Unexpected

chapter twenty-two: ransom

"Mornin' Cap." Fives says, a bit too loudly for 4am, as he and Echo meet Rex in the command center.

"You called for us?" Echo asks.

Rex paces around the room with his helmet on, not bothering to greet them. Echo and Fives exchange a glance.

"Captain?" Echo asks.

The door slides open behind them and they turn to find General Skywalker entering the room. Both ARC Troopers quickly stand at attention.

"At ease, men." Anakin sighs. He places a hand on Rex's shoulder and Rex flinches. "She's safe." He speaks softly to the Captain, who doesn't seem any more relaxed after hearing it.

"Excuse me, sir. What exactly is going on?" Fives asks.

"Three days ago, Senator Amidala sent her handmaiden to Onderon on a government operation. This certain task was only supposed to take a day, at most, but she still hasn't returned." The General explains. "Senator Amidala has been in touch with her contact on Onderon and has confirmed that the mission was completed, yet her handmaiden has not returned to Coruscant and has not been in contact with the Senator."

"Onderon?!" Echo asks, trying to remain calm. "Isn't that a Separatist system?"

"Very Separatist." Rex speaks as he continues to pace.

General Skywalker nods before continuing. "The Chancellor received a transmission from Florrum an hour ago." He says, causing Rex to finally look up. "Maybe it's better if you see for yourselves."

Anakin places a holo-communicator on the table and an image of a strange looking man appears.

"Chancellor! So lovely to finally speak with you!" The man smiles. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hondo Ohnaka, I am the leader of the most fearsome pirate gang in the outer rim." He brags.

"It seems to me that I have come into the possession of a certain Senator of yours while visiting Onderon. Do not worry! As you can see, she is unharmed." The pirate steps aside to reveal Elara restrained by a containment field. "She's a persistent woman, I'll admit. Her creativity in trying to escape continues to impress me."

Fives steps closer to the hologram to get a better look at Elara. Though she doesn't seem to be physically harmed, something is definitely wrong.

"Now, since I have no sides and no quarrel with the Republic, I will settle for a ransom of... Let's say.. 20 kilos of spice?" He laughs to himself. "I will give you 12 hours to consider my offer. Of course, if you are not interested, I'm sure that the Separatist Council will be more than willing to meet my price."

The recording ends and the room falls silent.

"That pirating scum. I'll be damned if they get anything for what they've done to her! I swear I'll-"

"Rex." Fives jumps up to calm him down. "Rex, relax." Fives places his hands on his shoulders. "Your anger won't help her."

Rex takes a few deep breaths as he looks at Fives. Each breath calms him down as he realizes that Fives is right. "What's the plan?"

"Firstly, does anyone want to explain why this Hondo thinks that Elara is a Senator?" Echo asks.

"I assume it's because she was sent to negotiate with Senator Bonteri." General Skywalker sighs. "They must've been tailing her since she landed. But why? She was disguised as a civilian. She is a civilian."

"None of that matters." Rex interrupts. "We need to get her out of there. Now." He states.

"I agree." Fives speaks up. "It was hard to tell from the hologram, she didn't look like she had been physically harmed at all, but something was definitely wrong."