Oh, the glories of enhanced senses.
Hunter marched into the Senate building and past every security guard he sensed coming his way. Their weapons had a distinct feel in the base of his brain, and the back of his mouth tingled whenever they got too close.
He hurried down the halls, up several flights of stairs, and slipped up to the entrance of the actual senate room itself when a hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.
Hunter spun, aiming an over-hand blow at his attacker as he turned, but his fist was caught as it descended and held there. Hunter stared in momentary surprise at the tanned face of a man who was grinning cheerfully at him from under a pile of dark hair. A wide yellow tatoo spanned the man's face, and he felt...
"You're a Jedi," Hunter said blankly.
The man released his fist only to seize it again as it relaxed. He shook it heartily and beamed.
"I am at that," he said in a husky voice. "How'dja know?"
Hunter shrugged. "You...feel like a Jedi," he said helplessly.
The man's grin disappeared, and he leaned in very close, eying Hunter sidelong. "Are you a Jedi?"
Hunter pulled back, more than a little confused. "Uh, no...? I'm - I'm - " He shook his head, suddenly recovering his manners. "I'm Hunter. Sergeant of Clone Force 99. My squad and I are here on medical leave."
The Jedi straightened and placed a finger over his lips. "Hmmm..." He looked Hunter up and down. "Clone?"
"Yes, sir."
"Thanks for trying, but that's not it."
Hunter blinked. "What's not what?"
The grin reappeared. "My name's Vos. Quinlan Vos. Not 'sir'."
Hunter nodded, suddenly more appreciative of the random behavior now that he knew who this person was. Quinlan Vos was a name not unknown to the Bad Batch. The few times they'd heard it mentioned had been by General Obi-Wan Kenobi or Commander Cody. And it had been said in a long-suffering and cringing manner which made Hunter suspect things might be safer all around if he and his squad didn't meet this particular Jedi. But the Bad Batch had not been designed to operate in safe environments. It was their job to take on what others could not.
"Master Vos," he said. "It good to meet you."
Vos waved a hand dismissively. "Dispose with it, man," he said. "Quinlan, Vos, Quinlan Vos, Vos Quinlan, Quinny, Vossy-Vos," any of those works. Master? Not so much."
Hunter felt his left eyelid shiver. Quinny? He suddenly wished he had brought a squadmate along - if only to have someone to dump the unease on by pretending he knew what was going on. This hazard which Commander Cody and General Kenobi obviously found painful to deal with for one reason or another would best be managed with the rest of Hunter's team for support.
"Vos," he said. "That works."
The Jedi nodded seriously and checked his com. "Try the others, too," he said. "Keeps things interesting. Keeps people on their toes."
"Or throws them off balance," said Hunter.
Vos looked up and flashed a grin. "You're catchin' on," he said. "So what are you doing here?"
"We're here on medical leave," said Hunter again. Some past head injury could account for Vos suffering from memory loss, too…
"No, no - I meant here." Vos pointed to the floor. "This isn't the medical wing. I mean, you can go and try to get some treatment if you want, but I wouldn't recommend seeking personal care from the politicians. You'll probably just make their day more interesting by starting a riot while they're in session." Vos's mouth pursed thoughtfully.
"I'm not here to start a riot!" Hunter protested. "I'm here to see..."
He hesitated. Despite Cody and General Kenobi's working with the Jedi, Hunter didn't know Vos that well, and even if he was the main investigator for all things crime and mystery, Fox had said the Jedi preferred not to be involved in the disclosing of events for this particular case. Until later.
Hunter hesitated, horribly aware of the awkwardness he was exhibiting, but unsure of how to continue.
Vos sniffed and scratched his cheek. "A mission?"
Hunter nodded without knowing why. Vos's easy manner made him feel more relaxed despite the instability of the situation. Once he talked to Senator Amidala it would be easier to make decisions regarding which things to disclose and which to keep quiet about until the appropriate time.
Vos folded his arms and planted his feet apart. "Weeeel, seems to me a visit to Commander Fox is in order," he drawled.
"I've already seen him," said Hunter.
Vos nodded and checked the toes of his boots. "Fair enough. Senator Amidala? Obes-Kenobes?"
"Ahh..." Hunter found himself glancing about. He wasn't sure if he should be amused or concerned by what Vos had just said. He checked his thoughts before he could laugh and nodded. "Senator Amidala could help us in our work," he said.
Vos spread his hands and bowed, then sauntered off down the hall.
Hunter watched him leave, then shook his head. He had to blink twice, hard, before he realized that Vos was walking in place.
"Uh...Vos?" he called.
Quinlan turned around. "What?" he asked, still walking in place. "You coming?"
It took Hunter nearly a full fifteen seconds to catch on. He started down the hall after Vos, and in a short while that wouldn't have been short enough for Crosshair, wouldn't have been long enough for Wrecker, would have been interesting to Tech and was the most interesting five minutes of Hunter's life, they reached the Senator's rooms.
Quinlan stared at the door for a full minute during which Hunter refused to move. If the Jedi wanted to play escort, he could play reverse butler, too. Vos pressed the buzzer, then stepped back and waited.
The door opened, and a young woman looked out and gave both Vos and Hunter equally welcoming smiles.
"Master Vos, it's good to see you," she said.
"Good to see you, Padme," said Vos. "This is Sergeant Hunter from Clone Force 99. He'd like to speak with you." Quinlan gave Hunter a solid thump on the back, making him stagger into an awkward double step as he tried to catch his balance.
Senator Amidala nodded graciously. "Won't you come in?"
She beckoned them inside and gestured to a long couch. "Would you care for any refreshments?"
Vos sat down with a sigh, somehow managing to creak. Hunter sat down next to him, horribly conscious of his armor's own creaky properties.
"Thank you, Padme." Vos clapped Hunter on the arm. "Sounds lovely."
Senator Amidala sat down in a chair opposite them. Within moments a golden protocol droid appeared and moved towards the couch carrying a tray with three glasses on top.
It offered the tray to Vos, then Hunter, then the senator last.
Hunter stared down at the golden liquid in his cup and swirled it around. He'd only taken the drink to be polite, but was now unsure of what to do with it.
"Fake it till you make it" was not something he wanted to try in this situation. He glanced surreptitiously at Vos's hands, which were visible without Hunter turning his head, to see what he would do – despite the Jedi's carefree personality, he had to have been in these sorts of situations more than Hunter. Logically, he would know what to do. What the etiquette was following the problem of being offered a drink by a senator of the Republic…
The Jedi took a sip from his glass and then sat back easily enough. Hunter raised his glass, and - pretended to take a drink.
He looked up and found that Senator Amidala was watching him. "How can I help you, Sergeant Hunter," she said.
Hunter looked at her a moment too long. But her manner was easy, yet not fake. Her question seemed genuine and unforced, and she seemed to know of his unease but chose to leave him to it. That helped. Any forced friendliness on her end would have made things ten times worse.
Vos leaned over as Padme turned to set aside her glass and whispered - far too loudly for Hunter's taste, "You just drink it. No special motions or anything. Just...drink it."
Hunter froze and glanced back at the senator who was now watching him politely.
"I -" his voice cracked. "I came to ask some questions about Dren-Mal," he stammered.
Kriff, that sounded stupid. Demanding. Request, Hunter! he berated himself.
But the senator merely folded her hands in her lap and leaned forward. "Ah, yes. Thank you for your help here. I do have a holo-image I can give you as well as some other key details regarding Dren Mal's appearance. Also, some of what he told me in person."
"Commander Fox seemed to think there was nothing else to tell," said Hunter.
Senator Amidala nodded. "We did not tell Commander Fox everything," she said. "The enemies are dangerous enough that capture is a real possibility - capture of anyone involved. And placing knowledge with those most likely to risk the chance of being abducted would be asking for added attention, as well as increasing the danger of the men."
"Wouldn't they be in the same danger as anyone involved anyway?" said Hunter.
"Yes," said Senator Amidala. "However, if the members of the Coruscant Guard are suspected of having less than sufficient information to aid the enemy, they're most likely to be left alone. Which is why we have been extremely careful that any of the moves so far have been made by diplomats, not the military."
Hunter nodded and deliberately did not look up as the protocol droid returned with its tray. He could feel Vos's smirk as the Jedi accepted a refill, and was silently relieved when the droid left without speaking to him.
"In your case," Senator Amidala continued, "if you or your men are caught, your knowledge will be the weapon that will make you valuable to the enemy and increase your chances of survival."
"Sounds good," said Hunter. "So what do we have to work with?"
"Dren'Mal contacted me a few weeks ago," said Senator Amidala. "He claimed to have discovered some information key to understanding the manner the Separatist army is deploying their forces. However, he couldn't tell me what he had found out, saying that it was for the Chancellor's ears only. He assured me he had a way of safely leaving his home planet, Or'anah, which, as you know, is under Separatist control; but that once his disappearance was discovered, he would be at the mercy of the enemy."
Vos snorted. "Can't imagine they'd show him much," he said.
"He didn't think so either," the Senator replied. "Apparently, he had barely made it out of Or'anah's atmosphere before enemy ships locked onto him, and had to make the jump early. His ship was damaged. He left it at a nearby spaceport on Cha-Ro and took a public transport the rest of the way here. He alerted us of his arrival on Coruscant and told us the docking port number: seventy-three. He was only able to communicate that we had to find him because he couldn't reach us before the call was disconnected."
"Docking bay seventy-three," Hunter repeated. "Did anyone on the transport see him?"
"He seemed to think he'd been recognized," said the senator. "It was only a few hours after we received news that one of Cha-Ro's spaceports had been completely destroyed. The entire city was bombed…" Her voice faltered. "No one survived."
Hunter fiddled with his glass, unsure of what to say.
Senator Amidala took a breath and looked up, her eyes flashing as she stared at Hunter. "We have to find Dren'Mal before the enemy," she stated. "The information he has was worth the destruction of an entire city to the rival forces. Sergeant Hunter – it would be a service of immeasurable assistance to us and all the people involved in this war if you and your men can locate Dren'Mal and bring him to safety."
Hunter stood. "Of course, ma'am," he said. "That's what we're here for."
The senator nodded her thanks and rose as well. Vos bounced up from the couch and followed them to the door.
"Hey, Padme?"
Padme turned while Hunter squeezed by Vos to get out the door. "Hm?"
"Any messages from Senator Chuchi today…?" said Vos. He was horrible at feigning nonchalance, Hunter decided.
Senator Amidala smiled and directed Vos out the door. "Actually, yes," she said. "But she told me she'd deliver it herself."
Vos smirked and punched a hand into his palm. "Excellent."
The senator tilted her head and looked up at him from under her eyebrows. "I encouraged her to," she said.
Vos sniffed. "So, progress?"
Senator Amidala nodded again to Hunter who was trying not to listen in, but undecided enough as to what he should do next to make any move to leave.
She smiled at Vos. "Commander Fox could do with a little less encouragement from you," she said. "The poor soldier looked exhausted when I spoke to him this morning."
Vos 'okay-ed' with his fingers and clicked the back of his throat. "Got it," he said. "I'll leave him alone until I get back."
"Thank you, Master Vos," said the senator. "Good-bye."
The door closed, and Hunter turned to move down the hall as Vos fell into step beside him.
"Well, she's a big help," Vos grumbled. "Men need encouragement just like women do."
"She was more of a help than you," said Hunter.
Vos huffed a laugh. "Eh, you were acting like a Padawan meeting the Council!" he said.
"Yeah, well, I've never actually met a senator before," said Hunter sullenly.
Vos clapped a hand to his shoulder and gave him a friendly shove. "I know that," he said. "You did good. And Padme's super nice anyway. She's one of the most personably practical people I know. And trust me, I know a lot of people."
It was silent except for the thudding of boots on the carpeted hallways for several moments. Vos sniffed. So Hunter spoke.
"Heading off on another mission?"
"Yee-up," said Vos. He started to swing his arms.
"Can't say where?" said Hunter.
"Sort of."
Hunter swallowed in mild exasperation – mostly confusion. The Jedi had been practically babbling only minutes before, and now he was tight-lipped and fidgety.
"Sort of," he prompted.
"Yeah, well…" Vos sighed. "I was working on a lead that actually turned out to be tied in to the mess you're going to be working on untangling. So I figured I might as well help you out."
Hunter blinked and waited for the gears in his brain to shift enough to process this new information. So Quinlan Vos would be working with the Bad Batch…
He grinned. "It will be a pleasure to introduce you to my squad."
Vos tipped his head curiously. "Yeah?"
Hunter nodded, a grim smile pulling at his mouth. "Oh, yes."
The enemy didn't stand a chance.
