FORESIGHT and SCOPE: BOOK TWO

C H A P T E R T W E N T Y-N I N E

"That's enough. You forget yourself, Miss Quinn." Rampart held out his hand, considered my words, then sighed in defeat. "Very well. Your request is granted. If it pleases your needs, I will provide a small shuttle for you and CT-9904. A trained pilot who is familiar with Endor's terrain will escort you. Does this satisfy you?"

"That will suffice. Much obligied, Sir." I nodded my head, turned on my heel, and headed for the exit, grinning ear to ear over my fortunate negotiation.

"Take precautions, Miss Quinn. With 'less bodies' comes more risks."

"I'm a bounty hunter by trade, Vice Admiral," I let out a dry laugh, not bothering to glance over my shoulder as the panel doors split open for me to promenade through. "I live for risks."

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THIRD PERSON POV

What luck that Athena would run into her selected partner in the corridor. He donned his Imperial armor with his helmet tucked under his arm. From behind, she tapped on his broad shoulder and then popped in front of his distracted view, causing him to stumble to a halt. His normal sneer deepened as she folded her hands behind her back and puffed out her chest proudly. " Miss me?" she chirped.

"I was just on my way to the shuttle bay to meet you." He manuevered the toothpick in his mouth with his thumb and index finger. "I heard you requested me personally and that it is only to be the two of us on this highly sensitive mission?"

"You're welcome." Athena stated bluntly.

"For what?" Crosshair's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Because of me, we are not burdened with a squad of stormtrooper snobs to babysit." Athena explained as if it was apparent. "Plus, we have full conation in our tactics."

The elite clone could not deny that was an agreeable deal. He hummed with satisfaction. "Mhmm." A spark ignited in Athena's dark eyes as she felt a shiver down her spine. "This, is going to be a lot of fun."

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In their pursuit to Endor, the two clones studied the blueprints of the Imperial base they were tasked to liberate. However, the information, shockingly, was limited. Athena refreshed the files several times, just in case there was a mistake. "I don't understand." she growled in frustration. "I should have access to anything Rampart does."

"Which means, even the vice admiral is left out of the Imperial loop." Crosshair scoffed, twisting the toothpick between his teeth. "So, what's the plan?"

"You're asking me?" Athena raised a brow, then bobbed her head. "Alright, I say we walk right into the front door."

"Quinn," Crosshair dropped his hand. "That is the opposite of stealth."

"Hey, you asked." Athena shrugged. "Taking a look at the base's layout, there are only three entry points. The one closest to the control center is this one, right here." She pinpointed the main ingress. "We can still sneak in undetected if we knock their surveillance here and here." Two red beacons popped up in the hologram to label the cameras. "After that, it shouldn't be a problem for us to break in and clean out."

"Fifteen insurgents in total." Crosshair nodded. "Heh, I can handle them in my sleep."

"I'm sure you can." Athena said, her eyes locked on the holoscan. Her intense focus perplexed the elite clone. "What are you staring at?" he questioned.

"This section here is still unconstruction." She referred to the eastside roof of the base. "This divot here is meant for a satellite. And by the size of it —"

"That, is one giant satellite." Crosshair finished.

"A communications system of that scale has enough power to send a signal across the entire galaxy." The bounty hunter breathed with reverence. "What in the existence of the Force could the Empire need that for? Not to mention, here," She marked another section. "I think this is supposed to be a massive shield generator."

"Quite the military base." Crosshair commented.

Athena glanced over as he shrugged the situation off. Although she wanted to question why he didn't find the blueprints discerning, she instead huffed in defeat, plopped back in her seat with her arms crossed, and kicked her boots onto the holotable. "It's suspicious, that's all I'm saying."

"You are thinking too much into it."

"And you're not thinking enough." she muttered under her breath.

From the cockpit, their pilot called to them. "We have exited hyperspace and are entering Endor's atmosphere." The two clones did not share another word until they landed within the dense woodlands about a kilometer outside the base. As the shuttle ramp lowered, Athena noticed their associate was stocking up grenades in his pack. She marched up to him and snatched it out of his hands. "You're staying on the ship."

"I am instructed—"

"Asher, right?" Athena pushed him back by his chest, then calmly inquired, "Do you want to live?"

His face flushed at the intensity in her dark eyes, unable to utter a word through his stammering. Crosshair watched from the side as he flicked away his toothpick. The bounty hunter patted Asher's shoulder with a smirk. "Good choice." She threw the pack over her own shoulder and disembarked the shuttle with the elite clone. "Ready, partner?"

"Can you keep up?" Crosshair slipped on his helmet and rolled back his rifle.

"Says the man I've overpowered twice."

The two clones dashed into the thick forest in the cover of the evening dusk.