The Jedi left the Chancellor's office and headed for the landing platform to return to the Temple. Bringing up the rear, Luminara wore a deep frown.
"What's troubling you, Luminara?" Plo Koon asked. The other Jedi turned toward them.
"A strange coincidence," the Mirialan explained.
"What kind?"
"Both Chancellor Palpatine and Knight Vikt independently pointed to the Teth system as the place to search for Jabba's son."
"Hm. That's true," Plo Koon murmured. "Could it be that they know something we don't?"
"I don't think so. There's something else at play here," Windu said thoughtfully.
***
Ahsoka stepped up to her Master and nudged him in the side with her elbow.
"Master, I didn't know you could speak Huttese."
"Neither did I," he muttered.
"What?" Ahsoka asked.
"Nothing… never mind."
"Lichtendal, listen to my command. Set course for the planet Teth. Estimated time of arrival?"
"Calculating," Li Noriega leaned over the nearest console. "Five hours, sir."
"Good. Here's how it goes. In one hour, we hold a general briefing—I'll lay out the details of the operation. In short: only our Legion will participate in the surface operation. All other units remain aboard ship. Akagi will provide the landing and fire support; the rest should be prepared for a space engagement. And now—I need some time to think… Oh, and call Blam, Puck, Lucky… and the most competent medic we have."
"Ahsoka, get ready. It's going to be hot," the Jedi said, then left the bridge.
***
Back in my cabin, I sat down on the floor and started thinking. Problems were piling up fast—way over my head.
And that Huttese of mine… surfaced, damn it. Though, to be fair, my Master had once advised me to learn it. His words echoed in my memory: "A tenth of the galaxy speaks this language, Mikore. Knowing it may come in handy." Well—thanks, Master. It sure did. And honestly, it's not that difficult, especially compared to Twi'lek or—Force forbid—Shyriiwook. Brr.
My luck's terrible… or maybe too good. Depends on how you look at it. Somehow, I managed to stumble right into these canon events. What's Skywalker doing on Christophsis anyway—sleeping on the job? He should've bolted off to hunt for the Hutt spawn by now. Wait. That raises a question: who will they assign as his Padawan? And will they assign one at all? A lot hinges on that.
All right. Time to figure out how to get out of this mess without screwing things up too badly… My one real advantage is full knowledge of how this episode plays out. So. Ventress kidnaps the Hutt. Ziro—Jabba's uncle—is in cahoots with Dooku. The Hutt kid is on Teth. Ventress is there too. Dooku is on Tatooine, spinning his intrigues against the Jedi. Enemy ambushes near Teth and in orbit over Tatooine.
Fuck. What a piece of shit.
Ideally, we extract Rotta from Teth and hand him over into Kenobi's very capable hands—let that "diplomat" figure out what to do next. But given the circumstances—and the Force strongly hinting at trouble—we'll have to handle this ourselves. Which means bringing along a medic for the Hutt—I recall he takes a turn for the worse—and informing the Jedi that Ziro is working with Dooku.
How to do that, and who to tell? Well, we can report it once Rotta is in our custody.
Evidence?.. Hell, who needs evidence? Arrest him and be done with it!..
Phew, easy, Miko. Cool it. Breathe.
All right. We'll sort it out. If necessary, I can ask Windu. Master of arrests,damn Corun bastard. That should give us cover from the rear if Jabba turns unfriendly.
On the other hand, a confrontation with Ventress is almost guaranteed—and that's bad news. Well, here I'm counting on my new sabers… and on Ahsoka. But we absolutely must avoid crossing paths with Dooku. That half-baked Zeus knockoff… damn it, maybe we should just bomb him from orbit?..
No-o. That slippery bastard will surely wriggle out somehow. So forget it. We go around. More escort fighters, tighter cover—and that should do it.
Now I need to carefully recall everything from the animated series about the battle at the monastery on Teth—and build a solid battle plan.
***
Ventress activated the comm system. A hologram of Count Dooku appeared before her, cloaked in shadow.
"I have carried out your orders to the letter, Master. The young Hutt has been secured in the catacombs. The battle droids are deployed at their positions. Warships are standing by in a nearby uninhabited system. If the Jedi come here, they will die."
"Excellent. Your next task is to ensure the Hutt does not fall into Jedi hands. They have already begun their search."
"But… why do we need him?" the Dathomiri asked.
"To deliver him to Jabba at the proper moment. Alive and unharmed. Do not fail me," Dooku said coldly.
"Yes, Master," Asajj inclined her head.
The child Hutt must be leverage—to bring Jabba, one of the crime lords of the galaxy, over to our side. Perhaps the Count also intends to frame the Jedi in the process.
Her role was simple: obey.
And hope the Jedi found the kidnapped child.
Because if they did—she would already be there. And she wouldn't have to hunt them down.
They would walk straight into her hands