The Wolf Pack

Chapter 36

Art had expected many things from this particular mission. He had expected Kriari to get lost in her thoughts the entire time after her last encounter with Wolffe. He had expected Kail to prove he still was the predatory little shit he had been as a kid. He had expected Sinker to blow their cover on his first day as a palace guard. What he had not expected was the job to go smoothly. Art had not expected to get used to his life undercover. He had not expected to like his life undercover.

After three standard months in Ord Anlata, he realized he wasn't so sure he wanted to go back to the GAR. Not that he didn't love his battalion, his brothers and his Jedi fiercely, no. But Art had found beauty in the domesticity of his new life, and was not sure he wanted to live without it anymore. He had fallen in love with the wild nature of a corrupted city, and he found real joy in being able not only to maneuver in it but also to thrive.

They had been doing such an excellent job gathering intel, not one member of the ruling government had noticed. Art was quite convinced he could continue to do this job for as long as he lived and his life would not only have meaning, it would also be fulfilling.

They had figured out the local government was designing machinery that was able to build battle droids at a much larger scale and within smaller time frames. It had been a little jarring to learn, they all realized what this would mean to the clone army, and they weren't keen on seeing these plans come to fruition.

The only part of this plot they were missing was the location where these machines would be sent. There was clearly no room in Ord Anlata for a secret factory, the Republic presence was simply too strong there. But the enemy hadn't been as careful as they had thought. Several members of the Banking Clan had been spotted coming in and out of the main building where the team knew the plans were hidden. But what really had put a wrench in their day had been the appearance of former Republic Senator Rush Clovis, who was now a representative of the Banking Clan.

This was the reason why Art and Sinker had gone in on their own, to try and either steal the plans or make a copy of them before the conspiracy grew even further. They had done everything in their training, they had performed better than they ever had in the battlefield. And still, it hadn't been enough.

...

Brendon had been trying to get into Kriari's good graces for all three months they'd been there. He had realized very quickly his efforts were taking him nowhere and promptly gave up the pursuit. He'd gotten his ass beat once, he knew better than to push her now. Kriari had proved time and time again that kindness was most definitely not a weakness during her stay in Ord Anlata.

She had taken to her job as a bartender like a fish in water, being nice and coaxing information out of drunks with sweet words and firm resistance to their attempts at conquering her. When a particularly insistent drunk refused to let go of the subject, she turned her icy smile at them and said "My partner would skin you alive". Brendon was confused by the lack of deception in the Force around her. The Force, that was a source of confusion to him too, Kriari wasn't using it to coax information out of people, and that confused Brendon to no end.

His musings were cut short when the ground shook, and the sound of an explosion followed. In such a crowded city as Neo Cetara. Kriari shot Brandon a look and he knew what had to be done. He rushed to the back of the pub and up the stairs while Kriari closed down the bar and gathered their things. Brendon grabbed Kriari's rifle and pushed the door to the roof with his shoulder.

The Government building was smoking in the distance. The man grabbed the rifle and brought it up to stare through the scope. Something had gone wrong. Kriari rushed out of the building, carrying every pouch, bag and flannel that contained something important. She didn't pale when she saw the smoke.