The worst enemies are former friends:
they strike at your weaknesses, known only to them,
at the most vulnerable place.
***
By the appointed time, after careful reflection and gathered my thoughts, I arrived on the ship's bridge—the command and control center. Everyone I needed was already assembled around the tactical table. Ahsoka was the last to rush in, right behind me.
"So, ladies and gentlemen, I'm about to brief you on our mission. The essence of it is this: we are to rescue Jabba's son…"
"Sir," Lichtendal interrupted me, "you mean that same crime lord from Tatooine?"
"Exactly, Ceкri, exactly." Judging by the Atoan's expression, he had little desire to cooperate with criminals. "Though he's less a bandit and more the head of one of the most influential criminal syndicates—and de facto one of the rulers of Hutt Space, a figure even the Republic has to reckon with. The scale here is far greater than that of a mere thug... In short, his son was kidnapped, and Jabba appealed to the Republic for help. The Chancellor—and the Jedi—responded to his request."
"What do we know, sir? Where do we even start looking? He could be anywhere!" Mirro said, spreading his hands.
"What makes this easier is that we know exactly where to look."
At least, I do.
"So, our destination is the planet Teth. Li Noriega, a brief overview."
"Teth is a planet in the Teth system of the Baxel sector, located on a disputed border between the Outer Rim and Wild Space. It has two moons, a rotational period of twenty-seven hours. Type-one atmosphere, breathable. Gravity is point-seven-five standard. Temperate climate. According to the records, the planet's terrain consists of forests, plains, jungles, and high cliffs."
"Excellent. On one of those cliffs stands our target: an old monastery of the B'Omarr monks. The captive is being held in one of the deep inner dungeons, so there's little risk of hitting him—but we also shouldn't overdo it with fire support. And we will need fire support. The little Hutt is heavily guarded: no fewer than three battalions of B1 battle droids, a couple of companies of B2s, around fifty DSD-1 spider droids, and at least two squadrons of Vulture droids. On top of that, somewhere nearby—possibly in a neighboring system—there's a small enemy task force, five to ten ships."
"So the Separatists kidnapped him? But why?" Ahsoka asked.
"It's simple," Sumeragi replied quickly. "The Hutts entering the war—"
She didn't need to finish. Everyone understood perfectly what that would mean for the Republic if the Hutts turned against it. Even the Confederacy was wary of provoking the Hutts, with their hordes of slaves, mercenaries, and ships.
"What's the attack plan, General?" Blame got straight to the point.
"The temple is built on a high ledge—about four hundred meters up. It has one large cylindrical spire and around a dozen smaller ones. The main courtyard is surrounded by a high wall with a wide opening, but no actual gate. In front of it is a large landing pad capable of accommodating a Consular-class corvette. First, we conduct a fire strike. One squadron each of Z-95s and Y-wings. However, no missiles or bombs—blaster cannons only. One combat pass will be enough. Immediately after that, the first wave deploys: two Kappa-class shuttles and five Nu-class shuttles. They'll deliver Ahsoka and me, an assault group of clones—one company—and eight walkers: four AT-XTs and four AT-PTs. They'll provide us with fire superiority. Once we suppress resistance on the landing pad and enter the temple courtyard, the second wave lands—twelve gunships. Ten with infantry—another two companies—and two carrying XT-130 tanks. After that, we secure the perimeter and prepare to repel a counterattack. Saber tanks are to be ready to shoot down enemy transports, and the infantry should set up a couple of Z-6s on tripods. Don't forget the grenade launchers. Meanwhile, we'll push deeper into the complex, locate the captive—scanners will be needed—extract him, and get out of there. Oh, and make sure to bring a medic. Have them ready to start treating the patient immediately."
That should be everything. The shuttles may have less firepower than LAATs, but they have one undeniable advantage—deflector shields. They'll let us land directly on that damn ledge instead of staging a vertical race, damn it all.
"Not a bad plan. I'll go prepare everything we need," Blame said, snapping a salute before hurrying off the bridge.
"We'll go prep our gear," Puck added, dand together with Lucky, he left the briefing.
"Lichtendal, Sumeragi—you're in charge of repelling a possible enemy attack."
"Yes, sir!" the officers saluted.
"O'Connor!"
"Yes, General?" The Zeltron woman looked at me attentively.
"If needed, be ready to bring the Akagi into the atmosphere to pick us up faster. In that case, the others will provide cover."
"Understood, sir!"
"Ahsoka. Come on—we need to prepare as well."
"Yes, Master!" the girl nodded eagerly.
Sumeragi absently rolled a lock of her hair between her fingers, staring at the tactical table.
"Strange," she said at last.
"What is?" Cerri turned toward her.
"You were present during the comms session—you heard everything perfectly well. Didn't it seem to you that the General… knew all of this before it even happened? There were too many details."
"I thought you'd stopped being surprised by that sort of thing already. Besides…" He shrugged faintly. "Jedi."
Li Noriega nodded, but inwardly she continued to mull it over. Writing everything off as Jedi abilities felt far too simple.
***
In the Akagi's hangar, the clones were preparing for the start of the operation. While the commanders conducted final briefings, the tech crews finished maintenance and loading the equipment.
"Okay… straight… straight. Stop. Fold your limbs!" the technician barked. The AT-PT bent its legs, the cockpit almost touching the deck. "Lift!"
The shuttle's cargo ramp slid upward.
"That it?" asked a clone captain who had just approached.
"No, sir. One more left, port side."
"Excellent." Turning away, the captain waved his hand. "First and second platoons, with me! Move!"
***
The remaining two hours flew by almost unnoticed. At last, we took our places aboard the shuttle and waited for the hangar doors to open.
"Sir, we're at the designated point!" Cerri's voice came through the headset.
"Proceed, First Lieutenant."
The doors parted, and our birds dropped away. Through the viewport, the planet's violet sky was clearly visible, streaked with white clouds. Beautiful. As we entered the atmosphere and descended, the local terrain came into focus. Far below, bizarre trees intertwined their trunks, all rising from a single massive base. Rivers and lakes flashed by beneath us.
"General, we're approaching the target," the pilot reported.
"Stand by!" I ordered, gripping my blaster pistol in one hand and the hilt of my saber in the other. Ahsoka settled for her sabers alone. Behind us, two clone squads clattered their weapons and spoke in low voices.
"Pinny, you've got interference on your line!"
The clone tapped the side of his helmet.
"All clear now, Sergeant."
The lights cut out, only to be replaced a moment later by a dim red glow.
"Red light—stand by!"
"Welcome to freedom!" the pilot shouted as he lowered the shuttle's ramp.
"Green light!"
"Go!"
"Move, move, move—let's go!"
We spilled out, nearly tripping over heaps of droid debris—the fighters had done their job—and dashed toward the gates, where battle droids were already visible. They tried to resist, but… they were clearly disoriented by the initial strike. Perhaps their commander had been destroyed, and now they were clumsily trying to determine who was in charge. And the larger the formation, the longer their reaction time became.
Naturally, we exploited that advantage. Finishing off the droids on the landing pad, we surged into the inner courtyard. There, they were already waiting for us. B1s and B2s, supported by several DSD-1 spider droids and a pair of Vultures, opened up with a storm of fire. Our advance slowed, and Ahsoka and I had to exert considerable effort just to deflect the barrage. There was no question of sending the shots back—the fire was simply too dense. That held true only until our walkers moved up. Their cannons and grenade launchers tore great gaps in the enemy ranks, and we were able to push forward again. Well, a minute later, the second wave of clones began landing behind us…
Soon, the last droid fell.
"Report status!" Puck ordered.
"Pinny, you miserable bantha! How did you manage to get yourself exposed like that?!" A clone sergeant bent over the trooper lying on the ground.
"Sorry, Sergeant. This Hutts helmet's acting up…"
"Medic, over here! You've ruined our stats, Pinny!"
"Secure the perimeter! Lieutenant, position your men there and there"—I pointed toward the temple walls. "Puck, take two squads and follow me. Lucky, you stay here."
By the way, the planet's low gravity was very much noticeable: everything felt a bit lighter, and our stride had a springy quality to it. Still, I acclimated fairly quickly. So did Ahsoka—and the clones didn't seem to care what gravity they fought under.
The temple gates were raised, and we entered without obstruction. Pitch darkness ruled the corridors inside, prompting the clones to switch on their helmet-mounted lights.
"Creepy place," one of the clones muttered, shivering.
"This is a B'Omarr monastery. I read about them during classes at the Temple," Ahsoka explained. "From what I understand, monks of this order, upon reaching their highest state of enlightenment, undergo a procedure in which their brain is removed from their body and placed into a special device that sustains it—something like a walking droid."
She looked around, then continued:
"Judging by the state of things, this place has been abandoned for a long time. But… why?"
"Most likely it was looted by pirates. Or slavers," I shrugged.
Footsteps echoed somewhere ahead. The clones raised their weapons. Slowly, a protocol droid emerged from the darkness.
"Who are you?" the Togruta asked. The greenish-yellow glow of ignited blades fell across the droid's face.
"I am 4A-7, the caretaker of this holy place, sir. You have saved me from those aggressive war dro—" At that moment, my blade cut him cleanly in half.
Seeing the girl's shocked expression, I explained calmly:
"He's a Separatist spy… Puck, two squads forward. Anything that doesn't look like a swaddled Hutt—destroy it. There are no friends here."
"Yes, sir!" Seventeen waved his hand, and several clones surged ahead, overtaking us.
Five minutes of wandering through the catacombs later, one squad's scanner picked up movement. We exchanged glances and hurried toward them.
"Sir, this door," a clone sergeant said, pointing at a passageway.
Ahsoka pressed the activation button on her lightsaber and took position beside the door. I carefully opened it using the Force, holding my blaster pistol in my other hand in case someone tried to rush us. But when the creaking mechanism finally pulled the doors open, what hit us wasn't an enemy—it was the stench.
Peering inside, I found the object of our search.
Jabba's son was screaming atop a filthy mattress in the center of the cell. Ahsoka darted inside and dropped to her knees beside him.
"Oh—he's just a baby!" Her voice carried equal parts pity and alarm. "I thought he'd be older."
"Yeah… all kids are nice," I muttered, glancing back out of the cell, "until they grow up. Medic, in here!"
The little Hutt wailed at the top of his lungs. Ahsoka tried to soothe him.
"It's okay, little one. You're going home now. You're going home—to your daddy. Come on, don't cry…" She hesitated, then looked at me. "Master, you know Huttese, right? Maybe you could say something to him?"
Oh, I know it. Of course I do. The real question is whether he'll understand. Still—it's worth a try.
"Rotta," I said gently, doing my best to soften my voice. "Calm down, Rotta. We've come to take you back to your father. Home. To Jabba. Do you understand?"
Choking on his sobs, Rotta suddenly fell silent and wriggled around to see who was speaking. The mention of his father soothed him instantly. I could practically feel his thoughts. He hated this place—this terrifying hole. He just wanted to go home.
At that moment, a clone bearing a medic's insignia on his shoulder and a pack on his back entered the cell. Bending over the Hutt without a word, he declared:
"I'm no expert in Hutt medicine, but he really shouldn't stink like this. I mean, Hutts stink like a bantha that's been dead for three weeks—but not this bad!" Pulling out some kind of device, he began waving it over Rotta. The little one grew anxious again.
"You're scaring him," Ahsoka said sharply.
All right, I need to do something… yes! Rummaging through my belt, I finally managed to fish out a credit chip worth a thousand.
"Rotta," I said, holding up the gleaming ingot. "Look what I've got."
He went quiet immediately.
"I'll give this to you. But you have to stop crying and do everything the doctor says. Deal?"
The Huttling waved his stubby little arms and nodded enthusiastically, his whole posture screaming gimme. Once he had the ingot, he stared at it, totally mesmerized.
"Well, look at that—he understands you. But why isn't he talking?" the Togruta asked, surprised.
"Commander, this Hutt looks to be about twenty to twenty-five years old," the medic explained. "At that age, they understand speech but don't talk yet. They usually start speaking around fifty. Now—eat this."
The clone handed Rotta a small pill, which he obediently swallowed.
"Uh-huh…" I murmured. "Good work, Sergeant."
Rotta let out a satisfied rumble.
"Wow!" Ahsoka said. "He's so cuuute. Just like a little toy!"
Oh hell… she found herself a 'toy'.
"You asked for it—you're the one carrying him, Snips."
"Fine by me," she said, crouching down and scooping Rotta into her arms. But I noticed the flash of surprise on her face when she realized he was much heavier than he looked. "Master, was it hard to learn Huttese?"
"It took a lot of time," I replied evasively. "But I'll say this—it's still a lot easier than learning Shyriiwook."
Activating my comlink, I called Lucky.
"This is Vikt. The job's done. What's the situation?"
Lucky's voice crackled back.
"All quiet here, sir. You find him?"
"Alive and unharmed. We're on our way out."
"I'll send another squad your way—just to make sure the droids don't get any ideas. No point taking risks now that we've got the kid."
"Good call, Lucky." I gave the Huttling an appraising look. "And have them bring a pack," damn, almost forgot. "Oh—and notify orbit. Have them forward a message to the Jedi Temple and the Chancellor's office."
"Understood, General!"