The Tatooine wasteland stretched before them like a graveyard of forgotten time—shattered dunes, rusted junk piles, and weathered wrecks poking out of the sand like ancient bones. The speeder hummed beneath Kael, kicking up a trail of dust as he and Ghost approached the coordinates tagged in the mission.
[ Objective: Capture or Eliminate Valro Gress – 0.7 km Remaining ]
Kael leaned forward, scanning the jagged ridgeline ahead. "You've got eyes on him?"
Ghost's voice crackled softly through the comm implant Kael had picked up from MercNet's gear shop. "Thermal confirms at least three lifeforms inside the structure. Likely Gress and bodyguards. Readings show metal—possibly cybernetics. We go in quiet?"
Kael smirked. "We go in smart. No Jedi sabers blazing, no full frontal. We test your stealth, my new blaster, and—" he opened his menu "—this."
[ New Skill Acquired: Shadowstep I ]Description: Instantly reposition within 5 meters in any direction. Silent and undetectable by non-Force-sensitive entities.Cooldown: 30 seconds
He'd picked it up from the rare-skill gacha for 900 credits and a little luck. It was the kind of ability he knew would pay off in bounties—and in future run-ins with Jedi and Sith alike.
"Position to flank," Kael said.
"Acknowledged," Ghost replied, his figure flickering as the cloak reactivated and he vanished into the heat shimmer.
The hideout came into view: an old sandcrawler, partially buried, converted into a semi-permanent shelter. Metal scaffolding jutted out from its sides, and a makeshift comms tower blinked red every few seconds. A pair of turrets sat idle on the upper rail, deactivated. Sloppy work.
Kael crouched low behind a dune, watching two Weequay thugs patrol the outer walkway.
He breathed deep, centered himself, and let the Force flow—not loudly, not with overt aggression, but like a tide, quiet and alert.
[ Passive: Revan's Legacy – Force Presence Balanced | No Detection Risk ]
He slipped forward like wind through reeds.
One guard passed close to the side of the crawler. Kael whispered the command in his mind.
Shadowstep activated.
He blinked forward in an instant, appearing behind the Weequay with no sound, no trace. A quick elbow to the neck dropped him like a sack of grain.
Ghost handled the other. No noise. No movement visible.
By the time Kael crept into the interior corridor of the crawler, Ghost had already mapped the structure.
"Main target is in the core chamber. Reading triple heat sources. Engaging cloak suppression in ten."
Kael readied his blaster—a MercNet-upgraded D-14 pistol with stun, kill, and pulse-shot modes. It wasn't flashy, but it was fast, accurate, and familiar in his hand.
He rounded the corner into the main chamber and caught sight of Valro Gress.
The Sullustan was stocky, twitchy, and mostly metal from the chest down. A rig of cybernetic arms sprouted from his back like a mech-spider, each one ending in a tool, gun, or blade. His real hands clutched a datapad he barely looked up from.
His two guards—Rodians with carbine rifles—were arguing in Huttese over who would get paid first.
Kael smiled and aimed.
Pulse Shot: Charged.Target: Right Guard.
The blast tore through the Rodian's rifle, sending him sprawling with a shocked scream. The second turned too slow—Kael rolled forward, raised his pistol, and dropped him with a stun burst.
Valro leapt up with surprising speed for a short cyborg. "Who the—?"
Kael didn't answer.
Ghost decloaked behind the target and jammed a stun baton into the Sullustan's back.
The cybernetic limbs flailed—two managed to slash Kael's side, drawing a line of blood across his cloak—but the rest short-circuited with Ghost's follow-up EMP grenade.
Valro collapsed, spasming, still alive but twitching.
[ Target Captured: Valro Gress – Status: Stable ][ Mission Success – Reward: 4,800 Credits + Rare Skill Chip (Combat Class) ]
Kael exhaled and slumped against a crate. "That went better than I expected."
Ghost checked Valro's pulse, then cuffed the smuggler with magnetic bindings. "Minor laceration on your side. Need assistance?"
Kael waved him off. "Just bruised ego."
He opened MercNet's skill reward tab and tapped the blinking notification.
[ Skill Chip Unlocked: Reflex Surge I ]Temporarily doubles reaction speed and targeting precision for 8 seconds.Cooldown: 90 seconds
Kael whistled. "Oh yeah. I'm keeping this."
They hauled Valro back to Mos Espa under cloak, dumped him in front of the local guild rep—an annoyed Aqualish named Gorrt who gave Kael a grunt and a credstick—and got out before questions started.
Back in the makeshift shelter, Kael patched his wound with a Medigel patch and brought up the shop interface again.
Credits: 8,550Next Goal: 12,000 – Abandoned Hangar Purchase Unlocked
He was close.
And now, he had Ghost, two combat skills, a solid weapon, and a reputation brewing.
[ MercNet Reputation: Tier 1 – Rank: Known Asset (12%) ][ Reputation Perk Unlocked: Shop Discount Tier I ]
He leaned back, staring at the cracked ceiling.
Six months until Anakin's podrace.
Six months until Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan arrived.
And sometime soon, a young queen would arrive on this planet, searching for a way to free her world.
Kael closed his eyes.
He needed to be ready.
For them. For the Sith. For everything.