He keeps his pistol out and ready. For all he knows, this is a trap by Nala Se to capture the last 99. He doesn't trust the Kaminoans at all, not anymore. Ever since the Protocol wiped out all the Jedi, they had turned his brothers against him. CT-9932 is a clone deserter; gone are the days of simply handing deserters in. Now they're shot on sight.
And there are a lot of credits on his head simply because he's an efficient mercenary…
He's forced to turn his glowlamp on as he makes his way deeper into the facility, the feeling of discomfort growing the darker it got. This is a decommissioned Kaminoan facility, left to crumble with age rather than the turbolaser fire that decimated Tipoca City. But did this facility exist before Kamino?
"CT-9932."
Hunter spins and trains his pistol on the figure behind him, the glowlamp lighting the features of Nala Se. "Doc."
She moves slowly and carefully, as though she's in pain. Good. Let her be. When she's a few metres away, Hunter's finger tightens on the trigger. "Stop."
Nala Se does so, raising her hands slightly. "There is no trap, CT-9932."
Hunter scoffs. "Right." He settles back so he was leaning against the wall. "What's this job?"
Nala Se's eyes flick to his pistol before she speaks. "Smuggling something away from the Empire."
Hunter doesn't blink. "A thousand mercenaries could do that. Why me?"
The Kaminoan slowly turns towards a random door. "The answer is in there."
Hunter scowls and moves in front of Nala Se, ready to hit the activator switch. "If this is a trap," he warns in a growl, "I'll drop you where you stand."
Slowly, he touches the switch, carefully moving into the pitch-black room. Whatever's in here is-
He senses more than feels the knife coming at him and ducks back on instinct, watching a vibroknife sail out of the darkness. The attack is followed by another, this time the knife going straight for his ribs. He dodges the knife and grabs the being's shoulder, twisting and throwing them against the wall. Their knife falls out of their hands and Hunter steps on it before looking at-
"Omega!"
Nala Se's harsh command has his attacker - some blonde kid - looking away from the knife and at the Kaminoan. "Who's this asshole?"
Hunter scoffs and glances over at Nala Se. "Nice company." The kid looks back at the knife and Hunter shifts his foot back slightly. "Kid."
"Give me my knife back."
Hunter ignores her and looks back at the Kaminoan. "What am I doing here, Doc?
"This is Omega." Nala Se sits down in a chair and checks the blaster burn on her side. After everything, Hunter can't really find it in him to care. "She was my medical assistant on Kamino."
"Yeah?" Hunter looks down at the kid, who's inching towards the knife again. "How'd you escape the bombing?"
"Doesn't matter."
Well, there goes his interest in the kid. Even Crosshair had been a better conversationalist. Hunter sighs and looks over at Nala Se. "You said you had something you wanted me to smuggle?"
Nala Se - who looks like she was going to collapse at any moment - just stares meaningfully at the kid. Hunter scowls. "No way."
"You can't be serious!" At least the kid is against it too. "You want me to go with him?"
"Yes." Nala Se gives a tiny nod. "I am too weak to handle your transportation. CT-9932 is a mercenary operating outside of the Empire. He will look after you while I cannot."
Hunter scoffs. "Gonna have to pay me double," he mutters.
Now the kid's staring at him with something more like horror in her eyes. "But he's a reg," she whispers softly before turning back to Nala Se. "If the chip activates-"
"He's a 99, Omega."
That shuts the kid up and Hunter frowns, focusing on the kid. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Nothing." Great, the gods are getting payback by pairing him up with a silent kid. Wouldn't be a problem, except Nala Se is definitely not going to provide any details about this.
Hunter folds his arms. "Why the kid?"
"She is important." Dank farrik, he called it. "The drop-off is on Wayland."
"Wayland?" Hunter shakes his head. Right. "No way. Wayland is deep in Imperial space. It's not possible."
"I can provide you with triple the promised amount."
Hunter glares at the crumbling wall and shook his head. Job is gonna get him killed…but that's nearly half a million credits. Is it worth the risk? Given the cost of living under the Empire's radar, maybe.
Reluctantly, Hunter turns back to them and holds out his hand. "She have a tracking fob?"
The kid - Omega - scoffed, slapping his hand away. "Fuck you, dude! I'm not tagged."
He thought it a fair question. "If you're not some bounty, then why am I being paid half a million credits to haul you across the galaxy?" He looks over at Nala Se. "Why is she so important?"
"That is not relevant to the job." The sounds of gunships - very convenient, in Hunter's opinion, since it means Nala Se gets to slip away without ever explaining this shit - breaks up their conversation and the Kaminoan backs away. "Your payment will be waiting on Wayland."
The facility shakes with the force of an explosion and Nala Se looks up at the ceiling. "They have found us. You must go."
Hunter glares at her but still nods. The kid finally stands and Hunter steps away from her knife, watching as she snatches it and holds it so the point is facing him. "Let's go."
Great. Open hostility in her tone. This is going to be a fun trip.
Hunter sighs and pulls out his pistol, leading the way toward the exit. Nala Se never had been and never will be his priority. The kid, apparently, now is. Great…
One minute, Nala Se is with their little group heading for the exit, and then the next, it's just him and the kid. Hunter would have shot her if it didn't mean losing the payment for this shit.
The facility shakes again and Hunter looks down at the kid. "Can you run?"
The kid glances at him. "Probably faster than you."
He's almost afraid to roll his eyes. Kid seems like the type who can tell. "This is going to be a sprint to my ship."
"I got it, dude."
Now he does roll his eyes. "Copy."
. . . . . . . . . .
Leaving Bora Vio is uneventful, which was a good thing because Hunter had no idea how to balance fighting the Empire and looking after a kid. Hell, he doesn't even know how to look after a kid.
Tech would say something about researching how to take care of children. Wrecker would want to bond with the kid. Crosshair would suggest letting the kid go in order to protect her.
He's almost afraid of what Echo's thoughts would be.
As the Marauder jumps to hyperspace, Hunter turns to the kid, who may as well not even be here with how silent and still she is in the copilot's seat. "Why would Nala Se want me to smuggle you away from the Empire? What, are you important to her or something?"
Kid shrugs. "Something like that."
When it was clear nothing else was coming, Hunter resists the urge to sigh. "Wayland is a long way from here. And we can't just go directly there; too many Imperial patrols." He activates the holomap, more talking to himself than the kid. "Gonna have to go around."
Yeah, that is smartest, probably. He doesn't want to take a kid he doesn't know into a firefight with the Empire. Especially one armed only with a tiny knife. Going around means a jump to Kamino since that planet is basically dead to the Empire. He doesn't relish the idea of going home, but it's probably the safest option.
From Kamino, the two closest available planets are Geonosis and Mandalore. Geonosis is obviously a no-go but the Mandalore system has its own problems.
Although, it's been five years. Maybe things have calmed down?
There's a third option: Naboo. He was just there; he shouldn't raise any alarms.
He'll have the trip to Kamino to figure that out.
Hunter sighs and looks at the kid. "We're going to Kamino."
Girl could be thinking anything. And, really, he had been expecting some sort of reaction. Clearly, she's spent a lot of time on Kamino if Nala Se was protective of her. But the kid just nods, face an impassive mask.
Hunter nods back and adjusts the coordinates. This is going to be a fun trip.
Half a million credits isn't nearly enough for this shit.