[5 million credits.]
"For real? What did I do to earn that?" Cole asks as he is lying back in his spaceship.
[That's your bounty, Cole. You are the most wanted man in the galaxy! When I told you about the task, I didn't think you would kill the client. No one will give us another offer now! That isn't good, Cole.]
"Eh, I think you're overreacting. No one knows that I was supposed to be hired by Dagonet; he didn't give me a single coin. And who would tell anyway? His son? I doubt it, then he would have to explain what happened and why I killed him. He wouldn't want to do that, but I already have."
[What do you mean? Your logic is faulty and unclear at best.]
"I recorded everything and made sure to make it public knowledge. I thought you knew that already."
[Sigh, I do know that. But it doesn't change the fact that they're hunting you now. Every bounty hunter in the galaxy will want a piece of you now.]
"Are you tempted, Aiva?" Cole asks.
[No. It's not healthy to be greedy.]
Aiva knew that even if she wanted, she wouldn't survive the encounter with Cole. He could survive in seemingly any environment, on the most abandoned planets and would find a way to get back. No one knew the massively overpowered cheat Cole had, and no one ever will. But there was, of course, another reason why Aiva wouldn't want to take a bounty on Cole.
[Where are you headed, anyway? You should lie low for a while, until the heat concerning the Senator's death has died down a bit.]
"I'm going to look for some minerals and metals to upgrade my armoury. The future is bound to be chaotic, and I'm going to be prepared."
[What material are you looking for?]
"Right now, Phrik and Cortosis. But there are a few more I'm interested in." Cole says.
[Phrik? I don't think I have heard about that one before. What does it do?]
"Heh, wouldn't you like to know. I am preparing, Aiva. Now that the Republic have issued such a bounty for me, they will most certainly also ask the Jedi to find me, and that is what I am preparing for."
[So you are preparing to fight Jedi? Are you insane?]
"I'd say hypersane, but at this stage, it is all the same."
[Fighting a Jedi is equal to fighting the entire Order; it's suicide. Do you know how many Jedi were ever killed by bounty hunters?]
"I think Revan had quite a bit of success with eliminating Jedi. And he also used normal bounty hunters."
[Revan was a Sith Lord and a powerful one at that. He also used them to weaken the Jedi, mostly. Cole, the most logical action would be for you to lie low and look for a few safe houses. I know you have places already, but I would recommend finding new ones.]
"You know an interesting amount about galactic history, Aiva. Where did you find that out?" Cole asks.
[...What do you mean? I am an information broker. Naturally, I would know. Information is my business.]
"I would reckon that only very few would know about Revan. Jedi mostly."
[So? I believe it makes sense for me to have Jedi clients as well, doesn't it, Cole? You're not going to judge me now, are you?]
"Judge you? Why would I do that? We do what we must to fulfil our objectives."
[What do you mean?]
"Never mind. I need to go, I'm coming out of hyperspace. See you soon, Aiva."
Cole turns the hologram off and walks to another room. He is moving through hyperspace in his Inyusu-class Star Yacht, manufactured by the SoroSuub Corporation. SoroSuub Corporation is a Sullust-based company whose tech division has developed and manufactured a wide range of technological goods, including droids, sensors, weapons, and vehicles. The company is owned by the even larger Commerce Guild, a conglomerate of retailers, arms manufacturers, agricorps, and other service providers. Cole has gone through their stock and stolen a significant amount of items, which is why he isn't well-liked by the executive board.
He likes to travel comfortably because... well, who wouldn't? He's not a Jedi, so he doesn't meditate all the time, but the ship has been equipped with a training room, should he need it. He also removed many components and replaced them with more advanced engine units, a hyperdrive system, shielding, and life support. The interior is fitting for a yacht, but the outside and its defensive capabilities are fitting for him as a bounty hunter. He has another idea for a starship, though, and to get to it, he will have to travel to Korriban.
The Star Yacht gets out of hyperspace and arrives at the Perkell sector in the Mid Rim. The sector primarily consists of a series of unimportant industrial planets situated along an offshoot of the Perlemian Trade Route; these industrial planets, in turn, are connected to clusters of agricultural and mining planets. Cole is here for the Gromas system, specifically Gromas 16. Gromas 16 is nicknamed the Blood Moon and is the sixteenth moon of the gas giant Gromas.
Currently, Gromas 16 is an unremarkable moon, but its status will change in the future with the discovery of heavy deposits of phrikite, prompting prospectors to seek claims in the sector capital of Trancret. In the Legends continuity, exploration companies experienced a brief period of prosperity until an Imperial task force sealed off the Gromas system and expelled the prospectors. After clearing the Gromas system, the Empire established the mine on Gromas 16, as well as satellite facilities on other moons to acquire large amounts of phrikite for use in their Dark Trooper Project.
But what makes phrikite so special?
Phrikite is the source ore for the metal phrik. Phrik is a metallic compound that is one of only a few substances known to be resistant to lightsabers. It is used in the construction of extremely light and durable battle armour as well as melee weapons. On a more extreme scale, in the future, at one point during the Galactic Civil War, a container of phrik remained intact when it was on the surface of Alderaan during its destruction. So, needless to say, Cole is here for phrik. But to create phrik, you need to combine phrikite with tydirium, which Cole already has.
Cole lands on Gromas 16 and gets out. He doesn't have to walk that far, since even at the height of its importance, it would only be inhabited by 200 people. No one is here, and no one knows about the phrikite deposits. And what's more, Cole doesn't need a lot of it. As long as he gets the smallest pieces, he has enough. Resources won't be a problem for Cole, thankfully. He gets out his tools and gets to work.
.
It doesn't take Cole long to find phrikite, as it is very common on Gromas 16. He takes the tiny piece and places it inside his inventory, letting his cheat do its thing. Then Cole sits down and starts to take out the current armoury he has access to. Vehicles, armour, weapons and miscellaneous items.
As for vehicles, Cole has the Inyusu-class Star Yacht, which he uses for transportation, and a few different shuttles. He hasn't changed anything with them, except the Star Yacht, since he likes to be safe first and foremost. You never know with this universe. The shuttles, he will have to see what he will do, but that's stuff that has time. Cole wanted to have a distinct bounty hunter vehicle like the Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft, which Jango Fett and his son, Boba, used. But he hadn't found that one yet. It also seems that he copied them, which is not his style, and that's why he wanted to visit Korriban soon, to gain access to one of the former Sith Empire's specially designed spaceships.
Cole spent a lot of time collecting different materials and metals, which he could use to improve his armour or create a new one from scratch. When he was not on an important or dangerous mission, he usually wore his casual attire, which resembled that of Jesse McCree, also known as Cole Cassidy from Overwatch. The armour was made of the same things, naturally, the same maximum protection, but without heavy boots and a helmet. Should he take on an important mission, or one where he expects heavy opposition, he wears his Deathstroke armour. He has the abilities of Slade Wilson, so it seems fitting. This one is purely functional and deadly. He has outfitted it wth tons of hidden weapons, which he can access at a moment's notice. The material is made to protect him from blaster fire and slugthrowers. It is also somewhat resistant to heat and cold. However, there is still considerable potential there.
Cole combines the phrikite he just gathered with tydirium and creates phrik. He takes one armour and places it into a separate slot in his inventory. Then he combines phrik with it and upgrades it to something better. Something resistant to lightsabers. Cole wasn't stupid, quite the contrary. He knew that he would clash with Jedi and or Sith sooner or later, and there was no way he would go into such a fight unprepared, as much as it would be better not to have plans when fighting them, due to their precognition. But Cole thinks of the essential preparation of protecting himself and dealing enough damage.
As for dealing damage, he has also focused on making sure he can deal a lot of damage. And the hardest jobs he might take are killing or, at the very least, fighting Jedi. He has done as the HK droid from Revan said and acquired a variety of grenades. And he has taken his time to enjoy trying to create better grenades. Currently, he has the standard options, including thermal detonators, Concussion grenades, Cryoban grenades, and fragmentation grenades. He has also combined those to create a Thermal Fragmentation grenade. Essentially, this charges the fragments, causing a series of smaller explosions following the initial one.
Currently, he is seeking to learn more about the Force and midichlorians in order to create something reminiscent of the grim dark future of Warhammer 40k, such as the Psyk-out grenades. When they detonate, they release fine dust particles which are heavily impregnated with negative psychic energy. It wouldn't work the same in this universe, but that's what he is currently researching and trying to create.
If Cole wants to go with a gun, disintegration rifles from long range, for sniping, are good. They can be absorbed, but not deflected by a lightsaber, and the range protects him. For that reason, he has the DXR-6 disruptor rifle and the T-7 Ion disruptor rifle. Those are the ones he has right now, and in their basic form.
Otherwise, slugthrowers are also an option against Jedi, since Blasters aren't wise. Slugthrowers turn into molten rounds if blocked and can still affect the target, making them particularly effective against targets with an extremely high fire rate, such as a machine gun or minigun, or those with spread, like a shotgun. Ideally, they should have both a high rate of fire and a lot of spread.
Cole has done something different. He thought about the future, the Clone Wars and knew that slugthrowers were basically useless against Clone Trooper armour. So, he took a Blaster he liked, the RSKF-44 heavy blaster, as a base and started to experiment with it, trying to see what he could create. He disassembled the RSKF-44 and then attempted to add various components, including the DL-44 heavy blaster pistol parts and others. Then he used the Inventory to add the properties of both slugthrowers and disruptor rifles, resulting in one of the most deadly mid-range weapons in the galaxy. Cole can also switch modes from blaster, to projectile and disruptor.
Cole adds phrik to all his weapons and armour, finishing his preparation for the day.
*Beep beep*
"Yes?"
[Cole? This is Jaster, I might need your help.]
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Pictures in the auxiliary chapter. I'll add more as they appear in the story