Chapter 2: New Skills
Ponds couldn't quite reconcile how easily his new nefarious skill set came to him. Aurra was a maestro of creativity as she conjured new, increasingly sinister tasks for the perfectly-engineered clone to carry out. It seemed every time he felt certain that any particular act seemed beyond him, he performed it deftly, much to his own surprise. And Aurra's cackling delight.
"Oh my, oh my. You really are the gift that keeps on giving, aren't you?" she sneered as he dropped a new haul of stolen merchandise to the slotted floor of Slave I's cargo hold. Data cards, batteries, Mandalorian communication antenne, and all manner of liberated goods rolled at the clone trooper's feet.
"One is always obliged to be of service," he responded bitterly, tugging at the explosive collar strapped around his neck.
"Imagine what I could accomplish with an army of you." She spun in place, one of her long, sharp fingernails tapping her chin. She snapped her fingers as she leaned in close to his face. "Oh! Now I see the allure."
Ponds shuddered at the thought of such a wicked creature in command of a liege of he and his brothers; the chaos they could create. He took a moment to appreciate the Jedi, their benevolence, and their power in policing the galaxy against just such a possibility.
"Master Windu. May I see him, please. You promised." He felt insolent asking, like a petulant child, but then again that was Aurra's intent all along, wasn't it?
"Hmmm." She made a play of agonizing over his request. "I just don't know. There's so much work to be done."
"You promised," he repeated, sadness and anger welling up inside him.
"I suppose I did, and what good is a bounty hunter without their word?" She made an elaborate gesture of bringing up her wrist communicator to her mouth, pressed a button with one of her ghastly fingers. She locked eyes with Ponds, drew in a breath, then narrowed them as she released the button. "But I distinctly recall saying after you did something worthy." She let her hand fall to her side, which Ponds followed with his eyes.
"But is this not enough?" he asked, gesturing at the goods at his feet. Aurra let another of her sinister laughs fill the room.
"Not by a long shot, 411. There is more to be done. Put your helmet on; we're almost there." She spun quickly and opened the door before her. "But first put all this away properly. Then meet me on the bridge." She stormed out, leaving the commander to his menial tasks.
--
On the surface of Takodana, Ponds crept silently through the halls of Maz Kanata's cellar, the sounds of revelry and music a distant thump above him. Aurra's voice came harshly through his comms.
"What do you see? What's there?"
"Rocks. Nothing."
"Keep going. There should be a door to your right a few paces ahead."
"I see it." He crept forward a bit more swiftly, as the corridor made a slight curve to the right, where he spotted a large Gabdorin urinating against the already damp cave walls. It was humming a discordant tune to itself, far too close to the door for Ponds's liking.
"What's the hold up, trooper?"
"There's someone by the door."
"Kill him! I want that case!!"
"With what weapon?"
"You are a weapon. You were bred to kill."
"To police and promote peace, but now isn't the time."
"Kill him!" Her words stung through his head like a needle as he contemplated his condition. As if by some miracle, the Gabdorin began to lumber lazily down the hall, toward the cacophony of the dining hall. He breathed a sigh of relief and crept into the nearby room.
Once inside he found a great many ornate chests, falling over one another in a pile in the corner of the claustrophobic room.
"Which one am I looking for?"
"As many as you can carry."
"I was afraid you'd say that." He activated a gravity-displacement unit on his belt as the cases before him floated effortlessly off the ground. He stepped back to a certain vantagepoint then projected a containment shield around the items as he made his way to the door. He had a comical time trying to squeeze the bubble of bounty through the narrow doorway, but he had to stop laughing at himself as soon as he entered the hallway behind it.
"Hey! What are you doing?" A drunk Bravaisian asked, slow to react to the sight of a clear robbery in place.
"Ponds snapped his neck to the sound, deactivating the shield as the items clattered to the ground. "I, uh..."
"Are you trying to ste--" The Bravaisian's query stopped short as a small, heavy wooden chest smashed into his face, knocking him to the ground in a state of unconsciousness. Ponds looked at his shaking hand, overcome with surprise and a lingering sense of pride in his well-conditioned reflexes. He quickly activated the gravity-displacement unit and containment shield and hurried down the hallway, trailing his loot like a satellite in a comet's wake.