Chapter 46: Escape to Tatooine
The Violet Kinrath exited out of hyperspace. The home ship of the 187th Legion had only made a quick jump in order to get away from the Separatist fleet at Dantooine as quickly as possible. Now the purple Venator star destroyer was but a lonely speck against the infinite ocean of stars. The 187th Legion had abandoned the battle, all to make sure the new prisoners weren't reclaimed by the droid forces. Commander Krane had the idea that his prisoners were immensely important. He had fought against them at Thule, and had been soundly defeated. He struck back at them on Aargonar. And now he had captured several of them over Dantooine. Krane had a distinct feeling that the battle droids hadn't undergone any memory wipes in quite some time (if at all), given how unusually skilled they were. It was likely they held a wealth of information the Grand Army of the Republic could exploit. All he had to do was crack them open for the juicy data held inside that was sure to help bring the Confederacy to its knees.
OOM-9, KJZ-8267, SSA-719, Destroyer, Quartz, Katen, Sledge, Vex, HK-47, and G0-T0 were each assigned their own prison cell in the Violet Kinrath's brig. All the prisoners kept silent. It was clear that the 187th troopers were more intelligent than the typical clone and they didn't want to accidentally give anything away—even something so insignificant as their relationships to each other. Things looked grim. OOM-9 doubted anyone from the 8th Fleet would have been able to follow, not with the battle still raging at Dantooine. And it was unlikely they were going to be able to shoot their way off the cruiser. They were stuck and out of luck.
And there was no greater reminder of why they were stuck than the guards everywhere, many of them wielding DN bolt casters. The weapon worked wonders against droids, and the bolt casters wouldn't be very effective if the prisoners were somehow able to get their hands on them and turn them on clones. The 187th Legion of the Republic was taking no chances on the Confederates escaping.
A familiar purple clone commander entered, followed by an entire squad of clones.
"Commander Krane," one of the guards spoke.
"Is the Ithorian awake?" Krane asked.
"Not yet, sir."
"Then wake him." The clones could have just let the Ithorian be, but Krane wanted to be the one to warn him that no funny business would be tolerated. Force-sensitives were extremely dangerous, even as prisoners.
"Yes sir." A pair of clone troopers entered Destroyer's cell and kicked the Ithorian until he arose.
"What is the meaning of this? You clone scum will—"
"I wouldn't try anything, Force-user," Krane interrupted as he approached the entrance to the cell.
"You miserable worms think you stand a chance against my power?"
"No, I don't. That is why several explosives have been rigged on the Violet Kinrath. Several droids hidden on this ship remotely control the bombs' detonators. You try anything fishy and the droids have orders to blow this ship into stardust." Venator star destroyers were not usually equipped to handle Force-sensitive prisoners. That was typically only an issue Separatist troops had to worry about. But Krane felt his solution was enough to keep the Ithorian in line.
"You're insane," Destroyer scoffed.
"Go ahead, search my mind. I'm not bluffing."
"You'd blow this whole ship up over us?" Katen asked.
"The 187th Legion has more than killed its weight in Separatists. Even if we were to all die in hellfire now, the Republic has still come out ahead. But, I don't think it will come to that." Krane turned towards the captive Skakoan. "Dr. Gatling Quartz. I have read your profile. These battle droids may be nothing more than cannon fodder, or maybe not. But I know you think more highly of yourself." Krane turned back towards Dr. Destroyer. "And I get the feeling you do too. I doubt either of you are eager to commit suicide."
"Release us at once!" Melissa Sledge demanded before any of the clones could get another word out.
Krane walked over and stopped in front of Sledge's cell. "Sorry, sweetie. No can do."
"Let me out of here and I'll kill you." Sledge's voice oozed pure hatred. She was usually one of the calm ones, but being taken prisoner had apparently awakened a sleeping rancor in her psyche.
"I think you mean 'let me out of here or I'll kill you,'" Krane corrected.
"I know what I said."
"Then that's all the more reason why you're staying in that cell."
"You stupid clone. Let us go."
Krane couldn't help but laugh. "You have no power here, fool. The most you can do is make an annoyance of yourself."
"You think we won't get free?"
"I know you won't. You will not escape the Violet Kinrath. I can guarantee that."
Sledge let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Let us go and we won't kill you. But just you." Sledge pointed at Krane.
"What makes you think I'd believe that? You're out of your mind, Sepper."
"Oh, why not?" Sledge started to idly play with a strand of her short, black hair with her left hand. "It's not like it matters with you clones anyway. You'll die soon enough even if we don't kill you."
"You've already misjudged my combat prowess—"
"I didn't mean someone else will kill you. You clones age at an accelerated rate. You'll die naturally soon enough. What's your max life span? Twenty, thirty years? And you'll spend like eight or nine years as a doddering old man barely able to even move. You think the Republic taxpayers will pay to put you in an old folks home? You're nothing but a disposable, temporary meat puppet."
"Enough," Krane snapped.
OOM-9 had a good idea about what Sledge was trying. He doubted it would work, but at least she was trying to get them out of here. Sledge was resourceful and creative when backed into a corner… of a prison cell.
"The Republic will give you some menial job when you're past fighting age. And when you're too old to even do that, they'll shoot you and be done with it. You have no future."
"Watch what you say," Krane threatened. His blood was starting to boil—and not just because the Separatist was a smug ass. The worst part was there was the possibility that she was right. The clones were never told what would become of them once they surpassed the age where they could fight.
"'Kay," Sledge sneered. "So let's say you're an above average clone. You certainly stand out from the others. Let us free. Defect to the Confederacy."
Several of the clones started to laugh. They were bred to be loyal to the Republic. Fett clone troopers were born and bred to be loyal to the Republic… or they didn't grow up at all. Though many of the clones laughed at Sledge's offer, Krane didn't.
"You are an idiot if you think you can bribe a clone. But let me humor you for a moment. Why would I defect to the side that's losing the war?"
"Join us, and we'll find a cure for the accelerated aging process," Sledge said. Her tone was dead serious.
The clones' laugher died down and they fell silent completely.
"You have no future with the Republic. You're nothing but disposable cannon fodder that will be thrown away the second you're no longer useful. Join us, and we'll give you a chance at a real life. A human life." A smile formed on Sledge's face.
There was an awkward pause.
"Nice try," Krane finally said. "I'm not stupid. There is no way to reverse the accelerated aging process. If there were, the Kaminoans would have made it. If such a thing could be done, it would have been administered to clones when they came of age, in order to prolong our potential service to the Republic. We know what we are, and our purpose in the galaxy, and that purpose is to kill Seppers like you."
Sledge's smiling face morphed into an angry glare.
"Commander," OOM-9 called out, trying to take the clone's attention off Sledge. Her little ploy had failed and OOM-9 hoped that by drawing away the clone commander's attention she wouldn't be the first to suffer an interrogation. Out of everyone who had been captured, OOM-9 didn't have much faith that Sledge would be one of the individuals to hold up. "You were quick to flee Dantooine. Afraid you were going to lose?"
Krane stomped over to OOM-9's cell. "You are an annoying bunch of prisoners, you know that? And I was not afraid of losing. I just didn't want to give your troops the chance to rescue you. I'm no fool. You must hold a great swath of information I can exploit."
"I am merely a simple command battle droid," OOM-9 lied.
"You don't fool me. You're more than you say. But you should find yourself thankful I'm not starting with you. I'm sure your internal security systems are top of the line. But I doubt those odd droids you have with you have the same level of security, and I want information now. I think we'll start with the fat droid." Krane turned to the other clones. G0-T0 was released from his cell and escorted out by the squad of clone troopers. "Don't worry," Krane added before he left, "we'll get to the rest of you soon enough."
"Extract whatever information you want," OOM-9 said. "None of you will live long enough to utilize it."
"This droid is funny," one of the guards said. "He thinks his threats carry weight. You couldn't kill one of us, let alone the entire ship."
"Let me out of this cell and you'll see what I can do."
"You're staying right there, dumb droid."
Things quickly became quiet. Krane had made an interesting choice for his first interrogation. G0-T0 did not have any updated internal security systems protecting his memory banks, but the clones would have trouble accessing them in the first place due to the droid's old age. But it was likely the clones would learn everything G0-T0 knew, fortunately for the Confederacy, G0-T0 didn't know very much.
Rather than dwell on things that couldn't be changed, OOM-9 thought about possible ways to break free and escape the cruiser. OOM-9 knew the others must have been thinking over the same thing but he doubted anyone was having any success. And then there was the problem of communicating any plan of escape to the others without the guards hearing. The droids could communicate wirelessly, but the organic members of the group would be left out of the loop. Not that it really mattered. There didn't seem to be a way to escape Krane's grip… unless they were going to consider suicide.
A short while later Commander Krane and a squad of clones returned to the brig.
"Back so soon?" KJZ-8267 asked.
"Let me guess, he's not talking, is he?" OOM-9 said.
"We are having a rather interesting conversation with G0-T0 at the moment. But don't worry; we'll get to all of you eventually. We will obtain all the secrets locked away in your little droid brains. Our technicians will crack through your security systems eventually, no matter how good they are. But in the meantime, I'm going to be breaking one of your organics, General OOM-9."
The clones opened Katen's cell and dragged her out. She offered no resistance but she didn't cooperate either, the clones literally had to drag her across the deck.
And the clones had to keep dragging her long after they were clear of the brig. The constant sound of her armor scraping against the deck was getting annoying.
"Are you going to be a problem the entire time?" Krane asked.
"Yep." Katen's reply was sharp and quick.
"You may want to rethink your answer."
"Nope. I'd rather be a pain in the ass."
"Have it your way."
The clones kept dragging Major Katen along. But eventually they stopped and forcefully hoisted her up on her feet and shoved her into a room.
"Take a seat," Krane motioned to the chair behind the table situated in the middle of the dimly lit room.
"No thanks. I'd rather stand."
"Sit her down," Krane told the clone guards.
"Okay, okay. Yeesh." Katen did as she was told. "You're a bit of a control freak, aren't you?"
"This coming from a Separatist."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Katen asked as the two clone guards took up positions by the only door out of the room.
"Aren't you Seppers all directed by control ships?"
Katen laughed. "That was a long time ago. I'm sure even you dimwits have figured out the battle droids haven't been slaved to control ships for years."
"Shame they didn't keep that little weakness. Would have made this war so much easier."
"You have it easy enough. What with the Jedi doing all the hard work for you and everything."
"And your droids don't do your work for you?" Krane grabbed a datapad offered by the other clone in the room (the only other one that wasn't guarding the door out).
"I do plenty." Katen rolled her eyes. The funny part was Katen usually put her official duties off on Zako, not the droids. But of course Krane wouldn't know that.
Commander Krane started to read from the datapad. "Major Ashley Katen of the illustrious Katen family. Born on Zakkudos. Served in the Trade Federation military. Your public record shows you've fought against pirates, various criminal gangs, and terrorists." Krane almost sounded impressed. "But then you followed Viceroy Gunray and the other extremists into the Confederacy."
"My whole system did," Katen said.
"Overall, an unremarkable career." Krane tossed the datapad to the table. "But I can't really expect anything more from an unremarkable woman."
"This coming from the clone of a third-rate bounty hunter."
"Jango Fett was the best bounty hunter. And now there's an army of us. What do you have? A bunch of cheap droids."
"Then why don't you explain how we kicked your ass?" Katen countered.
"I'm sick of your mouth. No more time for games," the other clone spoke up for the first time.
"What is this? Bad cop/dumb cop?"
"You're about to find out why they call me Captain Knuckles." The clone cracked his knuckles. Katen was unimpressed by the display.
Krane held up a hand to halt Knuckles. "Are you going to cooperate?" Krane asked Katen.
"Eh… Eerrr…. Um…" Katen pretended to be undecided before answering with a firm: "No."
"Very well." Krane released Knuckles. The clone captain walked around the table with purpose.
Katen bolted up and deflected the clone's strike. She caught the inside of his right foot with her own and tripped the clone. Knuckles fell face first to the deck. Katen wasted no time in viciously kicking him in the head with her armored boot.
The guards rushed in. One of them struck Katen in the side of the head with the butt of his rifle.
"Stop you fools!" Krane yelled as the two guards pointed the barrels of their blasters at Katen. "She wants you to kill her. Dead Seppers tell no secrets."
One of the guards shoved Katen up against the wall while the other helped Knuckles to his feet.
"Commander Krane." A new clone trooper entered the room.
"What is it, Mr. Purple?" Krane knew Mr. Purple wouldn't have interrupted the interrogation unless it was important. Though it wasn't much of an interrogation at this point, all Knuckles had done was embarrass himself.
"We've received a transmission… from Admiral Wurtz, sir."
Krane excused himself. Katen found herself shoved back into the chair. The two guards stood behind her rather than take back their original posts back at the door.
Captain Knuckles wobbled a bit as he stood.
"Ready for Round Two?" Katen asked.
The clone captain didn't reply. Katen figured she knocked out a few of his teeth with her kick and guessed he was bleeding profusely underneath his helmet.
Commander Krane suddenly appeared back through the door.
"Is it your turn, then?" Major Katen turned to the high-ranking clone.
Krane ignored Katen completely. "Take her back to the others," he ordered.
"Yes sir." The guards hefted Katen up and started to lead her back to the brig.
"When I get out of here, I'm going to blow up this ship," Melissa Sledge said from the confines of her cell. "That's a promise. You think it won't happen. I'm going to blast this ship out of the sky. Just… boom." Sledge mimicked an explosion with her hands. "Bits of clones and pieces of Venator everywhere. You'll see." The guards ignored her.
Katen and her clone escort returned to the brig.
"Back so soon?" OOM-9 asked. He was half expecting Katen not to return at all.
"Theory: The meatbag cracked under the pressure of interrogation."
"No way," Katen said as she was shoved back in her cell. "I did send one of my interrogators to the medical bay, though."
"How many Kaminoans does it take to repair a broken power converter?" SSA-719 suddenly asked out of nowhere.
"How many?" one of the guards asked. The clone troopers were secretly resentful of their creators, in large part due to their accelerated aging and short lifespans. The 187th soldier saw no harm in humoring the droid when it came to insulting Kaminoans.
"Just one. To tell his clone troopers to do it for him."
"Like you don't do everything your masters tell you," the clone said angrily as the security droid started laughing at his own bad joke.
"So," Katen looked over at G0-T0 when she was shoved back in her cell. "They didn't play with you for too long either, huh?"
"At the rate their technicians were going, it would take them several decades to break through my internal security systems," G0-T0 stated.
Commander Krane was fuming. He did not want to give up his prisoners. He was going to at least try to keep them, no matter what Admiral Wurtz said.
The prisoners had been taken from their cells and now stood in the Violet Kinrath's hangar. Krane knew his captives were aware that this was a prisoner transfer. It was the best time for them to try and escape, and Krane had done everything to make sure that didn't happen. He was constantly reminding Dr. Destroyer of the bombs and security teams he had at the ready.
What annoyed Krane even further was the fact that he was to turn over his prisoners' weapons as well. It had been a rather unique arsenal, one Krane wanted to study further. But even with so little time to examine them, it was clear that the Separatists had much better equipment than what the clones were getting from the Republic's suppliers. And the Confederates also specialized in durable melee weapons capable of combating lightsabers. Krane found his own arsenal lacking in that particular department. Though he reminded himself that the droid army had to fight the Jedi on a regular basis, and the clone army did not. Still, Commander Krane felt that if the clone army was to become the supreme, unquestioned power in the galaxy, they could not rely on the Jedi to do certain aspects of their fighting for them. Krane felt his elite troopers needed their own melee weapons; a handful of vibro knuckles weren't going to cut it in the long run. They needed something else, something more than what they were being given, and Krane was determined to make sure they would get it. The short, embarrassing altercation between Katen and Knuckles had proven to Krane that the clone troopers needed to improve not only their melee arsenal, but also their combat skills.
A trio of Theta-class shuttles entered the hangar. The Separatist soldiers knew that was a bad sign. The Republic typically used Nu-class or Eta-class shuttles to ferry people around. That there were three of the newer and less common Theta-class shuttles implied elite troops and/or import personnel or cargo.
Soldiers clad in blue armor—senate commandos exited from the ramp of the centermost ship. The senate commandos were elite non-clone troops often used as bodyguards for politicians or as security for high-level prisoners. Kaminoan worker droids left the innards of the two at it sides.
"I am Captain Levits," the lead soldier spoke. He was distinguished from the troops he led by white markings on his shoulder armor. "I am tasked with taking these prisoners to Coruscant."
"Under whose authority?" Krane demanded. "I have a difficult time believing that Admiral Wurtz is so concerned with where these prisoners go."
"Under Chancellor Palpatine's authority."
Krane found that extremely odd. His prisoners were important but there was no way someone like Palpatine would have ordered the transfer. The chancellor had much better things to do. "I have the situation under control. These prisoners are dangerous."
"That is irrelevant. I am to take them to Coruscant at once."
"Do not underestimate them," Krane's tone was severe. "Many of my men died capturing these soldiers. I withdrew from a battle I could have won in order to keep these prisoners. If they leave my care and escape, the blame will rest with you."
"I have my orders, and you have yours," Levits was stern. "Now, carry out those orders, soldier."
"Yes sir," Krane nodded in acknowledgement, though on the inside, he was on the tipping point of pure rage. He had had just about enough of Levits' smug, condescending tone.
Levits turned to address his prisoners. "If you think there's any hope of escape, let him kill that pitiful little dream right now. I have had Krane's explosives loaded up onto my shuttle. I'll have a detonator with me, but so will the Kaminoan worker droids that will be riding in the two other shuttles. If the Ithorian tries anything fishy, then we all blow up."
"My actions do not emulate aquatic sea creatures," Destroyer said.
"Shut up."
The worker droids loaded up the weapons onto the shuttle. After their work was complete, the senate commandos took their prisoners aboard.
Commander Krane shook his head and watched in disgust as the trio of shuttles left the Violet Kinrath's hangar. He had been robbed of his prizes by a bunch of non-clone posers. He didn't think much of the senate commandos, they didn't see combat often enough. They spent too much time guarding spoiled politicians and prisoners that couldn't possibly ever escape Coruscant.
Krane turned his trusted subordinate, Mr. Purple. "Tell the gunnery crews to keep their eyes open. We don't rest until the Vindicator takes off into hyperspace with those prisoners."
"Yes sir."
The shuttle carrying the Separatist prisoners arrived in the Vindicator's hangar. It did not take long. It was a simple transfer. No tricks from the prisoners, no sneak attacks from Separatist rescue parties. Everything was going as Captain Levits had hoped it would. The two other shuttles did not join the first. They had been ordered to circle around the Vindicator and land in the hangar on the opposite side. This was to prevent the prisoners from staging any kind of suicidal rush attack against the worker droids that held the other detonator remotes.
Captain Levits was paranoid, and certainly tried to emulate Krane's creativity, but the senate commando captain had a hole in his plan. Destroyer couldn't influence the worker droids holding the remote detonators, but he could control the human pilots flying the two shuttles that carried the droids.
Just as Levits' shuttle touched down in the hangar, Destroyer turned to OOM-9 and winked. OOM-9 immediately tackled Levits, causing the Republic captain to drop the remote detonator. The action sparked all the other prisoners to attack their captors. The droids broke out of their binders as if their restraints were made of poorly manufactured glass. Right as Destroyer had signaled OOM-9 to attack, he took control of the escort shuttles' pilots and sent them crashing into the Venator's hull.
In an instant, the Republic had been deprived of the ability to remotely set off the explosives. HK-47 snapped a commando's neck and grabbed the loose remote detonator. Despite having nothing in the large needle affixed to his side, G0-T0's large frame bolted forward and the old droid stabbed a commando in the faceplate.
KJZ-8267 and SSA-719 stormed the cockpit and killed the pilots as they called the cruiser's security teams for assistance. Squads of clone troopers dashed towards the shuttle as KJZ-8267 opened the shuttle's loading ramp…
Dr. Destroyer clutched the explosives with the Force and sent them flying out the shuttle's open door, knocking over several troopers that were clamoring to get inside the shuttle.
KJZ-8267 took the pilot's seat and turned the shuttle around. As soon as they were clear of the hangar, HK-47 activated the remote detonator. A massive explosion rocked the interior of the Vindicator's side hanger.
The massive gray Venator started to list lazily to the left and fired none of its weapons at the escaping shuttle.
The Violet Kinrath had turned and was closing in on the shuttle, firing its turbolasers in an attempt to destroy the shuttle. It was as if Krane was expecting them to break free and flee.
"We're hit! Shields are gone!"
"NO SHIT!" Sledge yelled back at KJZ-8267.
There was no time to pick and choose where they wanted to go. KJZ-8267 chose the quickest coordinates for a hyperspace jump that the computer gave him and the shuttle disappeared into the null space of lightspeed, leaving the Violet Kinrath's turbolasers to shoot at nothingness.
In the blink of an eye, they were suddenly safe from any immediate danger. They checked to make sure all the senate commandos were dead. It wouldn't do them any good to get a surprise attack from a half dead enemy.
"So, where are we headed?" Sledge asked KJZ-8267 and SSA-719 as she entered the cockpit.
"Tatooine," KJZ-8267 answered.
"Tatooine? Why the hell are we going to Tatooine? Geonosis shouldn't be much farther away if we're going to fucking Tatooine. Why are we going to a dustball controlled by the Republic-aligned Hutts when we could go to a place that loves us for liberating their planet from Republic occupation?"
"Because, it was the fastest coordinates the computer was able to calculate before we were blasted into tiny pieces," KJZ-8267 explained.
"Eh, fine." Sledge shrugged. "So, we make the jump to Geonosis right after we arrive at Tatooine. No big deal."
"Yes, big deal," SSA-719 corrected.
"What?"
OOM-9 and Vex entered the cockpit. It was starting to get crowded.
"The shuttle was damaged by turbolaser fire. We don't have the power to make a second jump. We are lucky enough that we aren't floating space debris already."
Vex chuckled. "Yeah, that Krane clone really wanted us dead. His ship started firing on us right away. I bet he's so pissed we got away."
"We'll be stuck on Tatooine?" Sledge asked.
"Affirmative," KJZ-8267 replied.
"Just great," Sledge moaned.
"Could be worse. We could make the best of a bad situation…" Vex crossed her arms and learned her butt against one of the side control panels. "We could overthrow the Hutts and be celebrated as liberators. I'm up for killing a few hundred Gamorrean guards."
"No," OOM-9 said. "We will take a ship and leave."
"Awww, so much for fun," Vex pretended to pout.
OOM-9 went back to the passenger section of the shuttle. "Dr. Destroyer. We have set a course for Tatooine."
"And not a friendly planet?" the Ithorian asked.
"KJZ-8267 set the quickest course possible to get us to safety. But the shuttle is damaged and we won't be able to enter hyperspace again once we reach Tatooine. Destroyer, do you have any contacts or allies we could look up when we arrive?" OOM-9 knew Dr. Destroyer had to have some kind of support system to supply his old secret lab with equipment and test subjects.
"Unlikely there is anyone we can rely on. I employed as few contacts as I could in order to maintain my secrecy. And I have not maintained any of the relationships since my lab was destroyed. It is likely they all think I'm dead by now. But it matters not. We should be able to secure passage off of Tatooine without their help."
"Statement: The simplest answer is often the best. We could simply commandeer a ship from some random meatbags. Perhaps they will even resist and we'll get to destroy them."
"An acceptable plan," OOM-9 agreed. Tatooine was a hive of scum and villainy, and chances were if they stole a random ship and killed the crew, their victims would mostly likely be smugglers or pirates or Hutt lackeys or some criminals looking to lay low and the galaxy would be better off with them gone. Although HK-47… and most of the occupants of the shuttle weren't concerned with such issues of morality.
Katen realized they'd be in for a ride with little to do. She needed something to occupy her time and had a good idea of what to do. The battle droids always said Zako was better at repair, and now was as good a time as any to get in some practice.
"HK-47, you're a rusty scrap pile in need of repair right?"
"Answer: I believe that I have been damaged several times in the past, Major. I have always been repaired… but perhaps full functionality has not been restored."
"Is there any way to repair you?"
"Answer: Some of my motor functions can be safely repaired, Major… but anything in relation to my memory core is extremely sensitive. I have safeguards installed to protect that core that I cannot deactivate. It is not impossible that other, lesser, memory functions could be restored, however."
"So I can restore your memory?"
"Answer: You may attempt to restore portions of my deleted memory, Major, but some skill at repair is required. The deeper functions of my core memory, however, would still be unadvisable to tamper with. Conjecture: It is possible that some external stimulus might result in the memory core being reactivated… but I am unaware of any program in existence to do so."
"So you're saying that your memory might just… come back?" Katen asked.
"Conjecture: There may be hidden programming that awaits certain conditions to reactivate my memory core, Major… but there is no way to know. It is quite possible that tampering has simply erased my core permanently. If that is so, a meatbag will surely pay!"
"This sounds like a job for Dr. Quartz," Sledge said. "He's the one who advised you guys on how to restore the memories of the others a decade ago."
"I can do it." Katen snapped at her friend as she looked around and found a toolbox on the shuttle.
"Do what you will," Dr. Quartz spoke as he unlocked the weapons crate and put his gauntlets back on. "What do I care if you screw it up? Such tedious work is beneath me anyway."
Katen turned back to HK-47. "So how do I go about restoring part of your memory?"
"Answer: Simply tell me that you wish to make the attempt, Major, and I will attempt to walk you through it. Please do be careful."
"I would like to try restoring some of your memory now. That's why I brought this up in the first place. It's not like we have much to do right now anyway."
"Affirmative: If you believe your skills are up to the task, Major, then I can certainly guide you through the process. Request: I only ask that you be oh so very careful, Major. I am too valuable and well-crafted to perish at the hands of ineptitude."
"Are you implying that I am inept?" Katen put her hands on her hips and glared daggers at the droid.
"Negatory: Err… no, Major. You are not a droid, however, and therefore your skills are limited by the physical capabilities of your meatbag extremities. Or somesuch."
"I happen to be very good at what I do. I've been repairing battle droids for years."
"Appeasement: Yes, Major. Of course, Major. Could we begin?"
"Let's get started."
"Statement: As you wish, Major. The first stage is the simple one, and that is accessing my central control cluster. This may take awhile. First you will need to open three panels…"
"…no, no, no. This is no good, Major. You have nearly detonated my thermal core three times in a matter of minutes."
"Let me do it!" Quartz demanded. "We did not escape Krane's bombs just to be blown up by your poor repair skill, Major!"
Dr. Quartz quickly set about correcting Katen's work on HK-47 as the Theta-class shuttle exited hyperspace in front of the giant dust ball of a planet.
"We've made it to Tatooine." SSA-719 walked to the passenger area from the cockpit. "Despite Katen's attempt to blow us to smithereens."
"Hey!"
"Should'a just let Quartz do it," Sledge said.
"Hey! I'm good at fixing droids!"
"Not nearly good enough," G0-T0 added.
"You guys suck. Stop ganging up on me," Katen sulked.
Dr. Destroyer was silent as his comrades bickered and picked at one another. Something was bothering him, something he did not understand. He had a weird feeling in his gut. He recalled the vision he had that had taken them to Dantooine in the first place, the vision that had been sparked by his proximity to the old droids. It was clear that G0-T0 and HK-47 had been involved in important events long ago… but… another cord in the Force was pulling on Destroyer. Something important had happened in the past… and perhaps it could affect their future.
The Force-sensitive Ithorian focused, searching the Force, commanding it to reveal the answers he sought. G0-T0 was not the key… it was HK-47.
"You've been to Tatooine before, haven't you, HK-47?" Destroyer asked.
"Statement: It is possible. But I cannot say for sure. If Major Katen was more adept at repairing droids, then perhaps we would know the answer for certain."
"Shut up." Katen punched HK-47 in the shoulder.
OOM-9 stared at Dr. Destroyer for a second, wondering what the Ithorian was thinking. It took a couple of seconds, but OOM-9 could venture a guess as to what it was about. "The star map on Dantooine. One of the planets it pointed towards was Tatooine."
"We're arrived at Tatooine by chance," Dr. Quartz reminded OOM-9. "You're not going to claim that it was the will of the Force that we arrived here?"
"Of course not," OOM-9 replied. "I am not deluded by superstitions like those Jedi fools. Though their haphazard command of it is proof of its mysterious nature."
"I have found… something," Destroyer said. "HK-47 has been to Tatooine before." He walked over to HK-47 and put a hand on the droid's shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Sledge asked.
"He's doing Force stuff, duh," Vex said.
"Silence," Destroyer commanded the humans.
Everyone fell silent and watched the Ithorian.
"I see… I see… nothing…"
"Maybe you've just got gas," Vex suggested.
"Wait… no. I feel something… powerful."
"That's what she said," Vex joked.
"What is it, Doctor?" OOM-9 asked.
"A great anger… no, hatred. For… an Ithorian? It's unclear. Wait… I see it…" Destroyer removed his hand from HK-47.
"See what?" Katen asked.
"The star map, on Tatooine." Dr. Destroyer rushed to the cockpit.
"The star map? Where?" OOM-9 followed.
"Move over," Destroyer told KJZ-8267. "I'm flying."
Lieutenant KJZ-8267 got out of the pilot's seat without question.
"Where is it?" OOM-9 demanded.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I know the general area." Dr. Destroyer guided the shuttle through the upper atmosphere.
"Very well, Doctor. Do what you can." OOM-9 turned away and went back to the others.
"What are we doing?" Dr. Quartz demanded when OOM-9 returned.
"Dr. Destroyer is taking us to Tatooine's star map."
Despite being stuck in his pressure suit and incapable of displaying facial expressions, it somehow looked as if Quartz was stunned by the news. "He knows where it is?"
"He says he knows the general area it's located."
"That's not the same thing. We need something more specific than that if we are to find it," G0-T0 said.
"What are we going to do?" Sledge asked.
"Let Destroyer take the lead," OOM-9 said.
"That's reckless," Dr. Quartz spoke. "Tatooine is controlled by the Hutts."
"Thanks for stating the brutally obvious." Vex rolled her eyes.
"We're vulnerable now. We need to flee the planet as soon as possible. I'm not saying we ignore the presence of the star map. But we should return with the full force of the 8th Fleet behind us. The Hutts don't have the strength to oppose us in a real fight and Tatooine is too obscure for the Republic to respond in force."
"Unless they uncover what we're trying to do," G0-T0 said. "We must be swift in our actions unless we wish to be bogged down by the Republic military."
"We'll wait and see where Destroyer takes us," OOM-9 decided.
Just about everyone followed OOM-9 back to the cockpit.
"Where are we headed?" G0-T0 asked from the doorway. The cockpit was crowded enough without the large droid making space an even greater issue.
KJZ-8267 checked the readouts as Dr. Destroyer continued to fly the shuttle. "Looks like we're heading in the direction of a city called Anchorhead."
"We'll land on the outskirts. A damaged Republic shuttle is bound to attract attention," OOM-9 said.
"Right." Destroyer acknowledged and brought the shuttle down at a rocky canyon.
The shuttle had only touched down a few minutes ago, but it didn't take long for the group to get restless. Destroyer was mediating on top of a rock, trying to gain clairvoyance on precisely where the star map was. Dr. Quartz wanted to go into Anchorhead and get a transport off world. SSA-719 wanted to scout the area. Sledge thirsted for an alcoholic beverage. HK-47 just wanted to kill things.
Vex was having a blast, having persuaded SSA-719 and KJZ-8267 into an arm wrestling match. But since both droids possessed the exact same physical strength, neither could make the other move an inch. Despite the lack of movement, or tension, Vex found the spectacle hilarious. "I guess this is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object!"
"I'm bored. I'm hot," Sledge complained. "Why does this miserable dust ball have two fucking suns?"
"If you're so bored, Sledge, I recommend you think through possible scenarios we may encounter in our effort to escape this 'dust ball,' and how you would respond to them," OOM-9 turned to the Separatist captain.
"It's too hot to think." Sledge wiped the sweat from her forehead, and then proceeded to slick back her short black hair. "Besides, there are thousands of things that could go wrong here. And we'll just end up having to improvise anyway—just like how we managed to escape."
"We will give Dr. Destroyer a few moments more," OOM-9 said.
"A few 'moments?'" Sledge asked. "And just how long would you say is a 'moment?' I swear, you guys sound more like humans all the time."
"And we have you to thank for that," OOM-9 added.
"Yes, I have been quite a positive influence on you, haven't I?" Sledge said with a hint of playful sarcasm.
"The dynamics between all of you are quite odd," G0-T0 observed. "I cannot recall a time when droids and organics got along so well."
"We're a rarity," Vex said. The wild, red-haired woman suddenly jumped up on SSA-719, prompting the security battle droid to stand up with her sitting on his shoulders. "Most people don't get along with droids so well. Let alone battle droids."
Sledge looked over at Vex with a critical eye. "Vex, I'm wondering. Why did you join the droid army?"
"What, is it time to share?" Vex asked quizzically.
"Do you have something better to do?"
"Well, I am having fun riding Red here."
"I wish you'd stop calling me that," SSA-719 said.
"I wish you'd just accept the inevitable, Red. But, to answer your question, Sledge, I joined the droid army for the thrill of combat. I love to fight. I don't think that's a secret to anyone here. And it is fun to come up with new ways to kill clone troopers. And I love getting to hang out with all the battle droids."
Sledge really didn't think Vex was telling them everything. But Sledge doubted she'd get any more information than what was provided. And it wasn't as if she actually cared either. She was just looking for conversation to pass the time.
"What about you?" Vex turned the question around to Sledge.
"Me? Huh…"
"You gotta answer. I told you guys. Your turn, Sledge."
"I guess because my parents wanted me to get a good job, but being a doctor or engineer didn't suit me. Working for the Trade Federation wasn't extravagant, but the chance to put down the occasional pirate attack kept my life from getting too boring. Everything was nice and easy and simple. Now things have been getting complicated and there's a little too much excitement going on."
"What about you, Katen?" Vex asked. "Why'd you join the droid army?"
Katen didn't answer. She just sulked on top of a rock, silently perfecting a balancing act. Squatting down with her knees up to her chin as if she was trying to curl up into a ball and disappear.
"The Major doesn't feel like talking right now," KJZ-8267 answered for Katen. The pilot droid could easily read his friend—she was still acting sullen and depressed and her failure to repair HK-47 had further taken down her already frail self-confidence a peg or two. He knew she would bounce back—from the repairing blunder, anyway.
"Hey, Quartz. You're rather quiet over there." Vex was able to steer SSA-719 around to face the Skakoan. "How did you get pulled into all this mess?"
"OOM-9 hired me."
"There has to be more to it than that."
"You wish to know why I design weapons and battle droids?"
"Yeah!" Vex exclaimed.
"Very well." The glare from the twin suns reflected off of Quartz's goggles, giving him a rather insidious appearance. "My actions are motivated by revenge. In another life, I was a different person. A naïve fool who thought the galaxy could be made a better place. I wanted to help people. I used to design farm equipment."
Vex nearly lost balance, but SSA-719 autocorrected and prevented his passenger from falling off. "You used to design farm equipment?"
Even Katen stopped her sulking and looked up upon hearing the enlightening news.
"Yes. Help feed the hungry and all that nonsense. The Trade Federation's OX9 worker droids still use my farming equipment designs to this day. But I gave those ambitions up long ago. You see… I am a widower."
"I didn't know you were married," Sledge said.
"Yes… I was. But she was murdered in a mugging, gunned down by a blaster model that was declared illegal on Skako. But corruption runs rampant on Coruscant like a drunken rancor. For you see, certain arms manufacturers wanted to sell their weapons to Skako anyway. So the fat slobs on Coruscant were lobbied and bribed until special legislation was passed allowing the blasters to be sold to my homeworld. But my people are not so easily bullied. The weapons never made it to gun stores once they arrived at the main spaceports. But guns aren't just going to languish around spaceports forever, are they? They were sold into Skako's black market, and criminals ended up with them anyway. The punk that murdered my wife was put to death, but my soul has found no peace. He pulled the trigger but the politicians on Coruscant put it in his hand. What do they care who lives or dies, so long as the credits keep flowing into their bank accounts? The galaxy is a hopelessly cruel place. You cannot fight evil with good intentions, so I gave up designing farm equipment and turned to building my own blasters. And then I moved to battle droids. It is my greatest wish that my designs kill as many people as possible, so that the galaxy may suffer like I have suffered."
"Oh…" Vex's voice came down an octave.
"Statement: I rather like you, meatbag."
"With the stirrings of the Separatist Crisis, I knew it was only a matter of time before the droid army would request my assistance in waging war and destruction. I did advise Commander Zako and Major Katen on how to properly restore the battle droids they scavenged from the scrapyards at Raxus Prime—OOM-9, SSA-719, 3B3-888, and the others. I have to say, you have all done a marvelous job of further my hopes and dreams for the galaxy. And some day, soon, I will laugh as Coruscant burns to the ground."
"Such a pleasure to know we're all your instruments of murder and death," Katen said.
"I have it," Dr. Destroyer spoke up. "I know where the star map is."
"Let's go," OOM-9 said.
"We still need a transport off this rock," Dr. Quartz reminded the command droid.
OOM-9 turned from one scientist to the other. "Destroyer, is the route to the star map perilous?"
"It is likely we will be impeded by Tatooine's fauna."
"We will split into two groups," OOM-9 decided. "Myself, SSA-719, HK-47, and G0-T0 will accompany Dr. Destroyer. The rest of you will go to Anchorhead and secure us passage off this rock."
"KJZ-8267 is coming with us?" Quartz asked. "A Confederate battle droid will draw attention."
"I am the best pilot," KJZ-8267 understood why OOM-9 had decided to send him to Anchorhead with the others.
Dr. Quartz sighed. "Very well."
The two groups went their separate ways.
Anchorhead was originally a mining outpost. It had been abandoned and resettled countless times over the course of thousands of years, proving that organic beings had a collective short-term memory and had to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
But all hope was not lost, for organics had shown they had some modicum of common sense, for there were few people out and about, most opting to hide away indoors from the wrath of Tatooine's twin suns.
"So, does anyone have any brilliant ideas on how we might obtain a quality ship in this shithole?" Sledge asked as they walked through what looked like the main street of the town. It was hard to tell where anything was considering everything was run down and covered in sand.
"We don't have any money. Not anything these ass-backwards chumps would accept as money, at any rate," Veronica Vex said as she looked around. The poverty looked to be so rampant it was surprising that the settlement was still standing. She would have guessed the inhabitants would have turned to eating each other long ago if it wasn't for the fact that they smelled so bad.
"They have swoop racing here," Katen pointed. "Someone could probably win a few matches—"
"We don't have a swoop bike," KJZ-8267 said. "And we can't afford to buy or rent one."
"We could steal one," Vex suggested.
"If we steal a swoop bike, we might as well just steal a ship and save ourselves an extra step," Dr. Quartz said.
"Swoops are fun though," Vex said.
"Here," KJZ-8267 pointed. "Let's try this dealer first. It looks successful. It may have a ship we can actually use."
"What makes you think they're successful?" Vex asked. The place looked like a dump to her.
"Because this is the only place that actually looks like a ship dealer," KJZ-8267 explained. "You see anything else around here?"
"Nope," Vex said as she followed the pilot droid in. Sledge and Quartz followed quickly after, with Katen lagging behind.
"Good afternoon, ladies, gentleman, and droid. What can Nell Loru do for you today?" A female Anzat greeted them. She paused ever so slightly upon looking at KJZ-8267 and Dr. Quartz.
"We'd like to buy a ship," Vex said. "What do you got?"
"Oh, I have quite a few ships. What kind of price range were you looking for?"
"That depends," Sledge said. "Why don't you show us first and we talk price later. Don't worry, we have money."
"Oh, of course. I'm sure you must have a lot of money and power if you do not fear to exhibit that repurposed battle droid of yours in public. If the Separatists were to ever see you with that, you would probably be put to death."
"The Confederacy has no power here, we do not fear them," Sledge said. "Now, the ships?"
"Yes, right this way. I'll take you out to the junkyard in the back."
"Junkyard?" Sledge raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry, I have plenty of fine ships stored back there. Among other things."
Upon seeing the junkyard, Melissa Sledge was honestly starting to wonder if the Anzat really had anything for sale that could actually fly. The whole area was a sunbaked mess. There were parts and pieces of droids, landspeeders, swoop bikes and starships everywhere. Almost nothing looked intact. The stuff they saw back inside the building was better. But all they needed was one working ship.
Dr. Quartz fell back from the group as Nell Loru started her pitch on the first pitiful shuttle she brought them to. As Loru took the others from ship to ship, Quartz began salvaging pieces of scrap. It was a painstaking process, as the Skakoan was very particular on what he was looking for. Eventually, he slipped back into the indoor portion of the shop to look for a part he couldn't find in the junkyard. Sledge was the only one to notice this and slipped away from the group to follow him back inside.
"What are you doing?" Sledge asked when she found Quartz going through an open crate containing a swath of old tools. "Going to build your own ship?"
"Of course not. Don't be stupid."
"I was being sarcastic."
"And I find that tremendously helpful. Now go back out there and ask the shopkeeper if she has a food processor attachment that can synch up with a Skakoan pressure suit. I'm getting very hungry, and I'd rather not starve to death before we get back home."
"Ms. Loru is out attending to some buyers," a young human male walked in from the backroom labeled Employees Only. "Is there something that I can do… for… you…"
Sledge stared at the young man as he stared back at her, mouth agape. Dr. Quartz looked from one human to the other; unsure as to what was going on.
"It's… you…" He said.
"Oh, yeah…" Sledge's memory started to churn out the answer she was looking for. "You. What's your name again?"
"Lou. Lou Serr. That's my name. My real name. I wonder, Candy Butternubs, what your real name is."
Sledge's eyes hardened.
"There isn't a day that's gone by that I haven't thought about you. But you barely remember me at all."
"And why should I?" Sledge's words oozed venom.
"You killed my family."
"I did not. That entire incident was your father's fault. If he wasn't a complete idiot, your family would still be alive."
"My father was a good man…"
"Your father was a fool who thought he could draw a blaster on battle droids and live to see another day."
"Enough of this pointless babble!" Quartz leveled his gatling gauntlet at the scrawny human. Lou bolted for the door out. Dr. Quartz did not have his target lined up in time, and opted to not randomly fire his weapon and alert everyone to a fight.
"After him!" Quartz told Sledge.
"Get back here!" Sledge ran after Lou.
"Dammit, why do annoyances have to pop up now? Everything has to be so fucking difficult," Quartz muttered as he hurried to weld together the various pieces he had collected. There was no doubt in Quartz's mind that the human male intended to report them to the local authorities. That was not good; the Hutts were not friendly with the Confederacy. What was worse, they had been openly aiding the Republic. If the Hutts got ahold of them, they were likely better off staying back with Commander Krane or Captain Levits.
Quartz rushed back out to the junkyard and pulled KJZ-8267 away from the others as Nell Loru continued to show them what passed for starships.
"What is it, Doctor?" the pilot droid asked.
"We have a problem," Quartz did his best to whisper despite the fact that they were well enough away from the others. "One of the store employees recognized Sledge from some previous altercation. Some scrawny, pathetic-looking human called her 'Candy Butternubs.'"
"Oh, that mess on Zaloriis," KJZ-8267 recalled. "You must to referring to Lou Serr. I once chased his family's landspeeder."
"Well, he took off. If Sledge doesn't catch him, we're in trouble. Now give me your arm."
"What are you doing?" the pilot droid asked.
"I whipped up a little weapon for you. You might need it. A melee buzzsaw for your forearm. I didn't have the best materials available, but it's better than nothing."
"Thank you, Doctor. How thoughtful."
Dr. Quartz was able to get the weapon attached and uplinked to KJZ-8267 in a matter of minutes. In all that time Sledge hadn't returned, which was not a good sign.
"There, all done. Keep it retracted in your forearm mount unless you need to use it. We don't need any locals running in terror from a buzzsaw-wielding death droid."
"Of course."
Quartz and KJZ-8267 returned back to Katen and Vex, pulling them away from Nell Loru with the excuse that they had to privately convene to determine which ship they wanted to purchase.
The group went all the way back out into the street, Dr. Quartz explaining to Katen and Vex what had happened.
"Well, that's just fucking great," Vex whined. "What do we do now?"
"We cut through the rancor shit and just steal a damn shuttle now," Quartz said.
"Not without Sledge," Katen said.
"What is that noise?" KJZ-8267's question silenced the others. They all stopped to listen.
"It better be Sledge taking care of her unfinished business," Katen said, some of her former energy and anger returning to her voice.
Then the sound of fast-paced footsteps prompted them all to turn around to see Sledge coming up on them.
"Did you catch him?" Quartz asked.
"No," Sledge wheezed. "He got away."
"We should have taken care of that loser back on Zaloriis," Katen said.
"Shut up! I know, okay?!" Sledge spat back. "Letting that guy go came back to bite me in the ass, just like everyone said it would. You happy now?"
"I'm never happy," Katen grumbled.
"Dammit. Oh well, it doesn't matter," Dr. Quartz said. "We're all here now. Let's steal a ship and meet up with the others."
"What is that noise?" KJZ-8267 started moving.
"What does it matter?" Quartz asked. "We need to leave, now." The Skakoan felt like he was turning into a broken audio file stuck on repeat, and yet still they all failed to listen to him.
Dr. Quartz, Vex, Katen, and Sledge all followed KJZ-8267 as he led them to a side street, despite the need for an urgent escape. Something was going on… something terrible, if the screams were any indication. Even Quartz was curious to see what was going on now.
And as they turned the corner onto the next street they saw three children—a human, a Rodian and Gran, throwing rocks at a small animal. Its mewling cries were pathetic as the children pelted it with rocks. KJZ-8267 recognized the form and sound of the animal; it was a baybomber kitten. What an animal native to Zakkudos was doing on Tatooine, KJZ-8267 did not know. But he was not going to allow the children to continue to torture it.
"You children, stop right there!" KJZ-8267 barreled down on the three diminutive life forms.
The children ceased their assault on the helpless kitten and turned to the droid.
"Who the fuck are you to tell us what to do? You dumbass droid!" the young human spouted.
"Yeah! Why don't you go jump in a trash compactor," the Gran added.
"And how about you…" the Rodian trialed off. The three children realized the droid wasn't stopping.
KJZ-8267 commanded the buzzsaw blade embedded in his forearm to extend. The rusty, serrated circular saw started to whine as it began to spin when it stopped half an arms length from the droid's hand.
The pilot droid rushed in and slashed at the three children in one long swipe. The Gran and the Rodian were grazed, but KJZ-8267 missed the human child.
"W-w-w-what are you doing? You can't do that!" The human child looked on in horror as his two friends started crying from their light stomach wounds.
"Oh, but I can. I'm bigger than you." KJZ-8267 raised up the spinning blade.
The little human turned to run but KJZ-8267 caught him by the neck and lifted him up. He lightly squeezed the boy's neck, enough to cause him pain but not permanently hurt him. After a second, KJZ-8267 dialed back his grip and threw the boy down to the sandy street.
"Isn't that what you were doing to the cat? Torturing it because you are bigger?"
"No…" the boy whimpered.
"DO NOT LIE TO ME, CHILD!"
"We were just having fun," the child cried through tear-soaked eyes.
"You find it fun to bully those weaker than you? What were you going to do? Kill it when you were done? Or let it suffer and starve to death slowly?"
"I dunno…" the child whimpered.
"You think the cat likes it?"
The child looked down at the dirt.
"Look at me when I'm talking, you fucking meatbag!"
The child did as he was told.
"Answer my question: Does the cat like it?"
"No…"
"Then why do it?"
"There was nothing else to do…" the boy sniffed.
"You torture helpless animals because you're bored?" KJZ-8267's voice was teeming with rage. "Perhaps I should show you how it feels to be bullied by someone bigger."
"No! NO! Please! I'm sorr—" the human child devolved into a high-pitched scream that could have ruptured the fabric of space and time as KJZ-8267 sliced off the boy's right arm with his buzzsaw.
The child was wailing and clutching the bloody stump where his arm was a second ago. The Rodian and Gran ceased their own crying and sat in stunned silence.
"Doesn't feel good? Does it? DOES IT?" KJZ-8267 lifted the boy up by the neck again. "You miserable waste of blood and organs."
He drove the buzzsaw into the boy's stomach and held it there. The spinning saw turned the human's innards into a gory paste, which was flung around the street. A nearby outdoor food vendor watched in horror.
Vex was surprised by the level of anger and cruelty in the droid's actions. She didn't disagree with them, but she was surprised. Battle droids weren't programmed to act like that; something in his past must have made him act the way he did. And Vex was very curious to find out just what that was.
"How dare you splatter me with your filthy blood." KJZ-8267 tossed the shredded corpse to the ground and looked over to the two remaining children.
The Gran got up and ran from KJZ-8267—only to run right into Dr. Quartz. The child fell on his ass but the Skakoan quickly picked him up by the neck with a powerful hand.
"Do you think we would show you mercy? Why should we, when you have shown none." Quartz slowly crushed the child's throat. When the last of the grasping gasps of air fell silent, Quartz tossed the corpse to the sandy street.
The Rodian curled up in a ball and cried. Without a word, Katen walked over to the child and smashed the young Rodian's head in with her armored boot. There was a single, sick crunching noise and the child's crying ceased as blood oozed out across the sand.
Vex was very surprised now. She had heard about Katen's depression as a result of accidentally shooting a little girl… but now the exact same woman had just smashed a child's head in with her boot.
"You!" KJZ-8267 pointed at the Gotal food vendor that had witnessed the entire event. "You saw these children attacking that cat and did nothing! You are just as guilty as they are!"
"W-w-w-what?" the Gotal stuttered. "They're not my kids!"
"I think it is within your physical capabilities to stop a trio of little children."
The Gotal turned and ran. Vex bolted forward, boosted by her cybernetic implants. In a second, she tackled the alien to the ground. Vex lifted up her ZK-II war-axe, the red blade coming alive and shining brightly, despite competing with Tatooine's twin suns. Without a word, she brought the axe down on the Gotal's head.
There was death cry as HK-47 blasted yet another Tusken Raider off of his bantha mount. The sands of Tatooine had become littered with bloodied corpses. The Sand People were savage fighters, but their purported prey was much more brutal. The Tatooine natives held a distinct disadvantage in that their gaderffii sticks and slugthrower-style cycler rifles were no match for the droids.
HK-47 had said he may have been able to converse with the savages in their native language, but it had been agreed upon that it would be faster and more enjoyable to simply mow them down. OOM-9's squad lacked pity and mercy, and even if they held these traits, it still would have been difficult to feel any sort of sympathy for their enemy, considering the Sand People had attacked first.
A Tusken Raider charged in and struck HK-47 upside the head with a gaderffii stick. The blow barely registered with the rusty red assassin droid and HK-47 effortlessly knocked the Raider away with a simple slap. HK-47 moved onward, continuing his killing, ignoring his opponent (much to the Tusken Raider's anger). The furious warrior was able to grab his melee weapon again and stood up but was immediately shot in the back by G0-T0.
HK-47, G0-T0, OOM-9 and SSA-719 had done the bulk of the fighting against the Sand People. Dr. Destroyer's powers weren't even needed, and the Force-sensitive Ithorian focused on guiding them towards the location of the star map. He did occasionally murder a Raider or two with his lightsaber lance, but such instances were rare.
Eventually, the pool of Sand People ran dry and the attacks ceased.
"I have to give them credit," SSA-719 said. "They certainly tried."
"Tried and failed," G0-T0 said. "I assume your giving credit to the idea that they lack any sort of higher intelligence. They should have figured out they can't defeat us."
"The map is this way." Dr. Destroyer pointed off in the distance.
The four droids followed the Ithorian. It wasn't long before they came across many skeletons languishing half-buried in the sand. Some of the skeletal remains were large, some small. Some had horns fixed to their skulls while others looked like they had once been giant lizards. There was one, large toothy skull affixed to an incredibly long vertebrae.
"There must be a dangerous predator nearby," SSA-719 observed.
"I agree." OOM-9 watched the shadows the larger bones cast through the otherwise sunny graveyard. "I suspect those primitives we fought are not responsible for this."
"There," Destroyer pointed towards the opening of a cave in the distance. "It's in there. I sense several life forms inside."
"Hostile?" SSA-719 asked.
"Of course," Destroyer said. "Everything on Tatooine is hostile."
The mouth of the cave was wide. Dr. Destroyer entered first, followed by the four droids.
"I can see you," Destroyer taunted his opponents. He could feel them through the Force; he could sense their precise locations. But he decided to aid his droid allies and activated his lightsaber pike.
A weak green glow spread into the cave, revealing shadowy spires of more bones that had been picked clean of any meat long ago. But the green aura also revealed the forms of several giant, multi-legged creatures.
"Bone gnasher spiders," Destroyer stated.
The spiders took that as their cue to attack. Dr. Destroyer stood and watched as the four droids lit up the cave with flashes of red. In a few short moments, the bone gnasher spiders were all dead, having fared no better against the droids than the Sand People before them had.
"Their poison is very potent," Destroyer said. "Although such a weapon is useless against droids. I might be able to alter a few bone gnashers to use against the clone army, though."
"Sounds like you know quite a bit about them," SSA-719 said as he kicked one of the corpses to make sure it was dead.
"Yes, I was hidden on this miserable planet for longer than I would have liked. I am very familiar with the fauna of this world."
"But that is not why we're here," G0-T0 said as he floated towards a metallic structure in the back of the cave.
The others followed the large droid, right to Tatooine's star map. The map opened for Dr. Destroyer, just as the one on Dantooine had done. The droids studied the holographic projection that was provided.
"This still does not look complete," SSA-719 shook his head.
"Agreed," OOM-9 said.
"There are still maps on Kashyyyk, Manaan and Korriban. We can still ascertain the location of the Star Forge. I feel we are meant to find it," Dr. Destroyer said.
"I agree," G0-T0 said. "We should follow the trail to the end."
"That is yet to be decided." OOM-9 looked over at G0-T0.
"Statement: As long as we get to kill more meatbags along the way, it makes no difference to me. Proverb: It is the journey that is important, not the destination. So, our journey needs to include a lot more meatbag killing."
OOM-9 and SSA-719 saved the map data to their memory banks.
Before Sledge, Quartz and the others were even able to get back to the dealer, a purple LAAT/i gunship descended down to Anchorhead.
"The fuck?" Katen looked up at the transport as its whining engines grew louder, upsetting the small baybomber kitten cuddled in her arms.
The gunship landed in right directly in the city a few streets over. Local residents took cover, to them, it looked as if they were under an invasion. The clones hadn't bothered using a spaceport, or even having the decency to park outside the city limits. To anyone who saw, it looked like a combat drop—and it was.
"Fan out in groups of three," Mr. Purple ordered as the squad of clone troopers left the gunship. "Search everywhere!"
"How did they find us so quickly?" Dr. Quartz complained.
"This is Commander Krane, the only clone with a brain. He probably sent out small scouting parties all over the planet in order to track us down as fast as possible," KJZ-8267 said as they hurried back to the dealer.
"It won't help when they find out," Vex said. "We'll just kill 'em."
"We're still outnumbered. And they can call for help. We can't fight the clone army by ourselves. Especially not those clones in purple armor. They know how to fight." KJZ-8267 made it to the door first.
"THERE! OVER THERE!"
The others stopped and turned towards the shouting. Luckily, it was not the clone troopers that had tracked them down. It was Lou Serr, coming up with a squad of Gamorrean guards—apparently Anchorhead's local Hutt enforcers.
"You fucking little shit!" Sledge fired her pistol. "I should'a killed you!"
"We don't have time for this nonsense!" Quartz opened fire with his gatling gauntlet. Green lasers cut down the first three porcine humanoids.
"I'll kill you, you bitch!" Lou fired back with a pistol.
Sledge took aim and dispatched him with a blaster bolt to the face, tying up all loose ends from Zaloriis.
"Move!" KJZ-8267 yelled. "The clones had to have heard the firefight!"
"What's going on?" Nell Loru asked as the Separatists stampeded back into her shop.
KJZ-8267 shoved her up against the wall, activated his buzzsaw, and held it close to the terrified Anzat's face. "We'll be taking that Shekelesh freight gunship. Now!"
"Okay! Okay! Don't kill me!"
The storeowner gave up the keys and they boarded the rusty freighter and took off just as Mr. Purple and his clones were closing in on the area where the firefight had taken place.
Mr. Purple looked up and watched as the Shekelesh gunship boosted away from Anchorhead. He had a strong feeling he could guess who was on that ship.
With a working ship, KJZ-8267 wirelessly linked with OOM-9 and took the freighter to the general's coordinates. They picked up the other team and were soon leaving Tatooine's atmosphere.
Once in space, they gave the Violet Kinrath a wide birth. The purple Republic cruiser would have easily been able to spot them if not for the fact that there were several other ships fleeing the planet as well. There were a lot of people on Tatooine who wished to remain hidden (many of them hiding specifically from the Republic). The sudden appearance of a Republic warship spitting out scouting parties had triggered a mass evacuation of anyone who thought the Republic was coming specifically for them.
The Shekelesh freighter filled with Separatists blended in with all the other scumbags trying to evade Republican justice.
"Set a course for Kashyyyk," Dr. Destroyer told KJZ-8267.
"What? We need to get back to the Fleet," Dr. Quartz protested.
"No. I can sense the location of the next star map. I feel a stronger connection than before. And I believe that connection will strengthen with each one I encounter."
"And the map is becoming more complete," OOM-9 said.
"We need to complete this task before the Republic discovers what we are up to," G0-T0 said. "For all we know, they may have found the star map on Dantooine and are following in our footsteps."
"Assuming EEK-176 has not destroyed them already," OOM-9 said.
"Making such an assumption is dangerous," G0-T0 said.
"The Wookiees are not a friendly lot," Vex tried to be neutral. "And we'd be facing an entire planet of them. That's a bit much, even for me."
"We are not going to fight," OOM-9 said. "We're a small group right now and it would create more trouble if we arrived with an entire army with us. We are more than capable of outwitting and outmaneuvering a bunch of overgrown walking carpets."
Dr. Quartz sighed; he figured he was on the loosing end of this argument. "Whatever we're going to do, we need to do it now before that Venator closes in on us."
"Set a course for Kashyyyk," OOM-9 ordered.
"Roger that," KJZ-8267 acknowledged.
"We've come this far. We might as well finish what we started."
"We always do," SSA-719 said.
The Shekelesh freighter took off into hyperspace.
"What's with the cat?" SSA-719 as he sat down next to Katen and looked at the small black animal cradled in her lap.
"Oh, this is a stray we picked up in Anchorhead. Some little brats were throwing rocks at her for fun. So we killed them and saved her."
"Query: You are referring to little meatbags, are you not?" HK-47 asked.
"Yes," Katen nodded.
"Observation: You organics are rather odd. Most sentient meatbags would not kill juvenile sentients in order to save a single non-sentient life form."
"We're not most people," Sledge said.
"Yeah," Katen locked eyes with HK-47. "Those fucking kids got exactly what they deserved."
"And the galaxy is a better place without them," KJZ-8267 said from the pilot's seat.
"Conclusion: A most satisfactory answer. It is very agreeable that you are willing to deal out harsh and violent justice. Not all meatbags have the stomach to face reality, and sadly, not all droids are capable of it, either. I have no doubt working with you all will provide me with similar opportunities in the future."
Vex stifled a giggled. "I don't think it's so much 'us,' but the galaxy, that will be providing you with the opportunities."
"She's a baybomber cat?" OOM-9 moved to inspect the black ball of fur and claws that was curled up on Katen's lap.
"Yeah."
"Odd that she would be found on Tatooine." OOM-9 had seen plenty of baybomber cats before, during the times he and the others had been to Zakkudos.
"Fate maybe? Either that, or she's just very lucky," Sledge said. "Since we happen to be there to find and save her."
"So, what're we gonna name her?" Vex asked.
"I'm no good with assigning organic names," KJZ-8267 said.
"I think we'll call her Meeka," Katen looked down at the adorable ball of fluff.
Author's Note: Bone gnasher spiders appeared in Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided.
Shekelesh freighters appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.