out.
"Sallyy, get our reinforcements over here real quick or we're going to have to disappoint those senators even further. And watch out for the SD-0's AA abilities."
"I'm already en route. Don't worry. When it comes to oversized targets with the high firework potential, I'm there. After all, I'm the answer to the question: need something blown up?"
-Chapter End-
A\N: Thanks for reading, hope you all enjoyed Jason's latest adventures.