Hunter only got part of the warning before the jamming signal took full effect. Enough of the warning was heard for Hunter to get the picture, even though Rhodes never answered his request to repeat the message. Nevertheless, Hunter figured it was time to act. Despite the droid's growing feelings of being replaced by Lena, he was still loyal to Rhodes. He was determined to save his captain, master, and friend.
Hunter was still waiting in the dimly lit corner of the motor pool of the palace. All around him were various ships, most of them fairly luxurious. On one wall of the room was a massive durasteel door, wide enough to get most medium sized ships through. Across from the hangar door was the door to the rest of the palace. It was guarded by a particularly burly Pantoran who seemed far more interested in guarding the ships than watching the droids. Hunter was amongst a few other astromechs as well as an LEP servant droid.
He waited until the guard had his head turned away before he drove over to one of the ships, ducking behind it before being noticed. The ship was a fang-class fighter, a ship commonly used by Mandalorians. It had a yellow paint job and appeared to be in great condition.
If Hunter had any semblance of remorse programmed into him, it wasn't showing now. Hunter made his way over to the front landing gear. He extended one of his manipulators from the dome of his head and placed a small detonator on the landing gear. It wasn't enough to destroy the ship completely but would serve as a good distraction.
Rhodes had spent close to six years tinkering on Hunter who was already a military model. It was one of the various pastimes Rhodes had to pass the time on long journeys. One such upgrade was the addition of a sleeve of detonators that Rhodes had managed to squeeze into his chassis. That modification was going to come in handy here.
After arming the single charge, Hunter wheeled back over to the other droids, taking care not to be seen by the guard. The other astromech droids seemed not to notice or care about Hunter's brief absence.
The LEP servant droid, on the other hand, was watching the entire time. "What are you doing?" The droid asked once Hunter returned.
"Keep it down over there!" The guard yelled once the silence of the motor pool was broken.
The LEP paid no attention to the warning, still staring at Hunter for a response. Not wanting to risk an unnecessary complication, Hunter extended another tool from his chassis. He quickly jabbed the droid with the tool, sending a shock of electricity through the little droid, overloading its circuits. The other droids took notice, but none moved, not wanting to suffer the same fate.
Before the guard could notice anything out of place, Hunter sent a remote signal to the detonator setting it to explode in 20 seconds. Once the timer was set, the device began to emit a high pitched beep that drew the attention of the guard. After a few confused glances around the room, the guard went to investigate.
He eventually made his way to the front of the fang-class fighter, immediately spotting the flashing device. The guard was quick to react, lunging at the detonator. He ripped the device off of the landing gear and flung it away from the ship. The device detonated against the hangar door, partially damaging the door controls. The door's fail safe activated, reverting it to an open state.
The guard was panting, the larger man worn out from the quick burst of activity. His actions had left the ships unscathed. The act was quite brave, although the destruction of ships was never the objective of the explosive.
By the time the detonator had gone off, Hunter was through the door and the guard was none the wiser.
The hallways were empty, which was normal for this late hour. The blast from the small detonator seemed to be contained within the thick walls of the motor pool. A few guards ran past, probably getting a call from the burly guard from before. They passed by without taking notice of Hunter who was casually making his way down the hall. He had already downloaded palace schematics so navigating through the building was easy for him.
The droid approached each corner with caution, peering around them to avoid drawing too much attention to himself. Hunter eventually arrived at the room that he had sent Rhodes to, expecting them to find their target.
He peered into the room to see bodies strewn about. Three Pantorans were unconscious while one Rodian was awake and attempting to wake up another Rodian lying beside him. No one noticed Hunter, who was peering into the room.
Hunter soon realized that none of the bodies belonged to any of his companions. Figuring they had been captured alive, Hunter began to make his way toward the central staircase heading to the lower levels.
Hunter peered into the next hallway, making sure there were no guards at the staircase. Before he could make a move, Hunter noticed Abie's ID-9 seeker droid come hovering up the stairs.
BO-Z instantly noticed Hunter who was only being stealthy enough to avoid the attention of palace guards, not a droid specifically designed to find things. While Hunter had never actually interacted with BO-Z, he did recognize the cloud insignia painted on top of the droid.
Hunter was as confused as the rest of Rhodes' crew. He whipped around the corner, extending his spark projector just in case he was mistaken about the approaching droid. By the time BO-Z reached Hunter, the probe droid was already beeping. Hunter was sure it was BO-Z and lowered the spark projector and asked the other droid what was going on.
Instead of answering the question, BO-Z opened a comm channel, playing the audio out loud. "Hunter, BO-Z tells me that he already found you. This is Abie Edge, Rhodes' old friend. I have a plan to get Rhodes and his crew out of this, but I need you to get them their weapons before we reach Gran-we. Hang out near the throne room and wait for my signal. I would have you come down here, but I can't risk you getting caught too. Now both of you need to get out of this hallway before another bounty hunter arrives. BO-Z, come back down here and Hunter, go find a good spot to hide until morning. Good luck."
Hunter gave a few beeps, acknowledging the command although he wasn't sure about following Abie's orders. Despite this, he knew that Rhodes trusted her, so he decided to go along with it. Hunter said nothing more to BO-Z who quickly hovered away after closing the channel. Rhodes' trusty astromech turned around and made for the other side of the palace.
Rhodes didn't get much sleep. The night was spent tossing and turning, anxious about what the next day might bring. Of all the people in the galaxy, it had to be Abie that he was up against.
The last time he was in Gran-we's palace, it seemed clear that his hunters were never the brightest in the galaxy. Rhodes thought this would be an easy job given what he knew. But the Force always works in mysterious ways. Maybe he was supposed to find Abie again just a few days after they overthrew a Separatist warlord together.
Rhodes had to push all these thoughts out of his head. Master Dew's words echoed in his mind. Why waste time focusing on what could have been, when you can use that time to focus on what can be done now. His master always had a habit of saying the wise words when Rhodes least wanted to hear it...but that line, one that he had heard quite a few times, was right in this instance.
Rhodes opened his eyes to see the same dungeon he had been in for hours. Lena was awake as well, pacing back and forth in her cell. Timber was still fast asleep. Rhodes couldn't understand how the man was able to sleep in such conditions, despite the fact that he was trained to be a soldier all his life. Those long-necked Kaminoans probably trained them to get rest in wartime situations, Rhodes thought to himself, still trying to keep his mind off his growing anxiety.
Rhodes couldn't help but feel the glare of the current guard posted by the dungeon exit. It was one of the Pantorans that they had fought first. It was difficult to tell which one this was, but his sharp glare at Rhodes probably meant it was the one Rhodes took down himself.
Before Rhodes could get too far in thought, he could hear footsteps coming down the stairs. The doorway was soon filled with the Transdoshan who brought them here. "Time to go!" the lizard yelled. "You all have a date with the big boss. I really do pity you all. The bounty hunter who chose to spare you thought she was being merciful. How wrong she was."
"Let me out of this cell and I will show you how wrong you are!" Lena yelled while clenching the bars with white knuckles.
The Transdoshan replied with a grin as he approached the cells. "Bee, get the binders," he said while snapping his fingers. The Pantoran obeyed and pulled three sets of binders from a nearby chest. The binders were eventually tossed into the cells.
"Put them on," The Transdoshan demanded.
Rhodes and Lena complied while Timber was just jolted awake by the binders being thrown onto his chest. After a few seconds of confusion, he got the idea and put the binders on himself.
Satisfied, the Transdoshan returned to the back wall and pressed the button to open the cells. He led the way up the stairs with the Pantoran bringing up the rear. They ascended two floors back to the ground level of the palace. Once in the main palace, they were joined by the rest of the bounty hunters, including Abie who shot Rhodes a stern look.
Abie hung back behind the group, out of Rhodes and his group's vision. The 11 person entourage made its way through the halls, presumably headed for the throne room.
Rhodes was surprisingly calm considering the circumstances, but he couldn't help but sense Lena's growing frustration. They were getting closer to the throne room and there was no sign of Hunter or Abie's signal. The group turned the final corner toward two large ornate doors.
Rhodes instantly spotted Hunter who was sitting right next to the doors. Hiding in plain sight I see, Rhodes thought to himself as he stared right at the droid.
"This isn't going to work," Timber whispered in Rhodes' ear.
"Just trust her," Rhodes whispered back.
"Quiet down prisoner!" The Transdoshan yelled as he sent a jab into Rhodes' shoulder.
Once they arrived at the door, Hunter plugged into a computer port next to the door. A few seconds later, the doors parted in the middle, sliding to the sides. The group entered the next room where Timber and Rhodes both recognized the grotesque face of Gran-we.
The man had a big grin on his face. "Ah Timber, my cloned friend. What possessed you to believe that you could defy me again? You certainly have gotten more foolish in your old age." The man let out a hoarse cough before continuing. "Thanks to my skilled team of bounty hunters, my little Asteray is safe."
As he said this a younger Pantoran girl was ushered into the room through a back door. She had much shorter hair than expected and had yellow freckles sitting on her blue face. The girl was escorted to a seat next to Gran-we's throne.
Make your move Abie, he has shown the target, Rhodes thought while glancing back at her. He had also noticed that Hunter had sulked into the room. Abie gave a subtle nod to him as she briskly walked to the front of the group. Rhodes noticed that BO-Z was missing from her back. He figured this was part of her plan so he readied himself for whatever would happen next.
Abie was before Gran-we, the man watching her carefully. He was intrigued to hear what she would have to say. "There is some security footage you should view before deciding what to do with them."
Gran-we nodded and motioned for her to come forward. Abie walked up to his throne and stood next to him. She produced a small data pad and showed it to him. A few seconds later, the room went dark.
The room was full of commotion. Screams from the bystanders drowned out the orders being given by the Transdoshan bounty hunter.
Rhodes closed his eyes, sensing his surroundings with the Force. He could tell that Lena was being held by the Transdoshan, her panicked squirms evident through the Force. It was easy for a trained Jedi to sense strong emotions, but Lena seemed to feel emotions stronger than most beings Rhodes had been around.
Rhodes turned around before the Mandalorian was able to grab hold of his arms. He let out a Force push from his cuffed hands knocking the woman back. She stumbled backwards with a clang as her beskar armor crashed into the ground. A few familiar beeps could be heard as Hunter relished the fact that she had just fallen over the mischievous droid.
Hunter quickly wheeled over to his master, extending one of his arms toward him. Rhodes retrieved his lightsaber from the droid, the silver, wooden hilt feeling natural in his hand. He waited until Hunter got Lena her blade, realizing that he wasn't in actual danger.
Once Lena got a hold of her weapon, she swung her head back, crashing into the nose of the Transdoshan. He stumbled back in a daze, dropping her to the ground. The room was soon illuminated purple as Lena ignited her blade.
A few seconds later the Transdoshan was roaring, holding the stump that was once his right arm. Once Rhodes saw the purple blade flash to life, he sighed and shook his head. His blade soon came alive as well as he advanced toward the now recovered Mandalorian. He slashed down, his swing blocked by her beskar gauntlets. Rhodes quickly slashed again, this time knocking her arms out of position.
The Mandalorian was skilled but clearly had never fought a Jedi before. Before she could recover, she caught a well-placed kick to the chin. Her helmet flew off as she stumbled backwards. She quickly reached for the blaster fastened to her hip. Before she could fire, Rhodes had already sliced through the blaster. Her already pale face flushed whiter as she realized her predicament.
"Enough!" The deep voice of Gran-we boomed. The room fell silent, the bounty hunters and guards all freezing in place, keeping blasters trained on the two Jedi.
The room was now dimly lit with the glow of the two lightsabers. Rhodes cut through the others' binders before getting Lena to cut through his own. Once free, Timber scrambled over to retrieve the blaster rifle that the Transdoshan had dropped.
Just about everyone in the room had now noticed that Gran-we had the muzzle of Abie's blaster against his head.
Everyone watched the fat man, waiting for him to speak. "I see you brought the Jedi boy you had with you six years ago. I hadn't recognized him because of the hair and... well... the aging. Nevertheless, I am sure that the Jedi would be open to negotiating a peaceful resolution to this matter."
Timber tried to speak up but was interrupted by Rhodes. He deactivated his lightsaber and hooked it on the front of his belt. Lena kept her blade at the ready, still staring at the Transdoshan who was crawling toward his severed arm. "I would like that very much," Rhodes said with a smile.
Gran-we rolled his eyes before responding. "First, you should call off the girl you managed to get in my crew."
Rhodes shook his head and Abie pressed her blaster harder into his head. "Not going to happen. Why give up our biggest leverage? I am willing to guess that you don't want to risk losing your empire over this matter so return the girl to us and let us leave. In exchange, you and your people will survive this endeavor. I may not be willing to kill you, but I can't say the same for my associates."
A scowl had grown across Gran-we's face. "It seems like you have given me no choice. Let them pass."
Abie gave a nod to Asteray to join the others. The girl ran over to where Timber and Lena were standing, not looking back.
"Hunter, get them out of here. I will be right behind you," Rhodes said with his eyes trained on Gran-we.
Lena went to protest but was quickly nudged by Hunter. "Alright, alright. I'm going" she muttered while walking toward the entrance to the room.
Rhodes gave a nod to Abie who slowly stepped away from Gran-we while keeping her blaster aimed at his head. Once Abie was behind him, Rhodes slowly backed toward the doorway. After a dramatic salute, Rhodes was through the door.
"After them!" Gran-we's voice bellowed.
Rhodes had expected him to immediately betray their agreement, sensing the deception when the deal was made. He was quick to draw his lightsaber, stabbing into the control panel that operated the door. The doors slid shut, stopping any of the guards or bounty hunters from pursuing.
"That won't hold them for long!" Abie shouted at Rhodes.
"Long enough," Rhodes said while turning to follow the rest of the group.
No one quite knew where Hunter was taking everyone, but Rhodes seemed to trust the droid. Hunter retraced his path through the palace until arriving at the doorway to the motor pool.
"Steal a ship? Good call little guy," Timber commented once he realized where they were.
The hangar was still full of ships with a few guards pacing around the room. Security was stepped up after Hunter's last time here.
The guards were caught by surprise as Timber began to gun them down, one by one. While Timber was busy clearing a path, Lena grabbed hold of Asteray's wrist and dragged her toward the nearest shuttle, Hunter following close behind. Lena made her way to the controls and began to power up the ship. She had noticed Rhodes and Abie catch up and join the fray.
Rhodes was out in front blocking shot after shot while Timber and Abie fired from behind him. "Hunter, get ready to pilot us out of here. I will get the others."
The droid did as he was instructed after a few seemingly annoyed beeps. Lena made her way back toward the shuttle entrance ramp while passing by Asteray who was awkwardly standing in the passenger area.
"I think it's time to go!" Lena yelled once on the ramp. The rest of the group followed the order and were quick to board the ship. Rhodes stayed on the ramp, deflecting shots while Hunter lifted the ship off the ground. The small shuttle shot out of the open hangar doors into the Pantora sky.
"Get us back to the Kestrel. We need to get Asteray away from there," Rhodes ordered, once he got to the cockpit. Hunter piloted the shuttle away from Gran-we's palace and back toward the hangar.