FORESIGHT and SCOPE: BOOK TWO

C H A P T E R F O R T Y

"Do not reach for your rifle for any reason." she whispered to her partner. "We don't want to make more of a scene than we already are." Crosshair agreed with a hum. The two clones strolled casually across the town until they reached the west end, where ships and shuttles were parked in a small dockyard. A seven-foot, tough-looking Trandoshan awaited them with his beefy, scaly arms crossed over his chest. Athena quickly fished out the small purse of credits from her bag and poured the currency into her palm, the jingling of metal perked the dockmaster's interest.

"We would like to buy a ship or book passage to Coruscant." she requested.

The Trandoshan calculated the credit amount in her hand, then jeered with disapproval. "Not enough for either, I'm afraid."

"If you accept this as half and take us to our destination, the Empire will certainly compensate the other half."

He rejected the bounty hunter's offer again. "Sorry, Missy, but I've got a record on my head and I don't serve your Imperial kind. If you scrape up enough to purchase one, I'm willing to let it slide, but," He licked his lips with another hiss. "you are going to need a lot more credits."

Athena's nose scrunched with agitation, and opened her mouth to object — to claim her esteemed status as Vice Admiral Rampart's abettor — but she recognized instantly it would make very little difference. Thus, instead of arguing, she whipped around on her heel and stormed off. Her left hand gripped the hilt of her knife. Crosshair grimaced at her side as they backtracked through the town. "What now?"

"I'm figuring that out." Athena said, then scoffed. "I must be going soft or something. There was a time I would have just skewered that guy and stole a ship. Now, I'm resigning to Plan B."

"Which is?"

She halted in her tracks the moment she caught sight of Plan B in her peripheral vision. She pointed at a square building that was wrapped with a deterioating wooden porch. Locals filed in and out in various states, some more sober than others. "The saloon?" Crosshair frowned. "What are you planning, Quinn?" Denying him a verbal response, the bounty hunter smirked over her shoulder, hopped up the steps, and skipped in through the front entrance. Crosshair, reluctant by the sudden secrecy, trudged up and squeezed by passerbys to stumble into the pub.

"I don't know about you," Athena sighed, setting her hands on her hips as they both assimulated the merry-making setting. "but I'm starving. This way." She pulled the soldier by his wrist and guided him through the bustling crowd up to the main bar. "I thought the problem was we don't have enough credits, and you want to spend the little we have?" he questioned. Athena again looked over her shoulder and clicked her tongue. "Seems like you have a lot to learn about the civilian life, Soldier. Remember, walk like you own the place or walk like you don't care who does."

They managed to arrive at the counter, where the female clone summoned the bartender. "Two bone broths." She flicked a couple of credits onto the sticky surface. The gentleman accepted the currency with a simple nod and disappeared into the backroom. The booming saloon gradually hushed the more people noticed the clones' presence. Crosshair grew as wary as the locals, while Athena faced them and leaned her back into the suspended surface, arms crossed with confidence.

"What is the Empire doing all the way out here?" a woman asked in a shaky voice.

"We mean you no harm as long as you mean us none." Athena sighed, like she had answered this question a hundred times in the past.

Crosshair watched her scan the entire establishment and lock on a particular group in the back corner. The bartender returned with their order. She sipped the warm broth straight from the wooden bowl. Then, she initiated her plan and marched a direct line to her target. The elite clone again followed behind her without any idea what she was devising — only this time, he was armed with soup.