Back on my gunship, Adam was scanning around for any potential signs of life. Each passing moment grew with more worry. It was just destroyed ship parts floating around. Every so often, I would find an overturned pod with more destroyed clones. I wish I could feel more from this, but my heart remained still, no matter what was shown before me. Most of the clones were frozen bodies, already dead from freezing over. I don't know if it was Samus's body that was suppressing these emotions, or if I had already gotten used to this sight after seeing the first couple of hunted pods.
And not just by anyone. These hunters are kind of different. After doing some initial searching and finding it very odd that there were literal zero signs of life no matter where we searched, both Adam and Ahsoka were quick to determine that what we were dealing with weren't life-forms.
They were hunter droids of the Separatist Army. They aren't exactly space pirates, but I'm painting them to be in a similar light. The only thing they're actively taking are the clones' lives, which immediately perish after latching onto the pod, and destroying it from the outside. All of these pods were destroyed the same way. It was very methodical to say the least. Not the type of thing you'd see from real space pirates, who just raze things to the ground a lot of the time. These droid hunters were hunting with purpose, to finish off any survivors, at all cost. They wanted no witnesses to whatever superweapon the Separatists were using. I knew what was, but the Republic didn't. That was why the Republic was so antsy about assigning an additional task to me.
We'll see how much that pays out. I'm still focusing on trying to locate Jedi Master Plo Koon. I don't know how many of his rescue pods are remaining. With him as the focus, I managed to have another chat with Ahsoka, and was able to settle her lingering emotions. Things were taken for a spin, and something different compared to the show took place. I advised Ahsoka to calm her heart, use the main chamber, and meditate so she could reach out to Master Plo.
And it turns out, it actually worked!
I don't know if it was through that action alone, but near the same time, I heard a low-pitched frequency come through Adam's scanner.
"H-Hello? Is anyone out there!?", A familiar voice said. Now this was a voice I had grown accustomed to since coming into Star Wars. After all, all the clones shared this exact same voice. The main differences between the clones was their tone and attitude toward others, to which they learn a unique lifestyle meant for them. So the voice I just heard through Adam's comms was the same one I heard from those three clones back down on Rugosa, but at the same time, it was different. More rigid and firm. A type of voice you'd hear from a clone who commands others in their squad. Was this clone their commander?
The voice that came through was pretty broken and sparse, but it was enough to formulate a sentence. It had a lot of static. I leaned forward and tapped Adam's control panel, very similar to how you'd press a button on a keyboard to turn your microphone on to speak with others.
"Loud and clear. This is Samus. I was tasked by General Skywalker to locate any survivors of your fleet. You're on a secured line. Requesting location coordinates immediately, over.", I declared. Seriously, Adam's such a helper in this. He was able to encrypt this communication line before it even got received on my end. It should prove quite a challenge for the Separatists to track it down.
"General Skywalker sent you?", The clone requested, not expecting me to say that.
"Affirmative. I have been sent by the Republic to track your location. I have a Jedi Padawan with me who goes by Ahsoka Tano. Ring any bells?", I questioned. They likely knew, but I decided to ask that anyway. To my surprise, the clone didn't immediately respond back. This time, I heard a deeper voice speak out to me, one that was quite different from the clones' voices.
"So you are the rumored bounty hunter who has been cooperating with the Republic as of late. The four of us were able to restore our comms with what limited resources we have. I fear it may not last long. I just finished speaking with Little 'Soka. We shall send you our coordinates immediately. Please hurry, we are not alone out here. There's only a couple pods left.", The deeper voice said. It sounded much more resolute than the clone who had just spoken a moment ago. But I was able to recognize who this voice belonged to. Have rumors about me already started to spread in the last week or two while we traveled from the Outer Rim back into the Core Worlds to track the Malevolence down? I'm not sure if I like that or not. It's not like I want to stay off-grid or anything. Perhaps these rumors are the start of my rising fame? Haha!
Joking aside, Adam was already well underway in doing what he normally does. He was able to latch onto Master Plo's pod and the communication signal it sent out only moments ago.
I saw a holomap appear before us, showing us the K-13 grid. It showed the gunship's current position, the nearby red star that illuminated the ongoing wreckage in a deep crimson glow, and a blinking dot that actually wasn't too far away. But the worst part is having to navigate this debris field, it was almost like you're crossing through an asteroid field.
At the same time, I heard the door hiss behind me, showing Ahsoka smiling.
"Thank you for that, I really do. A splash of water over my face was exactly what I needed. I just finished reaching out to Master Plo, and confirmed he's still alive.", Ahsoka said to me, feeling more happy now. She also had a look of relief in her eyes.
"It's not just that. The clones managed to restore their pod's power, and Master Plo just reached out to me through their comms. It wasn't a complete waste in coming out here.", I said, turning my seat to the side. Ahsoka approached me, and saw the K-13 map. A new bubble-like image appeared on it, not too far away from our current position. Ahsoka's eyes lit up.
[Coordinates received. Range calculation finished. The Jedi Master's pod is about ten minutes into this debris field. I will assist the navigation, and avoid any structural damage to the ship.] Adam stated, causing me to smile.
"That's actually pretty close by. There's too much damage out there to accurately determine where they are. Your ship's no joke. This AI is competent.", Ahsoka said, seeing Adam's artificial face beside the holomap.
"His name is Adam. He and I kind of go way back.", I simply stated. I wasn't wrong, even if this AI was a recreation of him. The original Samus and Adam are essentially war buddies, just seen from another lens. Both part of the Federation until Samus had a falling out with them, which spurred her to set off on her own journey, one of that of a bounty hunter whose freedom knew no bounds.
I didn't see Adam respond to that, he just vanished from sight. Guess he didn't want to say anything.
"Adam huh?", Ahsoka mused at the name.
"Oh and if you say anything about Adam or Adam's existence to the Republic, the contract I currently have with them will be void right then and there. I'll take my work elsewhere and will never cooperate with the Republic again~", I teased. But at the same time, I was serious.
"You can't just blackmail me like this out of the blue.", Ahsoka replied, frowning.
"Do you want Master Plo saved or not?", I asked back, looking Ahsoka in the eyes now.
"Of course I do! And here I thought a new friendship was beginning to form. All of you bounty hunters are the same.", Ahsoka complained.
"Hey, you said it yourself a few moments ago. You've your secrets, and I have mine. As long as a certain line isn't crossed, it should be fine. We need to remain focused, if any single piece of this debris hits the ship, the enemy might be able to locate our position, even if the ship is cloaked. I need you to be serious here, Ahsoka.", I said to her.
"You're right, Samus. We're so close to Master Plo now, just a little bit more!", Ahsoka said, giving herself a boost of encouragement. This time, Ahsoka decided to stick by me. There wasn't exactly a second seat in the cockpit right now so she had to stand. She kept her eyes on the holomap. Adam already charted the best possible course to navigate through this mess. We had to be very careful here. One wrong move could end it all.
With a bated breath, both Ahsoka and I kept our head forward, watching the cloaked gunship slowly navigate through this hellhole. Seconds soon turned into minutes, and the blinking dot approached ever so closer on the map...