Valkyries P.O.V.
Just as we got to the edge of Raxus space, Wrecker said
"We've never been to Raxus before" Tech pressed a couple of buttons on the console before saying
"The coordinates from Cid have us landing outside the capital city of Raxulon, the home of their Senate" Echo sat back in his seat, folded his arm and said
"I can't believe we're helping a Separatist senator" Tech looked at him and said
"So you have said. Repeatedly" Hunter then said
"I always thought we'd make it to Raxus someday. But not like this"
We then enter the Raxus atmosphere. As we did, two ships came in front of us and a voice then came over the comms system
"Unidentified transport, this is restricted airspace. Transmit your clearance code" Hunter stood up and said
"Tech, Input the codes from Cid's client" I turned my back to the group, leant into Hunter and whispered
"Hunter, I don't like this. How do we know this isn't a trap?" He didn't say anything, he just looked at me. He was just about to say something when the trooper's voice came over the comms again
"You're cleared for entry. Proceed" Tech looked over at Echo and said
"Now are you convinced?" Echo sat back in his chair as he mumbled
"No"
As we landed Tech looked at him and said
"I am simply stating that the codes did, in fact, work. The client being a Separatist is not relevant" Echo sprung forward as he said
"It is to me" He then turned around, looked at me and said
"How are you of all people okay with this?!" I glared at Echo but before I could speak, the hatch opened and Hunter said whilst walking out
"Forget politics. We're here to do a job"
The rest of us followed him out of the ship with me bringing up the rear as I had to grab my cloak. I wrapped my cloak around my shoulders and as I pinned it up a new voice came through the trees
"I am very pleased to hear you say that" A white protocol droid then came through the trees. Tech was the first to speak
"Who are you?" She looked at us and said
"I am your client" Wrecker looked at us and said
"We're working for a droid?"
"That is correct. My master, Senator Singh, was arrested for speaking out against the unjust occupation…" Echo cut her off by saying
"We don't care" Hunter then said
"Just take us to where the senator's being held"
"Right to it. I like you. Very well. Follow me" The others began following the droid but before he followed them Echo let out a low groan.
As the others began to walk away I grabbed Echos arm and said
"Hunter give us two seconds" I didn't give him much of an option as I took Echo slightly away from the group. I had my back to the others as I said
"Look I don't like this any more than you do. I feel like I'm betraying everything the Jedi stood for just by standing here"
"Then why didn't you object to this mission!"
"Echo there's stuff about the Clone Wars that you don't know and one day when things settle down I'll tell them to you. Until then I'm going to help clear your ridiculous debt with Cid and potentially piss off the Empire at the same time. Forget about the past, what happened during the war happened, we can't change it. But by doing this we can start changing the future for the better, okay?" he thought about what I said, sighed and said
"Okay" Hunter then called over
"Are we good over there?" I fist-bumped Echo before pulling my hood up and saying
"Yeah, we're good. Let's get this over with"
###########
We followed the droid through the city to the central compound. Well to the outskirts of the centre compound anyway. We hid behind some bushes as a large walker went by. The droid then said
"We have reached our destination" Tech went to the front of the group, brought his goggles down and said
"There are six exterior guards and multiple heat signatures inside. Four in the subterranean level" Echo grabbed the droid and pushed her against the wall whilst saying
"Why do I get the feeling you're setting us up?"
"It is against my programming to send my allies into danger" Wrecker then said
"We ain't allies, tin bin" Hunter glanced back at the pair and said
"Enough… We need to take out the compound's surveillance system… Move-in"
We crept across the street staying out of the views of the cameras and guards. Hunter and I silently took out a couple of guards on the way. When we got close to the entrance Tech held up two fingers telling us there were two guards. I was just about to step out to grab their attention when Hunter grabbed my wrist and pulled me back against the wall whilst saying
"Not you" I looked at him and said
"We need a distraction or something"
"Yeah, not you!"
"Then who?" We both seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same time. He reached over and grabbed the droid whilst saying
"Time to make yourself useful" She replied
"I do not possess a military skill set for a tactical advantage" I then said
"We're counting on it" He then pushed her out into the courtyard. The rest of us took our positions as we heard one of the guards say
"You! This is a restricted area!"
"To whom are you addressing? This is my master's residence. I suggest you leave before... Oh, dear" She then ran past us followed by the two guards.
"Stop! Stop!" they were easy enough to take down.
After knocking out the two guards we went back around to the courtyard. The droid unlocked the door and as we walked in, two guards were doing a perimeter sweep. Once they were out the way we moved to another door and immediately Tech got to work patching his datapad to the compound's mainframe. After a minute he said
"I am tapped into their security system." Hunter then said
"You two, clear the upper levels. Tech, Val we'll take the main floor and below. Droid, you're sticking with me"
So Tech and Wrecker went one way whilst we went the other…
As we got close to where the senator is being held, Hunter stopped and said
"There's two at the door" Tech looked at his pad before saying
"I'm clocking four in the adjacent corridor" Hunter looked over his shoulder and said
"I'll handle them. You and Omega loop back around…" Tech shared a look with me before saying
"That would be impossible, seeing as Omega is not on this mission" Hunter sighed before saying
"Ah, right" The droid then walked past us whilst saying
"Not to worry. I am getting the hang of this" we attempted to reach out for her but didn't reach her in time
"No, wait!"
She walked around the corner whilst saying
"Excuse me, guards. I appear to be lost. Can you direct me to the nearest egress?" I then reached into Tech pack and pulled out a stun grenade before stepping round the pair and rolling it between the droid's legs stunning the two guards. With them out, for the count, we joined the droid in the hall. Hunter went and checked on the two other clones and as he did the door opened. A single clone walked in and Hunter took no time in taking him out, breaking a vase along the way. As the other clone fell to the floor he knocked a plinth that had another vase on it. Before the vase could hit the floor the droid caught it and said
"Do be careful. This antique vase was gifted to Senator Singh for his years of service. It is priceless" Hunter then looked at Tech and me and said
"Droids"
We proceeded to walk through the compound until I heard something.
"Defying Imperial law and openly inciting civil discord. I thought we had an understanding, Senator" Tech looked at me and said
"What?" I looked down a corridor and said
"This way, I heard something" I led them to a staircase at the back of the compound. As we walked down it voices got clearer
"I refuse to be your puppet. My loyalty is to the people, not the Empire"
"An unwise choice. Regardless, we will acquire what we need from you"
"Your draconian tactics won't work on me, Captain Bragg"
"That would be a first" Hunter then took out a smoke grenade and threw it down the stairs giving us cover.
Under the cover of the smoke, Hunter and Tech took out the clone troopers and the probe droid whilst I dealt with Captain Bragg.
With them out of the way the white protocol droid went forward over to the Senator
"Senator! I followed your instructions to the letter" Tech took the cuffs off him as he said
"I knew you'd come through, GS-8" She then held up the vase and said
"And behold. I have saved your most prized vase" I then picked up a wine bottle and said
"Huh pretty good vintage" Hunter looked over at me and said
"Great. Now can we get out of here?" I put it down just as the Senator said
"With pleasure" Tech lifted up his datapad and said
"An alert has been triggered" As alarms began blaring through the compound he said
"Our position has been compromised"
"Follow us"
Shortly after leaving the small room on the lower floors, we regrouped with Wrecker and Echo up top. We could see from over the wall that a lot more clone troopers had joined the party. I then said
"Now would be the time for someone to come up with an escape plan" Hunter then spoke
"There. We'll seize that tank and blow our way outta here" We joined him and the edge of the balcony as the droid said
"How do you intend to gain control of the armoured vehicle from up here?"
"Coming through" Wrecker pushed through with an attachment on the end of his blaster. He fired the attachment giving Echo and Tech and line to zipline down to get to the tank.
The rest of us watched from up on the balcony as they cleared the tank out. A moment later Tech voice came over the comms
"All clear" The droid then said
"Impressive" The senator folded his arms and said
"You can't possibly expect me to do that" Wrecker sighed before saying
"Just don't look down" He then grabbed the Senator and Ziplined down to join the others.
"Oh!" Hunter grabbed the droid and followed suit. I was last to follow because I pulled one of my lightsabers out and cut the cable behind me. As I landed in the tank the droid looked at me and said
"Nicely done" The Senator looked at my lightsabre and said
"You're a Jedi?!" As I clipped it back onto my trousers I said
"Is there a problem?" he didn't say anything else as I helped Wrecker throw the other clones out of the tank when it began walking
"They'll feel that in the morning"
It didn't take too long for the Empire to catch us up though.
A large explosion shook the tank and as it powered down tech said
"The rear axle stabilizer is off-line. We will need to recalibrate manually" Hunter looked between Echo and Tech as he said
"Get this bucket up and running. Wrecker, Val and I will hold them off" With that, we ran out of the tank. Echo and Tech got to work repairing it whilst the rest of us ran at the other tank. Hunter slipped underneath it stunning multiple troopers whilst I went up top with Wrecker. I sliced the control to the canon just as Wrecker pushed it out of the way
"No, you don't!" Either way, the blaster fired and hit a nearby building. As Hunter joined us up top, the small hatch opened up. Before a trooper could come out, Wrecker slammed the hatch down on his head.
"Wrecker" Hunter threw a stun grenade at Wrecker which he caught easily. He then threw it down the hatch and the tank powered down in seconds.
"Oh! Oh, yeah!"
We jumped off the tank but before we could make a break for our tank more troopers turned up with another tank. We hid behind the destroyed walked as Hunter pressed his comms and spoke
"Tech, how we doing?"
"I need more time" I then pressed my comms and said
"How much time?"
"A couple of minutes"
"Done. Just be quick" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before muttering
"Ventus"
I love this feeling
The power surging through my veins
Every fibre in my body tingling
I can hear everything
It's like when you're a kid and you get told that the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it 'cos everything looks like it's standing' still…
I can feel it.
The turn of Raxus.
The ground beneath our feet is spinning at 1,000 miles an hour and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and I can feel it.
The wind outside picked up and crought leaves and other items with it. The wind got so strong that it created a barrier between us and the troopers. The couple that did make it through were quickly delt with by Wrecker and Hunter.
"Repairs complete" Hunter shook me out of my trance and as we started running back to the tank he said
"We're on our way." We quickly got back on the tank and as we did the droid looked at me and said
"You're bleeding" out of instinct and habit I reached up and touched just under my nose. After feeling something on my fingers I quickly wiped it away and said
"It's nothing" I could tell Hunter didn't like my answer but didn't push me. Instead, he went up front with Tech.
As he went up front with Tech and the Senator, I was met with a killer headache and felt my left hand begin to tremble against my leg. I closed my eyes and dropped my head back against the wall before reaching round and grabbing my wrist tightly in order to stop the tremor. My hand had completely seized up and as I balled it into a fist I felt a couple of the bones crack and click. A hand then gripped my shoulder bringing me back to reality.
I opened my eyes and saw Hunter standing there. I then looked down at my hand and saw that the tremor had stopped. I looked back up as the Senator wentover to the back wall of the tank and said
"If you don't mind, please blast a hole in the wall right here"
"That I can do" Wrecker attached a small explosive to the wall. We all took cover before it exploded. As we took cover I could help but notice the side eye that Hunter was giving me as he stood beside me. Yeah, he's got a helmet on but I know him better than anyone, I know he's concerned. I looked up and him and mouthed
"I'm fine" an explosion then rocked the tank. One by one we jumped through the hole into the tunnels below.
"Hurry. This way"
###########
When we got back to the Marauder, the Senator stopped at looked back at the city. As he did he said
"What am I doing? I cannot abandon my people. I must help them" the droid went up to him and said
"You will, Senator, but not if you are in Imperial custody" to everyone's surprise Echo wnt over the Senator. He put his hand on his shoulder and said
"She's right. Live to fight another day."
#########
On the way back to Cids parlour we couldn't help but notice the swarm of people that were running in. We could hear cheering coming from inside the parlour.
"What's all this?" We didn't say anything else as we walked into the parlour. As we walked down the steps someone said
"No one can stop this kid" Hunter looked over the crowd before mumbling
"Of course" Onlookers gasped and murmured as they watched Omega play Dejarik against some random person. When she won the match the crowd applauded and cheered
"Oh, she did it again!" She then looked up and saw us. Cid saw the serious look on Hunter's face and quickly said
"All right, the show's over. No more bets" Wrecker made his way through the crowd over to Omega. He picked her up and said
"Kid, where'd you learn to do that?" Cid then said
"She's a natural. I've never seen anything like it"
The crowd dispersed rather quickly and as people left the parlor, Hunter looked at Omega and said
"I told you to keep a low profile. This is the opposite" Cid shoved him slightly and said
"Ease up, Bandana. Omega made enough money to pay off the debt you boys owe me, so try showing a little gratitude to my friend. You did good, kid" She then turned to the Senator and said
"Senator, glad you made it. Let's talk payment" Cid walked off with the Senator and the guys went over to the bar. Before Hunter could say anything to Omega, I looked at him and said
"Go easy on her" I then left the pair and joined the others at the bar.
As I jumped up to sit on the bar the Senator stepped away from Cid and came over. He stood in front of me and said
"You're Valkyrie Petrova aren't you? The Jedi and Shadow walker" I looked up and said
"Yes, I am" He held his hand out. At first, I didn't move to shake it. That was until Echo mumbled in my ear
"Change the future" I sighed before reaching out and shaking his hand. As I shook his hand he said
"It is an honour to meet you. I heard stories about your people but to see you in action…It was a privilege" I pulled my hand back and said
"Uhh thanks, I guess"
"You have my deepest condolences for the loss of your fellow Jedi" Nothing else was said as he rejoined Cid.
A glass was then placed next to me followed by Echos voice
"You look like you could use that" I wasted no time in picking it up and downing it in one…Instantly regretting it. I swallowed the strong drink, coughed and said
"What is that!" he just held up the bottle. It's the strongest drink Cid sells, even then I didn't protest as he poured another one.
I drank this one slower and as I did I looked back over to Hunter and Omega
"You really paid off our debt?"
"I wanted to be useful, even if I couldn't go on the mission"
"Hmm" he then moved over to the game table and said
"How about we put those strategy skills to the test? One match. If you win, then no more sitting out on missions" She smiled and ran over. As the game loaded he said
"You ready for this?" She smirked at him and said
"Are you?"