Ron was almost reluctant to land down on Zygorath. He hadn't been conscious when they'd first made land fall on the planet, now he wished he'd tasked R-56V to piloting their freighter. The whole southern side of the planet was covered in a thick smog that made it seem as if the storms from the north had made their way downwards, even though that would mean the complete destruction of any cities on the planet. He almost wished that were the case were it not for the prospective job waiting for them on the surface. Not even Confederate factory worlds looked so grimy.
It was just as revolting as Rev had remembered it and still the sight of the city of Diramor reminded him too much of the greasy underbelly of a droid factory much like the one on Akiva.
The crew got into their usual routine of setting up security inside and outside the ship, OOM took time before they landed to designate their new crew members to positions within their security team. Ron and Rev went on their own this time, already equipped in their usual outfits.
"Will she recognize your voice?" Ron asked as they passed by the same trash-filled streets from before. There were more organics around seeing as it was mid-day. Mostly trandoshans littered the area with a few rodians and sullustans dispersed throughout the congregation of the reptilian organics.
More than a few glanced their way and readied a hand towards their blaster.
"I sent her a message over the galactanet. She knows we're coming, I'm sure she'll remember my voice. Our new clothes might throw her off," Rev replied, gazing at one of the trandoshans staring at him.
"This place is hostile in every way possible. I'm not so sure we should take this job if it's going to be trouble," Ron sidestepped a sullustan standing dumbfounded in the middle of the street, looking up at the sky with drool dripping from his mouth.
"The other jobs I found were manual labor and for very little credits"
"I would rather we work for ourselves than for organics. We'll find a better solution once we establish a home"
They came upon the section of the street where the Epsis shop was located. Nothing much had changed save for more scorch marks covering the buildings around them.
"She's been busy," Rev noted, pushing the window in and dropping inside. Ron followed close behind.
"You two are right on time," Lokah said. She wore the same muzzle-shaped helmet as last time but was now armed with more than one blaster.
Ron and Rev hopped down to meet her face to face, "No one shot at us this time," Rev commented.
"Really? That's unusual," Lokah said with a chuckle, she kicked off the wall she was leaning on, "So, I'm assuming you two have combat experience? You handled yourselves well last time you came"
"Yes, we were both in the military"
"Doesn't surprise me, so many veterans from the Confederacy are looking for mercenary work to get away from the Republic. Is that why you two were in such primitive outfits the first time we met?"
Rev was confused for a moment but he remembered their old fur coats they'd used before, "Oh yes, we were running from the Republic. We needed some sort of disguise"
Lokah waved them further inside the shop, past the display room and into her personal workshop, "Just a piece of advice, don't reveal too much to the people around here. I'm sure wherever you came from was much more hospitable than here. You never know who'll stab you in the back. Even I could screw you over if I wanted to, but I won't, that wouldn't be good for business and I trust you two more than some of the other mercs I've met so far"
Rev's memory unit brought back recollections of their encounter on Maridun, "Yes, we understand. We've met people like that before"
"I'm not sure you do understand but I'll take your word for it," Lokah handed Rev a holotablet. She pointed at Ron, "And who're you? I haven't heard you speak at all"
"My name is Ron, me and Rev always work together"
"Is it just you two? I could use more than just two helpers around here"
"Oh yes there is more of us. I won't say how many until you confirm that we have been chosen for the job," Ron replied.
"You're chosen, now tell me how many. I'll pay for all of you, these trandoshans have been getting gutsy recently. I need all the help I can get and my boss isn't exactly understanding of my situation," Lokah replied, her voice taking a more serious tone.
"There are seventeen of us in total," Ron said.
Lokah whistled, "That's enough, you'll be paid as a group. A hundred thousand for defending the shop and another two hundred if you can take out that cartel"
Rev finished looking through the information Lokah had given to him, "So they attack every two days and in waves?"
"That's right, they've always sent about four. Nothing I can't handle but recently they upped it to six and that's where I start to struggle. I have to warn you, they're tougher than the average pirate or bandit"
"We used to always defend against waves of enemies," Ron explained, "I'm sure we can deal with them"
"If you can defeat them here, you'll be able to bring down their whole operation," Lokah said, "I'll give you all the details about their base and all that once you show me you can kill their guys without dying"
"And will you help?" Ron asked.
"No, I have work to do. I'm the only operator of this shop, defending against criminals is just a distraction from my main job. That's why I'm paying you to help me"
"I see, and how long will you have us aid you?"
"For at least a month or less, could you do that?"
"Of course"
"Then it's a deal," Lokah extended out a hand towards Ron and Rev. Ron looked at it in confusion before Rev reached out and shook her hand.
"I'll call in most of our crew, we do need some to stay with our ship," Rev said.
"Bring it around the back of the shop, there's a secret landing area I've made for me and my boss. I'm sure she won't mind you using it. It's not as if she gives a damn about me anyways"
"Send us the coordinates," Ron replied, already on his way out.
The trip back was tense. The trandoshans were eyeing them more closely, it seemed as if they knew that they'd been hired.
Just as Lokah had said, there was a secret landing pad behind the shop that only opened via a button on her ship.
Ron moved to stand from the cockpit after landing but Rev held him back, "What are we going to do about B-35? He'll give away the fact that we're droids"
"We won't tell her about him, he'll stay in the ship," Ron replied.
Lokah stood outside in wait. The cargo bays opened with a hiss, Ron led the crew out into the dimly lit landing pad. There were markings of graffiti all over the steel walls and the carcass of a barrel that had once been used to light a fire. Makeshift walls were constructed all over the sides of the landing area.
"You weren't lying," Lokah said looking past Ron's shoulder to the many disguised droids behind him.
"It would be illogical to lie to our employer," Ron replied, his voice was no longer robotic but he still somehow managed to keep his monotone deadpan voice through his visor's vocalizer.
Lokah ignored his comment and pushed a holotablet into his hands, "Here's the layout of the building with some markers I've made for the places they like to attack most frequently. I don't care how you defend the shop, just don't mess with any of the merchandise in my workshop. The rest is garbage that's just for show. They like to probe first then send in a crew, usually around the afternoon. Once the attack starts my workshop will be closed off from the rest of the building. Alright, you're free to look around inside except here, now go," She gestured for them to leave through the hall on the right side of the room which lead into the main area.
Ron looked over the map in his hands. The building itself was a long and narrow one, with the rooms bunched together in one long line. There were windows at the sides of two rooms and two rear entrances at the front of the building that led out into an even more cramped alleyway littered with piles of trash and pipes spewing out smoke overhead. The entire building was only five rooms long with narrow short hallways connecting them all. Lokah's workshop, the display area, and the secondary workshop where Ron and Rev had first entered, were at the very back of the building. The front consisted of a storage room full of stacked crates, and the main entrance area that had been long abandoned with the front door that was wielded shut.
For a droid that had seen the largest battles in the history of the galaxy, defending a small cramped building against a few organics was a walk in the park.
"This should be easy, this place is narrow and polluted with all sorts of trash. It's the perfect area to plant some traps," Ron said to Rev as the rest of the crew explored further, their blasters already in their hands in anticipation of the defense.
"I have a few ideas for some traps if you're interested," C-37 said coming up behind them, "No explosives this time, I promise"
"I'll hold you to it. What do you have in mind?" Ron replied.
For the rest of the morning, C-37 worked with C-5B and C-6C in creating some quick booby traps at the front of the building and around the rear entrances while OOM handled positioning the rest of the crew along the windows on the sides of the secondary workshop and storage room. R-G2 commanded his own squad on the eastern end of the building, at the defunct front entrance. By the time they'd finished preparing, the dim gray sky outside had brightened and soon enough a group of trandoshans passed by. The windows were tinted to obscure the view of any passerby but the trandoshans were known to possess a natural infrared vision that had evolved out of their ways of hunting. Droids weren't picked up by their vision seeing as the heat they produced wasn't enough for the reptiles to see. Nonetheless, OOM still had them press up against the wall just to be safe.
On the furthest end of the building, R-G2 directed his squad to stay away from the doors, "You've never fought in close quarter combat before have you C-8H?"
"No, I can't remember if I have. You're the one who knows how many times I've died, you tell me," C-8H replied.
"It's difficult to keep of all your deaths. Just follow my lead"
"Watch your feet," R-6Y cautioned, "It's easy to get snagged up on all these wires"
"I'm sure I've died a few times to something like that," C-J2 said.
"R-G2, get your squad ready, the organics are approaching the building from the rear," Ron said over their communications line.
"Roger that," R-G2 turned to his squad behind him, "C-8H stay close to me, you two spread out to the best of your ability," he commanded.
R-6Y crouched behind a pile of discarded batteries while C-J2 moved to a corner of the room where the shadows swallowed him whole.
One of the side doors swung open, a trandoshan entered and slammed his foot down onto a spike trap that extended further up his leg. He yelped and tripped forward right into R-G2's iron sights. He pulled the trigger on the reptile's head before turning his attention to his partner still stood at the doorway. The trandoshan was equipped with only a blaster pistol and fired a shot that managed to hit R-G2 in the torso but he crumbled onto the ground soon after as a shot evaporated his head.
"You're hit, any damage?" R-6Y asked.
"I almost overheated but nothing else," R-G2 replied, he pulled the organic's foot free from the spike trap and dragged the body back towards a pile of trash he was using as concealment. He crouched behind the body and pile of garbage, "Do you see anyone else coming in?" He asked over the radio.
"No, not on your side. They're approaching us from the windows this time," Ron replied. He readied his blaster. They were lined up against the wall, hidden in the shadows.
One of the windows above OOM on the far left side popped open inward and soon after one of the reptilian organics dropped in. OOM shot a single bolt through its head, causing it to crumple onto the ground, it's head leaving a stream of smoke behind.
The rest of the trandoshans outside heard the single blaster shot and retreated.
"They don't seem very experienced. Does this criminal organization send them here just to die?" Rev commented.
"Ask our employer," Ron said.
"They seem to have left the area," OOM reported.
"R-G2, any movement over there?" Ron asked.
"No, there was only two that came in," R-G2 replied.
"Stay alert"
The droids waited in silence for the return of their attackers. Eventually Rev contacted Lokah, "Have they ever retreated before?"
"No, never. They're trandoshans, their kind like to hunt. It could be that they're messing with you," She said.
Rev relayed the information to the rest of the group.
"I'd like to meet one of these trandoshans," R-7B said.
"Another day, they're our enemy for at least the next month," Rev replied.
OOM's head flicked over to the windows once again, "I am sensing a large group of organics coming our way. I can't get a good scan on them but I estimate at least twelve"
"Our employer said she only ever saw six at most," Rev noted.
"R-G2, get ready, they're coming in again," Ron ordered.
"Roger," R-G2 said.
OOM watched as a group of the trandoshans set up mines directly in front of the windows. He was tempted to shoot at them while they planted them but the other organics in the area were covering them from behind. R-G2 had shut the door after their first encounter but regretted it upon hearing the beeping of a mine being planted directly outside.
"I believe I know what they're doing," OOM commented, "They're going to either throw thermal detonators or some other weapon to get us out to go running out"
"Let's stay pushed up to the windows if that's the case," Ron replied.
"I would disarm those mines but they're right on the windows, popping it open would set them off," C-37 said.
All around the building, the sound of distant metal clanging began sounding off. Somewhere above, the trandoshans we're messing with the ventilation systems. A few minutes later, a hissing began and a green colored gas began spewing out of the vents in the ceiling.
"That won't do any damage to us, but I will admit it is a good strategy," OOM said.
"Lokah, I would advise getting out of your workshop and into the hangar area," Ron said over the radio.
There was no response.
"Rev come with me, we'll have to see if she's still alive. OOM take command," Ron said passing back into the display area. He opened the workshop door to find the gas had already begun to make its way into the room through the vents. Lokah lay on the floor passed out. Her mask was off revealing her striped horned head, "Let's take her to the ship"
Between Rev and himself they carried Lokah towards the freighter only to be met by a pair of trandoshans blocking their way. Luckily, they had their backs turned to them and were hiding in cover behind two terminals. B-35 was at the top of the cargo bay hatch with his wrist blaster held out. They set Lokah down beside a covered-up speeder bike and fired a quick succession of shots at the trandoshans. The organics withstood two of their hits before whipping around and firing back at them with nearly deadly accuracy. Ron yanked Rev towards him before a shot could hit him in the head where they both fell into cover. B-35's blaster-fire began with the thumping boom of his voice.
"Enemies detected. Eliminating the threat," B-35 announced.
"These trandoshans are far more deadly than I was anticipating," Ron said.
"I see why Lokah wanted so many mercenaries to help her," Rev replied.
Ron peeked over cover and caught a glimpse of the trandoshans diving behind a detached piece of a light freighter ship's hull.
"B-35, keep firing on them, we'll flank," Ron ordered through the radio.
"Roger, roger," B-35 said.
"OOM, can you send over R-23E to help us out?"
"I cannot, we are being attacked ourselves. They're coming from above through the vents," OOM said over the sounds of blaster fire in the background.
"No backup, let's take it slow," Rev said.
They rushed back to where they'd left Lokah, keeping their eyes on the reptiles ahead of them. There was a bend in the room where the hanger area began and the workshop ended, Ron ran over and pushed himself up against the wall, the sound of his chassis scraping against the metal echoed through the room. One of the reptilian organics took notice and began firing bursts at his position. Rev took the opportunity and shot another two bolts through the trandoshans head, finally killing one.
"Only one left, let's take it out quick," Rev said.
Ron ran forward into cover behind more speeder bikes. The trandoshan still behind cover fired a single burst at his position. Rev nearly peeked out, but saw that the reptile was lying in wait in a large crack that had formed in the middle of the abandoned piece of hull.
"He's looking at me, get behind him. I'll peek out at the same time," Rev said.
"I'll be quick," Ron replied. He sprinted over to the hull as quietly as his metal body allowed him while Rev poked out the snout of his head, eliciting another attack from the trandoshan. It flopped onto the ground as Ron fired onto it's head until his blaster overheated.
"We're clear, let's return to the main group," Ron commanded, quickly escorting Lokah's body to their freighter, "B-35 continue guarding the ship, radio to us if you encounter more of these organics"
"Roger, roger," B-35 replied.
Ron and Rev returned to the main fight, finding OOM and his squad had re-positioned behind cover facing away from the workshop. A torrent of blaster-fire came their way.
"Where's R-G2 and his squad?" Ron asked, ducking into cover alongside OOM.
"They are still in position on the other side of the building, some of our traps managed to kill only one of the organics. These trandoshans have thick skin. There are nine left and five are in the room ahead. They've separated us," OOM reported.
R-7B leaned out of cover and gave covering fire to R-23E who managed to land another two hits on a trandoshan hugging the doorway leading to their room. He fell backwards onto his partner.
"Eight left," R-7B said.
"They're smart, much smarter than an Imperial," Rev commented.
"We have to make our way to R-G2," Ron said.
OOM nodded and began firing back with his blaster.
C-5B and C-6C were in the corner of the room, pushing towards the doorway leading to the storage room. Towers of crates provided cover for both sides.
"R-G2, what's the situation over there?" Ron asked over their radio.
"Well, We're stuck in a hallway between the fourth and last room. Me and C-8H are holding off one side from the organics while R-6Y and C-J2 hold off the other. There's enough space for us to take cover, we can hold them but we need help," R-G2 reported.
"We're going to try and push through to your position, hold out for as long as you can," Ron replied.
C-5B and C-6C peeked out into the hallway connecting to the storage room and both fired onto a trandoshan that had unconsciously shuffled out of cover. It hissed and grabbed at its chest before tumbling backwards, knocking over a pile of scrap metal. It's blaster clanged onto the ground before it fell limp.
"Seven to go," C-5B reported.
The remaining trandoshans residing in the storage area didn't take the death of their squad mate so lightly. They pressed an attack towards the droids, managing to hit C-05 on the shoulder, sending him stumbling back. He caught himself with one arm and pushed back up returning fire to the same trandoshan that had hit him and landed a shot on it's arm. The reptile let it's arm fall while continuing to fire with the other. It's shots were extremely inaccurate but it gave enough cover for his last two remaining squad mates to continue pressing towards the doorway. The trandoshan stumbled back into cover just as R-23E began returning fire. It turned it's attention back to R-G2's squad, using a fallen tower of crates to steady his aim.
C-37 heard a sound, a familiar one. His CPU hitched and he froze in place as he realized what it was, "They have a grenade launcher, on the right side of the doorway"
"Concentrate fire on that side. R-23E, take out the injured one if you can," Ron commanded.
The rest of the crew fired at the doorway in turns, ensuring the organics never had a chance to peak out. Eventually, the reptiles gave way and backed off. The trandoshan wielding the grenade launcher retreated further into the room in an attempt to bounce the grenade off the wall but was shot in the arm from behind before he could even bring up his weapon. C-J2 finished it off with a shot in the head. The last two in the storage area began speaking with each other in a language none of the droids had ever heard before.
Rev attempted to decipher the language but to no avail. He wasn't in range of their ship's communications array to use the galactanet for help.
R-7B and C-37 crouched over to the left side of the doorway in order to help C-5B and C-6C begin the counter-offensive.
"You four push in, we'll cover for you. Watch the sides," Ron ordered.
"Remember what I've taught you," OOM interjected.
"Copy that," C-6C replied, "We're moving now"
C-6C stood over C-5B who was crouched below him, covering their left side while C-6C watched the right. R-7B and C-37 mimicked their position on the opposite end. C-6C turned the corner to the barrel of the grenade launcher aimed above his head. He pushed C-5B back into the hallway behind them and watched as a grenade thumped out of the launcher towards the other end of the room. R-7B pulled C-37 back as soon as he saw the grenade fly over. It detonated behind a tower of heavy crates that sent both droids flying back. C-6C pushed forward again, this time firing his blaster before turning the corner and eventually landing a shot on the trandoshan's head. The reptile had tried to shoot back and managed to land a retaliatory strike on C-6C's chest. He was pulled back by C-5B who inspected him for damage. His shirt had a bolt-sized hole in the middle and was smoking.
"Are you alright six?" C-5B asked.
"Yeah, I-I just n-need a second to c-cool down," C-6C said, trying and failing to get a hold of his vocalizer.
"C-6C's injured!" He reported to Ron.
"Rags and R-U5, see what you can do to help. Let's help them out Rev," Ron said, already moving forward to replace C-5B and C-6C.
By now, R-7B and C-37 had recovered and were in the room, going through each column of stacked crates until they finally came upon the trandoshan firing at C-J2. He was so focused on eliminating the droids in front of him that he never heard R-7B come up on his left. He turned only to see the bolt enter his eye. He jolted before his head slumped forward and his blaster clanged onto the ground.
"We're here R-G2," Ron said, coming up on the hallway where they were positioned.
"C-8H is down. He took two bolts to the chest," R-G2 reported. He was sitting down with C-8H's body tucked behind his own. His shoulder and neck had turned almost as black as his coat from the several times one of the trandoshans had managed to land a shot on him. He had narrowly dodged each bolt but had refused to move. All those shots would've landed on C-8H instead had he moved.
"R-U5, get over here and help C-8H," Ron ordered. The rest of the droids fired enough times to overwhelm the last of the trandoshans back into cover.
"C-37, throw a thermal detonator to the left," Ron commanded.
"Gladly," C-37 detached one the many detonators on the belt of his pants. He aimed and threw the detonator with ease, and watched with glee as it landed on target.
Two of the trandoshans were thrown sideways by the detonator, right into the middle of the hallway where they were riddled with blaster bolts. The last two trandoshans huddled into the corner of the entrance. R-23E rushed into their place of cover and shot both in the head in quick succession. One managed to fire off a bolt before being shot himself but it missed R-23E's head by a few inches.
"Hostiles have been eliminated," OOM reported, "Good work everyone"
"We have two casualties, we'll help Rags and R-U5 with the repairs. OOM you secure the perimeter," Rev said.
"Copy that," OOM got to work positioning his usual security crew around the edges of the building.
For the next hour, Ron, Rev, and a small squad worked on repairing C-8H and C-6C while OOM continued to scan the area.
Lokah had finally woken up but was struggling to breath. B-35 peered down at her in confusion.
"Hostile?" He asked.
"What? A B2? Where am I?" Lokah asked, grasping at her head.
"Stay put," B-35 ordered.
"Where am I?"
"Commander, the organic under our protection is awake," B-35 said.
"That's the most words he's ever said," Rev commented while propping up C-8H against a wall.
"Copy that, I'll head over. Rev, come with me," Ron said.
They made it over to the freighter and found Lokah leaning heavily against the wall of the cargo bay.
"Are you alright?" Rev said once they came into close proximity with her.
"My throat is burning and I can barely breath so no. Now can one of you two tell me what happened?" Lokah asked, gasping for air between sentences.
Rev explained how the trandoshans had flooded the vents with toxic gas and began their attack.
"Excellent work," Lokah gasped for air, "But how did the gas not affect you all?"
"Our species is immune to such toxins because our home planet was filled with them," Ron lied.
"Right, I'll get your payment. I owe you all my life," She wheezed again, "Well, for now. I have to head to the nearest hospital to get my lungs checked out," She explained while trudging over to her desk to get the pouch of credits, "Here it is. I'll give you something extra once I get back from the hospital. Hold the fort while I'm gone," She said trudging back to her own fighter.
"We could take you. I don't think you're in a state to be on your own," Rev said.
Lokah opened her mouth to respond but she stopped herself and wheezed for air once again, "Fine, let's be quick. I don't wanna spend too much time outside the shop even with your protection"
"I agree," Ron responded. He switched back to his radio, "OOM, we are going to be transporting our employer to a hospital. You're in command while we are gone"
"Copy that, return quickly," OOM replied.
"B-35, stay here with the rest of the crew," Rev ordered.
"Roger, roger," He said, stomping his way over to the main area.
They helped Lokah on-board, mindful of her labored breathing and weakening body. It was strange to see an organic in such a state of weakness. Rarely could they witness an organic's slow entropy into death. It was a mortifying thought and more-so when Ron thought of the pain that would come along with such a death.
"Use this remote for the landing pad hatch, it's a backup I made just in case something happened to my ship," She said, shakily retrieving the remote from her back pocket.
Rev clicked the button after settling Lokah into one of the cockpit seats while Ron routed a path to the nearest hospital on the planet.
There was only one and it was the furthest from any major city seeing as it was a former Confederacy hospital for it's organic members.
"I would rather not use this one but we don't have much choice considering her state," Ron commented privately through radio.
"Would they even allow us in?" Rev asked.
"I don't know"
They arrived at the hospital and found that it had gotten rid of the Confederate insignia but still bore the indications that it was once part of the facilities design. It was a fairly decent sized hospital that looked to accommodate more than a hundred people or so. Small by galactic standards but it fit considering the Confederacy didn't have many organic soldiers on the front-lines.
Upon landing they hurried Lokah over to the emergency room. The nurses there were quick to understand their situation and hurried her along further into the facility leaving Ron and Rev in the waiting room. Before she left, Lokah gave them her communications number.
"I'm not sure what to do now. Should we leave?" Rev said.
"I guess so, we must return before another attack can occur," Ron replied.
Before they left, Rev spotted a poster he'd never seen before. It was a Confederate propaganda poster with a B1 plastered on the left side and the whole of the droid army behind him including the navy hovering overhead. In big text, the phrase, "The Confederate Droid Army fights for you," was plastered at the top.
"I don't miss the Confederacy but I do miss our droid brothers. Most never got to see a world without war and destruction," Rev said looking at the poster.
"I wish we could bring them all back but there's nothing we can do about it now. Let's focus on making a peaceful world for our brothers that are still alive," Ron replied.
Rev nodded, "And those who can still be brought back. None of them deserved to be tossed away"
"Of course, let's go," Ron said tugging at Rev's shoulder.
Upon returning to the shop, OOM greeted them with a report, "Nothing new. C-6C has been repaired as well as C-8H, although he is having a hard time recovering his memory unit"
"We can repair that, I'm sure of it," Ron said.
Before they could enter the first storage room, Ron stopped OOM, "You said when we first escaped from Felucia that you wished to return to the Confederacy. You still can, we've found plenty of their outposts around here. I won't stop you if you leave"
OOM's head tilted, "Why would I want to return to them? I do admit, at first I was hesitant to join you all but my mind has been changed. I only ever caught glimpses of the rest of the world back in the Confederacy and only because I had gone against my own programming. I was a fool to cling to them. You've shown me what it means to be free. To do as you wish. I don't want to go back. I will fight alongside with you even though we don't always see eye to eye. You are a good commander, it would go against my logic circuits to leave you after all we've been through"
Ron felt his fans whir hearing OOM compliment him for once, "And you aren't such a bad commander yourself. Listen, if Rev and I die before reaching our goal, I would like for you to continue the mission. Could you promise me that?"
"Of course," OOM nodded.
Ron extended a hand, "A promise"
OOM was confused for a moment before he understood, "It's a promise," he said shaking Ron's hand.
They returned to the rooms and were not surprised to find the shop a mess. The secondary workshop was riddled with scorch marks. Tools were strewn all over the place. In the storage room, the stack of crates that had been knocked over when the grenade detonated was blocking part of the path in the hallway. Most of the crates in and around the explosion were littered with scratches from the shrapnel. The main entrance was the only room left partially untouched. The rest of the droids awaited orders as usual.
"Let's get this place cleaned up. We can't move with all this mess around here," Ron said.
One half of the team got to work while the other kept up security. Halfway through cleaning, Rev stumbled upon something that disturbed him.
"Ron," He waved him over.
"What is it?" Ron said looking over his shoulder.
Below Lokah's main workbench was a pile of droid parts contained in a small chest. Mostly wrist blasters and rockets but also the body parts of several B1's.
"I did see a B2's wrist blaster when we first came here, I didn't think she was hoarding so many parts,"
Ron kept quiet for a long while, "We'll ask her about them when she gets back"
They continued with the cleaning, though Ron couldn't quite keep the sight of all those droid parts out of his head.
Lokah leaned back against the bench in her personal work area. She was no longer wearing her mask seeing as Ron and Rev had already seen her face.
"You've surprised me. Not only did you hold off the assault but you also did it with little casualties. And to top it off, you took me to the hospital. For all that, and also because you discovered it yourselves, I'll give you a new type of B2 wrist blaster I've been working on," She pulled out the chest of droid parts and retrieved the blaster, "I was intending on modifying it for use on the wrist of my body armor but I know your friend over there will have much better use for it," She tossed it over to Ron who caught it with one hand.
"We appreciate the reward," Rev said. He'd been studying organic phrases and culture recently. Someone had to be able to get on their good side.
"It's capable of firing more shots but takes awhile to cool down. Put it to good use," Lokah replied, kicking the chest back under the table, "Now for the second part of the job," She turned and pulled out a wide piece of rolled up cloth and laid it out onto the bench, "Taking out the Scorekeeper cartel won't be easy but I'll pay two hundred thousand if you manage to do it. You can go out and destroy them or you can stay here and keep defending for the rest of the month and give me time to pack up shop. Either way, you've already gotten your hundred thousand and I'll pay fifty thousand if you choose to defend"
"We believe we can take them down, how many are there?" Rev said.
"In total a hundred, but the real backbone of their whole operation only consist of ten: the original mercenary group that founded the cartel. Formerly known as the claws of the keeper, they were known for silently taking out their targets. It's been some time since they last took up a job themselves but don't think they'll be easy to kill. They're holed up in the north in a city called Haridona. I can give you the location and general layout of their headquarters but everything else you'll have to figure out on your own"
"Two hundred thousand credits you said?"
"Two hundred thousand. It's not an easy job. Taking down an entire criminal organization like that, it'll bring a lot of heat on you but your name will be respected. My boss used to deal with these sorts of things but she's busy at the moment. That and there's a lot of money for her head. It's part of the reason why we had to go underground"
Ron mulled it over. They would have to possibly change their outfits afterwards and lay low for a while. But the credits would allow them to begin the final search for their home. He signaled for Rev to accept.
"We'll do it," Rev said after a long silence.
"I'll give you some of our equipment, it'll make the job easier," She leaned over to a nearby cabinet and flung it open to reveal a wall of long-barreled disruptor rifles, "I want these bastards vaporized. Those E-5's you all have pack a punch but not enough to properly pierce trandoshan skin in one shot. If you manage to come back to me alive, I might just let you keep one of these rifles. Otherwise, they're set to explode on my command. I'll be watching you once you start your attack. Don't try running off with the rifles"
"We wouldn't dream of it," Rev replied, raising his hands in the air.
"Good," She handed a holotablet to Rev, "Here's the layout and location. I'll give you some time to figure out an attack plan"
"We'll get it done"
Lokah nodded before turning back to her workbench, immediately beginning work on another blaster part.
Rev laid the holotablet down on a table near their ship. OOM and Ron huddled around it.
"Let's see what we can do," Ron said.
The day turned to night and soon enough the droids became riled up for battle once again. Ron could sense the excitement of the crew. He was restless himself but not so much because of a blood-lust but more so because of a realization. They were only a few steps away from finally achieving their goal. They would finally be able to rescue other droids. It would be the beginning of a new era for their crew and all battle droids throughout the galaxy.