"CLAM IT AND SHOOT THEM!" yelled Capitan as he glanced at his helmet's heads up display. Fifty more droids coming in. Next time a hutt hired them to steal a seperatist operative who'd double crossed it, he'd shove his custom slugthrower into the hutt's eye and name a higher price. A LOT higher.
"I'm out of grenades!" yelled Hitter, still firing his stolen DC-17. His mismatched pieces of clone armor salvaged from battlefields or stolen painted a camo pattern.
"Only way out is through them, Capitan," said Gadgets. His armor covered in gadgets and gizmos that had come in useful more than once. "Our ship is on the other side of that door.
"If you haven't noticed by now there's more than a few squads between us and it," said Blindshot grimly as he emptied another clip into the enemy lines. Nice thing about battle droids. They liked to stand in the open. in nice long lines. Perfect targets.
"it's hopeless," sniffed the prisoner. a human female with a gambling problem. Hence her Hutt problems. "You'll never make it out alive."
"Then neither will you," said Blindshot as he put his slugthrower rifle against her forehead. "So be a good girl and shut up."
The women shut her mouth. Looking suitably chastened.
"They're programmed to not shoot officers, right?" asked Hitter.
"Yeah, what about it?" asked Capitan. Then he got it. "Everyone with the new plan?"
"In," said Blindshot as he grabbed the prisoner and hauled her to her feet.
"Copy," said Gadgets.
"Roger, Roger," laughed Hitter.
Capitan smiled behind his helmet. They'd get out of this one yet.
"Three..." He counted down.
"Two..."
"One!"
BOOM! the door to the hanger blew in and Republic clone troopers rushed in. Picking off the droids from behind. Then they were surrounded.
"Flack," cursed Blindshot as they were surrounded by two squads of commandos in Katarn armor.
"We've been in worse," commented Gadgets.
"I don't like our odds," said Hitter.
"Me neither," said Capitan as four squads of regular clones moved into position to support the commandos.
"Stand down," said a calm voice. and a woman wearing simple brown robes and a few armor plates on her arms and legs stepped through the wrecked hanger doors.
"Clones," said the Jedi. "But you're different. In the force I feel rejection. Despair, hatred and so much more. How did you get here?"
"Rejected on Kamino because of psycological defects," growled Hitter.
"Slated for extermination," said Blindshot.
"Stole weapons, armor, supplies, credits, and a ship," continued Gadgets.
"And worked as bounty hunters for whoever would hire us," finished Capitan.
"I know," said the Jedi. "Because I'm the one who let you escape."
"Excuse me?" said Blindshot. Obviously shocked.
"You heard me correctly," said the jedi. "You stole my ship after fighting your way through the Kaminoan guards. I was on board. You probably saw the escape pod launch when you reached space."
"So that's who did that," said Gadgets.
"I could have stopped you," said the jedi as she looked into Capitan's visor. "And I was severely reprimanded by the council for letting you go with a prototype advanced assault ship. But your story was not meant to end on Kamino."
Capitan holstered his slugthrower pistol and reaching up removed his helmet. The others did the same.
"You don't look like clones," said a commando.
"We had a...different template," said Gadgets.
"Yours was Jango Fett. Ours was a lesser known bounty hunter who was killed on Malstarer."
"And you have abilities the Kaminoans wanted to develop, but had to scratch the program after you escaped," said the jedi. "I was coming to take command of the project.
"I followed reports we got on a squad of clones operating on unsanctioned missions. Missions that impacted the war effort despite the fact that you belong to neither side."
"Sorry about the landslide on Geonosis, Miss," said Hitter. "it was that or be taken."
"Oh I know about that," said the jedi. "General Hundil was most displeased that you blocked most of the main hanger exit for that base."
"We cleaned up after ourselves," commented Gadgets.
"Dropping a hundred thermal detonators on a low pass back does not count as cleaning up," said the jedi. But Blindshot saw her lips twitch.
"So what do you want with us?" asked Capitan.
"The Seperatists are storing battle plans for several campaigns on a neutral planet," said the jedi. Then paused.
"But you have no proof and can't land troops on a neutral planet," said Capitan.
"The planet is Malstarer," said the jedi. "its leader had strong ties to Sorreno before the start of the war. But has announced neutrality which both sides have respected."
"You suspect that the leader is doing this as a favor to Dooku," said Blindshot. "Or a faction of the people are allied with the seperatists and Dooku is using them to safeguard the location of the battle plans."
"I need proof and I need the plans," said the jedi. "And I need deniability."
"We wear clone armor but we don't look like clones underneath," said Gadgets. "We're just a squad of bounty hunters. We don't even look like each other and were clones."
"The payout is high, of course," said the jedi.
"Eight million credits and you take this prisoner to Jabba the Hutt for us." Said Capitan. "You're taking the prisoner so we can go straight there. No time wasted."
"Agreed," said the Jedi. "Yarel Squad!"
"Yes General Nehl?" asked on of the commandos as him and his sqaud snapped to attention.
"Take their prisoner and a ship and head for Tatooine," said General Nehl. "You know your mission already."
"Deposit the payout to this account," said Gadgets as he held out a datacard. "Payout's thirty thousand."
"Don't take any less," warned Capitan.
"You accepted this mission rather quickly," said General Nehl.
"We want to know what happened to our template," said Blindshot. His face hard as a rock.
"We won't compromise the mission," said Hitter.
"And if we do you still have deniability," said Capitan.
"May the Force be with you, gentleman." said General Nehl as Bounty squad pushed past the clones and made their way to their ship.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
