"I was programmed to handle hard situations, Sir."
"Yes, but he was quite close to you, wasn't he? Did he say anything? Every piece of information he possessed could help us win the war. Isn't that what you want?" The Chancellor watches me closely...
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Day 392 SK Destination: Urlosis System 0700 hours
"Let's get going, Sniper." Cody jerks his head for me to follow him onto the ship. I jog to catch up, waving at Ahsoka as I do. I just caught her coming back from a trip with General Skywalker.
"What exactly are we doing, Commander?" I ask, sitting between him and Wooley, another member of the 212th.
"We're chasing a criminal that escaped Coruscant. You might find him familiar, actually." He must be talking about the one I stunned from the top of the Executive building, about 149 days ago.
"What about the Coruscant Guard? Shouldn't they be doing this, then?"
"Unless they're escorting a Senator, they don't have business off Coruscant. There's a small republic base we'll stay at while we're there," he replies, glancing at me. "It'll be dangerous, he took down two Jedi when he escaped. Stick close to one of us."
"Yes, Sir." I'm not sure what we're expected to do against someone that can take down two Jedi's, but it's not my place to doubt the Jedi's judgment.
After a long flight, we make it to the jungle-covered planet, and approach what looks like a gray block, hidden by the canopy. The descent isn't exactly smooth, and I'm grateful when we land safely on top of it. I'm less grateful when we step out into the hot, sticky air. I take my helmet off, already sweating. General Kenobi watches me, then turns to the others.
"You'll have to do without your helmets today. I'm afraid the risk of heat stroke is too strong to leave them on."
"Yes, Sir!" Cody replies. "You heard him, boys," We carry our helmets down into the base with us, to be left somewhere safe. It's a risk going without them, but we'll have to manage unless we want to pass out.
We walk down into and through the base. I only count about two squadrons in total, running back and forth as they work on clearing growth around the base, all helmet-less. They must have plans to build off of it, which won't be easy with the thick flora covering the planet. There are probably lots of mudslides from the nearby mountain when it rains, too.
We walk through the garage portion of the base, to the large bay door that's open in hopes of letting a breeze in. We stop underneath it and stand at attention as General Kenobi addresses us.
"We'll split up to cover more ground. Cody, Trapper, and Sniper will head south. Edge and Fixer will be with me, heading East. We have reason to believe the convict is in that area, due to data collected by the base. This is a reportedly dangerous individual, so use your comms before engaging. We don't want to alert them to our presence."
We all respond with a "yes, Sir" and take off our separate ways. Cody, Trapper, Peg and I hike for hours, searching for any signs of the criminal. But an environment like this covers up human traces fast and thoroughly. We stop around midday so the Commander can talk to the General, a small hologram in his palm. When he's finished he walks over to us.
