Chapter 3: Rest, Refits, and a New Mission

Kuat Drive Yards

Requisitions building

3 days after the Battle of Christophsis

We had left Christophsis and three days later my ship was getting repaired in an orbital facility while I was speaking to a corporate official, a short and chubby man, about keeping the stealth ship.

"Come back in 3 months if you want a IPV-2C stealth corvette," The corporate official said.

"Say what now?" I was caught blindsided by the wait time, "Three Months!?"

"Yes, three months is correct, sir," the stubby and fat man said in a placating manner.

"Why?" I asked like a toddler.

"The model that you used was an experimental model; We doubt it's safe for anything other than relief missions."

"I saw General Skywalker destroy the bridge of a Providence class dreadnought with it," I retorted.

"Did it get hit by any ordnance in that entire battle?" Countered the irritating man.

"No," I conceded, then sighed, "Three months then, right?"

"Yes sir."

~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~

Kuat Drive Yards

Ship Modifications Office

3 hours later

Requesting a stealth ship was not the only item on my list, though. I wanted my Venator to be a real warship, worthy of the name Star Destroyer, not some misused carrier. My suggested modifications would keep only the hangar bay underneath the ship, trading the others for armor, weapons emplacements, and storage space.

The wait time would be lengthy for a refit of this scale, that is, if it was approved. Thus, I was surprised when an hour after putting the request through, I had a meeting with the designer of the Venator, Lira Blissex.

"Sit," Lira Blissex, the creator of the Venator, told me. I complied, and sat in the chair across from her in her office.

"Ms. Blissex, I was not expecting to meet you today." I said, still dumbfounded by the quick meeting that was taking place.

"Admiral, you'd be surprised as to how many people have put in requests similar to yours," the brown haired woman said. Oh, so a straight to business kind of person; I can work with that. "To be honest, it's been getting quite annoying having to deal with this bantha dung that people with no experience in designing ships put me up to and I—"

"Cut to the chase Ms. Blissex," I interrupted her ramble. While a crude statement, I wasn't about to listen to an annoyed woman's ramblings for the next hour.

"Very well," she conceded, "A dedicated refit of a Venator, like the one you and many others have suggested, would take far too long to design and implement in active service. The Republic would have to design and manufacture new, up scaled reactors to compensate for the amount of energy these extra systems would take, it also would be two/thirds of the cost of a normal Venator just to refit one of this new subtype. On top of all this, we would have to redesign parts of our shipyards to make these ships, so yeah, way too long."

"Oh," I said, "So we couldn't even refit one, then." I fidgeted with my thumbs while realizing just how hard it would be to remake a staple of the Republic fleet.

"That is correct," she confirmed, "We don't have the necessary components for the construction of such a thing. Although, now that you mention it, we could still add in a bunch of extra armor to replace the hangars on the sides."

"Could we remove the some point defense cannons for additional turbolasers?" I asked.

"Maybe," Ms. Blissex said, "Let me review the specs and I'll call you later, but be warned that this could take a while. Oh, and if you truly are desperate to get into a broadside engagement, you can always mount those AV-7 artillery cannons inside of your port and starboard hangars."

"Thank you, Ms. Blissex," I said as I stood up from the table and started walking out of her office, "This meeting has been most Informative."

"Good day admiral."

~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~

Kuat System

Venator Star Destroyer - Titan

1 day later

Unlike my suggested "battle cruiser" refit of my Venator, the chair refit was quick to install and easy to design. For less walking room along the bottom of my bridge, the chairs could now recline and were cushioned far better, with built-in cup holders. The clones manning the machinery that I was too scared to touch near the viewing port got some swivel chairs and a railing, for them not to fall into the bottom portion of the bridge.

After my trip to the surface I took a shuttle back up to the Titan and was ready to unveil the sunrise to my crew.

"Alright troopers, you've probably been wondering what construction has been happening on the bridge, and I believe it's time I showed you," I said to the men in gray uniforms.

"I got some new chairs and updated systems, take a look, men." Mumbles of approval rippled throughout my bridge staff and before long, they walked into their posts.

"Thank you, sir," a clone named Brass said, while other clones echoed the same message.

"Sir incoming message from…" the clone's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Well, trooper?" I asked.

"Jedi shuttle 627," the clone was snapped out of his stupor.

Huh, wonder what a Jedi is doing here. "Patch it through, soldier." General Void said.

"Yes sir."

A blue hologram of a young togruta appeared on the holo table. "Master Void, I was hoping to catch you," she said. "I'm Master Skywalker's new Padawan learner. Master Yoda sent me to catch a ride with you guys to Christophsis."

"Very well Padawan," General Void said, "Proceed to hangar bay 3."

"Yes, Master."

After the hologram shut down, I said to General Void, "I didn't know that Jedi were slavers."

Flabbergasted, General Void replied, "Jedi aren't slavers?!"

"Then why do you have a scantily clad Togruta minor calling you"Master "?"

It was at this point that a few clones snickered.

A red faced General Void said, "Calling someone master is a sign of respect, she's a student for goodness sake!"

"Then why is she wearing that?" I asked pointedly, "Don't you Jedi at least have a dress code?"

"No," General Void conceded, "there is no dress code."

A few of the clones were full blown laughing now.

"That's kind of weird, General."

~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~

Christophsis

2 days later

After that incident. The 14 year old Commander said that she'd tell us her message when we were finally with General Skywalker and Kenobi. So Pinpoint and I took a shuttle to the surface with her. When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised when we discovered that the last Seppie stronghold had been defeated. Then it was time for Skywalker to meet his new Padawan.

The young Togruta said, "Hi, I'm Ahsoka Tano, the new Padawan learner. Master Yoda sent me to tell you that there's been an emergency and that you both must go back to the temple."

What I wasn't expecting was for General Kenobi to say, "Padawan Tano, I'm Obi Wan Kenobi, your new Jedi master."

The Jedi Padawan's face scrunched up with confusion as she said, "Master Kenobi, I'm always at your service, but I'm afraid I've actually been assigned to Master Skywalker."

Now it was Anakin's turn to be confused, "What? No, no, no, no." I half thought he was going to start banging his head against the wall, "There must be some kind of mistake. He's the one who wanted a Padawan." Skywalker desperately pointed at General Kenobi.

"No, Master Yoda was very specific. I'm assigned to Anakin Skywalker and he is to supervise my Jedi training." She said to him very slowly, like she was speaking to a preschooler.

"We can sort this out later," I said, "Jabba the Hutt's son has been kidnapped."

"And?" Anakin asked.

"We need to rescue him," I said, "The Republic needs access to the Hutt hyperspace lanes for our outer rim territories." After I saw the look on Anakin's face I said, "Believe me Anakin, I don't like this; I don't think anyone does, but the Republic has been asking the Hutts for support in the war, and the perfect opportunity for getting their support has dropped in our laps."

"I still don't like this," Anakin said, "But alright."

"Great," I said, "You and Padawan Tano will go to Teth. That's where Jabba's son is supposed to be. General Kenobi and I will head to Tatoinne, to negotiate our treaty with Jabba.

"Wait, I never agreed to have a Padawan," Anakin protested.

"Looks like you're stuck with me, Skyguy," Padawan Tano snipped. Hehehe… Skyguy

~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~

Tatoinne

6 hours later

I, along with four clone commandos and General Void, had come with General Kenobi to represent the GAR in our negotiations with Jabba. I tailed behind General Kenobi to watch our shuttle and had to scare away a group of Jawas.

"Mighty Jabba, one of our most powerful Jedi, is on his way to rescue your son. We will not let you down," General Kenobi reassured him.

Jabba the Hutt spoke in huttese and his protocol droid said, "The most gracious Jabba has one more small condition. He demands you bring back the slime who kidnapped his little "punky muffin"."

I had to put my hand over my mouth to refrain from laughing at that name.

"Punky?" General Kenobi asked.

Jabba paid no attention to either of us and added, "Dead or alive," to his conditions.

He spoke to his protocol droid in an ominous tone and it said, "If you do not succeed, Count Dooku and his droid army will."

General Kenobi and I walked back to the ship.

"I don't know about you," I said, "But that was just rude. Kriffing slime ball threatening us with him joining the Separatists. And only one planetary rotation to do it, too. I'm going to stay the period allotted to us here and do some digging, then."

"Here?" General Kenobi looked disgusted, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," I replied, "Howler squad can protect me, right guys?"

"Yes sir!" The clone commandos responded.

"Very well then, Admiral."

"See you later, General."

~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~

Tatoinne

Inside Jabba's palace

4 minutes later

After General Kenobi left, Howler Squad and I walked back into Jabba's Palace.

"Try not to kill anyone," I told them, "Now you guys go have fun but keep an eye on me, alright?"

"Yes sir." The clones said simultaneously.

Now… where to go? Oh, that Sabbacc game looks inviting.

"What's the bet, men?" I asked. In the most gravelly voice I could muster.

"50 truguts."

Dang, that was 600 credits. Eh, whatever.

"You in, or not?" the dealer said with a thick accent.

"I'm in," I said.

Meanwhile with Howler Squad . . .

". . . Is the Admiral joining in on an illegal Sabbac game?" Hawk, the team's sniper asked.

"I think so," Walker, the team leader replied as he looked over in Admiral Patton's direction. "Say, is that a trick card he has there?

Cypher, the team's tech and encryption specialist said, "Yeah, I think it is. It's hidden perfectly too, the Admiral knows what he's doing."

"Should we bust him or something?" Hawk asked, uncertain of what to do.

"Nah, the moneys probably been stolen by that scum already, it's better in the admiral's hands." Walker said.

"Whatever you say, sir."

Back to Admiral Patton . . .

These scum wouldn't do any good with the credits, so I decided to use a trick I had up my sleeve, a trick card. These bad boys could change from any card to another one with a press in the right place. Wait, this is ridiculous, I started out with an idiot's array. Hehehe… these scum won't know what hit them. After a few rounds I quit, with a good 3000 credits or 250 truguts in hand.

"Wow sir, I didn't know that you had it in you to win like that." Said Walker.

"Uh huh," I replied, "Come on, let's go to a quieter place."

We walked over to a darker corner and began conversing.

"So sir, was that a trick card over there?" Asked Cypher.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I smiled bashfully.

"Ok whatever, now what did you really want to talk to us about?" Questioned Hawk.

"Alright then. Did you guys see that weequay over there? The one with the absurd amount of ordnance on him?" My voice was lowered to a whisper.

"Did you notice his buddy?" I asked.

"Yes sir," Hawk replied, his voice also at a whispering level, "the Rodian, right?"

"Good, now do you see those extra bulges in his vest? I saw them up close at the Sabacc game; they're vials of poison looking stuff."

"Kriff, that's not good," cursed Walker.

Now get your blasters ready, but do it silently. I'm going to pay for a round of drinks for everyone as a distraction. 5 seconds after I announce that, move in on the Rodian and stun both him and the Weequay.

"Yes, sir."

At the bar . . .

"How much do you reckon a full round for everyone will cost?" I asked the Sullustan bartender.

"Eh? Maybe 8000 wupiupi," he replied with a thick accent.

"Hey everyone!" I yelled, "Next rounds on me!"

Most of the crowd cheered and moved to the bar while my men and I apprehended the Weequay and Rodian men. I stayed behind a bit to pay the tab while they dragged the two aliens to a private room that I had rented.

When I arrived I told the commandos to, "Check their teeth, make sure that there's no suicide mechanism."

"Found one," Cypher said.

"Remove it."

"Cypher, scan these vials too." I said, I had a sneaking suspicion as to what this Rodian was.

"Sir the scans show it as a poison, that would be unnoticeable if we weren't scanning a vial of the thing. Oh, and it looks like it's highly lethal to Hutt biology." The clone commando said with worry in his voice.

"Kriff, let's bring this to Jabba, we can't afford to have him die out on us."

"My thoughts exactly, sir."

~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~

Jabba's palace

5 minutes later

We rushed through the dingy interior of Jabba's palace and arrived at the main room where Jabba was. I ran up to Jabba with my clone commandos slowly moving up after me, dragging along the two bodies of the men we had apprehended.

"Mighty Jabba, would you have happened to know these men?" I asked after the commandos dropped them off in front of him.

He spoke and his protocol droid said no and asked why we had taken these men.

"My team and I have apprehended the Rodian because he was having multiple vials of poison on him, custom made poison effective against barely any species, very nasty stuff, and the only sentient species that it is effective against are hutts. The Weequay because he looked like he was with the Rodian, perhaps serving as a distraction for your security."

At this point the crowd around us was silent, wanting to hear what was next. Except for a select few, who drew their blasters on me and my commandos. I took out my dual DH-17 blaster pistols and my commandos raised their DC-17m's at the assassins. It was at this point that the team's heavy weapons specialist, Ammo, arrived out of hiding with a mini-gun in hand and let hell loose on the assassins, who, at this point, had gotten into a separate group from Jabba's people near cover.

I laid down a spray of suppressive fire over the wannabe assassin's heads with my pistols while Jabba's men charged at them. Idiots. They got mowed down by laser fire. The bounty hunters that were loyal-ish to Jabba and looking for some money jumped in to help and before long more guards arrived. With one final push the enemy was defeated.

~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~

A/N Any reviews or feedback would be helpful. 11/1/23 update #2