Set the in the world of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Odette Lise is just another smuggler trying to make a living running weapons and other valuables across the galaxy, and not asking questions. Except she's not just another smuggler! She's the ad...
Odette looked over her shoulder to make sure the weird chick wasn't trying to follow her. Coast was clear, probably too clear too fast. Standing in the doorway, she watched Corso and Viidu chowing down on pieces of the largest chunk of animal meat she'd ever seen.
"Ah, Captain! Come join us," he said, indicating to an empty place at the table. "This succulent dish is Roba steak. It's expensive and shouldn't go to waste."
"Boss, stop acting like this is your last meal," Corso said. "We'll get the guns and then Rogun the Butcher won't kill you. Easy."
Odette gave Corso an amused look. "Hello, Corso. Enjoying your dinner?"
"You bet!" he said, raising his glass to her. "I look forward to working together." Someone was a little tipsy.
Viidu hissed. "So Reki knew about a secret entrance to the sep base. Good. And bad."
"Oh?" Odette said.
"A secret entrance! I always wondered how Reki managed to steal so much and never got caught."
"Corso, zip it!" Viidu said. Corso held up some unsteady hands. "Good about the secret entrance because the rest of Mannett Point is heavily fortified and guarded."
"That sounds more like a bad," she said.
"Then, the worse, if you like - you're going to have to swim to get to Reki's house."
Odette groaned.
"When the seps invaded, they blew up the only way on or off the island. Then they turned it into their own private resort," Corso said. He scowled. It was the first time Odette had seen an emotion other than happy optimism on Corso's face.
Viidu walked up to Odette and handed her a pad. "Download the sep's computer files onto this, then bring it back here and we'll take care of the rest. I wish you good luck. You're going to need it. You're essentially walking into the rancor's den."
"Your lack of faith in me hurts my feelings," Odette said.
"Don't get cocky," Viidu said. "There's nothing better the seps would love to do than blast that grin off your face."
She shrugged. "I've had worse jobs."
"I'd like to come with you, Captain," Corso said standing up. There was no trace of the tipsiness he'd showed a minute ago. "My vibroblade is pretty good at chopping seps off at the knees. I call it 'Hewie'."
"Forget about the seps, kid," Viidu said. "I need you to make sure that slicer kit gets back here before the Captain does."
He booted Corso towards the door. Like a sulky teenager, Corso took one final look behind him before he left the room completely.
"That's the last thing I need - Corso going one-man-army in the middle of a separatist base. He'll just get himself killed," he said, shaking his head. "Separatists wiped out his entire family a couple of years ago. Corso took it personally."
"I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too."
"Ah, but while you'd be angry, you'd be smart. He'd just go charging in and maybe take out one or two before he joined his family in the Great Beyond."
"Viidu, someone's on the holo for you," Syreena's voice came from behind Odette. The unexpected voice made Odette jump. "He says he's Rogun the Butcher, and he sounds angry."
"Great," Viidu said, running his hand over his already sweating pate. "That's all I need. Stall him, Syreena. I'll be there in a minute."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The sun was setting over Mannett Point. Odette stood over the rocky bluffs across the island with her viewfinder out. She scanned the area around the main entrance to the resort. There were stairs that had been built to give resort goers access to the beaches. They were swarming with guards. Almost too many. The walls surrounding the resort were high and made of carbosteel. Nice and slippery. Going east she examined the ruin of the bridge. It looked practically deserted. She looked down. The beach underneath the bridge ran directly against large rock outcroppings that supported the weight of the bridge. Zooming into the cliff face, she saw that the rocks seemed to be not only rugged but also looked to have natural handholds. She was a damn fool. That's what Nico would say. But it would take too long to scope out the rest of the island, on the off-chance that she'd find a better way in. She wanted to be able to get to Nico as soon as possible. Staying another day on this filthy rock was not an option.
As soon as the sun set below the horizon and dusk settled over the water, Odette climbed down the bluffs to the beach. Using the shadows the ragged bridge cast, she slowly made her way across the narrowest part of the channel to get to the cliffs. She sat her back against the rocks and waited to see if anyone had noticed her or called an alarm. But it was quiet. She inched flat against the line until she was at the first climb up. The first few feet were pretty easy. It made her thankful to whomever her biological parents were that they had been tall. She couldn't quite get her foot up to the next level. She reached up to the closest lip and tried pulling herself up. Before she could react, her hand slipped on some unseen sand and she landed on the beach below with a jarring thud. Many a curse and vilification floated over the water. She pulled herself back up and took her gloves off before she reached up for that next level again. This time, she took her hand and wiped away any sand that could prevent her from getting a good grip on the cliff. It was something she did the rest of the way up. It wasn't optional. She was lucky to have fallen when she did, as much as it hurt. A fall from a bigger height wouldn't just hurt, it could mean her death. Finally, she reached the top and hid against the bridge.
The lights for the resort shone dimly. Apparently, no one cared if the lights of the resort provided barely enough light to see by. She looked around, pulling her blasters out of their holsters. The guard load seemed to be lighter than when she had inspected it a couple of hours ago. She smiled. She was about to head through the entrance when she heard a loud rhythmic clanging coming from the street ahead. With a deliberate pace, a large tank droid positioned itself between the entrance posts and stopped.
No wonder they don't have anyone up here, she thought, banging her head against the bridge. She watched the tank droid sit there for several very long minutes. The squealing of its gears pierced her ears as it turned it's turret and walked back into the darkness. Odette released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Taking one last look around she ran for the east side of the road. The power relay's access terminal blinked morosely in the dark. She made quick work of shutting it down. She checked the datapad and found that the next power relay was tucked behind the main building of the resort. From the look of it, it was in a snug little alleyway on the east side of the building. She hurried down the alley and found two separatist workers standing around it talking. She gulped. She didn't like killing unarmed men, but she didn't have the time to politely ask them to go back into the building. She gritted her teeth. She charged forward so that she didn't have any more time to think about it and blasted them both.
Once the second relay was down, she slid up to the corner of the main resort building. She checked the datapad. Reki's house was located diagonally across the road from her position. She started her sprint towards the house when from the corner of her eye, she saw a tank droid walking down the road in front of her. She nearly tripped over her own legs in her attempt to overcome her momentum. She flattened herself against the building again and sidled around the corner, praying the droid's sensors hadn't picked up her movement. It marched forward almost to where it could pick up her up, but after a couple of minutes, it turned and walked back the way it came.
Odette's heart was beating out of her chest. That was close. She took a second sprint and made it to Reki's house, finally. As she closed down the last relay, she inspected the house. It was huge. Figures that a pig like him who preyed off of people would have an elaborately huge home.
She opened the door and walked inside, closing it as soon as she could. When she turned around she gasped. She had expected to see elaborate tapestries, molded furniture and unique works of art. Instead, it was almost as if she had walked right back into Viidu's living quarters. There really was no furniture, just crates and shelves full of equipment and parts. She took the stairs up to the bedroom and found Reki's datapad sitting on a work desk. She sat down on the bed and worked through the cipher to get into the maintenance tunnels. She leaned against the headboard. It was taking forever and she had to shake her head to keep her eyes from closing.
Odette opened her eyes and looked around. She had fallen asleep but when she looked at the datapad, the cipher had run its course. Seems Reki's favorite tunnel ran right under the house. Figures.
