"You can certainly leave that to us. You really saved our hides out there today. We would have been turned into space dust by those clankers if it weren't for you, Samus.", Commander Wolffe's voice said, greeting me as the door hissed open a second time. I saw him remain in the main chamber nearby. It was pretty tight here in the cockpit with the three of us. I could see the two clones beside him now, showing full of vigor. Their injuries have been healed from the recovery pods. I nodded my helmet, greeting the three.
"Glad to see you three are all nice and healed up.", I said.
"Boy you can say that again. We aren't exactly equipped to fight in space. We might need to devise some new tactics from this if this does become a thing later on.", Sinker responded. Seeing the three in the main chamber like this, I paused.
My gunship might be around two times bigger than it was in Prime 3, likely as an added perk for crossing into Star Wars. But that might not be the end of it. On the off chance I decide to end this solo gig and recruit a proper crew, I might consider expanding my gunship even larger. It already has the structural integrity in place. Hell, I could make it as big as the Millennium Falcon. Now that would be a sight, right? I know there are some bounty hunters who like to fly solo like Cad Bane or Boba Fett, but even someone like Boba Fett ends up with a motley crew down the line, even if he does become the ruler of Tatooine. Then you got independent contractors like Han Solo who has a two-man party, allying with a Wookie called Chewbacca.
But even then, a two-man party is still considered a crew. I do have Adam with me, and while he isn't exactly human, does that count as a crew?
I'm not sure, but ship expansion could become a real goal of mine once I start raking in more dough.
"All's well that ends well, isn't that right Master Plo?", Ahsoka questioned, still sporting a smile on her face.
"Indeed. You are still rough around the edges Ahsoka, but we managed to secure some good data. General Grievous isn't one to follow our tracks blindly. They probably have another target in place, and with this, we might be able to secure the upper-hand before they launch their next attack.", Master Plo replied, nodding his head. He then turned my way. "And I'd hold onto that holopad, Samus. The Republic's always looking for work. You might be busy after this, but a chance may arise for us to cooperate in the future.", Master Plo continued.
I mean, he isn't wrong. I simply nodded my helmet again, acknowledging his words.
"We'll see about that.", I replied, leaving it up to fate to see if we'll cross paths again. I could feel the tension easing around us with each passing moment, and we were able to share a few laughs together. This flight in hyperspace didn't last terribly long. It was just as quick as when I used it the first time. The Bith System was close by. If I do want to save Master Plo later on, I'm sure I'll be crossing paths with both Ahsoka and Master Plo on occasion.
I hope they'll learn something from cooperating with me this time around. Ahsoka's still young and she still has her full journey ahead of her. She's one of the few Jedi who do survive Order 66, so it'll do me good to keep a connection with her, even if it's a small one. It didn't take long for Adam to show his face again on the control panel and speak out to us.
[We will be arriving in the Bith System within the next couple of minutes.] Adam suddenly said, causing our light talk to end.
"Looks like we'll be arriving shortly.", I stated. Hearing that, Ahsoka turned toward me again.
"You know, you aren't half bad, Samus. This mission was rather short, but it was nice to work with you like this.", Ahsoka said, smiling at me.
Looks like Ahsoka opened up quite a bit, eh? She was pretty cold to start with. Not sure what triggered that honestly. Perhaps it was due to what happened back on her home planet before Master Plo invited her to the temple. She said she doesn't trust people so easily, I don't recall the full picture but I think it involved a person impersonating a Jedi who was hellbent on trying to capture Ahsoka and members of her tribe, only to have Master Plo arrive and settle the issue.
I saw Master Plo nod to her words before continuing to speak. "I've already notified General Skywalker of our arrival. You can leave the logistics of the report to us. After the initial greeting, you'll receive your payment. Ahsoka here can make sure of that, since she's the one needed to see the completion of your contract.", Master Plo said, causing Ahsoka to pause.
"I mean yeah, Master was the one who assigned me to this mission, but why does it have to be me for the one to present Samus the payment?", Ahsoka retorted again, causing another wave of laughter to spread around us.
"It doesn't have to be you. Listening to the Master Jedi here, it sounds like we'll have a welcome party for us, so I'll see how things develop.", I said, shrugging my shoulders.
And boy, was it a welcome party alright.
Just like that, hyperspace ended. The operation itself only lasted for a short amount of time, even though it felt like days passing by while trying to scour through that wreckage. But in reality it only took ten to fifteen minutes during the first phase of the rescue. The second phase of gathering data lasted an even shorter amount of time. Once hyperspace ended, I could see General Skywalker's fleet arrive into our view inside the cockpit. It's always a breathtaking sight no matter how many times I see this. I felt my heart race in excitement. Who wouldn't be excited seeing a fleet of starships like this?
But like Master Plo said, General Grievous shouldn't be that stupid to follow us. They have their own stratagems in place, and they're likely beginning to plan their next attack already. If it goes like it does in the show, his next target should be that medical base that Nala Se operates from around this time. It holds a clone command base that heals injured clones, bolstering over fifty thousand in number. It does make an ideal place to target, and if they have this data, things might change. They could wait for General Grievous this time around, and be ready.
I don't see myself participating in this attack, however. I plan to head out back into the Outer Rim. In particular, the Hutt Space. I need to build up my reputation. How can I be the galaxy's most feared bounty hunter if I have no reputation to back that up? Haha! Have to take things one step at a time! And the best area to do that during the Clone Wars is by far the Hutt Space, where criminals run rampant.
This time around, the gunship wasn't cloaked. Its plates clad in orange could be seen as it arrived at an open dock on General Skywalker's flagship. They didn't remain idle while we landed. While Ahsoka waved her hands from the cockpit, General Skywalker approached with Obi-Wan Kenobi beside him. He cracked a rare smile, especially seeing Master Plo beside her. Several clones who were equipped with blasters quickly ran up on each side, waiting for us to finish landing. Hiss. Cathunk.
Everyone saw us land. The latch opened. Making our way to the main chamber, we panned out. Ahsoka and I walked first with Master Plo behind us. Commander Wolfe and the two clones followed suit.
"Glad to see you're still alive and kicking, Master Plo. I hope you understand the position I'm in. I couldn't easily leave this supply line alone, so I had to send my Padawan in my stead. It looks like everything turned out alright.", General Skywalker said, greeting us before
"And yet, you put your Padawan in harm's way for what's essentially a suicide mission. If General Kenobi here didn't praise this bounty hunter's strength outright, the Council would have denied you from even taking action. I do hope you realize that.", A third voice said, drawing my attention to him. He appeared bald, and was quite dark-skinned. He too had the classic Jedi attire, dressed with a robe that covered most of his body. I saw a lightsaber equipped at his waist.
I could immediately recognize this dude at a first glance. Another member of the Jedi High Council and perhaps the one who instigated the entire Clone Wars to happen by killing Jango Fett. Mace Windu!
I saw General Skywalker rummage his finger through one of his ears while getting berated by this man. He was much more stern than the shows gave him credit for.
"Yeah yeah, I get you. We got what we asked for, didn't we?", General Skywalker said, only to look back my way. "Isn't that right?"
"Obviously. Here's the item as requested. It is encrypted and all that. Should be secured from prying eyes.", I said, taking a hold of a datapad. While we were in hyperspace earlier, Commander Wolffe gave me one of his spares, which allowed me to connect it to the gunship so Adam could export the data he recorded. Turns out his system and these datapads are quite similar, I didn't need to worry about that space magic mumbo-jumbo about crossing the multiverse. It just worked.
Once Mace Windu heard me speak for the first time, he raised his eyes.
"So you do filter your voice. The reports were true.", Mace Windu said, taking a moment to observe me. Must've been Master Yoda who provided that report. Mace Windu is a smart man. Despite remaining anonymous, I'm sure he put two and two together.
"I'll say no comment to that. I'm just here to collect my payment. It IS waiting for me, yes?", I responded, keeping my voice neutral.
Hearing me ask that, I saw General Skywalker nudge Mace Windu with his elbow. Mace Windu didn't flinch from that. He simply walked forward and formally greeted me.
"It is. I was already en route to General Skywalker's position by the time he reported your status to the High Council, to which thereafter they approved of this mission. General Kenobi painted you in a favorable light, so consider this an investment. From the two missions you assisted us in saving the lives of both Jedi Master Yoda and Jedi Master Plo, you are rewarded with one million credits.", Mace Windu declared, causing me to suck in a cold breath of air.
Did he just say a million credits? That's way more than enough to put a down payment on a house inside the Core Worlds!