(Jayden's PoV)
I laid it bare before my master and then before Vos and Secura.
If someone is interested in such exotic and rare creatures, if we make a report about the serpent's existence, there is a chance that some powerful people in the republic might make a move, and we wouldn't be able to do anything.
Everything that we have done till now would just be a waste.
The chances of someone high in the republic making a move are very high, especially when they know that they know about its resistance to lightsabers and blasters.
I didn't mention Palpatine and Sith, as they are topics that I was not supposed to know. No one in the council knew about the existence of the Sith.
Anyone who knew was dead, and the Council still believes that Sith were no more. So, if I speak about Sith, it would do more harm than good at this point.
When I spoke with them, the three understood my doubts, as they too have some of their objections in this regard. They agreed to alter certain segments of the mission.
Vos spoke with the Wookies for a while, and they accepted the request as they too feared that many hunters could appear if news of such a creature was known to outsiders.
They care for the nature of their world very much. Though they are advances in technology, Wookies made sure that it didn't disturb their way of life or the world's.
If too many hunters appear, they would hunt every beast that appears on the path. Too much destruction of fauna would disrupt nature, which made them agree to report omitting a few details and changing a few details.
After agreeing on everything, we left the area. I said goodbye to the serpent, but I have a feeling that I will see her again in the future. Hope that it won't be in another situation like this.
We went to our ships and reported the mission to the Order.
Unlike what was shown in the movies, not every mission would be overseen by members of the council. There is a separate department for that. Only important ones would usually get the attention of the council, and even then, not always do all the members take an interest.
We reported to a Jedi clerk, who might be very weak in the force and had to settle down in such a job, which is very common.
After that, we decided to rest for a day before leaving. All the space travel is not good for anyone, as with limited members, they have to be alert all the time.
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With one problem taken care of, it's time to check out the resources that I looted from that collector.
I am already in my own room, which gives me enough privacy.
Wow, there are a total of two billion credits.
In this big galaxy, two billion is not much. Sure, on Earth terms that appear to be a very huge amount, but when in hard currency, that is a lot of credits.
The galaxy has long gone digital with its currency. Unless in some primitive worlds or places like Hutt Space, hard republican currency was not usually used.
Even the Trade Federation or any entity wouldn't have hard currency. Only the banks would do so, for use if demand arises. Even then, they don't have hard currency credit for every digital credit.
Unlike countries on Earth where there is a hard guarantee like gold for the country's currency, this galaxy has no such thing. Sure, if a withdrawal request appears, then they could mint new currency, but this is a big galaxy. So, not much hard currency exists.
So, the collector having two billion in hard currency, that makes me think of scenarios, very bad scenarios.
The collector has an exact two billion in credits, not a credit more or less. If he sold items and earned those credits, then there should be a difference, not an exact amount.
It means he was either holding a withdrawal from the bank for some purpose, or he made a trade of that exact value for something, neither appears good, however one sees it.
The collector is a black market dealer, and whatever he got those credits to buy or got from selling, I can't think of anything good out of it.
Hard Currency is a way to avoid Republic Scrutiny of buying something that they shouldn't.
Adding all points, it points to nothing good, but I can't do anything about that.
I am just a recently promoted Jedi Padawan, who has very few contacts and resources at my disposal. I can't just use my family resources to solve the galaxy's problems. That is not a solution, just a delay.
No, what I want to do is to rectify the system, so that it can rebuild the galaxy in a better picture.
Also, though those credits in his possession make one feel like he was up to no good, I can't just decide from that.
He might be buying some exotic beast.
Though it was illegal, just buying them and keeping them in cages isn't exactly evil. There are many who are assholes but not actually evil.
So, I shouldn't identify him as doing anything bad, but what I found next made me think that he was one of the bad guys.