Outer Rim, Meridian Sector, Antamont System

Antamont, Eastern Steppes

8 BBY

Antamont had been a sore sight to Limitless' eyes.

In the early days of the Clone Wars, he'd been stationed inside the old Republic Stronghold which lay just out on the wide open grass plains in the valley before the eastern mountains, sitting strategically atop a large hill.

Those were much simpler times-his position in the 372nd Armored Division under the command of Jedi General Sakiira Noptaika had been that of Lieutenant Commander. Limitless had enjoyed his time both in the army and with the local human population on the planet. They were (and still are) rugged, polite people, just like the Clones had been back then. Not too fancy like some of the locals he'd met on Coruscant, but certainly far more down to earth.

In this sense, it was quite literal. Antamont was solely a farming world, with next to no industrialization. Its only import was food and crops, which it would send off in shipments to more populated worlds throughout the Inner Rim and the Mid Rim.

This was by and large why Antamont also had a fair bit of wealth to its name. It was not out of the ordinary for one to see more than several hundred trading ships docking and taking off from the main port of its capital city; Vergotta, in only a single day. And it was precisely why Antamont was considered to be so crucial during the Clone Wars.

So much so that the CIS had attempted to take Antamont several times over. Though they'd been defeated every time. At a certain point, Limitless had wondered why they just kept coming back. Then again, he supposed that the droids just could've kept coming and their owners would've been none the worse.

Now, almost two decades later, Limitless found himself back in this ragged mountainous backwater that he used to call home. And this time around, for a much less noble reason.

On Naboo, Tek had secured for them a much more lucrative job on Contruum, along with several fresh bounties for them to take on. While they were making their way over to the Contruum System, Tek found had managed to pick up the trail of one of their bounties in the Outer Rim. It was on a Rodian criminal and thief who had recently killed the overseer of a durelium mine in the Inner Rim. The bounty out on this particular fellow was placed at thirty-five thousand Imperial Credits-dead or alive. It was one of the largest bounties they'd ever received to date.

The Rodian's trail led all the way to Antamont-where it seemed he'd been dropped off by a wandering spice merchant. After a few scans of the planet, and knowing that a criminal with such a high bounty would be caught dead heading for Vergotta, Tek had told Mercer to touch down just by the Eastern Steppes-which was the location of the abnormally large heat signature belonging to a Spice Trading Vessel.

From there, they'd taken out a few speeder bikes-they'd handle the rough terrain far better than any landspeeder could-and made their way into the slopes so they could find whatever den this Rodian had hidden in. After half a day, they found him.

The Rodian had been hiding out in an abandoned Separatist stronghold that had been mined into the mountains during the Clone Wars. He'd also been among several illicit comrades of his before they'd been unceremoniously snuffed out for good.

It had been the three of them on this outing; Tek, Talla, and Limitless. Though the Rodian easily had three times as many gunslingers on his side, cleaning them up was a relatively simple affair.

Limitless had been annoyed by the Rodian upon first seeing him-not because he was an alien, but because he'd immediately recognized what type he was. The kind that was arrogant due to some perceived advantage, but would quickly melt into a quivering mess when he realized that same advantage had suddenly disappeared into thin air.

Criminal after criminal had fallen. Limitless himself had taken down four, while both Tek and Talla had taken out the other five, leaving only their bounty as the last man standing.

Now, Talla had bound up the fellow with a rather stiff rope behind a knot that Limitless knew wouldn't give. Normally, prisoners would be held at gunpoint, or be held with some kind of energy binder. But an old trick that many criminals were not used to was the old-fashioned way: Rope.

After that was done, Limitless pulled the Rodian roughly to his feet and shoved him forward toward the entrance to the main hanger.

"Look, I didn't do it!" The Rodian claimed, looking rather desperately back and forth between Talla and Limitless. "That overseer! He was taking advantage of my sister! You've got to believe me!"

"Save it for the authorities, Tholkee," said Talla. She then proceeded to whip out her blaster from the holster on her outer thigh. "Move."

Tholkee had actually gulped. He nodded swiftly and complied with Talla's order and began making his way toward the door-where Tek had been waiting for them.

"The last two tried to make a run for it. Got them both." Tek said as he tossed his cigarillo onto the floor of cold durasteel. "How much trouble did he give the both of you?"

"Not much," Limitless said simply.

"Hmmm. Good." Tek then looked to the Rodian with those dark brown eyes of his. "You should've made better friends, Tholkee. They wouldn't have run."

Tholkee was looking rather sheepish now. "How much are they paying you? I'll pay double!"

Tek laughed sardonically as he took his helmet from out under his arm. "A conman as well? I would never have guessed." He slid his helmet back over his head and sighed. "You don't seriously think I'll believe a word you say?"

At that, the Rodian said nothing. Probably resigned to his fate. Either way, Limitless didn't care.

"Take him outside." Tek nodded to the door. "We've got a long ride back to the ship. Won't be long before other hunters begin showing up."

Limitless obeyed, shoving the Rodian forward again with the end of his DC-15A. The walk into the hanger was about as somber as before, with the three of them on high alert-prepared in case any more brave gunslingers came out of the shadows looking to meet their death.

The sleek plating of the floor and walls was still in pristine condition-if not covered in dust bunnies. The Separatists had always built things to last, even though the faction itself had not. No doubt this place was meant to be some kind of dominant superpower in this world. A sort of robotic kingdom that this world's inhabitants would pay homage to instead of the Republic.

Bloody clankers, thought Limitless. The droids had been just as much pawns as his brothers had been-as he had been.

First, the CIS had gone, then the Republic. Before anyone could even spit, the Empire was there. His brothers all back to being enslaved, as opposed to being discharged from service once the war ended.

And Order 66? Bloody hell, that was a whole other can of worms. Limitless was still thanking his stars that the General had the good sense to get that infernal chip out of his head while he could still think straight.

The rest of his brothers hadn't taken well to it when the command had been issued, either. At the time, the division had been split up into ground and aerial sections. The clones on the ground had their communications knocked out by the droids, so they'd been unable to hear the Chancellor utter the order. Meanwhile, the aerial teams had heard it loud and clear and had made it their sole objective to kill the Jedi commanding them. Limitless was with the ground battalion while it happened, and he, just as well as the rest of his brothers, had been surprised when the air battalion had fired upon their position. It was as if they'd sided with the bloody Separatists!

Now that was a real firefight. With them both being fired upon by the aerial squadrons and the clankers, it was a sheer massacre. They'd been forced to retreat back to their makeshift bunker in the caves. Even then, General Noptaika had been gravely injured-she'd need surgery to survive her wounds. Before they could escort her back to the Venator hovering over the planet, however, she'd succumbed to her wounds and died not long after.

With only less than fifty survivors from the ground battalion remaining, Commander Berenfall had taken over. He buried his master, donned clone armor, and together they all made it back to the Venator just in time to receive new orders to finish off the Separatists, and then converge on Coruscant. The Jedi needed to be eliminated, and although Lord Vader had led the 501st into the Jedi Temple, there were still multiple stragglers that had gotten away. They would need to be found and killed.

Limitless and his remaining brothers from the ground battalion had not agreed with these new orders, it seemed the rest of the clones in the 372nd had. It was as if they'd hated General Noptaika and Commander Berenfall with such a dark passion, that they'd so fervently declare both of them traitors to the Republic-it only served to unnerve Limitless then. These two Jedi had only ever cared for their safety and wellbeing-which was saying a lot when compared to other Jedi Generals Limitless had heard about. Commander Berenfall was a regular in the barracks, often playing drinking games with them or cards. How his brothers could seemingly go from loving their Jedi commanders to hating them in the space of a few hours was incredibly disturbing. It seemed as if something had gone terribly wrong-or for someone out in the galaxy, something had gone right.

Commander Berenfall led the operation to get them all clear from the Venator-they took one of the smaller escort ships and made it straight for Bracca. Then, they'd split up. Though many of Limitless' brothers had wanted to stay with him, Commander Berenfall had encouraged them all to go out into the galaxy on their own, to find their own path. Limitless had been the only clone that he wasn't able to shake off.

Not long after that, they had found the Resolution, and they'd never left since.

"What are you thinking about?" Talla had asked from his side. She'd glanced up at him from underneath her helmet visor.

Limitless had grunted. "Last time I was on this bloody world." He said non-commitally. He preferred silence to small talk, but it was what it was.

"Oh." She'd only nodded at that. "How long ago was that?"

"Clone Wars," he said. "Just before the Empire."

She must've grinned underneath her helmet. "You're reaaaaally milking the whole 'strong and silent type' thing aren't you?"

"Is it working?"

"Yep." She mimicked his usual deep accented voice.

Though he smiled underneath his helmet, he wouldn't dream of telling her that. It would only fuel her ego.

Still, Talla believed she could continue prodding him. "You know what, Limitless? I bet underneath all that armor and muscle, you're just a big softie."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play innocent with me."

Limitless only gave her a mild glance. "Stop playing games. What are you talking about?" He repeated.

"You were playing with those charhounds on Elphrona. Don't lie about it, I saw you."

He looked away. "No. I wasn't."

"Yes, you were."

"Stop saying that."

"I distinctly remember you throwing a ball for them to fetch."

Limitless took his newborn frustration out on the Rodian instead of the woman walking next to him. He shoved his DC-15A in his back once more, pressing him forward once more. "Captain?" He pleaded with the man leading them. "Tell this tiresome woman to stop pestering me."

Before Talla could even say a single word in protest, Tek had blessedly beat her to it. "Talla, stop pestering Limitless." He said as he glanced behind his shoulder. "You can pester him when we're back at the ship."

"Sounds good to me," Talla's voice was as chipper as ever. She glanced at Limitless. "Guess you're in for a new one once we get back home."

"I look forward to it," Limitless replied as sardonically as he could.

It had been like this for the last several weeks. And it was somewhat of an annoying, though admittedly amusing occurrence. Though Limitless had taken a liking to canines, he wouldn't ever admit it to anyone else save Hawke, who already knew him rather well.

Talla had singled him out for teasing, though. Not that Limitless cared much for it, even if he did find her attractive. Right now his current focus was on the mission itself.

No doubt it would take them perhaps half a day to get back to the ship on those speeder bikes, maybe a bit longer since they'd be carrying some extra cargo along with them. As long as they'd be getting away from this Separatist holdout, he'd be fine with it.

Once they'd made it out of the hangar bay, they'd made it down the long carved-out stairway into the rock and further down into the valley below, which was dotted with trees that still bloomed with fresh green leaves. Limitless immediately knew that it was late spring, and soon summer would begin.

The trip down the stairway was not all that exciting. It seemed the Rodian had given up all hope of escaping as he remembered just how easily his friends had been dispatched. A primal sense of preservation kept the alien alive, but he otherwise lacked the will to live.

And when they'd touched down on the forest floor, they'd begun making their way back to the small grove where they'd hidden their speeder bikes.

It was precisely then when everything was silent and going well for the three of them, that it all just went to hell.

A sort of loud, abrasive sound filled the Clone's ears. It was similar to the sounding of a horn, or an alarm. When it began to die down, a voice soon began to speak over the local comms channel.

"Oh, Moraan! I can see you! Stop right where you are, or you and your friends will be blown to smithereens!" It was a voice that Limitless had recognized.

Tek had recognized it too, as he stopped right in his tracks, but had drawn his blaster pistol in the blink of an eye. So too had Talla.

The crackling voice over the comms had then started laughing. "Moraan, you continue to amuse me time after time! How you keep falling for my traps will never cease to amaze. And you know what? This time, your blunder will cost you."

"Come on out Jellek," Tek said angrily. "Why don't we settle this right here and now?"

Jellek had laughed again. "Hahaha! It is so much easier to hold you right where you are, though. Look to your left."

Limitless did so, glancing briefly at the tree to his left. Though for a moment he saw nothing at all. He squinted until he saw the barest ghost of a blinking red light coming from underneath a pile of leaves.

A bomb, he realized. And a well-hidden one at that. Limitless knew that pretty much anyone else might've stumbled into it-but he had more or less been trained to sniff out planted explosives that would evade the common individual.

"You reptilian son of a…" Tek bit out. He also must've seen it.

"You always were a poor loser, Moraan." Jellek had said from the other end of the comms. "It is a proximity mine. For the moment it has been set to be activated remotely-by me. I knew you would lead me straight to the bounty-you didn't let me down!"

A few moments later, a few figures came out of the line of trees surrounding them. Limitless, however, knew there were far more in the forest, watching them in case either he or his friends had made a move.

Chief among them was a seven-foot tall Trandoshan with red-brown scales for skin, as well as two beady glaring black eyes that looked greedy and hungry. He wore a smuggler's leather jacket along with black trousers but otherwise remained barefoot as most Trandoshans typically did. His reptilian head ended in a sort of horned crown, giving the bounty hunter standing before them a sort of regal look. And unlike most taller Trandoshans, his muscles were bulging and well-exercised.

His name was Jellek Krishok, and he was one cunning reptile. Running into him just before they completed a job was hilariously typical.

Tek had been the first to break the silence. "What's the matter, Jellek? Got tired of eating babies?"

The Trandoshan merely smiled sinisterly at Limitless' Captain. "As I said; a poor loser as always, Moraan. It is a shame you never took up my offer."

"After hearing what you do for a living, I'll pass," Tek said stonily. "What do you want?"

"I want your bounty, of course." The reptile's voice was cold and slivery. "Hand him over, or you won't live to see that precious piece of junk you call a ship."

"I suppose you brought your friends with you?"

Again, the smiling row of glittering white reptiles' teeth was cold, ruthless, and genuine. "Of course! I heard about your little gun show on Actlyon! But I've got over twenty blasters aimed directly at you. Not to mention… hehe… the bomb that is planted by your feet."

Sure enough, more figures came out from the treeline. A few Humans, another shorter Trandoshan, along with a Twi'lek, and a few others not immediately visible to Limitless.

"So, Moraan… do we have a deal?"

Limitless knew that there was practically no other way out. Even if the Trandoshan was a scoundrel and a degenerate, his one seemingly positive feature was that he never seemed to lie. At least, he never did in all of their encounters with him. It was a strangely unique habit for a degenerate common butcher like the Trandoshan. Jellek was an oddity among the criminals of the galaxy, and one whom Limitless would gladly put down if he got the chance to.

Tek was likely fuming right now-no doubt thinking something along the same lines. "I guess we do…" He said bitterly. He holstered his weapon and stepped back, grabbing the Rodian harshly by the shoulder and shoving him forward towards the trees just fifteen feet away.

Tholkee, now realizing he had another shot at freedom, eagerly made his way toward Jellek. "You've got to believe me! I didn't do it! They-"

Jellek, however, cut him off sharply by drawing his DL-43 in the blink of an eye and shooting him three times in his upper chest in a triangle formation. Bing! Bing! Bing!

Barely a moment later and the Rodian fell to the forest floor. Dead.

The only sound that could be heard was the wretched laughter of the Trandoshan who had shot him. Just as deftly, Jellek had twirled his blaster pistol in his large spindly digit and slung it back into his holster. Those beady black eyes looked squarely at Tek then. "Hehe, the bounty did say 'dead or alive' after all." Even the mere statement felt slimy and unnaturally joyous. It was as if the Trandoshan had relished-no, had savored the death of the Rodian.

A wave of disgust washed over Limitless right then. It was one thing to take someone in alive so they could face a proper trial, but it was another thing entirely to deliberately kill someone when you didn't have to. Moreover, the killing of the Rodian was sadistic and professional-like. The triangle formation was typically used by assassins and killers rather than soldiers or pirates. This Trandoshan was familiar with death, probably more so than Limitless was.

"So what? You're going to leave us here?" Tek dodged the Trandoshan's comment.

Jellek shook his head. "Leaving you here without supervision would be a mistake. I know how persistent you are, Moraan. You'll come after me. No doubt with the speeder bikes you have stashed somewhere nearby. But at the same time, I don't wish to kill you. Not yet at least. I do so enjoy these little games of ours." It was then that the Trandoshan pulled something out of his pocket. Something that blinked a rather curious red and orange light. "You see this? This is an Imperial Military Distress Beacon. Once activated, it will emit a long-range signal to any Star Destroyer within the system and the next ten star systems over. And how many credits do you want to bet that there are Imperials flying through this system as we speak?"

"So you're going to hide behind the law? What a surprise," said Tek. "If they found out what you did to make ends meet, they'd shoot you on sight."

"Hah! But they'll never find out, Moraan." That reptilian smile was back again. "I cover up my business pursuits quite well, unlike you. The Empire has sent special agents out to hunt down your… Jedi friend, after your visit to Actlyon. I wonder what sort of price they'll put on his head?"

Limitless squeezed the grip of his rifle tight in response to the Trandoshan's comment about the General. But he knew that if he did fire on Jellek, both he and the others would be blown to bits.

Tek laughed. "Don't quite know what you're talking about."

"Don't play coy with me, Moraan." Jellek hissed. "I haven't turned you in because I want to kill you myself, like the rat you are. But not today. You've brought me a gift, and in return I will spare your life, and the lives of your crew."

One of the Trandoshan's crew came over to pick up the limp body of the Rodian and carried it deeper into the forest, outside of Limitless' vision.

Meanwhile, it seemed as if the rest of Jellek's crew had gotten the memo. One by one they each disappeared behind the thick brown-barked trees-though Limitless could still feel plenty more eyes collectively watching him for any signs of treachery.

"Any plans to get away from the bomb sitting just a few feet from us?" Talla had spoken through their localized (and private) comms channel. Her helmet had not broadcasted her voice to Jellek nor his companions, as she'd kept her speaker off.

"I'm working on it. Let me think." Tek's voice came back, just a bit more frustrated than it had been when he spoke with Jellek.

The last one remaining had been Jellek, who had simply smiled sadistically at Tek and raised up the small black rectangular box with the blinking red-orange light. "As I said, Moraan… These games of ours always amuse me." The reptile's smile was cold and cruel. "I've set the proximity mine to automatic-it will explode even if you make a single step forward. We really should do this again some other time." He clicked the large glowing button and dropped the device on the forest floor. "See you around."

Tek hadn't answered, likely still putting together some kind of escape plan in his head. It was then that the Trandoshan had stepped away and marched back into the forest beyond, soon leaving Limitless' line of sight for good.

"I hate that guy," said Limitless.

"Me too." Tek added. "Alright, it won't be long before the Star Destroyers pick up that blasted signal. Destroying the device won't do anything since its already broadcasted. If we get to the speeders, though, there's a good chance we can get back to the ship before the Imperials lock this planet down to investigate."

"But how do we get away from the bomb?" Talla asked. "It might not even be the only one. They couldn't have known which way we would've gone from the stronghold-there's likely more proximity mines littered in these woods."

"Yes, thank you for the reminder, sis," Tek said. "Kriff." The one word curse had been muttered from behind Tek's helmet. Limitless had at least been able to hear that.

If a proximity mine had been placed and activated once Limitless and his friends had walked by, that only meant that if any of them had decided to move a foot forward, they would all be blown to hell. The small cylindrical shell would explode into a miasma of shrapnel, plasma, and fire large enough to actually set the whole bloody forest aflame after it completely charred their remains. In the war, Limitless and his brothers had used them to great effect against the bloody clankers. He and his brothers had christened them as a 'Bouncing Betty' on the battlefield.

It was a common enough explosive used by the ground division in the 372nd. And placing it in foliage or under rocks, metal sheets, or even within walls was best practice when using powerful explosives such as proximity mines. It was expected that your enemy would never see it coming.

The only possible escape was to avoid the immediate impact of the explosion by attempting to evade it, even if it was placed directly underneath your feet. Jumping off to the side was more often than not the best and last resort one would look to. Though, if Limitless were a betting man, he would say that an aerial escape was better. A jetpack could certainly do the trick.

Unfortunately for Limitless, he knew that he did not have a jetpack currently strapped to his back. So, he was left doing it the old-fashioned way. It was even worse since he was closest to the bomb.

But his friends certainly didn't share his misfortune. They both wore their beskar-plated jetpacks. And both of them were further away from the bomb.

Limitless had a flash of inspiration. Now, of all times, he decided to live up to his name. Especially if it might even kill him.

"Captain," Limitless began. "I have an idea."

"I'm all ears, Limitless," Tek replied in earnest.

"Perhaps you and Talla could use your jetpacks to get away from the explosion."

"I already thought of that. But the bomb would go off anyways, these things also compute height and velocity. You'd be caught in the explosion. We can't have that."

Limitless smiled at his Captain's concern for his safety. "I'll be just fine, Sir. I'll dive off into the bushes behind us and take cover. If I sustain any injuries, I'll just have to handle them until we get back to the ship."

He could hear Talla's voice crack from the other side of her helmet. "Are you serious? You could die from this, Limitless!" She practically shouted. "Proximity mines aren't a joke. They'll completely engulf this area-it'll be a miracle if even Tek and I get clear of the explosion!"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Limitless replied stolidly. "And it's our only immediate course of action. If we radio back to the ship, we'll have to wait for the others to come out here, and they'll be put in danger. Once they get here, the Imps will have shown up too. If we just sit here, the Imps will arrive anyways and arrest us. Can't have that."

"You're right…" Tek agreed, though his voice seemed rather strained. For a few more moments, he pondered over their shared dilemma, and then, ruthlessly came to a decision. "Alright. But you better make it."

Limitless grinned at the challenge. "I won't let you down, Sir."

"No! We can't-" Talla had seemed panicked.

"Shut up, Talla!" Tek yelled. "Get your jetpack warmed up. This is going to be a bumpy ride."

"But-"

"NOW!"

Talla looked down in deference to her elder brother and then looked to Limitless. Even behind the coal-black visor, he could imagine seeing her dark chocolate-brown eyes boring into him. He nodded to her as if to comfort her.

She dipped her head to him in kind and pressed one of the buttons on her left wrist vambrace.

"On my mark," Tek's voice was stern, yet calm as he began his countdown. "Three…"

Limitless carefully slung the leather strap attached to his rifle along his right shoulder. He'd already memorized the bushes filled with clusters of barb-like thorns just nine feet behind them. It would amount to very little protection overall. As a matter of fact, it was incredibly likely that he wouldn't get out of this.

"Two…"

He saw the small heat waves begin to emit just below the thrusters of Talla's jetpack. The blooming shimmer of gas had jettisoned into the air around them. Limitless bent his knees in preparation. He'd need it.

"One…"

The impact would hit him first. Then, the whirlwind of fire would come to eat him alive. It wouldn't be the first.

His God was about to come for him again. Pain would welcome him back into its comforting embrace.

"Mark!"

As Limitless turned on his heels and dove for the large cluster of bushes, he heard the loud tearing of steel shattering into small sharp fragments and the cracking of thunder. Behind him, wood splintered into chips, and the earth exploded into the sky.

And just as he made to reach for the thorny bushes of twigs, the wave of blood-red fire had beat him to it.