The morning atmosphere in Teth's busy streets showed a stark contrast to the same city Cooper and Silas had visited just a day before. The people still kept their heads down and minded their own business, of that Cooper was certain. The difference, however, was that the clone now understood who the civilians were trying to avoid.
Up until this point, Cooper had seen no signs that the Empire was searching for him. Now, however, he could easily make out the white plastoid armor of Imperial clone troopers as they patrolled the streets and alleyways. Most likely, they're searching for either me, Silas and Lyra, or they're searching for Taddeo and his goons. It made sense. After all, Silas and Lyra had helped Cooper escape from the grasp of the Empire's Jedi-hunting attack dog. Taddeo and his fellow pirates had tried to kill the Jedi hunter as well.
Cooper tried his best to keep his head down as he followed Silas and Lyra. If those clones find out I'm one of them, that's it. They'll shoot me dead on the spot for desertion. It's happened before. Cooper hadn't heard the details regarding other clone troopers who had deserted from the Grand Army, but the outcome had always been the same: the deserting trooper would be brought back to Kamino in a body bag.
"There's the spaceport," Lyra pointed to a nearby building, bringing Cooper back to reality. The three fugitives could occasionally make out the various starships as they landed and took off. "We need to do this as quickly as possible. The moment something goes wrong, the Empire will likely come snooping." She led her husband and the clone down a narrow alleyway, only glancing behind to make sure no one would be following her or her group.
The alleyway opened into a clearing, the surrounding buildings boxing in the lone tree growing in the center. Lyra's arm hastily signaled the group to halt, her eyes narrowing at the three pirates lounging around at the entrance to Taddeo's spaceport. The Weequays' postures straightened at the sight of the newcomers.
"Well, here goes nothing," Silas muttered under his breath, loud enough for Cooper and Lyra to hear. Cooper's hand shifted to grip the handle of his DC-15 as the pirates' stoic gaze shifted toward him and his companions.
"We're looking to speak with Taddeo," Lyra spoke, her posture reflecting the pirates' vigilantism.
"Taddeo doesn't have time for you, Mercier," the lead pirate bluntly replied, his fellow pirates blocking the way into the spaceport. "You might as well turn around and get lost."
"He's going to have to make time after what happened last night," Lyra sharply retorted. "Let us through. I don't want things to get messy."
"Then turn the hell around and go." The other two pirates' grips on their blasters tightened, backing up the leader's attempts to intimidate the woman.
Lyra scoffed in response. She shielded her husband and the clone with her hands, but otherwise refused to back down. "I will gladly wait here all day until you get your asshole of a boss out here," she coldly deadpanned, her tone unwavering at the sight of the weapons.
The violent smack caught the Tethan off guard, sending her stumbling into the dirt below. Lyra groaned, clutching her reddening cheek while scowling at the Weequay. Cooper glared daggers at the pirates as he knelt by her side. Silas' own grip tightened on the scatterblaster, a sign that the mechanic's patience was beginning to wear thin.
"Bitch, unless you want to be food for the womp rats, then you better get your ass out of here!" the lead pirate spat, aiming his blaster at Lyra and inviting his fellow pirates to follow suit.
"To hell with this," Silas spat, aiming his own blaster at the lead pirate.
The sudden shot blew open the pirate's skull.
The remaining pirates raised their own weapons to fire, but the mechanic was too quick. Another shot echoed through the alleyway, and the pirate to Silas' left crumpled, the bolt tearing through the Weequay's heart.
Cooper's training kicked in as the last pirate smacked Silas with his rifle. The clone immediately raised his carbine and squeezed the trigger, the stun shot causing the enemy to tumble to the ground.
"Next time, kid, shoot him before he starts raging," Silas sternly warned, climbing to his feet and dusting the dirt from his tunic.
"You're welcome," Cooper remarked, averting his eyes as the Tethan lowered the gun to the stunned pirate and finished the dark deed. "Lyra, are you all right?"
"I'll live," the slicer muttered, grabbing her husband's hand and letting him pull her to her feet. "Good chance half the town heard those shots. We need to keep moving. This way," she directed, glancing over her shoulder to make sure her allies were following.
The entrance corridor twisted and turned as the three made their way through it. Silas and Cooper both kept their weapons raised and their eyes peeled for any unseen threats. All the while, Cooper couldn't help but wonder if that faux Jedi was watching from the shadows, waiting for the right time to strike. If half the town heard those blaster shots, then there's a good chance that hunter heard them, too. The young clone didn't need to remind himself of the danger that assassin posed to him or Harlow.
Lyra's hand halting the group was enough to derail Cooper's train of thought. Silas swiftly and quietly turned around to shut and lock the door behind them. The boy peeked his head out from behind Silas to assess the area before them. The open center of Taddeo's spaceport bustled with activity. A hefty YT-1930 transport occupied most of the space, forcing the Weequay pirates to make do with what available space was left. The criminals rushed back and forth, carrying weapons and pushing crates. A pair of Imperial construction walkers—Cooper had to guess they were stolen—strained as their tractor beams carefully lifted a particularly heavy crate. Overseeing all the activity was Taddeo, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall and chatted with his fellow pirates.
"There's our ride," she assured, raising her finger to point at the freighter. "Taddeo calls her the 'Ravaged Huntsman.' It's his pride and joy; bastard wouldn't stop talking about it."
"Never knew there would be this many pirates," Cooper whispered, concern marking his features. "Any ideas on how to get past them?"
"One," Silas responded, his eyes carefully examining the spaceport. He pointed toward a stack of barrels, the cautionary Aurebesh labeling them as volatile. "If we can't get in there without getting caught, then we'll just have to smoke them out. I can blow up those canisters. You and Lyra just get aboard the ship and get it ready to launch."
"Got it," Lyra whispered back, crouching to keep her footsteps silent and prompting Cooper to do the same. "Stay in contact with us just in case either one of us needs help."
The group split, with Cooper and Lyra sneaking toward the right of the spaceport, while Silas tiptoed toward the left. The young clone stole a glance toward Taddeo's lackeys whenever he could, keeping his breathing as shallow as possible to stay undetected.
"They're all dead!"
The alarming tone of the newcomer caused Cooper's heart to drop. He peeked up from behind cover to notice a pirate frantically racing toward Taddeo. Welp, there goes our element of surprise.
"Calm the hell down and shut the door, you dumbass! You drunk?!" Taddeo's voice hollered back in disbelief. "Last thing we need are the Imps in here."
"I'm not high on anything. They're all stone cold dead!"
"What are you talking about? Who's dead?" Taddeo demanded, his voice growing more agitated the longer Cooper listened.
"The guys up at the front entrance. Some bastard shot them down! Boss, I…" Cooper's ears picked up a wheeze as the pirate struggled to catch his breath. "I think someone's here."
"Sithspit!" Taddeo cursed. "The Imps must've found us. All right, I want two teams. Team one, finish loading the ship up. Team two, you're with me. Find these intruders and shoot them on sight!"
A hand on the clone's shoulder guided him back to reality. He turned and found Lyra's concerned eyes staring into his own. "You ready?"
Cooper hastily nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be. You?"
"Yeah," she replied, pulling out her commlink. "Silas, when I say the word, blow up those canisters."
"Got it," the Tethan's husky voice whispered.
The clone took in a deep breath to calm his nerves, his mind recalling Sawyer's advice automatically. Try to keep your head clear. You need to win the battle in your head before the physical battle actually starts. As much as he tried to clear his mind, however, Cooper couldn't ignore the waves of excitement and nervousness causing his hair to stand on edge. This moment, right here and now, is gonna be my first battle. I'm not sure what to expect.
"Now!"
Before Cooper could have any more time to think, the canister furthest from him ignited. The volatile liquid sent two of the pirates flying backward in an explosion of dirt, grime, and blood. Another explosion of the same nature followed seconds later, knocking one of the construction walkers off balance and sending it tumbling to the ground. The spaceport quickly became a deadly firework show, with pirates scrambling every which way to avoid the chaos. Only Taddeo remained unharmed by the ambush, his eyes wide with shock.
"Go. Now's your chance," Cooper told Lyra, reaching for his carbine and taking aim at the few pirates who managed to walk away from the explosive turn of events. "I'll cover you."
Lyra quickly scrambled to her feet, taking off in the direction of the freighter's loading ramp. Cooper's eyes narrowed as several pirates fired at the Tethan in response. The clone let his training instincts take over, quickly aiming toward the nearest smuggler and incapacitating him with a stun shot.
Cooper's training seemed to make his decisions for him, aiming at the pirates and stunning them one by one. It was only when blaster fire soared in his direction that he stopped, ducking down behind cover. The hailstorm of bolts scorched the wall behind him, and he shielded his head with his free hand to protect himself from any sparks that followed. Cover's not going to last for long. He reached for his commlink. "Silas, I'm pinned down here!" he hollered. He raised his blaster and fired stun bolts every which way, not caring if he hit his targets or not.
The signature crack of Silas' scattergun answered the clone's call for help. Cooper peeked up from behind cover, sighing in relief as the remaining pirates turned their attention towards the Tethan. The teen saw the chance to flank the pirates, and took it, easily catching his adversaries in a crossfire. The pirates were ultimately unprepared for the combined onslaught, and dropped moments later, either stunned or dead or both.
"Nice shooting, kid," Silas hollered. "Let's get out of here while we still—"
Sparks flew as a blaster bolt ricocheted off the support beam Silas stood behind. Cooper turned and noticed Taddeo, the Weequay's face a mixture of grief and fury as he aimed a fallen pirate's weapon at Silas.
"Game's over, old friend," Taddeo spat. "I tried to help. I actually considered taking your little buddy's offer of ending this thing peacefully, but noooo. You just had to go and play the gunslinger. Well guess what? I can play the gunslinger too…and I've had so much more time to practice."
"You sure you want to try this with us, Taddeo?" Silas hollered back, unable to peek out from behind cover to get a glimpse of the pirate. "You know we can't work out this deal of ours if I'm dead!"
Taddeo rested his free hand on his chin. "You tired of our deal, is that it?" he drawled out, cracking a carefree smile. "Well then, how 'bout we make a new one. Your little buddy has got quite the reputation there, last I checked."
"Cooper has nothing to do with this."
"What, you don't believe me?" Taddeo raised his arms in defense. "Listen to what the Empire has to say. 'Wanted for desertion and affiliation with the Jedi Order.' You see, our little deal's nothing compared to what the Imps might offer for him. So let me make you a new deal: you give me your friend, I give you back all the money you paid me and then some."
Even as Silas' grip tightened on his blaster, Cooper could sense his friend's hesitation. C'mon, Silas. Don't listen to him. This is what he wants.
Cooper noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned, barely able to hold back a gasp at the sparks dancing off the doorway. He inwardly groaned. Just great. Last thing we need is the Empire getting involved in this.
Taddeo's grin faltered as he noticed the sparks flying off the door's edges. "Imps caught onto your little adventure, Silas," he warned. "You really think they're gonna let you off the hook after you killed so many people? Hand over the boy! You've got no way out!"
"I've got a better idea," Silas retorted, glancing out from behind cover to glare at the pirate. "You let us all get off this rock, and I won't consider putting a blaster bolt right between your eyes."
Taddeo scoffed and raised his blaster. "Fine then," he nearly growled, the smirk vanishing entirely. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
The threatening action invited Cooper to take action of his own. The clone reached for his blaster, flicked the safety off, and took aim. Taddeo's got the advantage because he's armed. I can do something about that.
The carbine bucked as the clone squeezed the trigger. The first few bolts missed and alerted Taddeo to the clone's presence. A shot from Silas' scattergun diverted the pirate's attention, giving Cooper a second chance to focus on his aim. Easy does it…just need to pick the right moment…
The clone held his breath as he squeezed the trigger. His efforts paid off as the bolt knocked Taddeo's blaster out of his hand. "It's over!" Cooper yelled, setting the blaster to stun and focusing his aim on the gang leader. "Give up!"
"You know what?!" Taddeo roared, his hands clutching a vibromace as he stomped toward the clone. "I've just about had enough of people like you pissing all over my crew! I hope you had your fun, boy. Cause I'm sure as hell gonna have fun seeing how far I can shove this mace up your ass…the giant, pointy end, in case we weren't clear!"
Cooper's eyes widened as the Weequay rushed toward him, the mace poised to swing. The clone ducked underneath, scrambling backwards as the pirate's weapon slammed into the permacrete wall with enough force to crack the surface. Cooper sighed in contempt. As much as he wanted to avoid killing people, it didn't seem like Taddeo would stop so easily. Hate to admit it, but stun bolts aren't going to cut it with this psycho. The boy reluctantly flicked the safety off and fired, the carbine bucking slightly as the bolts impacted their target. Taddeo buckled underneath the intensity of the attack, stumbling to his knees as his mace collapsed beside him.
A smirk appeared on Cooper's face. That's for hurting my friends, you filth.
The smirk vanished as Taddeo climbed to his feet, his eyes seething with rage. "Was that supposed to hurt?" he mocked, banging his fist on his chest.
Next thing Cooper knew, the mace smacked into his side, sending him sprawling. The clone grimaced, his mind racing as he painfully took in breath after breath. Should've known he had armor. Think, think! How do I beat this guy? As he struggled to stand, his hazy vision barely caught a glint of metal beside the corpse of an unlucky pirate.
Blood stained the curved blade of the vibrohatchet, the weapon held tightly in the dead Weequay's grip. The thundering of Taddeo's footsteps spurred Cooper to action. He quickly scrambled for the hatchet, pulling it out of the corpse's hand, before turning to face his adversary. Not my first choice of weapon, but I've got no other options. That armor's too strong for a blaster.
Taddeo's body erupted with laughter as he laid eyes on Cooper's newfound weapon. "A child with an axe," he sarcastically cackled, brandishing his own weapon once more. "Save me. Ha ha ha!"
The pirate rushed forward again. Falling back on his instincts, Cooper ducked under the Weequay's swing, brandishing the axe as confidently as he could. How the hell am I supposed to hurt this guy with a hatchet?
Another swing of the pirate's mace forced Cooper backwards, the weapon colliding with the dirt as it missed its target. The boy saw the opportunity and took it, swinging the axe and grinning as the blade drew blood from Taddeo's unarmored shoulder. I think I might be getting the hang of this.
The pirate reached underneath his coat, gripping the familiar LL-30, and the clone's grin vanished instantly.
Blaster shots soared through the air, barely giving Cooper enough time to dive behind a cargo crate. The blaster's high-pitched screech competed with Taddeo's maniacal cackling as he fired. Cooper hastily returned fire with his own blaster, letting his training take over as he multitasked between avoiding the pirate's shots and firing shots of his own. Unfortunately, the lack of complete training with the weapon showed, as Cooper's bolts either missed or slammed into Taddeo's strong armor.
Sparks flew as one of Taddeo's shots ricocheted off of Cooper's cover. Can't keep this up. Blaster won't do good up close. Need to find higher ground. Another bolt from the Weequay's blaster narrowly sailed over Cooper's head. He scrambled to his feet, letting off a volley of blaster fire in his foe's direction, before sprinting toward a stack of cargo containers and beginning to climb up.
"Hey! Just where the hell do you think you're going?!" Taddeo roared, snatching his mace and darting after the teen.
Cooper quickened his pace in response, his hands finding enough leverage to pull him up. Don't panic. Everything's gonna be fine. You survived a bloodthirsty Jedi hunter. You can survive this. As calming as the clone's thoughts were, they didn't do his jackhammering heart any favors.
More blaster bolts chased after the fugitive, and Cooper hastened his efforts. He turned and fired several more shots from his carbine, inwardly cursing as Taddeo dodged every one of them. C'mon guys. Give me a hand here.
An explosion near the crate Taddeo was climbing answered Cooper's prayers, knocking the mace out of Taddeo's grip. The rogue cadet turned to catch a glimpse of Silas. If the mechanic's eyes didn't scream a willingness to kill the pirate, the grenade launcher Silas held certainly did. "Cooper, this way! Hurry!" Silas desperately hollered over the ship's engines.
The unique sound of Taddeo's blaster alerted the clone to his adversary's presence once more. Cooper's heart pounded against his ribs as another blaster shot missed him by a hair.
"Leave him alone, you bastard!" Silas yelled, launching another grenade toward the pirate. This one hit its mark, nearly sending the Weequay flying off the crates. Taddeo grasped onto the edge, eyes seething with fury as he turned his blaster on the mechanic. The rapid volley of bolts pelted the freighter's exterior, sending sparks flying and forcing Silas to duck inside for cover.
Cooper felt his heart drop as a stray bolt slammed into Silas' leg. The Tethan let out a painful groan as he dropped to the floor, the grenade launcher slipping out of his hands. By the look of things, Taddeo didn't look like he was willing to spare Silas any time soon.
No! You're not killing him! Not like this! The radical desire formed in the rogue clone's brain as he reached for the axe, a desire to put an end to all of the suffering that Taddeo had dished out. Letting out a howling cry, the boy leaped toward the Weequay, the axe blade aimed for the pirate's neck. By the time Taddeo turned his head to notice, his eyes bulging with surprise, it was too late.
The blade missed its target entirely, but the sheer impact of one body slamming into another more than made up for it. Both combatants went tumbling, the stack of crates nearly tumbling with them. Cooper could barely shield his arms in front of his face as his body slammed into the ground.
The clone took in breath after painful breath, his bones aching from the harsh impact. He struggled to climb to his feet, eyes glancing up to spot Silas as he boarded the freighter. Cooper allowed himself one second to spit blood out of his mouth before he finally stood up. They're going to take off soon. Need to catch up to them.
A hand latching onto his ankle held him back.
Cooper whipped his head around to catch a glimpse of Taddeo, the pirate's eyes wide with rage and determination. The teen received no warning before the Taddeo's hand harshly pulled him to the ground. Cooper let his panic take over. His foot lashed out repeatedly, bashing the pirate in the face. No matter how hard the clone tried, however, Taddeo had no intentions of letting go.
Cooper swung the hatchet, but Taddeo was quicker. The Weequay ripped the teen's last defense out of his hands none too gently, and tossed the weapon aside. Cooper found himself roughly pinned underneath Taddeo's weight as the pirate wrapped his hands around the clone's throat.
"You…" Taddeo growled, tightening his grip on Cooper's windpipe. "You should've stayed out of our way…"
Black spots began to form in the clone's vision. He let out a strangled gasp as his fingers struggled to reach for the axe handle. No matter how hard Cooper tried, each attempt at grabbing the weapon was met with the same result: no success, less air.
His spotty vision could barely make out the blaster bolt as it flew in his direction.
The bolt's impact caused Taddeo to howl in agony. The hands loosened instantly, allowing the pinned clone to gasp for precious air. Without hesitation, Cooper grabbed the axe and swung with all his might.
The blow was only meant to free Cooper from Taddeo's weight, but he must've swung harder than he intended.
The blade cleaved through the Weequay's throat messily. The hands which had once been focused on strangling Cooper were now occupied with clutching Taddeo's neck, blood pouring out from in between his fingers. The pirate struggled to stand, only succeeding for a brief moment before his legs gave out, the toppled stack of crates breaking his fall.
Cooper's hazy vision came back into focus to find Silas standing over him, a blaster pistol clutched in his hand. "Cooper," he worriedly said, shaking the teen by the shoulder. "Okay. You're okay." The fugitive allowed the mechanic to pull him to his feet.
As he stared at Taddeo, Cooper tried his best to swallow the bile building in his throat. I…Did I just kill him? Please tell me I didn't just kill him. Tears filled Cooper's eyes no matter how much he tried to keep them at bay. I knew I wanted to stop him from killing Silas, but this…
"Hey," Silas' stern voice guided the clone back to reality. "Lyra's waiting to take off. Those Imperials are gonna cut through the doors any moment. We need to go."
"What about him?" Cooper breathed, pointing toward Taddeo's lifeless form. "I think he's still breath—"
"There's no time," Silas interrupted, his stern tone giving way to a more solemn one. "I'll deal with him. Go!"
Casting a final glance toward the pirate, Cooper snatched the axe and his blaster, and scrambled toward the freighter's loading ramp.
He tried his best to ignore the distant, final blaster shot as it penetrated the silence.