Vals P.O.V.
"Cid better pay us extra for that mission" Wrecker looked at Echo before saying
"Eh. It wasn't so bad" I twisted my injured shoulder around before saying
"Speak for yourself I got bit by one of the Kriffing Gundarks, that were swarming the drop zone" Hunter then said
"It is not the first time she has left out key details" I then mumbled
"Nothing changed there then" Nothing else was said on the matter as we walked to Cid's parlour.
When we entered the parlour we were overwhelmed by the amount of people there. As someone barged past me, knocking my injured shoulder as they did, I said
"Hey watch it!…When did this place get so popular?" I cradled my shoulder as Omega said
"And who are they?" She motioned towards the many many guys with blasters strapped to their belts. I glanced at Hunter as he said
"Not our problem. Let's find Cid" Nothing else was really said as we headed back towards the office. In the back corridor we were met by two masked guards, who immediately pulled out their blasters and said
"Where do you think you're going?" I sighed and said
"Shall we?" Hunter replied
"After you…" The two guards wasted no time in taking a step towards us. In a blink of an eye, I grabbed one of them, Hunter grabbed the other. We both punched them in the chest before slamming their heads together. The two fell to the floor in a heap and we didn't care as we stepped over them.
We entered Cid's office only to be met with more guards, all with blasters. The guys immediately pulled out their blasters and I reached around for my sabre, but before I could pull it out the Devaronian sat behind Cids desk spoke
"It's rude to barge into one's office unannounced" Omega then said
"This isn't your office" He scoffed and said
"Guess again" A green lizard then climbed up onto his lap. She looked at the lizard and said
"Ruby?" He stroked the lizard and said
"She's my prized pet"
"What are you doing with her?" He shrugged and said
"I paid. Cid delivered" I put my hands in my pockets, shrugged and said
"Not that I really care but where is Cid?
"Cid's out… This parlour and Ord Mantell are now my territory. But if you're looking for work, I might have a use for you" Hunter glanced over at me before saying
"We'll think about it"
"You do that" Nothing else was said as we left the office and the parlour
As we entered the port hanger, Hunter said
"We're getting off Ord Mantell. Tech, prep the ship. The rest of us will gather supplies" Omega then said
"But what about Cid? What did he mean when he said she was "out"?" Tech replied
"Given his tone, it is a plausible assumption that Cid was either forced out or taken out" Omega stepped out in front of us, stopping us in our tracks. She then spoke
"Well, we have to find her and help her." at the sound of someone clearing their throat we turned around and saw Cid standing in the doorway of the Marauder
"Nice to see one of you cares. Inside. Now" One by one we followed her into the ship
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"So you boys met Roland. He's a former client and the son of crime boss Isa Durand" I walked past her whilst saying
"He's such a charmer" She ignored my comment and went onto say
"Roland's trying to make a name for himself by joining up with the Pykes"
What's he doing on Ord Mantell?
"This port's connected to multiple hyperspace routes, ideal for smuggling. My parlour's right in the middle of the action…" She looked at me and said
"That's why the Jedi came to me" At the mention of the Jedi, my eyes dropped to the floor.
"Anyway, Roland saw the value in it and took it. But we are taking it back" I leant against the Back of Hunters chair and said
"I'm sorry, we?" I felt Hunter's chair move slightly as he looked up at me. I looked down at him as Cid said
"If I lose, you lose. Don't forget how good I've been at keeping secrets. Seeing as you're meant to be dead, blondey and you are all fugitives" Echo then said
"I believe she's threatening us" She turned to look at him before saying
"You're quick"
I pushed off the back of Hunters chair as Omega spoke
"When we needed help, we came to Cid, remember? Now she needs help. We can't just walk away" Cid patted her shoulder before saying
"You tell 'em, Tiny" Hunter sighed before saying
"So, what's your plan?" Cid continued
"My sources tell me that a buyer is meeting Roland tonight to acquire a shipment of spice he's storing in my back office" Tech then said
"You want to disrupt his supply chain by stealing the shipment and thereby sabotaging the deal" Cid looked at him and said
"Very good, Goggles. When the Pykes come to collect, Roland won't be able to pay, and he'll be their problem"
I folded my arms and leant against the wall before saying
"And then what Cid? You sell the spice back to the Pykes?" She turned around to look at me before saying
"Are we going to have a problem, Blondey?"
"Do you not remember what happened last time you got mixed up with the Pykes"
"Yes. We both got a large payout" Echo then said
"We're missing something here" Cid then said
"You wanna bring up the past blondey? Be my guest" I pushed off the wall but didn't say anything as I walked off the ship.
When I walked off the ship, I used the force out of frustration and crushed an old fuel barrel. As it fell to the ground I heard Hunters' voice
"Okay you need to tell me what's going on between you and Cid right now" I grunted and said
"It's nothing!"
"Clearly it is" I took a calming breath before looking around at home and saying
"Look before I knew you, before I became a Jedi, before I fully understood I was a Shadow Walker…" I ran my hands across my face before continuing
"I was a different person. I did a bit of freelance work" He folded his arms and said
"Define freelance work?" I sighed before sitting down on a stake of crates. I then said
"I did anything I had to, to get off Tatooine and sometimes that meant working for the people who could pay and pay good" He dropped his arms in realisation before saying
"You were a mercenary…You've worked for Cid before"
"Yeah a long, long time ago" he sat down beside me and said
"What happened?" I looked down and said
"Me and a few others ran a job she set up with Pykes. It went very very wrong. I broke just about every bone on the right side of my body and when I woke up, the rest of my team… They didn't make it. When I was healed enough, I got a large payout for the job and went back to Tatooine. That's where I stayed until the republic found me. The rest is history" I turned slightly towards him before saying
"I don't trust Cid" he folded his arms and said
"Look I don't trust her either but she's kept our presence here a secret, mostly, and she's kept the truth about Omega safe as well. She's helped us, we gotta help her" As he stood up I said
"Fine but I don't like this" I took his hand and as he pulled me to my feet he said
"I don't either, but the sooner we start this job the sooner it's over"
As we walked back over to the ship, I stopped when I felt my hand seize up and the trembling started. Everything started to spin and fade…That's when I heard His voice, Not Hunters or the others, His
"Loca…Loca come on"
When I opened my eyes I was standing somewhere I never thoughts I'd be again…I'm in the council chambers on Coruscant
"Loca?" I turned around and saw Anakin standing in the doorway. I smiled and mumbled
"Anakin" He returned the smile and said
"You okay Loca?" hearing him call me that again brought a warm feeling in my heart.
"Earth to Loca" He snapped his fingers in front of my face, bringing me back to reality.
"Yeah sorry" He raised an eyebrow and said
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I feel better than I have in a long time" He then nudged my shoulder and said
"Good, 'cause we're late as it is. Come on"
I began following him out of the chambers whilst saying
"Urm late for what"
"Where's your head at today? Do you really not know where we're going?" I thought about it for a second before saying
"Right, I remember. End of the war. Big celebrations" He wrapped his arm around me and said
"Yes! And as the guest of Honor, you can't be late…Well any later"
"WE can't be late Ani. You helped take down the chancellor too" his face dropped as he said
"Yeah after nearly destroying everything"
We reached the bottom of the stairs only to be met by Obi-wan and Ahsoka as they entered the temple. Ahsoka looked at us and said
"Told you they'd be here" Obi-wan looked at us and said
"You're late" I adjusted my cloak and said
"Fashionably so, Master" Now walking in a line with him and Anakin on either side of me and Ahsoka next to Anakin, Obi-wan said
"I'm not your Master anymore Valkyrie, Nor am I yours, Anakin. I will be assigned a new Padawan Learner once things have settled down. I suggest you both do the same, especially seeing as Ahsoka will be graduating soon" she then said
"I still can't believe the council allowed me back" as we began leaving the temple I stopped.
"Valkyrie! Wake up!"
I placed my hand on my head a muttered
"No…" Ani looked at me and said
"What?"
"This isn't what happened" Obi-Wan then said
"Valkyrie are you alright?" Everything started to spin as I mumbled
"This isn't real…"
I opened my eyes as I took in a deep breath.
"See I told you she'd be fine" I looked over and saw the others standing around me. I was back on the ship, on one of the bunks. With Hunter's help I sat up and said
"What happened?" He looked at me and said
"I was just about to ask you the same. One second you were walking behind me, the next you were unconscious" I rested my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands before saying
"My head" Tech knelt down beside me with his scanner in his hand.
He pressed a few buttons before saying
"Fascinating. My scans indicate that your body is attacking itself" As the headache faded Omega said
"What does that mean?" He held the scanner up to my face and pressed a couple of buttons before I pushed it away. He didn't take his eyes off the scanner as he said
"It's unclear. All my scans are showing is increased brain activity in the cerebral cortex" Wrecker then said
"English please" I then said
"It means my brain is working overtime. Am I right?" Tech looked up at me and nodded. I pinched the bridge of my nose and said
"Okay, stop fusing, I'm fine. Let's just get the pikes gone and parlour back" I felt Hunters' hand move on my back but before he could say anything, I held my hand up and said
"If you ask if I'm okay, ima hit you" Wrecker chuckled and said
"She's fine. Let's get going"