Grudging Respect

by MasterMark

Ki Adi Mundi works with Commander Bacara (Clone Trooper) to investigate a potential threat to the Jedi involvement in the Clone War. Meanwhile, the Confederacy attacks Mundi's home planet of Cerea. This project began as a way to explain how Jedi Master Mundi could so easily have been cut down by Order 66 into a much more involved story. A sequel is planned to follow up.

Grudging Respect

CHAPTER 1

He really hated this. He shouldn't have such intense aversion to anything. After all he was a Jedi Master. Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi to be precise. But this was in a way an indulgence. A secret indulgence that existed only in the privacy of his own mind.

Hurtling blindly through the atmosphere in what amounted to an oversized sarcophagus just didn't seem like the best idea. Fear was not what motivated him. Ki-Adi-Mundi trusted in the force. He also knew this mode of transportation was absolutely necessary. It just seemed so symbolic of most people's existence: alone, encased in a shell without any awareness of each person's greater connection to the universe through the Force.

He tried to imagine what life must be like without that connection. While it seemed that such an existence would seem so lonely and isolated, he supposed that most people never really missed what they had never experienced. They just went through life sensing perhaps there was supposed to be more but never really grasping what it was that they were missing. Perhaps this was the reason that he didn't like this drop ship: it reminded him of what life might be like without the Force. And that was something that he sincerely hoped would never be taken from him.

Master Mundi was enclosed in a modified ST concussion missile. The casing of the concussion missile was enlarged to fit one human being. Mundi's was modified further to allow for his large cranium. Basic attitude controls, thrusters, inertia dampers, a crude guidance system and limited environmental controls were added. The result was a one-way transport shot out of an orbiting ship to land on the surface of a planet.

This experimental transport should covertly insert a team onto the surface of planet. Resembling a meteor, it should be too small and fast to track. Hopefully it would not trigger the surface installation's anti-air missile system, if they even had one. Separatist forces should ignore them as long as Master Mundi and the clone commander, Bacara, did not drop too many of these craft.

Republic spies had uncovered a secret research facility on the Outer Rim planet of Belkadan. Details were sparse indicating only that the research could have a dramatic impact on the Jedi's abilities to turn the tide of a battle. Therefore Master Mundi had been given the task to discover the location of the facility, infiltrate it, and determine the extent of the threat that this research actually might have on the Jedi. Commander Bacara and a hand-picked team from the 21st Nova Corp were chosen to support Mundi for this sensitive mission.

Ki-Adi-Mundi's drop was not a part of the original plan. Commander Bacara had insisted that he and his men could handle the assignment. However, moments after the five member ARC trooper team landed led by Bacara, Master Mundi sensed through the Force that something had gone wrong. Ki-Adi-Mundi believed that the Force was guiding him to be a part of the drop team but Commander Bacara had argued not only for his troopers but that Mundi was needed on the command ship should a Separatist force be unexpectedly called in to assist.

Master Mundi could now sense that a battle was underway and that the clone troopers were in desperate need. He only had a few more moments before landing so Master Mundi refocused his private ruminations to meditate on the task at hand.

There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

There is no death, there is the Force

Master Mundi let the Force wash over him. His awareness was acutely extended to the planet's surface. He saw the battle in his mind's eye. He saw the clone troopers. He saw the Separatist forces and saw himself entering the battle. He knew exactly what needed to be done and how he would do it.

With the Force flowing through him, Mundi precisely timed his exit from the drop ship microseconds before the actual landing. Popping the ejection system while in mid-air, Mundi used the Force to propel and guide him into the middle of battle droid formation. In one smooth motion, Mundi executed a forward flip with a half twist while igniting his light saber. The battle droid commander that he crushed with his feet never realized what had happened. Through his Force-enhanced speed Mundi began spinning through the droid ranks slicing three more droids before the sparks from the first droid flared out.

The clone troops had landed in the middle of a droid patrol. Mundi sensed that several of the team had been injured, one at least critically, so he knew that a speedy end to this firefight was necessary. The droid patrol had the clones pinned down in the clearing of some sort of meter high yellow grass-like vegetation. The clones were trying to find cover behind what was left of their drop ships and a couple of small boulders. The battle droids were not the biggest problem for the clones but the OG-9 Dwarf Spider Droid, for which the battle droids were providing support. Mundi had landed behind the Dwarf Spider Droid where he sensed the largest concentration of supporting battle droids. As the Dwarf Spider couldn't turn easily because of its fixed laser cannon, it needed the support of battle droids to protect its rear. Mundi just hoped that the clones had had time to activate the communications jammer.

Ki-Adi had quickly turned four of the droids into scrap metal. Three more battle droids had fanned out to flank the clones. The closest droid about five meters to Mundi's right realized that a new threat arrived.

"Uh oh," the metallic voice rang out, "A Jedi." The droid's blaster began spurting out bolts toward the new Jedi target. Without even thinking, Mundi's saber effortlessly deflected the blaster fire. The first blaster bolt went into the ground. The deflected second bolt crossed over a third bolt to melt the droid's head in an explosion of molten metal and circuitry. Mundi sent the third blaster bolt into the droid's chest as it careened backward to land on its back spread eagle.

The last two battle droids suddenly noticed the absence of blaster fire from their compatriots. But it was too late. Mundi with a burst of force-speed swished through the tall, dry grass in a wind-like blur. Mundi sliced the mid-section of one droid into two parts with his right hand while extend his free hand toward the last droid. With a devastating push with the force, the last droid shattered into hundreds of pieces.

The Force conveyed a sense of urgency to Ki-Adi. The spider droid had the clone troops pinned down with its anti-personnel rounds. At least three of the team had been wounded: one seriously. Mundi needed to end this now if he was going to have a chance to save the clone trooper's life. Every trooper was crucial to the mission. Each had specific skills that gave him a specialized role.

Mundi spun around and began running toward the spider droid. Ki-Adi drew upon the Force to give him his sudden acceleration. Using the Force, he leaped the last fifteen meters landing next to one of the spider droid's rear legs. With a fluid motion, Mundi swept his light saber from left to right using his right hand in order to sever the droid's leg. But the saber upon passing onto the leg flickered briefly and was extinguished. The sudden lack of resistance almost caused him to lose his grip on his saber.

In what seemed like forever, Mundi gave his saber a dumbfounded stare as his mind processed what had just happened. He knew his saber was fully charged. It appeared to be undamaged. Then his eyes identified the problem: the strange dark metallic substance covering the droid. Initially Ki-Adi had ignored the bizarre discoloration as an insignificant oddity. But it wasn't insignificant at all. It had to be cortosis! The droid was covered in cortosis making it resistant to light sabers! Now the secrecy of this base made sense. The Separatists were attempting to design a droid army that was Jedi proof.

Quickly the Jedi Master considered his options. The cortosis was also heat and energy resistant so grabbing a blaster wouldn't help. He could continually hack at it waiting the few seconds for his light saber to reset before turning it back on each time. But this would take too long.

Then the Force led him to an idea. Cortosis was brittle unless refined and combined into an alloy. Even after refinement, it had did not have even a fraction of the tensile strength of durasteel, which was used throughout the galaxy for most construction projects as it was inexpensive, exceptionally strong, and extremely lightweight. How could he exploit this fact? It was obvious that this droid was not made from cortosis but an existing droid had been covered in a cortosis alloy. As an alloy, the cortosis did not have optimal adhesive properties. Mundi reached out with the Force and summoned to his left hand the nearest piece of battle droid, which happened to be a still smoking droid leg with the foot still attached. With two quick Force-enhanced swings back and forth, Mundi smacked the spider droid's leg. Upon the second strike, the makeshift club was shredded. But it had been enough! There was a nice gash in the cortosis on the spider droid. It was not huge but it should be big enough.

Master Mundi drew upon the Force again while re-igniting his light saber. He focused the Force energies upon the blade of his light saber. With his right elbow angled up and his arm bent downward, Mundi stabbed the gash using both hands to steady his weapon. Mundi concentrated on the energy of the weapon through the Force. He could feel the cortosis sending an energy feedback that would shut the light saber down as he pushed back through the Force. Into the leg the blade sunk. The energy was weak at the point of contact but his saber was not shutting off.

The sounds of the blaster fire from the spider droid faded from his mind. The blaster fire seemed to be far, far away. Mundi entered a dreamlike state where all that mattered was the Force, the energy of the light saber, and the molecules of the leg. Mundi saw in his mind the energy of the blade pushing apart the molecules as the blade sunk deeper into the metal. As the molecules were pushed aside, each one ignited into a bright flare as additional molecules tried to replace incinerated molecules. At the edges of the energy Ki-Adi could visualize a dark wall that kept pressing inward to clamp the energy and shut the light saber down. However, the wall was weak and through the Force Mundi was able to keep the clamp from closing. Then the energy pierced deep enough to encounter another dark barrier that turned the energy of the light saber back upon itself. Mundi was not strong enough in the Force to resist the feedback and his light saber shut down. His saber had burned through the leg of the dwarf spider droid and encountered the layer of cortosis on the opposite side.

However, the damage had been done. The weight of droid caused the leg to buckle. The leg collapsed inward causing the droid sink backward as its laser cannon spewed blaster fire into the air. The clones wasted no time emerging from cover to pour blaster fire onto the spider droid.

Mundi knew that it was his responsibility to get out of the way. He had done his job and the clones would do theirs. With a backward Force leap, Mundi did one complete flip landing twenty feet further back from the doomed spider droid. He then began running to his left in order to come around to the troopers flank and out of the way of the blaster fire.

The clone trooper called Crater had been waiting for his chance. The battle droid had concentrated a lot of its fire on his position recognizing the threat that he represented. As the droid floundered trying to right itself, he lined up his rocket launcher.

"Fire in the hole!" Crater announced via the inter-squad comlink in his helmet. He fired. The missile left the shoulder mounted launcher in a beeline for the droid with a stream of smoke trailing it. With a two story fireball, the spider droid erupted showering the surrounding area with flaming pieces of metal. True to his namesake Crater had left a ten-foot crater where the droid had stood.

Both Ki-Adi and Commander Bacara knew their first priority: assess the damage and determine how to complete the mission. Commander Bacara had an advantage that Ki-Adi did not: his com system built into his helmet. Immediately, the other clones began reporting to the commander. Two members of his team had sustained minor injuries but one trooper, Scope, who was the team's sniper, was seriously injured. Bacara sprinted to Scope's position who was being treated by the team's make shift medic: Chips. Chips was also the team's slicer though Bacara wasn't sure whether his name had been picked because of his computer slicing ability or the huge chip that he seemed to have on his shoulder. The stealth expert of the team, Edge, and Crater had fanned out to secure a perimeter.

In the midst of the wreckage of their drop ships, Bacara saw Scope, Chips and General Mundi! Bacara thought to himself, "How do those Jedi do that?"

Of course, Ki-Adi had an advantage over Bacara: The Force. Upon his flip away from the doomed spider droid, Ki-Adi had sensed the fallen clone's dire physical condition and had wasted no time moving to assist. Ki-Adi understood that each member of the team played a vital role in the mission and the loss of any member could cause major complications for the mission.

While the medic worked to stabilize Scope's vitals through bacta and stims, Ki-Adi knelt on the other side of the trooper near his head. Ki-Adi reached out with his left hand and placed it on Scope's forehead. Ki-Adi closed his eyes to concentrate on The Force putting Scope into a healing trance. Many Jedi reach a level of competency in The Force to use it to accelerate one's own healing but only a few masters could actually call upon The Force to assist in the healing of others. Ki-Adi was using this ability, although rudimentary compared to accomplished Jedi healers, to bolster the efforts of the clone medic.

Removing his helmet, the moist, hot air of the jungle assaulted Bacara senses. Even though they were in a rare and small clearing, he could smell the pungent aroma of vegetative decay typical of the untended jungle. Mixed with the odor of rotting plant life, were various pollens and fragrances with which Bacara was unfamiliar. Bacara asked, "How is he?"

Ki-Adi remained frozen in his position next to Scope and did not even acknowledge the question. Chips looked from Scope to Ki-Adi to Bacara. Taking his helmet off Chips responded, "He's pretty bad, Commander. I've done what I can do for the moment but it doesn't look good."

The wounded clone trooper's armor had been burned away on his left hip. Chip had removed Scope's chest plating, helmet, and left glove and boot. Chip was carefully watching Scope's extremities obviously checking that they were receiving proper blood flow. The trooper had a large bandage wrap around the exposed hip. The stench of burnt flesh wafted up to assault Commander Bacara's olfactory nerve.

"I've given him something for pain," offered Chip. "He has lost a lot of blood. I've been able to slow his blood flow but he has some tremendous amount of arterial damage in his leg. He'll probably lose it."

Bacara nodded in understanding still waiting for the general to make a move.

Just then Ki-Adi opened his eyes and stood up to face Bacara. "That would be correct, Commander. But I think that he will survive if we can keep him still, complete our mission quickly, and get him to a Bacta tank. I've put him into a healing trance, which Jedi use to help with regeneration. It should help him remain stable enough to survive. But it is imperative if we are to save this man's life that we get him to some shelter."

Bacara thought that the general's comments were curious but he was trained too well to let his expression show it and certainly would not dare say it out loud. This Jedi actually seemed to care for the life of one of his men. A lot of the Jedi seemed to treat the clones as little more than a piece of nerf steak: fodder for the droids. Maybe this Jedi was a little different.

"That is good to hear. The rest of the men are securing a perimeter," Bacara informed the general getting down to business.

"Very good, commander. I trust you were able to deploy the communications jammer," responded Ki-Adi.

"Of course," declared Bacara somewhat offended as he felt the comment insinuated that he was perhaps incompetent. "Communications were jammed immediately upon landing. It was just bad luck that we landed practically on top of the Separatist patrol."

"Perhaps it wasn't luck at all. This was the will of The Force. The spider droid was equipped with cortosis armor. This is the secret that the Separatist want to protect. Our intelligence was correct. If this armor is perfected and manufactured in mass, it would not bode well for the Republic," explained Ki-Adi.

"And just what does this cortosis armor do? It didn't seem to be that much more formidable. Crater took it out pretty easily: once he was able to get a clear shot, that is. We just got pinned down before we even landed."

"Cortosis will absorb some of the energy of blaster fire but it is mainly designed to defeat one thing: a light saber."

"I see. So these droids could be 'Jedi resistant."

"Yes. So it is imperative that we find the research facility and determine how much progress they have made. Since cortosis is naturally brittle, some modifications are needed to make it an effective battle armor for droids."

Bacara nodded his head and considered this new information. Since he really didn't trust the Jedi and this whole Force business, this might prove to be useful.

"Commander, do you think the patrol was able to get off a transmission before they were jammed?"

"I'm certain that the patrol was not able to report our landing. But that explosion could have been seen for several clicks. Add the fact that they have lost contact with their patrol and the clankers will certainly be sending some droids to investigate."

"We had better be pre-…" Ki-Adi's head snapped up toward the tree line about a hundred yards away.

"Commander, we've got company," rang out a voice from Bacara's com that had automatically switched to a small, external speaker when he removed his helmet.

In a blur of blue and brown with his robe suddenly flapping, Ki-Adi moved with Force-speed toward a small opening in the tree line. Where the tree line began, the topography of the land began a subtle but steady drop into the jungle of trees. The opening in the tree line was in reality a path just large enough for a spider droid to negotiate. The tree line began with small plants and some vines but just inside the tall daldorra trees reached to the sky inhibiting any sort of visual reconnaissance despite being on elevated.

In the instant that Ki-Adi came within twenty feet of the opening, the familiar rolling cadence of destroyer droids announced their arrival. Ki-Adi ignited his light saber pulling it from his belt as he came to a sudden stop. He locked it on and with a flick of his wrist sent the light saber spinning toward the oncoming droidekas. The first destroyer droid emerged from the jungle a fraction of a second before the swirling blue blade guided by Ki-Adi through the Force arrived. However the next two destroyer droids were not so fortunate.

The second destroyer rolled into the spinning saber head on. The saber sliced the rolling ball in two half circles that suddenly went flying in opposite directions in a shower of sparks and superheated metal. The third destroyer attempted to avoid its doomed counterpart by veering to the left. This enabled it to escape a full-on collision with the swirling blue energy but it was just not enough. The saber sawed through the droids right side amputating its folded up leg on that side and compromising the power cells for the blaster canons on that same side.

The droid immediately tried to unfold, plant itself, engage its shield and begin firing at the humanoid. But its severed leg had already spun off into the high grass and the droid simply fell over on its side. The shield immediately overloaded just as the droid began to fire straight into the ground. The compromised power cell and the overloaded shield generator led to a cascading power surge that ended a grand explosion with burning droid parts being scattered in every direction for fifteen meters.

Ki-Adi felt the saber extend to the farthest reach of his Force control and called for the saber's return just after it had cut into the third destroyer droid. By the time the third droid had exploded, the light saber was almost back into his hand to face the first destroyer droid.

The first droid had registered the destruction of its compatriots and determined that the threat was indeed the Cerean humanoid. It quickly unfolded and targeted the new threat. As it began firing, the droid had also tried to relay its discovery but found its communications to be jammed.

Fortunately for Mundi, the Jedi master had his saber back in hand. Guided by The Force he began to deflect the barrage of blaster bolts from the destroyer. Unfortunately the blaster fire was too thick to allow Ki-Adi to deflect but only an occasional bolt back to the protective shielding of the droid. Certainly not frequent enough to overload the droid's shields.

Commander Bacara watched with amazement how easily Ki-Adi took out the two destroyer droids with that light saber of his and then how effortlessly Ki-Adi deflected the remaining droid's blaster fire. The precision and graceful movements of the Jedi master almost entranced the commander. It seemed as if the Jedi and the droid were engaging in some kind of dance. He would have enjoyed watching the interaction until one of the two made a mistake. But he knew where his duty lay and having already put his helmet back on commed Crater.

"Crater, I need you to take out that destroyer droid. The general has it engaged. But you need to do it low-key. We've already attracted enough attention. We don't need any more. Maybe a frag grenade."

"Awww. Ok. Consider it done."

Off to Bacara's right, he saw a white glove briefly flick above the yellow grass like fish spawning on yellow lake. Behind the remaining droideka, a small, round device landed and rolled three meters to rest beneath the droid. Ki-Adi used a Force-enhanced leap up and away from the droid. The droid continued to pour blaster fire at nothing for a few moments before the small metal ball detonated in a flash scattering droid parts for a radius of 15 meters.

Bacara began barking orders over the com: "Crater, Lay some mines on that path. We don't need any more surprises. Make sure the rest of perimeter is secure. Edge, go and recon. We need to know where that path goes. Chip, make sure Scope is sheltered as much as possible and then clean up some of the big pieces of scrap metal so that if we do get more company, the clankers might not get tipped off that they are about to be wasted. I get to make a full report to the general and then I'll be along to help waste removal."

CHAPTER 2

7 Galactic Days Earlier—Coruscant

"Thank you for coming so promptly Jedi Masters," Supreme Chancellor Palpatine greeted the three leading members of the Jedi Council—Yoda, Mace Windu, and Ki-Adi Mundi. Jedi Master Yoda hobbled in using his wooden walking stick giving the appearance of someone who was weak and at least somewhat decrepit. Mace Windu strode in with an air of confidence taking long strides with his robes flowing behind him. Ki-Adi-Mundi conveyed a calmness that bespoke of the passivity of his Cerean species but one whom was ever observant of his surroundings.

"We are always ready to serve the interests of the Republic especially when its esteemed leader assures the council there is an issue of the utmost importance," responded Master Windu in his deep, resonant voice as the three stood before the Supreme Chancellor's wide desk.

Returning to his chair behind the desk Palpatine offered his reassurance almost apologetically, "Please be assured, Master Windu, that the information that I have obtained could have a dramatic impact on the war and the future survival of the Republic."

"Yes, reveal to us this dire threat, Supreme Chancellor," the gravelly voice of the Jedi's green-skinned Grand Master added. Although diminutive in stature, Yoda had earned the deserved reputation as one of the most powerful and wise Jedi Master in galactic history. His mastery of the Force was legendary and his skill in light saber combat was unparalleled.

"Yes, Master Yoda, we shall get right to it. We are all overwhelmed in fighting this war that peace might return to the galaxy," the Supreme Chancellor responded as he the fingertips of hands gently touched one another in front of him.

Palpatine turned slightly to his left as he reached with his left to press a button on the top of his desk. Immediately a hologram appeared over the left side of the large desk. The hologram depicted some kind of facility as it slowly rotated in 3-D.

"This is hologram of a secret underground Separatist research facility. Several operatives lost their lives in order to bring us this information. The last of which considered it to be so vital that she openly transmitted the information divulging her status as a spy. She knew that she would be identified and executed, yet she still went through with the transmission," Palpatine regretfully informed the Jedi Masters. His expression was downcast and he appeared to be filled with remorse.

"The specific details of the research remain unknown," the leader of the Republic continued, "But it was specifically stated that this research would dramatically impact the effectiveness of the Jedi and thereby change the outcome of the war. This is why I felt it so imperative to solicit the input of the Jedi Council."

"How credible do you believe this threat to be, Supreme Chancellor," inquired Master Mundi.

"I trust very much the efforts of these intelligence officers and believe that they would not have sacrificed so much if this wasn't potentially devastating for the Republic," Palpatine replied placing his palms flat on the desk in front of him.

"Hmm, the timing of this information seems problematic," Windu said as he closed in eyes in concentration. "There does seem to be a threat but what exactly is the real threat… is hidden. The dark side is clouding this new revelation."

"Agreed I am. Too convenient the timing is," Yoda said scrunching his eyebrows.

"With the Separatist launching new offensives and the Jedi becoming more and more spread out, this does seem like some kind of ploy," added Ki-Adi turning his head to his left and down to look at Yoda. "There is a threat to the Jedi. We need to determine exactly what the threat is consisting of."

"How do you propose that we proceed, Jedi Masters?" asked the apparently concerned Chancellor. "Should we send a Jedi Knight and a few clone troopers as support in order to gather more information?"

There was a pause for several moments as the Jedi Masters contemplated what the Force might be telling them. Palpatine waited patiently for the Jedi to respond. He was completely calm not fidgeting even minutely considering that he was in the presence of three Jedi masters that were taking a great deal of time deliberating their response.

"Send someone we will. But a Jedi Knight it shall not be. More wisdom and experience for this task is required," Yoda explained.

"Yes, with so much darkness surrounding this, we need to send a Jedi Master. Master Yoda, you are needed here. Master Windu, you have… other pressing matters to attend to. I am the most logical choice to go on this mission," Ki-Adi reasoned.

"We have a consensus then, Master Mundi," Master Windu added.

"I trust in your wisdom, masters. But Master Mundi is too great of a resource to lose especially if this turns out to be some kind of trap," Palpatine piped in. "Please allow me to send Commander Bacara and his new ARC troopers with an Acclamator assault vessel to support you."

"That seems to be somewhat of an overkill, Supreme Chancellor, especially with our clones spread so thin," questioned Mace as he turned a suspicious gaze while slightly cocking his head at Palpatine.

"I know these troops could be used elsewhere but Master Mundi is irreplaceable. I would be mortified if we would somehow lose him and I could have easily have prevented it. Please indulge me with this," responded the Chancellor pleadingly.

"Perhaps, these newest troopers will be a valuable asset in this mission," Ki-Adi interjected quickly bringing the minor divergence to resolution.

"Agreed we are on the who. But know do we on where," queried the Grand Master as he turned his piercing gaze from the bottom of the desk to the eyes of the Supreme Chancellor.

"We do not have much but the message and the intelligence indicates that the research facility might be located in the Belkadan system. The exact location will need to be ascertained when you arrive," Palpatine answered purposefully as if he had known all along how the conversation would end. The sudden change in demeanor did not go unnoticed by the three Jedi Masters.

"Belkadan… that is on the Outer Rim, I believe," Master Windu concluded. "I trust, Chancellor, that you have already gathered some Intel on the Belkadan system."

"Yes, Master Windu, I took the liberty of having all available data transferred to this data pad," the Supreme Chancellor revealed as he pulled a small pad from a pocket in his royal robes and pushed it across his desk so that the Jedi Masters would have no trouble reaching it.

He continued, "I'm afraid it isn't much. Several millennia ago it was inhabited by the Rakata but little is known. Currently, there are no known outposts or settlements as it really is too far at the edge of our galaxy to maintain any connection to civilization."

Mace added, "This makes it ideal for a secret research facility as no would have any reason to go there except if they were looking for something."

"Even the pirates find it too isolated for a base of operations. Although I am sure that extensive Jedi archives may have some useful information in its vast knowledge base," Palpatine concluded.

"A help Master Nu may be," Yoda agreed.

"I will meet with Commander Bacara aboard our vessel where we will discuss the best strategy. I will keep the council informed of progress," summarized the tall Cerean Jedi Master.

"Then settled this matter is. Unravel this mystery, Master Mundi, will do," the Grand Master Jedi said with a resigned sigh.

"Thank you for coming. As always the Republic is in your debt, Jedi Masters," summarized Palpatine in what seemed to Mace Windu to be an almost patronizing tone.

As the three Jedi Masters turned to leave the office of the Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine added, "And may the Force be with you."

Palpatine immediately focused his attention on several pressing administrative minutiae that had recently passed onto his desk. Perhaps he had overplayed the seriousness of the possible risk. A Jedi Knight was expected not a Jedi Master let alone a member of the Jedi Council. As he pondered the situation, he concluded that having Master Mundi be the text subject would serve his purposes in a two-fold way. He permitted himself a small moment of indulgence as he smiled wickedly while completing the tasks of the Supreme Chancellor. It was just a brief lapse of his guard and if a Jedi Master had been present then he would have been exposed. Then just as quickly the smile disappeared and Palpatine returned to busy as usual.

CHAPTER 3

Two Galactic Days Prior to Arrival at Belkadan

On Board The Instigator

Captain Atoff Hamsil reviewed the ship's assignment roster on the data pad. He really wasn't interested in the details. It was just something to keep him from ruminating on the meeting that would take place in a half galactic hour. He did not consider himself to be easily intimidated but the thought that a Jedi Master who sat on the Jedi Council was heading this top secret mission that he knew nothing about made him more than a little uneasy. The Supreme Chancelor had summoned him to a briefing in which Palpatine had given him the task of escorting the Jedi Master Mundi on this mission. The Supreme Chancellor was insistent that he do everything possible to insure the success of the mission. He and his Acclamator-class ship, The Instigator, would be at Master Mundi's complete disposal. Additionally, he would be making reports directly to the Supreme Chancelor. Although Palpatine did not actually say the words, he felt that the Chancellor would not tolerate failure of any kind.

Hamsil took a deep breath and tossed the data pad onto his desk. He had reviewed the briefing that was sent to him when the ship had departed Coruscant so many times that he had practically memorized it word for word, which wasn't hard since the Intel was sketchy at best. Somehow a secret Separatist base needed to be infiltrated covertly on the planet Belkadan. The Intel suggested an approximate location within 1000 square klicks. Actual possible insertion points would need to be determined upon arrival.

Everything about this mission made Hamsil feel uneasy: the lack of definite Intel, a Jedi Master, the Supreme Chancellor's involvement, and not to mention a Clone Commander that had an "interesting" bio. Hamsil considered that just getting out alive might be the best case scenario. It all depended on how the Jedi defined "covert."

For two days, Captain Hamsil had not heard a single word from the Jedi. Food was delivered to his quarters which was sometimes eaten and sometimes not. No one had seen or heard from the Jedi since he had come onboard. If some of the food hadn't been eaten, Hamsil would have wondered if the Jedi was even still onboard.

As for this Commander Bacara, he was all business just like most of the clones that served under him. Bacara constantly ran his elite squad through training exercises. As Bacara and his group were a fairly new contingent of clone troopers, Hamsil figured that Bacara was going to make sure that they could do the job—whatever job that may be. It was rumored that these new clones had specialized commando training and were not subject to the genetic "limitations" of the average clone which restricted them to be more compliant to the chains of command. This would supposedly help them think outside the box. But Hamsil and many other commanders wondered if they could be counted on to follow orders.

The intercom chime sounded. Hamsil pressed button on his desk that responded, "Yes, lieutenant."

A voice that sounded much younger than he actually was informed the Captain, "Captain, you wanted me to remind you of the meeting in fifteen minutes."

Captain Hamsil didn't need any such reminder but had felt it necessary to do everything by regulations so that when the fodder hit the fan, his competency would not be questioned, "Thank you. I will be in the War Room and we are not to be disturbed except in the most extreme emergency."

"I understand, sir," snapped the lieutenant.

"You have the com," dismissed the Captain as he closed the open channel.

Captain Hamsil got up from his desk and immediately straightened his uniform. He then proceeded across the ten meters of his Ready Room to a door on the right end of the wall directly facing his desk. This door provided the captain with direct access to the War Room. Another door in the center of the wall to the left of the desk accessed the bridge. There was one last door which was known only to the Captain and the First Officer that was situated behind the desk. This door was not visiable to the naked eye but appeared as part of the wall. It led to a narrow hallway that allowed the Captain access to a private escape pod as well as an elevator to the lower levels of the ship including a direct route to the Captain's quarters. Hamsil only used the secret access when he did his personal inspection of the ship to make sure that everything was in working order.

Captain Hamsil strode through the doorway and abruptly stopped. Since he was fifteen minutes early and wanting to arrive before Master Mundi and Commander Bacara, he was surprised to find someone already seated and waiting. In fact, the person waiting was not just someone but he was the Jedi Master.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry, General," stammered Hamsil, "I had no idea that you were waiting. If I would have known, I wouldn't have kept you waiting."

Master Mundi stood up with a dismissive wave of his hand and walked around the small conference table to greet the Captain and welcome him into the room. Master Mundi casually explained, "Please do not be concerned. I simply wanted to be here before Commander Bacara to properly introduce myself to you and hopefully set you at ease."

The Jedi Master seemed to exude calmness and Captain Hamsil immediately began to relax. The thought crossed his mind that he didn't understand why he had been so uptight about meeting the Jedi.

Master Mundi continued his address, "I apologize, Captain, for not speaking with you before today but I felt it necessary to prepare myself with some extended meditation. I also figured that you had plenty of responsibilities to see to after leaving port."

Hamsil's training kicked in as he regained his composure and regurgitated, "Thank you for your graciousness, Master Jedi. I am Captain Atoff Hamsil. The Instigator and its crew are at your disposal, General Mundi."

"I'm sure it is, Captain. Please let's sit down."

The two men sat down at the table. Hamsil sat at his customary place at the head of the table. Mundi sat down to his left.

Mundi continued, "I understand that you served in the Corellian Navy before joining the Republic Navy when the war began."

Hamsil began to become visibly uncomfortable with the Jedi Master's direction of conversation. He looked down at the table and responded, "That would be correct."

Ki-Adi sensed the unease of the captain adding, "Please don't think that I am accusing you of anything or interrogating you. I simply am trying to understand you a little better. I believe it is essential for the success of this mission that we be able to trust one another."

Captain Hamsil relaxed as he looked at Mundi and nodded. It was a sentiment that he personally held as crucial in order to be an effective military leader.

The Jedi Master continued his thoughts, "I simply am wondering about your personal convictions as to why you as a decorated officer that had served with distinction would resign from the Corellian Navy to join the Republic Navy especially after Senator Garm withdrew the Corellian sector from the Republic."

Captain Hamsil remained silently. He carefully weighed how much he should disclose to the General. It wasn't that he had anything to hide. He just wasn't sure if he could trust the general not to twist anything that he said and use it against him in some way.

The captain slowly slid his chair away from the table and stood up. He was taller than average and although he was thin and wiry, it was obvious that he kept himself in prime physical shape. He had a rounded but softly protruding nose and firm, jutting jaw. He turned away from the Jedi Master and began to slowly pace the floor—he always did his best thinking while pacing. He stopped in front of a small computer terminal set into the wall. He blueish-gray eyes scrutinized the Republic logo displayed on the screen betraying his methodically calculations. To his credit, Hamsil noted that the Jedi Master sat peacefully and patiently for him to collect his thoughts. Finally Hamsil concluded that this Jedi was sincere in his concern and he could tell him why he left without feeling as if he were dishonoring his heritage or betraying his people.

He turned back toward Ki-Adi-Mundi and offered an explanation that had obviously been carefully constructed after much deliberation, "I first need to convey to you that I have the utmost and deepest respect for Senator Garm Bel Iblis. I understand his reasoning for leading our people in the direction that he has chosen and part of me agrees with him." His voice was steady and measured.

Ki-Adi offered no verbal response but nodded his head to show that he understood and that the captain should continue.

He did continue this time with more passion leaking into his voice, "But I have also seen the devastation that the Separatists have caused in this… conflict. I think that it was also a mistake to abandon the Republic. Doing so only weakens the Republic and has strengthened the Separatist military position."

The captain unconsciously began to pace again. He now had a flow. This was obviously well-conceived argument that he had debated in his mind for a long time. As the captain continued to verbalize his internal convictions, his confidence grew exponentially.

"I have served as an officer for most of my adult life. I chose this career because I want to make a difference in our society. I want to make a contribution that will benefit as many people possible. When I weighed my personal convictions against the Senator's decision, I knew that I couldn't withdraw and wait out the war. Too many people were suffering. Too many people were dying. If I could do something… anything, than I should do it.

Captain Hamsil had completed a semi-circle around the War Room. He realized that to continue would put him behind the Jedi, which would be impolite at best. He paused, drew a deep breath, did an about face and went on, "Granted, the Republic has major problems and a tremendous amount of corruption. But this doesn't seem the right time to forsake what perhaps is the only government capable of fending off the Separatist threat and restore a sense of order to the galaxy while protecting the lives of millions of innocents."

Finally Ki-Adi responded with a verbal cue to prompt the captain to articulate his final conclusion, "And so…"

Captain Hamsil stopped his pacing recognizing that Master Mundi was fully present to him and stated, "And so I checked with some of my contacts in the Republic who assured me that I would be a valuable asset and had appropriate place for someone with my skills and experience. I then resigned my commission with the Corellian Navy and signed on with the Republic Navy."

The captain felt a great sense of relief to have finally been able to tell someone these thoughts that have bounced around in his head for a very long time. It was as if a great boulder was lifted from his shoulders. It was his story but he had never had the chance to verbally articulate it. He could now own it and the Jedi seemed fully accepting of his journey.

Mundi replied, "Your convictions are not unlike many of the Jedi. We are supposed to be peacekeepers not soldiers. We are protectors of the Republic. However, necessity has convinced many of us that we need to assume this mantle so that we can return to protecting the ideals that have composed the core of our civilization for a thousand years."

For a moment, the two men stared at one another in silence. But in that moment, a mutual understanding was forged. A bond was fashioned that was based shared convictions. Each man knew exactly where the other was coming from. For Mundi, the conversation resolved some concerns with the captain because he could sense the captain's inner turmoil through the Force. For Captain Hamsil, the discussion was cathartic. He finally had reached a resolution regarding his decision to leave the Corellian Navy. A sense of peace began to grow within the dutiful captain.

Just then the door opposite from the door the led to the Captain's Ready Room chimed. Captain Hamsil walked to the door, pushed the button that opened the door, and answered, "Come!"

In walked a helmetless clone soldier with distinctive markers on his suit that identified him as an officer. He entered the room and snapped to attention at seeing the Jedi Master seated at the table. The door closed with a whoosh and the soldier declared, "Commander Bacara reporting as ordered, sir."

"At ease, Commander," the Jedi Master replied, "Please relax and take a seat. We have some problems to resolve but with a limited amount of intel."

Bacara pulled a chair out from the table and sat down facing Ki-Adi and Captain Hamsil and responded, "Thank you, sir. If I may, General, I think that I may have an idea."

"Well, please, Commander, by all means, let's hear your plan," Ki-Adi told Bacara with a grin. Mundi enjoyed the clone's enthusiasm and recognized how Bacara was certainly different than the average clone—most clones would not have dared to be so blunt with a commanding officer especially one that he had just met.

Bacara seemed oblivious to the Jedi's amusement. He simply continued with a business as usual attitude. "Sir, as I reviewed the briefing, it was obvious that stealth would be the utmost priority. The Separatist cannot know that we know that they are up to something."

"That is correct, Commander."

"Since this research facility is not supposed to exist, the Seps probably do not have the usual proximity detection systems in place because by doing so, any Republic scouts would know that something was going on."

"That is a pretty big assumption, Commander," interjected Captain Hamsil with some obvious disdain. This clone's presumptuous nature was irritating him. He was suspicious that the new clones would prove to be problematic to the chains of command and this one was living up to his expectations.

Ki-Adi interceded on behalf of Bacara, "Perhaps but it is a reasonable assumption that we should make. Otherwise we would need a ship with the ability to cloak in order to make into the system undetected."

Hamsil conceded, "I suppose so, Master Jedi. Nevertheless, I think it would be prudent that we should enter the system as if we are doing routine reconnaissance."

"That is an excellent point, Captain. Please continue, Commander," Ki-Adi deflected. There was some animosity between these two men. The Jedi was certain that they could work through these issues in order to complete the mission.

"With high amount of meteoric activity in the Belkadan system, it seemed logical that a small team could infiltrate the planet surface if the Seps thought that the team was a group of meteors that did not quite burn up in the atmosphere."

"And how do we pretend to be meteors?" asked an intrigued Ki-Adi.

"Well, I believe that we could modify the casings of some concussion missiles to hold a man if we enlarge them adding basic attitudinal controls, inertia dampeners and so forth."

Bacara slid over a data pad, "Here is a sketch of the specs that we would need for alterations to the concussion missile casings."

The surprise was obvious on Captain Hamsil's face. The captain had not been expecting much from the clone trooper believing that the clones were good soldiers but not adequate officers. This clone was exceptional and certainly lived up to his reputation as someone who thought outside of the box. He picked up the pad and began to examine the Commander's data. As he did so, his suspicious attitude began to dissolve and a new sense of respect began to form for the clone.

Ki-Adi just closed his eyes and quietly meditated drawing on the Force to perhaps lead him to some clarity. The other two men waited for the General to reply. But after several minutes, the Captain set the data pad on the table near the General. Bacara became very uncomfortable with the silence. He was a man of action and the passivity of this Jedi only served to solidify his mistrust of Jedi. Unconsciously Bacara began to silently drum his fingers on the table

Breaking the silence, Captain Hamsil said to Commander Bacara, "Your plan is certainly intriguing and the specs are basically sound."

Bacara and Hamsil both looked to Ki-Adi who still remained unmoved with eyes closed. After several more seconds, Ki-Adi opened his eyes and looked at the Commander addressing him, "This seems to be a good plan, Commander. Well done. I believe that the Force has led us to this point even though there is still much darkness clouding this mission."

Bacara remained expressionless as he focused on the Jedi General. Inside though, he was perturbed. He didn't really understand all this talk of a Force. It seemed more like smoke and mirrors by an elite group of people that answered to no one but themselves. Sure the Jedi could do some amazing feats. That much could not be denied. But if this Force was really all-powerful and only the Jedi could access it, then that was too much power for one group of people to wield especially without any accountability.

Ki-Adi spoke asked Bacara, "How many are you planning to insert?"

Bacara had prepared for a host of questions that could be asked of him including this one. He replied, "I have a team already hand-picked from my squad. Each trooper has specific skills that we will need to complete this mission. I, of course, will lead it."

"I appreciate your eagerness as well as your foresight, Commander. You have proved to be an excellent leader and the Chancellor's confidence is well-placed. I expect that you continue to be invaluable to the Republic. However, I have one change to your plan," Mundi explained in a subtle attempt reassert some control over the briefing.

"And what might that be?" asked Bacara with a mix of skepticism and a touch of sarcasm.

The Jedi Master calmly expressed his intentions, "Because the Intel suggests that this Separatist research has something to do directly with the Jedi. I will need for you modify an additional insertion craft to accommodate me as I will be accompanying you on this mission."

Bacara was also prepared for this 'question' as well. He had no intention of letting the Jedi accompany his team, let alone, assume command. He and his team worked seamlessly together. The Jedi would be a disruption. Jedi were unpredictable wild cards. In a mission with so many unknowns, he just didn't need any unnecessary details for which he couldn't account. Besides he had a lot to prove. The future of the ARC trooper program depended on their success in this mission. They had to justify that the ARC clones were worth the risk as they did not have the genetic manipulation as other clones to make them more compliant.

Bacara defended his plan as is it was, "With all due respect, General. My men and I can handle this mission. We have trained together and served together extensively. We know how each other thinks and what to expect from one another. Bringing in an outsider, even a Jedi Master as yourself, will only serve to disrupt the harmony of our unit."

"I assure you, Commander, that I do not doubt your competency but I get the sense from the Force that my presence is crucial for this mission," reasoned Ki-Adi.

Commander Bacara's voice began to have a hard edge to it as he emphatically replied, "General, I respect the Jedi belief in the Force but as an officer and leader of men who can't see, hear, smell, feel, or taste this Force, I have to disagree. We have been bred and trained for mission such as these. Me and my men will get the job done without the Force!"

Ki-Adi remained silent for a moment to let Bacara calm down. The Jedi could feel the hostility roiling through the Force. However, Bacara mistook the General's pause as being on the verge of winning his argument. True to his clone nature, Bacara jumped on the moment to hopefully seal the victory.

"Besides General, you are needed here on the bridge in case Separatist reinforcements arrive. We will need your leadership from here in case more droids arrive," concluded Bacara with a little more serenity.

"Perhaps, I can interject a compromise here," said Captain Hamsil who apparently had been forgotten during the previous exchange. Ki-Adi welcomed another calming voice in the 'discussion.' Ki-Adi wondered if the Commander's volatility was due to the lack of genetic modification or perhaps an inherent lack of hubris in the original Fett template.

Commander Bacara and Mundi turned their attention toward the Captain who serenely continued, "Maybe we could prepare a special landing pod for Master Mundi. He will need different specs after all since he doesn't wear the armor that you wear Commander that can help withstand some of the extreme conditions that you will face in a drop from space."

The Captain paused slightly to make sure that he had the attention of both men especially Bacara. "Commander, you take your team and follow your insertion plan and Master Mundi would be standing by in case of trouble. Barring no unforeseen difficulties, when you have secured the facility, we can land the Instigator so that Master Mundi can inspect the facility more completely."

Master Mundi was certain that he would be needed. The Force seemed to be directing him that way. However, the Captain had wisely provided an alternative scenario that diffused the immediate tension that would allow for his involvement if the Force so indicated the need for such. The resolution of this conflict in this manner would work to bring collegiality to the leadership.

"This seems to be an acceptable solution to this small impasse," concluded Ki-Adi. Commander Bacara simply nodded his head in agreement as he was trained not to gloat with a victory even when winning a confrontation with a superior officer. Bacara was completely confident that he and his men would complete the mission as planned.

Ki-Adi stood up and addressed Bacara, "Commander, I would like a complete and detailed plan in my hands in two days time. I would like you to provide details on every possible scenario that you might encounter based on the Intel that we have. Three days from now we will be in system."

"Yes, General," snapped Bacara jumping out of his seat to attention.

"And Captain…" Mundi turned to address Captain Hamsil who was also standing up.

"Yes, General," Hamsil respectfully replied.

"I need for you to plan for as wide range of scenarios in case we run into Separatist reinforcements of a variety of sizes. Please include scenarios just in case the Separatists have detection grids in place and where reinforcement may have to jump from. Begin training exercises as soon as possible. Also please supervise the creation of these drop ships and especially mine. Lastly, make sure that Commander Bacara has whatever resources available that he needs. Thank you both for your diligence and dedication. That is all and may the Force be with us," dismissed Ki-Adi as he promptly used his long strides to quickly circumnavigate the table and exit the meeting room. Although Commander Bacara followed in Ki-Adi's wake, the Jedi easily outpaced him and disappeared around a bend in the hallway.

Captain Hamsil watched the two leave the room and then slowly sat down to reflect on what he had just experienced. Shaking his head in resignation, Hamsil could only mutter out loud, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

The arrival of Republic task force in the Belkadan system was uneventful. No communication activity was uncovered either into or out of the system. This was not entirely unexpected for a system that might contain a secret research facility.

Ki-Adi-Mundi had been briefed by Captain Hamsil regarding his plans for possible scenarios. The Captain had created contingency plans for what seemed like every possible situation including many unlikely ones. Hamsil was extremely proficient having a fear of appearing incompetent. The last thing he ever wanted anyone to think of him especially a Jedi was that he could not fulfill his duties exceptionally. Overall the diligent captain had crafted one hundred and thirteen scenarios and possible responses.

The Jedi Master arrived in the staging area to see the clones off. He could sense the nervous energy coursing through the team. He also sensed Commander Bacara's negative reaction even though his expression did not convey what he was feeling. Ki-Adi smiled inwardly as he remembered the first time that Master Yoda had told him when he was just a youngling, "Your thoughts betray you they do." Without the Force, people were an open book to an experienced Jedi.

"Everything seems to be in order, Commander," Ki-Adi addressed Bacara.

Bacara hesitated slightly, which caused several of the other clones to glance at their commander. Finally Bacara answered, "Yes sir. We are just about ready for insertion."

Ki-Adi wanted to deflect the obvious antagonism that the commander was feeling by asking, "Is this the modified concussion missile for my use in the unlikely event that I am needed?" The Jedi added the special emphasis hoping to allay the fears that Bacara seemed to be having that he would take this moment to take command. It also served to communicate to Bacara's men that he had faith in the Bacara's ability to lead them.

Mundi noted that this observation seemed to appease Bacara somewhat. Ki-Adi wondered if these new clones without the genetic manipulation to make them more compliant were going to be worth the extra hassle. Perhaps the tendency to overreact was only evident in this particular clone.

"Yes, General," replied Bacara. "Let's mount up, boys. It's time to move 'em out!"

The clone insertion team members were sealed into their respective drop ships. Ki-Adi watched as several other troopers checked over the "ships" to make sure they were operating as planned. In a few minutes the clone team was on its way.

Ki-Adi closed his eyes and reached out to the Force. The sense of foreboding through the Force was now rapidly growing. The Jedi Master reached out with the Force to ascertain if there were perhaps other circumstances that would require his presence. However, Master Mundi felt that he needed to be on the surface of the planet more than ever.

Ki-Adi went to the control room across the deck and asked the trooper on duty, "Are you getting telemetry yet?"

The clone snapped to attention and briskly quipped, "Yes sir. The ships are entering the atmosphere as planned. They should be appearing as meteroids to anyone on the planet. As you know there will be no further communication."

"Yes, thank you. Can read anything on the surface where they are projected to land?"

"No sir. There seems to be nothing out of the ordinary. However, we would need to do an intensive scan in the area that would alert anyone who might be watching that these are not ordinary meteors. Did you want me to do an intensive scan?"

"No. But let me know when they land."

Ki-Adi knew that it would take about five minutes for the clones to land. He went out into the hanger and told the clones that had helped get the insertion team ready, "Make sure my drop ship is ready to go. I may need to leave in just a moment and there can be no delays."

As the clones jumped to their new assignments, Mundi went back to the control room. The clone shook his head negatively indicating that they had not landed and there was no additional data. The Jedi Master once again closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. He could vaguely sense the anticipation of the clones. They had not yet landed but he thought that he could feel that they were almost there.

Almost.

Almost.

Then suddenly Ki-Adi's danger sense flashed like a bolt of lightning. His eyes snapped open and he turned to run out of the room. Urgency screamed at him through the Force.

"Sir…" the clone began. His voice trailed off as he saw the Jedi disappear through the door.

Ki-Adi called back, "They've landed, I know."

The Jedi Master sprinted across the deck and shouted, "Get me on the surface now!"

CHAPTER FOUR

Coruscant, Jedi Temple

The Jedi Temple was a place of tranquility and peace for Yoda. Even with all the changes that the Clone War had brought, the temple was a refuge. More than a symbol, it was bastion against the encroaching darkness. But now even the temple could not completely assuage the turmoil that seemed to hover over the serenity that Yoda had nurtured for hundreds of years.

The Jedi Order had quietly become the guardians of peace. The peace that had become synonymous with the Republic was being assaulted from every side. Plans within plans within plans were assailing the Order. The Jedi had lost the ability to guide the Republic to continued prosperity and peace. Instead the Jedi were relegated to a reactionary role. Although the numerous situations that constantly erupted had no discernible pattern or focus, Yoda was certain that somehow there was some ulterior design in the chaos of the war—probably even before the war began. But how long had this plan been in motion? Who was responsible? How did the Sith survive so long undetected? Or perhaps this Sith threat was new and totally unlike anything that he had encountered.

No matter how much Yoda meditated, the answers that he sought eluded him. Each new threat that reared its head seemed to disrupt the Jedi Order's communal effort to utilize the Force. Each menace personally caused him additional unrest. Ever since Geonosis, the Jedi Order had been shrinking at a highly depreciable rate. As Grand Master, he had assumed a mantle of responsibility for the Order. But now after a thousand years of peace, he was failing miserably.

This latest threat was just one more in a long line of situations that seem to make no sense. Yoda wondered if the Separatist leaders were trying to lose the war. Feints and fake attacks were a part of good strategy. But often the Separatists made advances in fronts that gave them no tactical advantage. While the various attacks especially in the Outer Rim stretched the Republic forces dangerously thin, the Separatist often sacrificed immense numbers of resources in order to do so. The latest message that Yoda had receive was a perfect example.

Several days ago, a newly promoted Jedi Knight had been given the task to investigate the report of Separatist forces gathering near the remote world of Endor. Jedi Knight Kusdi had been reliable during his years of training. While his Force abilities were average, his attention to detail was admirable. Additionally, Kusdi was analytically clever. His ability to think outside of the box seemed to fit this mission perfectly. He was instructed to investigate and discern the purpose of such a military force in that sector. The Council made it abundantly clear that he was not to engage the enemy until their purpose could be determined. While the Council was concerned with his lack of experience in combat, they were confident that he would follow their instructions to the letter.

Kusdi had found the Separatists. They appeared to be a planetary invasion force. Their goal and destination eluded both Kusdi and the Council since there was no planet or system within a few hyperspace jumps that held any tactical or strategic value. Any resources that these systems offered could easily be obtained in systems much closer to current battle fronts. The logical conclusion of the Council was that this force was being assembled to support a future offensive to surprise the Republic and perhaps turn the tide of the battle. However neither Yoda nor Kusdi felt that there was anything logical with this new Separatist threat. Therefore, Kusdi was instructed to monitor and report any changes in status.

Kusdi's latest message reported a change in status of the Separatist forces. It was the destination that alarmed Master Yoda and why he had asked Masters Windu and Plo Koon via holocom to join him in deciding how to proceed.

"Masters," began the recorded message of Jedi Knight Kusdi, "several hours ago the Separatist force began making hyperspace jumps to an unknown destination. We were able to track their movements easily. After the third jump, I began to suspect their destination but as the system didn't hold any value, I delayed informing you hoping that this was some type of drill. Unfortunately, to my regret, it was not. The Separatist forces arrived at the home planet of Master Mundi, Cerea. Aerial bombardment immediately commenced and ground troops were deployed shortly thereafter. I am sure that , if possible, the Cerean president even though not an official member of the Republic will be contacting Chancellor Palpatine to ask for assistance in short order. As I have fulfilled the mandate of the Council, I am going to attempt to land on the planet to help where I can until the Council provides further instruction. I am looking to form resistance cells until help can arrive."

At that the image of Kusdi faded and the images of Mace Windu and Plo Koon appeared before Master Yoda.

"Disturbing move this is," concluded Yoda.

"I see that Kusdi has been efficient as usual providing us with exact numbers on the strength of the enemy," Plo Koon observed.

"While the numbers appear to be sufficient to occupy a portion of the planet and cause considerable damage, they are insufficient to hold the planet from an appropriate and easily assembled liberating force," added Windu.

"They certainly don't think that the Republic will ignore this threat," Master Plo replied.

"Too smart Dooku is, to not assume that much," Yoda pondered.

"This droid force is some kind of sacrificial offering," observed Mace.

"Contact the Chancellor I will. Arrange a liberating force to support Jedi Kusdi, we must," Yoda declared.

"And we let this latest development play itself out," Plo Koon sighed while shaking his head in resignation.

"The Council seems to be doing this much too often," stated Windu.

"And each time, the darkness around us deepens," Master Koon agreed.

"Undone we will be, if continues, this does," Yoda concluded as he terminated communications. For a few moments the master Jedi became introspective as he pondered the implications of this new development. He gained no additional insight so with a sigh he hobbled off using his cane to seek an audience with the Supreme Chancellor.

CHAPTER FIVE

In the Belkadan Rain Forest Post Insertion

"What do we have? Edge, is it?" Ki-Adi asked the clone trooper.

Edge had his helmet removed resting by is left hip as he intently studied the bunker with the macrobinoculars. He was lying at the outer perimeter of a large clearing. The clearing of the jungle was centered on a Separatist bunker set into a hillside. The clearing was evenly space at about three hundred meters in a semi-circle around the bunker.

Ki-Adi had crawled to Edge's position at the jungle's border. The jungle was teeming with all kinds of life forms resonating with the Force. The clearing was an aberration. It had been scorched repeatedly in perfect uniformity—efficient as only a machine could be.

"Across the clearing is a Separatist bunker," Edge reported. "Can't tell how many tinnies are inside but I don't expect too many. There is a quad cannon manned by a battle droid so that makes at least one inside."

"Which explains the perfect semi-circle around the bunker," Ki-Adi added.

"The tinnies can be thorough," Edge remarked turning his head to look at the bunker. "The bunker is completely defensible with cliffs overhead."

"What do you recommend, soldier?" Ki-Adi asked.

Edge was surprised at the question. He perceived that the general was truly interested in his assessment. "Well, a direct assault even from multiple directions would likely result in heavy casualties. Even if we had a legion of soldiers, I'm not sure we could take it. The gun would shred us to pieces."

"So that really isn't an option," General Mundi agreed.

"We could repel down the cliff but that would take a lot of time, which is something I'm figuring that we don't have," continued Edge.

"No we don't. We have to assume that reinforcements to the bunker are on the way and we aren't sure whether the Separatists are requesting reinforcements from out of the system. Besides, the Seps probably have the cliffs mined and booby trapped."

The sounds of the jungle almost seemed deafening as both silently reflected on the situation. There was no breeze or air movement of any kind. The hot, humid air was stifling. The jungle climate weighed heavily upon the two representing the gravity of the situation.

Ki-Adi's voice broke through the lull, "Do you think you could fill in for Scope and take out that battle droid manning the gun?"

"Well, General, as you know, we all have some basic training in marksmanship. It is a tough shot. Scope could do it with his eyes closed," Edge explained.

"Yes, I know all that. But can you make the shot?" Ki-Adi asked again with some insistence.

"It does seem our best option. I'll give it my best shot," Edge said looking at Ki-Adi quite pleased with his clever play on words.

Either General Mundi was not impressed or perhaps due to his Cerean culture he did not get the little joke, Edge would never be sure. But Edge did know that General Mundi never acknowledged it. Ki-Adi offered a nugget of Jedi wisdom to the trooper without missing a beat, "We have a philosophy in the Jedi order. There is no such thing as 'trying.' Either you do what you set out to do or you don't do it. After Scope, you've got the highest rating in marksmanship. I'm not asking whether you have the ability but will you do it?"

Suddenly inspired by the general's confidence Edge declared, "I'll make the shot, sir!"

Ki-Adi gave a small smile that conveyed his pleasure saying, "Excellent, Edge. I'll confer with Commander Bacara to set up the assault and get you Scope's rifle."

Fifteen minutes later the team was in place. Edge would take out the battle droid. Bacara and Crater would make their way toward the bunker from the right while Chip would work in from the left. Ki-Adi would join Chip after the droid was taken out. Edge would continue to cover their advance with sniper fire.

Ki-Adi had returned to Edge's position noting that Edge had moved about three meters to his left where he was in better position to remain concealed and still have a clear shot. Ki-Adi brought the DC-15x sniper rifle to Edge who quickly unfolded the leg to set up the gun. Edge removed his helmet revealing the same chiseled face that adorned every clone trooper. He lined up the scope by eye before nestling up to the gun to look through the high-powered scope. The scope was already zoomed in so Edge brought the magnification out to center on the cannon. Edge adjusted the rifle to put the cross-hairs of the scope on the droid's head. He then magnified until the droid's head that peaked over the blast shield of the cannon filled the scope.

Suddenly the droid swiveled to the left. The gun had to be adjusted slightly. When Edge finally had the shot lined up again, the droid swiveled the gun again this time to the right. Once again, Edge had to line up the shot.

"Any day trooper," the irritated voice of Bacara rang out from Edge's helmet.

"The stupid droid keeps turning to scan the area throwing off my shot," Edge grumbled partly to himself and partly to Ki-Adi as he once again lined up the shot. Ki-Adi reached up gently and grabbed the macrobinoculars to observe more closely what was happening. He could feel the uncertainty and frustration radiating from Edge through the Force.

"Just relax," Ki-Adi began sending assurance and confidence through the Force, "and try to feel the rhythm its movements."

Ki-Adi watched the droid constantly swiveling back and forth as he sensed Edge's resolve harden. Ki-Adi opened himself up to the Force and could almost see Edge quickly realign the shot and squeeze the trigger. The shot rang out but it was a microsecond too late as the droid once again swiveled to a new position. Ki-Adi saw the plasma shot from the rifle ricochet harmlessly off the blast shield.

"Sith spawn," exclaimed Edge in frustration almost before the shot missed. He had seen the droid swivel and knew that it was a miss berating himself for his incompetence.

The droid quickly calculated the broad area in the jungle from which the shot had emerged. Even though it could not see an obvious threat or a specific target, it opened up the quad cannons and rained punishing blaster fire into the jungle growth. Trees and jungle growth began exploding all around Edge and Ki-Adi as the plants were quickly superheated by the blaster fire. Pieces of wood showered them as the stench of burnt green wood filled the air. All around them the jungle exploded as blaster bolts decimated the jungle. The soil even detonated leaving small craters. Edge and Ki-Adi hunkered down as low as they could and shimmied their way deeper into the jungle. Some of the smaller trees toppled as their blaster-ridden trunks could no longer their own weight. This movement only brought more cannon fire obliterating the fallen vegetation.

After several moments the blaster fire ceased. Edge's ears were ringing from the noise of the exploding foliage.

"Are you hurt?" cried Ki-Adi in desperation.

Edge started to nod negatively but the General already seemed know the answer as he barked out an order, "Get ready to take another shot."

Edge gave the General the most incredulous look as he thought to himself, "Are you crazy? How can I do that?" But Ki-Adi's focus was elsewhere and in a blink of an eye, he stood up with Force-enhanced speed to stand at the edge of jungle and the quickly clearing smoke. Ki-Adi's connection to the Force never really ceased. It just intensified during times like these when he drew heavily upon it and immersed himself in it's flow.

At this moment, time seemed to slow for Ki-Adi: his purpose would be a decoy so that Edge could take the droid out. Ki-Adi could sense the droid identify the new target and seek to pulverized it with the cannon. He could also see the path along the edge of the jungle that he would take to evade the blaster fire. At an incredible Force-speed, Ki-Adi knew each and every step: Dodge right past two small trees; between several elephant-ear leaves; another right side-step deeper into the jungle; duck an overhanging branch; hurdle a three meter high growth of vines; dodge left to briefly leave the jungle. As soon as Ki-Adi began the insane obstacle course, the droid opened fire tracking this moving target but not able to compensate for the erratic movements and high-speed. Trees exploded just as Ki-Adi passed them by showering him with splinters of wood. Smoke billowed from the burning of green wood.

From Bacara's perspective, it seemed as if the General was a bizarre zipper that opened up a fresh gash along the outer edge of the jungle. Bacara couldn't believe the General was still moving and was even more amazed at the guts that it took to do what Ki-Adi was doing. Then again, maybe it wasn't guts but that this Jedi was just insane.

It took Edge just a microsecond to realize what the General had in mind. It took him a little longer to overcome his disbelief that the General wasn't immediately cut down. Quickly he jumped to his feet and ran with his head down and threw himself on his belly to line up the shot. Now the droid's movements were not as unpredictable as it steadily swung around to track its new target.

Edge softly spoke to himself, "Almost there… just another moment…"

Ki-Adi was going to run out of room quickly if he were to stay at the edge of the jungle. If the droid was not taken out in a few more moments, he would have to move deeper into the jungle. But there was a slight problem to overcome first: to avoid more vines and increasingly thick undergrowth, Ki-Adi had to jump and tuck to get through a very small opening. Immediately upon landing he dove through a much lower opening that was camouflaged by more elephant-ear leaves. Ki-Adi went into a roll to come up on his feet but his momentum slowed briefly. As he came up to his feet running, he drew his light saber in his left hand igniting it while sweeping down and back as he took his first step to bat away a blaster bolt. Ki-Adi took several quick steps in a burst of speed to regain his lead over the tracing blaster fire. Not wanting to break stride, Ki-Adi slashed down and up to run through some now shredded overgrown vines.

Ki-Adi made a leap over a four meter shallow gully that must have been a run-off. He was nearing the far right circumference where Bacara was positioned. He knew that he would have to move deeper into the jungle to keep from exposing Bacara to the blaster fire. Suddenly the quad cannon went silent and Ki-Adi could sense the elation from Edge: he had nailed the droid with the sniper shot.

Holstering his light saber, Ki-Adi jutted left to alter his angle straight for the bunker. In two steps, he had emerged from the jungle and now had a straight shot to the access door. Once he had covered the open ground and gotten to the bunker door, he would be out of the line of fire from the quad cannon. Even if another battle droid replaced the now defunct droid, they would not be able to target the Jedi Master once he had reached the bunker door.

Edge peered through the scope so that he might get a better idea of what was happening in the bunker. Depending on how many tinnies were left, they might be able to quickly pull the still smoking wreckage droid that he had destroyed and replace it with a fully functioning battle droid at the cannon. This would obviously cause the general as well as the entire team problems.

The Jedi Master raced across the open expanse to get to the bunker door. He drew upon the Force to bolster his speed; his legs were a blur as he reached speeds that only a Jedi Master could attain. The Force enhanced his awareness as he took in the situation. He would only have a few moments before another droid took over the deadly quad cannon. With his robes flapping behind and the tepid air swirling around him, Ki-Adi quickly made it halfway across the span between the bunker and the jungle.

Suddenly his Force-enhanced danger sense screamed out a warning! Ki-Adi suspected that this new threat existed but time was of the essence. He could feel the presence of proximity mines surrounding the bunker. No time to change his strategy. Ki-Adi determined that he would speed through the minefield. He hoped he could be past the exploding mines before the blast affected him.

The Jedi Master drew upon the Force deeply. He could feel it accelerating every cell in his body. His cells began to heat up with the energy of the Force. Ki-Adi knew that drawing too much upon the Force could eventually consume a person but he had learned long ago how much he could push the threshold of his limits. At least he hoped so.

Ki-Adi saw the light of the exploding mines flash from behind him. He then heard the subsequent boom. He could feel the heat of the explosions through his robes as if the fire and heat were clawing at him hoping catch him in an immolating grasp. Very subtly Ki-Adi surrounded his body with a Force barrier that resisted the heat from the blast. He could feel the successive explosions with every step, which were really hops that covered a good seven meters. The blasts buffeted his body and the Force barrier. Instead of fighting through the concussive waves, Ki-Adi began to allow them to push him farther forward. His body augmented by the Force energy functioned much like a sail carrying ever closer to the bunker door.

Ki-Adi could sense that the minefield's computer programming was anticipating the movement through the danger zone. He could sense the mines begin detonating before his proximity was triggering them. However, the laboring Jedi knew that he was nearing the end of the minefield. With one last burst of speed and strength, Ki-Adi jumped up allowing the last exploding mine blast to give him an extra push fifteen meters into the air. The last line of mines exploded beneath him nudging him even higher to clear the fireballs. Shrapnel peppered his robes but not strong enough to wound him. The molten metal could not pentrate the thick robes resonating with Force energy.

Mundi landed inside the safe zone surrounding the blast door. He used the Force to slow his approach dropping into a roll to further absorb his inertia. His conditioned muscles gave him the spring to come out of his roll standing in front of the bunker door. Either side of the door was flanked by anti-personnel gun turrets that immediately activated by the motion and started tracking this new threat.

Ki-Adi let the Force and his instincts guide him. He did a leaping, no-handing cartwheel to his right over that gun turret while simultaneously drawing and igniting his light saber. As he passed over the turret, the Jedi swept the deadly weapon of light over his head, which was now pointed down, to cleanly cut off the barrel of the turret fusing it closed. The turret started to fire but the energy had no place to discharge causing it to overheat and melt down spouting a fountain of sparks and flames.

The second turret tried unsuccessful to track the acrobatic Jedi. Its first few blaster bolts spewing into the harmlessly into the air. As Ki-Adi landed, the turret's targeting sensors finally managed to lock onto the Jedi. Ki-Adi already had his saber up into his Jedi defense. As the turret poured its blaster fire toward Ki-Adi, the Jedi Master deflected the first blaster bolt and easily adjusted the fixed angle to deflect the subsequent bolts back at the turret. Stationary turrets experienced no recoil like handheld blasters. Once the turret locked onto the target, the angle of fire was constant. The turret took three hits from its own returned blaster fire before exploding in a shower of sparks and superheated metal.

Ki-Adi looked back the way that he had come seeing the shallow craters and scorched earth. "At least now the way is clear for the commander," the Jedi Master said out loud to himself. He could see Bacara and Crater emerge from the cover of the jungle growth and cautiously begin to make their across the clearing.

Mundi took a deep breath as he allowed the residual Force energy to drain from his body. He mentally checked himself and found no permanent damage from his intense usage of the Force. His body was already returning to its normal temperature. He turned off his thrumming light saber and entered into a very shallow meditative state while standing. He was aware of the surroundings: Bacara and Crater now about a quarter of the way across; Edge carefully watching the quad cannon; Chip now making his way back around the edge of jungle and encountering some frustration in doing so; and the droids inside preparing for the impending assault.

Sensing the time short, Ki-Adi thumbed the light saber still in his right hand. With a snap-hiss the blue blade elongated—an extension of the Jedi Master. He paused a moment to peer at the door with the Force as his guide. He gathered the Force just as one might take a deep breath and stepped forward with his right foot and stabbed the bunker door near the top halfway from either side.

Reaching into the door through the Force with the light saber as his focal point, the Jedi Master plunged his saber almost to the hilt. He willed the energy from the saber to melt and burn through the metal door. Where the light saber entered the door, the metal began to glow bright orange as molten metal dripped and down the door flaring briefly as the oxygen accelerated the burn. Slowly, Ki-Adi began to move his saber clockwise to trace a two meter semi-circle of glowing metal. This was reinforced durasteel making the cutting much slower. Smoke poured out of the cut. Ki-Adi ignored the pungent odor of burnt metal and insulation.

As Ki-Adi began the upward cut to make a complete circle, the top of the circle had already blackened and began to flake away. As he completed the circle, Bacara and Crater arrived on the scene.

Through the inter-squad comlink inside his helmet, which the Jedi general could not hear, Crater said, "Now that is handy. I've GOT to get me one of those."

"Quit the chatter," Bacara barked. "You take the left. I'm on the right."

The two clones moved into position as Ki-Adi thumbed off his light saber. The door was still smoking as the general inquired, "Are you ready for the assault?"

The commander nodded. "Don't forget the metal will still be extremely hot," reminded the general.

Mundi switched the saber to his left hand and took one step backward with his right foot. He pulled his right hand as if he were holding an invisible shot put drawing on the Force. With a step forward, he gave a focused Force push against the burnt door. The door shook with the groaning of stressed metal. With a mighty crack the cut out circle of the door flew inside the bunker. The clang of metal smashing against the inside wall was mixed with the sound of shattered metal parts. Mundi glanced inside the hole in the door and saw that the cut of the door had taken out two battle droids that had been waiting just inside for the assault.

"Good shot general," congratulated Bacara through his helmet's com system. Then Bacara and Crater poured blaster fire into the bunker through the hole in the door.

Acting only on instinct and training, almost as one person, Bacara and Crater ceased their blaster fire onslaught. Ki-Adi launched himself through the hole with Force enhanced speed igniting his light saber as he went through.

"Uh oh," a metallic voice announced. "It's a Jedi. Blast him."

To Ki-Adi's left two super battle droids raised their arms to begin blasting. On his right was the droid commander—a battle droid with the typical red markings. To the right of the super battle droids, a droideka adjusted his stance to align its cannons to the Jedi target. Anticipating the super battle droids, Ki-Adi used a Force-enhanced leap to flip up and over the super battle droids to land behind them.

The sudden disappearance of the Jedi target put the droid commander in the line of fire of the super battle droids. Within seconds the droid commander was reduced to a pile of scrap metal.

Mundi swept his light saber through the torsos of both battle droids with his left hand and followed with a Force push with his empty right hand. The sparking super battle droids, now in four pieces tumbled through the air to land on top of the destroyer droid. Between the Jedi Master's sudden movements and the flying battle droid parts, the droideka's target sensors became disoriented. It didn't know what to target.

Just then, Bacara and Crater entered the fray. They peppered the destroyer droid with blaster fire confusing it further. Unfortunately, the destroyer droid's shields absorbed the blaster fire, at least for the moment. Ki-Adi took full advantage of the moment and reached out with the Force to grab the two meter metal disk cut from the door. He mimicked a tossing motion with his right hand and the disk flipped end over end to come crashing down on the droideka destroying it with a fabulous explosion.

"I think that is all the droids, commander," the general announced.

"We'll double check and make sure the bunker is secure and then get Scope in here," Bacara responded.

"The command center is on the upper level," Ki-Adi added looking up to the platform above surround by a durosteel railing. "We'll probably find the computers that we need to access. When Scope is stabilized, get Chip on it to see what intel he can slice for us. We need to know where the primary facility is located."

"Yes sir. We'll get on it." Bacara quickly replied as he motioned for Crater to toward the upper level.

Suddenly a great pain assaulted Ki-Adi as he doubled over to fall on his hands and knees. The pain was sharp and overwhelming. Disoriented from the intensity of it, he thought that he was hallucinating as he heard his daughter's voice cry out, "Father." Slowly he realized that the pain was not truly his pain. At least it was not his physical pain. The agony that had swept over had come through the Force.

Without even realizing it, Ki-Adi whispered his daughter's name, "Sylvn." She was supposedly on Cerea. As the anguish of the moment subsided, the Jedi Master knew that something dreadful had happened to his daughter. Through the Force, he had felt her pain. He knew that she at the very least had been terribly hurt. He began to believe that she had likely died. He had read in the Jedi archives about Force sensitives being able to briefly communicate at the moment of death across the galaxy. The bond between master and padawan was strong and it was not unusual for one to sense when something was wrong with the other and even when one perished. The archives recorded that on occasion Jedi Masters could communicate to another Jedi simple thoughts and base emotions in moments of extreme stress. Sylvn had done so with him.

Bacara rushed to his side asking, "General, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Bacara was about to order his troops to assemble around the general in defensive formation fearing that the Jedi Master had been attacked. But Mundi explained, "I'm ok, Commander. I just had some pain and felt that someone I know is in anguish right at the moment."

Bacara was not convinced, "I'm sure it was nothing. We'll get back aboard the ship and you'll see that everything is ok."

Ki-Adi did not bother to reply but rolled into a cross-legged sitting position. He took a deep breath as he considered his options at the moment. He could do nothing for his daughter right now. The mission was his priority. Many lives could depend on the success or failure of this mission. Many of these lives could be the lives of his fellow Jedi Knights who in turn are entrusted with the protection of the lives of Republic citizens.

Bacara realized that the Jedi Master was not going to respond to his reassurances, which only frustrated the clone further. It occurred to the commander that perhaps the general had been wounded but was either unaware of the wound or did not want the clones to see his weakness.

"Are you ok?" asked Bacara, "Are you wounded? If you are, it needs to be looked at. Everyone gets shot up once in a while and that doesn't make us any less of a soldier."

"Thank you for your concern commander," replied Mundi, "But I assure you that physically, I am fine. I just need some time to consider the meaning of what I may have felt."

Bacara walked away to finish the tasks that were required of him. More Jedi hocus pocus. He thought to himself, "Stupid Jedi. This one is crazier than them all put together."

Ki-Adi could sense the disdain of the clone but decided to ignore it letting it wash over him. He needed to meditate and find his center. He could not let his attachment to his daughter distract him from his mission. If she were dead as he feared, then he would take time to properly grieve her loss after the mission was completed.

So Ki-Adi closed his eyes and began the mantra that was second nature to him:

There is no emotion, there is peace…

CHAPTER SIX

Belkadan, Separatist Secret Base

"You should be receiving the footage now, Count Dooku," said the gray-skinned Khil. The musical intonations inherent for any member of the Khil were easily translated into Standard Galactic that the Count could understand.

Count Dooku's holo-image faded into static briefly and then returned. The Count's face was turned away from his holo camera as he replied, "Ah, yes, thank you Doctor. Precise as always."

Doctor Sunaratii had been recruited by Count Dooku several galactic months ago to conduct top secret research. Dooku had not deigned to explicitly explain for whom the researcher was working. Sunaratii was not an imbecile: between the battle droids, the obvious monetary backing to set-up such an intricate research facility in the Outer Rim, and the involvement of Dooku himself clearly indicated that this was a Separatist project. But what did Sunaratii care? He was being fully funded and he was able to fully explore and experiment with the one material that enthralled him more than any other: cortosis. The Jedi run Republic would never have permitted him to conduct research on his fascination.

Sunatatii had no love for Dooku and the Separatist but neither did he harbor any loyalty for the Republic. It did bother him that the Jedi had so much influence in the government to block his attempts to uncover many of the secrets of cortosis that had been lost since the early days of the Old Republic. He understood the implications. He had even solicited the Jedi to provide all information to them. But they had quickly and quietly decline. Sunaratii suspected that vast Jedi library already contained much of the information about cortosis that he was now gleaning.

When Dooku had contacted him with this opportunity, it had seemed like a dream. Sunaratii was not necessarily interested in creating weapons but he was deeply curious how he might expand the uses of the old "cortosis weave" swords that the old Jedi and Sith minions often used to battle one another.

So far, the progress had been slow and limited. Dooku had specifically wanted him to develop a cortosis armor for the droids. However, the doctor was doubtful that creating vast armies of cortosis armored droids was even practical.

Two obstacles were quickly becoming apparent to the doctor. The first was simply the cost effectiveness of production. Since the natural cortosis did little to alter resistance to the blaster, he was working to create an alloy that strengthen it while keeping the properties that would short circuit a light saber. However, this alloy would most likely be very expensive to mass produce. It would be a waste to send droids that would likely cost eight to ten times more against an army of clones. Second, the cost for retooling existing droid production factories would be astronomical. Sunaratii was sure that even the deep pockets of Dooku and the Banking Clan would balk at the expense.

This cost feasibility was the reason that the doctor had begun experimenting with a type of cortosis coating that could be applied to existing droid armor. It still would be expensive to complete but it would not cost anywhere near what a cortosis weave armor would.

The only thing that concerned the doctor in this regards was Dooku's realization that this was not going to be viable and then pull the plug on the funding for his work as he research other properties of the mineral. So the doctor was very careful not to report these concerns to Dooku. He would have to draw these conclusions himself, which the doctor was sure that Dooku eventually would form if he had not already begun to do so.

"This video footage is excellent and reveals a lot about the effectiveness of your project," Dooku announced after a few minutes.

"It reveals some successes as well as some flaws in the current design but we must also remember that this was a Jedi Master that defeated the spider droid," the doctor defended.

"It seems that the information that we have leaked was perhaps a little to alarming for the Jedi," Dooku proclaimed.

"I was hoping that we might lure a regular Jedi Knight to investigate so that we might conduct our experiments but the advantage to having a Jedi Master is that we get to evaluate our design with the highest standards. If we succeed with a Jedi Master, then we succeed with most if not all Jedi."

"Do not underestimate the Jedi, Doctor, especially a Jedi Master," warned the Count.

"I promise you, Count, that I understand fully the resourcefulness of our adversary."

"Many have made such promises, my dear doctor."

"Point taken. I will proceed with more diligence," Sunaratii humored the Separatist leader.

Count Dooku simply stared expressionless at Sunaratii through the holo camara. The doctor could almost feel his piercing eyes. Apparently he had pushed the Count to the limits of potential disrespect. He made a mental note not to push so hard and carefully monitor his replies. Not only should he be diligent about underestimating the Jedi, but also Dooku. The Count was indeed a very dangerous ally.

Dooku continued, "Although initially surprised by the cortosis, Master Mundi quickly found a way to exploit the flaw in its density."

"I was surprised by how quickly he countered the cortosis coating myself. He obviously has knowledge of cortosis and its properties, which you indicated is not necessarily standard for Jedi training. Normally such knowledge is reserved for masters."

"Do not underestimate the power of the Force," Dooku paused so the weight of his words might sink in before continually, "Normally such knowledge is reserved for Masters but if we deploy droids consistently with cortosis, all Jedi will quickly be educated on its weaknesses. The element of surprise will only be short-lived, I'm afraid."

"I suspect that if we would have had the entire patrol outfitted with cortosis instead just the spider droid then we might have seen a different outcome. At the very least, the insertion team would have suffered more casualties."

"And have you been able to determine how many casualties the clones suffered?"

"The Jedi with the team has managed to capture the outpost, which still is within the parameters of the experiment. During the landing, one trooper was severely injured while the others suffered only minor injuries. These new troopers do seem to be formidable as you previously indicated that they would be."

Dooku pondered this line of thought for just a moment then told the doctor, "Yes, you have done well with providing this documentation. The usefulness of the intelligence goes well beyond the cortosis. Tell me, doctor, about this surveillance droid that you have created."

"Technically, I just modified some existing designs. Since we knew the insertion team would be jamming transmissions, I surmised that the best way to gather data on the experiment would be hard data. I used the design of the remotes that you Jedi use for light saber training. Only mine is slightly larger with a more powerful repulsor system and holo recording camara. Unfortunately, I had to compromise the resolution of the camara in order to keep the size of the remote as small as possible in order to prevent detection. Then we used reflective materials to help camouflage…"

"Yes, yes, doctor," interrupted Dooku. "It was quite ingenuous. I trust you will be supplying the schematics. This may prove quite useful."

"As you wish," Sunaratii coldly replied masking his indignation at being interrupted and treated as an inferior. Ironically, it was obvious to Dooku that the doctor was seething. He carefully kept his pleasure hidden that he had unnerved the doctor so deeply.

"Doctor, have you determined how the team was able to penetrate the planet's atmosphere and land without being detected?"

"I have some theories but I still need to analyze the data. Our sensors picked up what appeared to be meteors entering the atmosphere, which was obviously the team. Later a solitary meteor was detected that was the Jedi. You can see the Jedi's entrance on the footage but the frames per second and resolution are too poor to draw any definite conclusions. I have a team of droids on circuitous route through the jungle to the site to search for information."

"My sources were not able to supply me with any intelligence on how they did it. This was something that was concocted after their ship left Coruscant," the Count said deep in thought.

"The good news was that we were able to predict where they would land although contingencies were in place if they choose one of the other potential landing sites."

"And what is the next step in evaluating the cortosis project?" Dooku asked.

"The Jedi and the clones have infiltrated the outpost. There is only one viable route from there to the research facility. We have left this information in the outpost computers for them to discover. The next test is to send a company of super battle droids outfitted with the cortosis to "stumble across" the advancing team."

"I see. You are confident that they believe that have not been detected?"

"Absolutely. They have no idea that they are being watched. They are still maintaining communication blackouts with the orbiting ship."

"And if they realize that you know that they are here?"

"Your three battle cruisers are standing by just outside of the system awaiting the signal to hyperspace into the system and destroy the Republic vessel. I have plenty of droids that can finish the task on the surface."

"I warn you again not to underestimate Master Mundi. He is cunning and resourceful as well as being an excellent swordsman."

"I understand. This is why I will evacuate the facility before destroying it if they realize that we are watching. I will board one of the cruisers and proceed out of system. You will automatically receive a holoburst transmission containing any subsequent data that we have collected along with all my research notes and formulas."

"Excellent, doctor. I look forward to seeing the data on the next round of experiments. I have one more project design that I would like for you to begin working on."

The doctor hesitated slightly wondering what the Count was going to ask of him now. Dooku sensed the reluctance immediately so he soothed the doctor, "It is nothing to be alarmed about. In fact, I think you will find it to be quite an interesting application of your work. I am sending some basic criteria for a cortosis imbibed command chair. I have a… client… who is interested in have one personally designed for him to help protect from possible strikes from a light saber."

Now this really piqued the doctor's curiosity. Who would be expecting a strike from a light saber? It sounded almost as if the Count's client was expecting to be assassinated by a Jedi. But the Jedi don't conduct assassinations, do they? It is against their code or something. Then again maybe that was all Jedi propaganda.

"That does sound like a rather interesting project. I will get started on it immediately, Count Dooku," responded the doctor.

The Count's image nodded and then disappeared as the communication array went silent. Dr. Sunaratii was beginning to regret accepting this arrangement with the Count. For now, it was still worth it to pursue his pseudo-obsession with cortosis. This latest request was indeed intriguing. Perhaps there was more to the Jedi order then he realized. Maybe this Jedi Master was here not to just to investigate but to eliminate any threat that he found—even to the point of executing a potential threat. Suddenly, precautions such as a cortosis chair took on a new significance. Yes, he would start work on this immediately in order to design one first for himself. Maybe the Count was not being overly paranoid about the Jedi. He would definitely need to design some additional provisions in case the Jedi did get farther than he imagined—especially if the Jedi decided to terminate him.

Are the Jedi really cold-blooded killers? Maybe all the secrecy behind the Jedi Order and mystique is meant to hide their true nature. It then would make sense why they had denied his request to partner with them to study cortosis. In fact, his request might have just put him on the Jedi's radar as a person of interest to carefully monitor as a potential menace to the Order. These new possibilities did not sit well with Sunaratii. He would have to curtail his sleep patterns for the next few days to make additional preparations.

CHAPTER 7

Near Cerea

"Have the navicomputer plot us a jump back to our observation point near Cerea," Jedi Kusdi declared after sending the message to the Jedi Temple informing them of the Separatist invasion.

Kusdi considered his decision again. He had obeyed the council during the mission to the letter: this was his way. He had fulfilled the mandate of the council and informed them that he would be traveling to the surface to assist the Cereans. He knew that he should technically wait for the council to respond and issue further instructions but people were dying on Cerea. This seemed to be his greater duty as a Jedi Knight.

Kusdi had only recently completed the trials to becoming a Jedi Knight. His master had assured him that he was ready and in truth, he believed that he was prepared. However, he also knew that if the war had not started, then it would have probably been another year or two before the council would have permitted him to begin the trials. Nonetheless, it was his lack of experience which caused him to question his decision to proceed without Council authorization.

He would trust in his training. He could not begin to count the number of times that his master had repeated this thought. Trust in his training. Trust in the Force. Countless Jedi had been trained by the Jedi way. If anything could be trusted, it was the Jedi Code. Certainly, the Jedi Code had stood the test of time perhaps even more than Master Yoda.

Kusdi inhaled slowly and deeply. Exhaling, he cleared his mind. Then he slowly and methodically began reciting the Code. He sat in the command chair and continued to meditate in the Force. He was at peace. And he also knew that going to the aid of the Cereans was not only the right thing to do but was the will of the Force.

"Course plotted, General," announced a clone trooper. Kusdi was not sure of the clone's designation. He knew that they often had individual designations but he could not see the sense of it. The clones were genetically altered to age quickly and were created to serve the Republic. Most of the clones would likely fall during this war. If the war did not kill them, then none of them would live very long in "retirement." Kusdi did not discount them completely. They were very valuable resources for the Republic and were lives not to be wasted but they certainly could not be considered equal in value to the citizens of the Republic.

Kusdi knew that other Jedi did not hold the same perspective. Some Jedi recognized the unique qualities that some of the clones had acquired. A few Jedi seemed to be attached to their clones calling them by their so-called names. This seemed to Kusdi to be a waste. Besides the attachment could cause indecision if one needed to order his clone "friend" to die for the greater good.

It was one thing for a Jedi to sacrifice oneself for the greater good. In fact, it was expected that a Jedi might one day need to do so. Protecting the weak was a cornerstone of the Jedi way. If a situation necessitated a Jedi to ask someone to make the sacrifice, the Jedi were trained to do so. Regularly giving orders that resulted in the ending of life seemed opposed to the Jedi way. This required a certain amount of detachment even with soldiers that had been grown to serve and die.

"Let's make the jump," the Jedi leader responded.

The hyper-drive whirled; the stars blurred into lines; and just as suddenly the lines reverted to stars. Off in the distance was the planet Cerea. Kusdi had made a short jump out of the system in order to send his message so that his presence would not be detected. Therefore the jump back was just as brief.

Kusdi barked out an order, "Deploy the sensors and let's find out what the Seps are up to."

The Republic navy had provided Kusdi with a Consular-class cruiser that had been heavily modified. It had been named The Peepshow because it had been loaded with state-of-the-art sensors making it one of the most sophisticated spy ships ever produced. It could gather sensor data and collect scans of ships, planets and systems three to four times the distance of the standard military-grade sensor package. The passive scans could also gather information on enemy activities without alerting the enemy to the presence of this ship. Additionally, it had been painted a flat black to prevent any possible light reflection that might give away the ship's location.

The Peepshow also had modified sublight engines to help it get in and get out of hot spots quickly. It was very fast and extremely maneuverable. Unfortunately, the installation of The Peepshow's vast sensor array and engines was at the cost of shielding and weaponry. The ship had two defensive (non-turbo which meant that they were slow to recharge) lasers and minimal shielding trusting that that ship could leave a potentially lethal situation before the shields collapse.

"The Seps do not appear to be blockading the system," reported one of the clones. Kusdi thought that his "name" was Nil because his designation of CC-1000 contained three zeroes and even the two letters, C's, could easily be mistaken for zeroes. Therefore, he had picked the nickname of Nil.

"We already know that they do not have a military big enough for a long-term occupation. Are they hoping to pressure the government into relinquishing their neutrality and align with Confederacy?" Kusdi inquired out loud.

Another clone looked askance at the other clone known as Nil before countering, "No, sir. I don't believe so."

"What have you found soldier?" demand the Jedi.

The clone without hesitation explained, "Sir, on the screen you can see very clearly that while they are landing some droids, they are continuing to bombard the surface of the planet."

The viewscreen of the planet was replaced with a computer generated model that crudely represented some of the enemy forces. Kusdi studied it for just a moment and then queried, "Can we determine what areas they are bombarding?"

"Yes, sir. They are devastating the more heavily populated areas especially the capitol, Tecave City, as well as the Outsider Citadels," responded the clone.

The Cereans as a culture did not value technology. Because of this anti-technological stance, they chose an isolationist posture and not to join the Republic. Cerea did allow off world people as guests and even immigrants to live among them. The government recognized the need to permit some outsiders to reside on the planet and even bring the technology that most of the galaxy had become dependent upon. However, the outsiders and their technology were limited to specific areas designated as Outsider Citadels. These citadels were essentially buildings large enough to house small cities. Unfortunately, these citadels were often over-populated and contaminated by excessive pollution and disease.

The thought passed through Kusdi's mind that due to the rampant crime in the citadels, the destruction of them may not necessarily be a bad thing. Kusdi quickly dismissed the thought as being very un-Jedi-like since numerous innocents are likely being slaughtered by the aerial barrage.

Another clone added, "It seems that the Seps are simply inflicting as much damage and devastation to the planet and its inhabitants as possible."

"Well, we can't just sit back and let Seps have their way with the civilian population," the Jedi general presumed.

"Excuse me, general, but we don't exactly carry the firepower needed to engage a force of that size," declared the clone known as Nil.

"Yes, that much is obvious but thank you for reminding me," derided Kusdi.

The clone crew had quickly learned that when their Jedi leader responded in this particular tone, it was best to remind silent. The crew and the Jedi sat in silence: the crew focusing on their own duties and station and Kusdi on the continually updated display.

Suddenly, Kusdi spoke out, "It seems that the Separatist forces are staying focused on the light side of the planet. Can we determine if there are any ships orbiting on the night side of the planet?"

"No, sir. There are no enemy ships on that side of the planet," one of the clones reported.

"Yes, just as I thought. Then we have a plan," declared the general.

Several of the clones risked a glance to one another. They all were thinking the same thing. The general had used the collective word we when he rarely listened to the recommendations of the clone troopers. The Jedi had made a decision but had not bothered to ask for additional input from them. This was a common criticism among the troopers that they only voiced amongst themselves when they were alone. They remained silent waiting for the general to explain the plan that they had collectively created but had not the faintest idea what it was.

He continued, "We are fast. Maneuverable. If we come at the planet from the dark side in a stealth mode, then the planet should keep the Seps from seeing us until we have passed by them and landed on the planet. From there we can work with the Cereans to develop resistance cells until the Republic comes to liberate the planet."

While the clones were excited that they might finally get the chance at an actual combat experience, they also had several questions. Would the Republic actually be sending a relief force? They had not bothered to wait for a response and if the Republic was stretched too thin as was often reported, then a relief force might be long in coming if ever. It could be a long and maybe meaningless campaign of guerilla warfare. Then of course, this plan depended on the assumption that they could get to dirt before being discovered and shot down. Due to their training most of the clones realized that this was probably an unlikely prospect.

The clones were too-well trained to voice their concerns to a commanding officer that did not desire their input. They did discuss their dissenting concerns amongst themselves when they felt safe to do so. Even without any discussion amongst themselves, each clone had concluded that the general's plan was ill-conceived and was probably doomed to failure. This conclusion did not inspire confidence in their leader.

"Helm, take us around to get us ready for our run. I'll be in my quarters. Let me know when we are in position or if there are any new developments," Kusdi pronounced as he got up from the command chair and made to leave the bridge.

After the door closed, one of the clones voiced his dissatisfaction in dripping sarcasm, "Aye, aye, General."

"Master, the assault on Cerea has commenced," Sith Lord Darth Tyranus informed the shrouded figure whose face remained hidden in the shadows of his cloak. Only the mouth could be seen beneath the hood of the robe. No emotion was detectable by observing the face nor was there any hint through the Force.

Darth Tyranus was also known as Count Dooku, the despised Separatist leader. Dooku was the face of the secessionist group known as the Confederacy, who were a group of planets that left the Republic inciting the advent of the Clone Wars. Dooku, humanoid, stood regally before his Sith master—Darth Sidious.

Darth Sidious remained hidden in the shadows as he unwound strand after strand of his conniving schemes—schemes intended to unravel the Republic and ultimately destroy the Jedi Order. The Jedi Order had ruled the galaxy for a thousand years but had become inept and impotent. Sidious had vowed vengeance upon the Jedi who had mistakenly believed for a thousand years that they had wiped out the Sith. With the Jedi eliminated, Sidious would bring order to the galaxy. He would deal decisively and effectively with all the imbecile non-humans that seemed to continually fight and argue amongst themselves often dragging entire systems into their petty conflicts.

"You have done well, Lord Tyranus," acknowledged the Sith Master. "Inform them that a Jedi using some of the latest long range sensor technology will be lurking close by. I will send you information on how the Separatist forces can find him. Make sure that the detection parameters are seen only by whoever is leading the assault. I do not want the rest of the Separatist to be aware of the technology quite yet. It may still prove to be useful."

The altar-ego of Darth Sidious was Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Palpatine had hundreds of Republic Senators under his dark influence. His hatred of the Jedi fueled his determination to destroy them. As his influence grew, the dark side of the Force continued to cloud the Jedi's ability to guide the Republic. Sidious had become a master of subtle manipulation, perhaps, the greatest that had ever live. Plans within plans within plans were constantly in motion. While not every plan ended exactly the way that he had designed (the death of Darth Maul was one such recent example), the Dark Lord had the knack for turning a setback into an advantage. Sidious constantly develop contingency plans (as was the case when he was able to turn Dooku).

"Yes, my master," acquiesced Dooku.

"Make sure that Jedi Kusdi's elimination becomes a priority and is accomplished before Republic reinforcements arrive," continued Sidious.

"We will eliminate him as well as the primary objective," concluded the Separatist leader.

Sidious allowed a smile and slight chuckle, "Yes, Master Mundi will be devastated when he learns that his family is dead."

"We will show him the way to embrace his pain to become more powerful than he ever thought possible," propagated Dooku as he carefully avoided the gaze of his master while hiding his true intentions.

Darth Sidious knew quite well what Dooku intended even if Dooku himself believed that he was successfully deceiving his master. Sidious even expected it. It was the Sith way. Dooku hoped to turn Mundi to the dark side in the midst of the darkness of his grief and then turn Mundi against Sidious. Dooku was too weak to defeat him alone. But Dooku and Mundi working together just might be able to overpower him. This was the Sith way: the strong rule and the weak perish. Eventually Sidious expected his disciple to eventually kill him when he became too weak just as he had done to his master. Dooku, however, was simply too pathetic to ever become powerful enough to destroy him. Dooku was also too foolish to understand that he would never be able to train a Sith let alone create an Empire that would bring order and safety to the galaxy. Dooku had not the faintest clue as to what impending dangers that the galaxy faced. In fact no one really understood—not even the revered Yoda with all his supposed Jedi wisdom—that unless someone brought order to the fragmented galaxy then some outside force would conquer it or annihilate it.

No, Lord Tyranus was quickly outliving his usefulness. He was only a temporary fix until his ultimate replacement for Darth Maul would be ready. Master Mundi if he even turned would only be another temporary solution. Sidious sincerely doubted that he would turn even though he had been permitted the forbidden attachments of family. No, the Jedi Code was too ingrained into Mundi to be turned to the way of strength and power. If Mundi surprised Sidious by turning, then either Mundi would kill Tyranus, Tyranus would kill Mundi, or Sidious would kill them both. No matter what the outcome Tyranus was futilely grasping at straws.

Mundi would experience grief in the most profound way. Perhaps Mundi would use the passion of his attachments to find strength. If he did, the strength would show him the way to becoming more powerful than he could become as a Jedi. Unfortunately for Mundi, the victory would come at Mundi's own expense.

Even if Mundi rejected Dooku's enticing offering during his weakest moment, Mundi would still be rendered incapable of functioning for many months as he grieved. Mundi would be sidelined for several months at least and his interference in Sidious' designs would be curtailed.

"We shall see, Lord Tyranus. Just make sure that the primary objectives are accomplished," chastised the Dark Lord of the Sith. "I will be meeting with the Jedi Masters shortly as they will be requesting reinforcements for Jedi Kusdi. I will delay this only a short while. Wipe out Mundi's family and kill Kusdi. Our operative on Cerea has provided us with the necessary information for our purposes. Do not fail me, Lord Tyranus."

Sidious abruptly ended the transmission. He encoded the information on Kusdi's ship and sent it on to Dooku. He then turned on his holograph that served as his master plan. He looked over the list of names and locations. Some of the names had a green background, a few had a yellow background, and many had red backgrounds. He touched the desk and the name "KUSDI" glowed white indicating that it was active. At another touch the background changed from green to yellow indicating that he was now being placed in jeopardy. Sidious admired his handywork in particular those names that were now in red: Jinn, Sifo-Dyas, Kim, Danva, Skaa, Tranor, and many others.

Sidious would not rest until every name on that board was red. He tracked the whereabouts of every Jedi Knight, Jedi Master, padawan, and youngling at the temple. Even the younglings needed to be eliminated as they had already received substantial indoctrination and could eventually become a significant enough threat to destabilize everything that Sidious had worked to build.

The continued existence of the galaxy depended on it. One day the entire galaxy would recognize what he has set out to accomplish. Everyone would concede that he was their savior when they finally comprehended how he had single-handedly prepared the galaxy to meet the threat that even now lurked at the edges of the unknown regions.

CHAPTER 8

Belkadan, Separatist Bunker

The clones were efficient as always. Chip easily sliced into the Separatist outpost computers. Unfortunately the volume of usable data was fairly slim. After all, droids were not expected to analyze and improvise. They simply followed their programming and their orders.

The team learned that there was one other outposts. The outposts were intended to create a secure zone of protection around the research facility. Each outpost had a primary trail that had been cut through the jungle to allow the droids easy access to and from the outposts. Each outpost had a patrol route around the surrounding area. Belkadan had no real serious threats at least for inedible droids. So the Separatists had not expected to encounter any major tribulations. Yet in examining the obvious routes, Ki-Adi could not help but sense that someone was expecting something or someone.

The research facility was located about one klick from the outpost that they had secured. The main trail that had been carved into the landscape was the most direct and quickest route. It also was the most exposed option. Since the team needed to complete their mission as quickly as possible to keep from being discovered and for Scope's sake, they had decided to follow the main path.

Entering the facility undetected should be uneventful as the access code for the patrols was in the computer system. However, the only information about the facility in the system indicated that it was an underground facility. The outpost computer had no data on the size of the facility or where the team might be able to access the additional information that they sought. The outpost computers had no access whatsoever to the mainframes of the facility.

Master Mundi found of this to be very curious. It appeared as if the Separatist were trying to herd anyone who might try to infiltrate their security through a series of obstacles to a central location. Did the Separatist expect a Republic team to come looking for them? If so, this indicated that this was all an elaborate trap. To what end, Ki-Adi did not know. Ki-Adi informed Bacara that he wanted to examine the minefield around entrance that they had stormed while the clones prepared for the next leg of their journey. What Mundi really wanted was some time to meditate on the information that they had gathered. He sensed the dark side clouding his perception obscuring what was really going on.

The injured Scope had regained consciousness and appeared to be stabilized. However, his injuries remained serious. He desperately needed medical treatment and a bacta tank. It seemed likely that Scope would lose his leg even with a bacta tank. However, Scope wanted to be a part of the mission and Bacara had given him the task of holding the outpost.

Bacara went to find Edge who was securing the rear exit from the outpost to the facility. This exit appeared to lead directly to the main facility. Edge would be needed to recon the trail before the team left.

Bacara approached Edge who was kneeling inserting wires into a circuit board, "How is it coming, Edge?"

"Just about finished, sir. Scope should have plenty warning if the Seps slip around us or get past us. AND they will have a few surprises waiting for them."

"Let Scope know everything that you have prepared."

"Yes, sir."

"Then I want you to recon the path to the facility. Be especially on the lookout for potential ambush sites, traps, and monitoring devices. I look for the clankers to send out someone to investigate why they have lost contact with their outpost. We need all the heads up that we can get."

"I'll com you when I leave, sir."

Bacara spun around to move on to his next task when Edge interrupted his exit, "Sir…?"

Bacara stopped and turned his head looking back at Edge, "Yes."

Edge looked down at the floor with obvious hesitation but finally blurted out, "I know you have issues with the Jedi. This is just an observation but he really saved our butts."

Anger froze Bacara's face a brief moment but then the tension melted and he stared at his feet. Without turning around the clone commander admitted, "As hard as it is to admit it, he arrived just in time."

"Why don't you like the Jedi, sir?"

Bacara now turned to look at Edge, who looked up to meet his gaze. Bacara paused to collect his thoughts. He then began what seemed like a rationale that he had rehearsed a hundred times in his mind, "You know that most clones have been genetically modified to make them more 'compliant.'"

Edge nodded his head as this was common knowledge.

Bacara continued, "You also know that we are supposedly unique in that we have very little modification. Supposedly it helps us think outside of the box."

Edge silently watched his commander waiting for him to finish his train of thought.

"I look at the Jedi and I see a group of beings with a lot of power. They do things that most people will never comprehend. They also seem to have little or no accountability," Bacara was gaining steam now.

He ranted, "They claim allegiance to the Republic and its government but when they deem it necessary, they break laws and violate the rights of people because they know better. Now with this war, they command a tremendous amount of power and order the deaths of hundreds and thousands of people. I know that not all Jedi are the same. Master Mundi is a testimony to this. But I have observed that some Jedi treat clones as if they were little better than clankers."

Edge interrupted, "But General Mundi doesn't seem to be that way! He seems to genuinely be concerned for our survival."

"Yes, he does. And I have to respect him for that. But his ultimate allegiance is to the Jedi Order and the Jedi Code as well as the other Jedi on the Council. I am sure that if push comes to shove and he has to choose between a clone soldier's life and a Jedi's life, he will choose the Jedi. And there is no one or nothing that will hold them accountable if they make the wrong decision. They just hold too much power and cannot be trusted."

"So we can't trust any of the Jedi? Even General Mundi?"

"I guess this is what has been bothering me. Before this mission, I thought that the Republic would be better off without the Jedi and that I couldn't trust any Jedi. But I have come to the conclusion, that some Jedi can be trusted to certain extent. We can place trust in some of the individual Jedi—to a limited extent. Master Mundi is one of them. But we must not rely on them and become complacent. We have to always be on our guard and carefully weigh the decisions of the Jedi. I think Mundi is a very capable commander, which I cannot say about many of the Jedi. But as a Jedi he still has divided loyalties."

"So that is why you were so adamant about not having the Jedi come with us on this mission."

"Partially, yes. But I also believe that we needed to show that we would be an invaluable asset to the Grand Army. Right now, the politicians who authorized our lack of genetic manipulation need to see that they were right in doing so. Otherwise, we might be pronounced a threat to the Republic and become sidelined or worse."

"So what about the General?"

"He is a brave and capable warrior. For this mission, we can trust the general to look out for our best interests. At least until we reach the Sep base. The Jedi may uncover some information that changes his priorities. So we will have to keep an eye out when we get there."

"Thanks, Commander. I think that I get it now."

Bacara paused for a moment. He stared at the wall but was not really looking at the wall. He then responded, "I suppose that you aren't the only one wondering about this. I'll go and talk to each of the others individually while the Jedi is out doing whatever he decided to do."

Bacara eyes focused again and then ordered, "Finish up here and let me know when you head out for the recon."

Without waiting for Edge's response, Bacara spun and quickly strode out of the room on his way to his next conversation.

Near Cerea

All was ready on The Peepshow. Kusdi had returned to the bridge. Final scans were taken indicating that the dark side of the planet was still free from Separatist activity. There was a tension in the air as the crew awaited the general's order to begin the run for the planet's surface.

"Helm," ordered Kusdi, "Make for Cerea at optimal speed."

The clone helmsman understood that he needed to balance speed and subtlety. The general had made it clear that they needed to get dirtside as soon as possible to help the inhabitants. However, if the ship approached the planet too quickly, they might be discovered.

The Peepshow made for the planet at sublight speed. The regular scans became passive to prevent detection as they approached the planet. Each person on the bridge felt the tension the a soldier feels before a battle is joined.

"We are entering the shadow of the planet. Increasing speed," reported the clone at the helm. The ship was no longer at risk to reflect the light from the planet's sun.

"Estimated time to entering the planet's atmosphere?" asked Kusdi.

"About thirteen minutes, general."

Lights had been dimmed and unnecessary systems had been powered down in order to prevent detection. The bridge was silent—only the normal sounds of the ship could be heard. Clones were usually too disciplined to blurt out unnecessary chatter.

The darkened planet quickly grew in size on the viewscreen. Large bodies of water could now be made out along with various landmass formations despite the shadows.

"Sir, we got company," exclaimed one of soldiers.

"What do you mean? How is that possible? Were we scanned?" a surprised Kusdi prattled.

"We weren't scanned. They just emerged from the horizon of the planet. Six vulture droids on an intercept course. They just pinged us with an active scan. It is almost as if they were waiting for us."

Kusdi's stomach turned. He considered the possibility that somehow they had been betrayed but who would have known that they were in system? And how would they have known to ping the ship? Someone had to alert the Separatist forces that they were coming or at least that they were in system. They also would have had to have some intel on this supposedly top secret spy ship. The dark side of the Force seemed to be surrounding this mission.

He weighed his options. They could turn tail and run. The vulture droids surely would not catch them. But innocent civilians would continue to suffer and die. They would not get another chance at this. The Jedi Knight sought guidance in the Force as he calmed himself and centered his being as he had been taught to do since a youngling. He felt that for whatever reason the will of the Force was for him to be on the surface of the planet.

"We will make the atmosphere before the enemy intercepts us?"

"Negative."

"Battle stations everyone. Shields up. Power up the laser cannons. Angle us away from their trajectory to give us more time."

Lights powered up. The crew began to scramble from stealth mode to their battle stations.

"Sir, we still can make a run for it. If we turnaround now and hit full throttle, we will be able to make the jump to hyperspace before they catch us."

Without even considering the proposal, Kusdi countered, "No, we continue on. Our priority is to get onto the planet's surface."

"The vultures are almost on us," reported a clone as enemy lasers began to harmlessly flash past due to being slightly out of range.

"Here they come. They are coming in fast."

"Evasive action, helm," ordered Kusdi.

The clone at the helm gave a slight glance to the captain's chair as he waited for specifics but quickly determined that no further direction would be coming from the general. Most Jedi were not trained in the subtle art of evasive maneuvering when the gunners needed to be aware of which way the helm would juke during a firefight. Otherwise the helm might turn the ship in a direction that caused the gunner to miss his shot.

"Pattern Gamma 7, everyone," called the helmsman.

The Peepshow dodged and rolled as two sets of three vulture droids poured blaster fire onto the top and then bottom of the light cruiser. The two groups broke in opposite directions to come around for a second pass. The laser cannons from cruiser flashed into the trailing vulture in each group vaporizing one and clipping the second causing it to spin out of formation and out of control eventually burning up when it hit the atmosphere.

Inside The Peepshow the lights dimmed as the vultures pounded the ship. When the lights came back up to full strength, a power conduit exploded flinging a clone across the bridge in a shower of white sparks and green fire. The shipped bucked as Cerea twisted in the viewscreen. A cascade of reports surged from the clone bridge crew.

"Two vultures down."

"They're coming about."

"Shields went down but back up to twenty percent."

"These dang laser cannons are taking too long charge."

"Evasive pattern Delta 3, everyone!"

The inertial dampeners on the ship strained from the new evasive pattern and drained energy levels. The hull of the ship reverberated with the sound of high energy blaster fire raking it from aft to fore.

"One more vulture down but we lost one of the cannons"

"Shields are blown, sir."

Then in the midst of the chaos a large, low "thrumm" echoed throughout the ship. The lights winked out and emergency lighting came. Several consoles throughout the bridge erupted into a shower of sparks.

"That was the main engines, sir. We're running on thrusters and inertia. Attempting to restore main power but we can't take another round like that."

The ship begin to list to port. Artificial gravity was still functioning.

"We have a hull breach on the lower deck. Those areas have been automatically isolated with blast doors."

"We're entering the atmosphere." A low rumble sounded throughout the ship as the ship shuddered.

"Hold a moment on the power," commanded Kusdi decisively. The chaos of battle was more intense than he imagined. He realized that his training was largely inadequate for this type of battle. Perhaps he had made a gross error in judgment. These thoughts were fleeting and with the effort of will drove them from his mind as he reached out with the Force around him.

"Sir, they're coming around for another pass and we are a sitting duck."

"Eject the lifepods," ordered the general.

"Sir?!"

"Do it NOW!" yelled the Jedi using the Force to add weight to his voice. The viewscreen glowed red as the friction from entering the atmosphere began to superheat the ship. Blaster fire began to pepper the hull as a muffled boom sounded signaling the decompression and release of the life pods. Immediately the blaster fire ceased.

As the cruiser continue to superheat and slowly turn like meat on spit, the four life pods shot for the surface of the planet scattering into four directions. The pods were preprogrammed to spread out to prevent enemies from swiftly destroying them.

"Sir, the vultures have broken off. Three of them are pursuing the life pods. The fourth is coming around to pace us."

A large explosion sounded from somewhere toward the aft of the ship. The ship began to shake violently. Fire trailed the slowly spinning ship as debris continuously flaked off.

"Get us power. Helm, do what you can to level us out," barked Kusdi.

The vibration of the ship intensified. Several seconds passed and nothing seemed to be happening. The ship jerked as it lost a large section from the aft. The ship was disintegrating one compartment at a time.

"Uhh, anytime now we could use that power," chided the general as he glared at the clone working furiously at a console to his left trying desperately to restore power.

The lights suddenly flickered and then remained lit. It was the helmsman's turn to work furiously. The ship's trajectory gradually flattened as the ship's nose adjusted to head into the atmosphere. Helm control also managed to end the ship's slow counterclockwise rotation. Unfortunately, the course and trajectory correction alerted the trailing vulture that someone was still on board the ship. The droid began to pepper the failing craft.

"What is the status of our laser cannon?" asked Kusdi.

"It's operational but charging extremely slowly. I've got about forty-two percent."

"If you have a shot take it."

As the clone squeezed off the shot, another explosion sounded and the lights dimmed. The clone's laser struck the vulture dead on causing it to dip and then warble. Meanwhile the roar of the reentry subsided as the ship fully entered atmosphere. The evasive maneuvers and changes in course had brought them to the event horizon of the planet—they were going to come down on the surface of the planet where the sun was rising.

"We've lost just about all power. I have minimal ability to control our descent. We are going to land—hard!"

"Reroute all power including life support and artificial gravity to inertial dampeners and thrusters," directed the Jedi.

"It is not the lack of power for maneuvering but the lack of thrusters," declared the clone at the helm.

"General, at the rate that vulture is picking us apart, we'll never make it to the surface."

Jedi Kusdi looked at the viewscreen and asked, "When we enter this cloud bank can you alter our course to put the vulture right behind us?"

The clone turned and turned around and smiled at Kusdi understanding the general's intent replying, "I think so."

The vulture droid sprayed an occasional burst of laser onto The Peepshow damaging the flying wreck. It was as if each stream of blaster pulled a long thread loose that was slowly causing the ship to unravel. As the cruiser entered the clouds unbeknownst to the vulture, the helmsman was able to alter the course slightly. Before the vulture even knew what had happened, it had flown into the fiery wake of the dying cruiser striking a half melted piece of hull plating ending its illustrious career.

The Peepshow emerged from the white cloud looking as if the cloud had spit out a ball of fire. Thick black smoke poured from the flaming hull as it streaked toward the planet's surface.

"I've lost just about all of the thrusters. I have no way to slow us down."

Kusdi warned everybody, "Get yourselves strapped in and brace for impact."

Closer to the gently rolling green hills fell the ship. The ship shook violently as it literally fell apart piece by piece in the air. The dawning light shining on the peaceful countryside contrasted sharply with the angry fireball streaking through the air. All eyes on the bridge watched intently searching for the exact place where the ship would end its ill-fated journey.

Suddenly there loomed a large rock formation that jutted out of side one of the softly undulating hills. Panic gripped the hearts of the men on board.

"I don't have enough control!" screamed the helmsman as he tried desperately to maneuver the ship around or over the rock.

The Jedi Knight had a moment of clarity illuminated by the Force. He reached out with the Force to grab the rock formation. His eyes were closed in concentration. He imagined that his own hands were first squeezing and pulling and then jerking the rocks. He felt it give slightly but also realized that he was out of time.

Every person on the ship felt the impact more than heard as the cruiser smashed into the rock formation splintering it into a shower of stone. The nose of the ship careened upward as the ship twisted to the left. The rear of the ship that had been encased by flames collided with the base of the formation which was untouched by the Jedi's attempt to use the Force. The rear of the ship shattered like glass into thousands of flaming pieces. No longer recognizable as The Peepshow, the vessel rotated and flipped to land upside down perpendicular to its direction. This caused the wrecked ship to half roll and drag for several hundred feet leaving an immense gash in the once pristine landscape filled with fire and debris.

On the bridge, all hell broke loose. Equipment and metal broke loose and were flung in all directions. Restraints snapped and bodies were thrown into buckling walls like rag dolls crushing bones and organs. Kusdi's restraints remained intact but his chair did not. On one of the many spins, the commander's chair was flung from the deck. Kusdi reflexively drew on the Force to encase himself in a protective shielding. However the chair was demolished.

One moment he sitting in the chair feeling the rock formation began to move and the next moment pain racked his body and mind emanating from his right side below the ribs where he had been speared by a durasteel beam. Then suddenly his left hand was being jerked in one direction while his body went another. New pain erupted from his left shoulder as it separated followed by the stabbing pain as his left forearm snapped. The intense pain from his side overrode the countless lacerations that continuously ripped at his skin all over his body. Everything was in chaotic motion so that he could not focus his vision on his surroundings. Then there was a blinding white flash as his head cracked against a folded over wall. The blackness of unconsciousness fell like a curtain being dropped on a bad play.

Belkadan

Edge left the outpost to recon. The way seemed to be clear to the facility entrance. Edge had discovered that the underground facility was accessed by a five lifts that were set into the ground. There was a larger circular lift to allow for larger vehicles and droids with four smaller circular lifts at four points around the large one. The doors of the lifts were camouflaged to blend into the surrounding ground. Additionally, this area was under the canopy of trees that prevented any ships that might fly over from seeing anything suspicious. Sometimes pirates might frequent the more isolated systems like Belkadan but they should not be able to tell that some kind of base was present.

The rest of the team with Ki-Adi-Mundi had begun the trek toward the facility entrance keeping a wary eye out for traps that Edge may have missed. Nothing on the trail was amiss at least until Edge broke radio silence.

"Commander, I got activity at the entrance. Stand by," reported an alarmed Edge.

"General," Bacara called out to Ki-Adi, "Edge is reporting some activity at the entrance. I'm putting him on speaker."

The rest of the clones held their positions being spread on the boundaries of the trail so that an unforeseen mine or trap would only inflict minimal damage on the team. Bacara and Mundi waited for Edge to observe and report.

"Sir, I have twenty black Super Battle Droids emerging from the facility. They are in battle formation and headed toward your position," announced Edge.

"We going to need a place to ambush them," Bacara requested.

"I have just the place," whispered the clone voice over the com, "Just ahead of your position is a bottle-neck in the trail with a thirty meter cliff on your left. It is rocky with plenty of cover with a steep incline to the jungle on the right. It is ideal for an ambush."

"We will set the ambush. Get back here without being seen. We don't know for sure if they are aware of our presence," barked the Commander.

"Roger, roger," mimicked Edge.

"Commander," began Master Mundi, "the fact that they are sending twenty droids all with cortosis armor is more than a little suspicious."

"I was thinking the same thing," Commander Bacara agreed.

"Whomever is in charge at that facility seems to suspect that a Jedi may be present unless he is just running out of droids which doesn't seem likely," explained Ki-Adi.

"First thing is to take care of the droids and play the Sabacc hand that has been dealt to us," concluded Bacara.

"Because of the cortosis, it would be best if I defend by using my saber to deflect blaster bolts. I won't be able to get all of them but I will try to get the ones that may cause lethal damage."

"Ok, let's find this ambush site and get ready to take out some clankers!"

CHAPTER 9

On the surface of Cerea

Jedi Knight Kusdi started to regain consciousness. But everything was a big swirl. He couldn't think straight. He tried desperately to latch onto something—anything that was substantial. Nothing stayed with him. Thoughts were fleeting and just vague notions like wisps of vapor rising from hot water only to be blown away by a breeze. His body felt as heavy as durasteel. He tried to open his eyes to drive away the churning blackness but his eyelids just flickered. He tried to find his center as his subconscious sought to connect to the Force but it kept slipping away.

"Easy there general," called a voice from somewhere in the blackness. Kusdi tried to use that voice which seemed so familiar as an anchor but it too eluded his grasped. Finally Kusdi's efforts overtaxed him and he succumbed to the exhaustion.

The clone soldier watched over Kusdi as the Jedi lay unconscious. The clone had somehow miraculously survived the crash landing with only minor injuries. Only two others had survived: Kusdi and another clone known amongst them as Jix. Unfortunately Jix had survived but only a few hours after the crash.

This clone soldier had evacuated Kusdi from the crash site. He fully expected the Separatists to come to the site to search for survivors and eliminate them. He had carried Kusdi for at least ten klicks winding back and forth to confuse any pursuit. It seemed as if he had been successful in avoiding the Separatist tracking parties.

Now it had been four days since they had crashed. The clone was not sure that the Jedi would survive his injuries. He had no idea if the general had serious internal injuries but he done his best to be a field medic for the broken arm, dislocated shoulder, severely strained ankle, and the multitude of cuts and bruises. The head injury is what concerned the clone the most.

If the Jedi did survive, the clone was not sure if he had suffered serious, long-term effects from the head trauma. If they had been able to stay in one place, he thought that the Jedi might have a chance but since they had had to stay moving, he figured that his commander did not have a prayer. Fortunately, it had been four days and the Jedi's pallor skin was beginning to take on a rosy hue. Perhaps, he was out of the woods.

The soldier checked the Jedi's vitals and was satisfied that they were in the normal range. He concluded that tomorrow he would have to try to get the Jedi to drink a little even if he had to give him a stim shot in order to bring him to enough consciousness to swallow. Content that there was nothing more to do for the injured man, the clone left him to gather additional resources and make his usual patrol of the area.

Belkadan

The clones had taken up positions in the ambush area as they awaited the arrival of super battle droids. General Mundi felt the heat of the jungle as the sun climbed to its zenith. Although he used the Force to help regulate his body temperature, he still recognized that the heat and humidity made the air oppressive. He figured that the clones were fortunate to have armor that regulated their body temperature in such sweltering heat.

Edge had taken up a forward position that would allow him to provide flanking fire when the trap was unleashed. He informed the rest of the squad that droids were approaching and would be in position momentarily. Adrenaline began to flow freely through the bodies of the clones as they anticipated the impending battle.

The ravine turned to the right sharply as it approached the clones' position. The sounding servo motors and the clanking of metallic feet filled the gully long before the droids turned the corner. The narrow pathway meant that the approaching droids could only march four wide. Because of the uneven terrain and often large rocks, the droids lines were rarely kept in uniform lines.

A single black droid rounded the corner. It paused briefly. The rest of the line caught up quickly as the line reformed. The droid lines were definitely having difficulty traversing the terrain. From above, Edge watched the bungling clankers in amusement.

Commander Bacara waited patiently to give the order to attack. He wanted at least three lines of droids to have turned the corner. This should enable maximum confusion as the most forward droids would be unable to retreat and the rearward droids would press forward unaware of exactly what was happening. The corner turned the narrow path into a bottle neck.

The third line began to round the corner. This line split up into two pairs to avoid a boulder that rested in the middle of the path. When the second pair came into view, Bacara ordered through the internal com system, "Now!"

The clones poured blaster fire upon the forward most droids from behind their respective cover positions, which were comprised of several boulders and large tree trunk that the Jedi had moved into place with the Force. At the same time, Mundi used a Force-enhanced jump to spring over a large boulder to place himself in front of the clones but angled to prevent himself from being hit by friendly fire.

The cortosis armor on these droids was tough. It was blaster and heat resistant. Two droids went down before they could return fire but at the cost of an enormous expenditure of energy. These two droids provided temporary obstacles for the remaining droids that slowed their advancement slightly.

The battle droids identifying the threat raised blaster arms and returned fire. Ki-Adi's light saber snap-hissed to life and began to dance, twist and spin batting away blaster fire from their deadly opponents. Immersed in the Force, the Jedi Master let his training and the moment guide his movements. Some blaster bolts, he was able to deflect back into the droid ranks. He let a few by that were harmless misses. Most were deflected in any direction that was away from himself and the clones—up, down, left, right.

From above, Edge dropped a concussion grenade into the midst of droid ranks. It exploded shattering several droids into pieces while sending several more careening into other droids as well as knocking them to the ground. The grenade raised a large cloud of smoke and dust making it difficult for the clones on the ground to target anything specific. They continued to rain blaster fire into the debris while red blaster bolts emerged ghostlike from the fray albeit with less frequency at least for the moment.

Steadily the droid blaster fire increased. Two of the droids that had been flung forward from the blast and were visible at the edge of dust cloud frantically tried to return to their feet but the steady onslaught from the clones made quick work of them. Then two droids emerged from the cloud steadily advancing on the clones' position.

The intensity of the blaster fire began to tax Master Mundi's continued ability to deflect the bolts safely. One and then a second burned a hole in his robes but did not score any flesh. Other bolts also began to get through to strike the clone soldiers but their armor was able to withstand those with just minor damage.

Bacara could see the General begin to tire. He also could sense some discouragement from his soldiers. These clankers were tough. His men had fired enough blaster bolts to easily take out twenty normal supers. But he guessed that they had only taken out about half of these bad boys. He did not want to use their entire ordinance because they will probably need some to get into the base. But then saving a couple thermodetonators would not matter if they were all dead.

All of sudden the chaos of the ensuing battle slowed for Ki-Adi-Mundi. He sometimes had these moments of clarity through the Force. It was as if time slowed and every detail sharpened. He could see each blaster bolt and where each would go. He could also see two super battle droids at the rear that were different than the rest of them. He saw the one climb up on a one meter high rock to stand above the other droids. In what seemed like slow motion, the droid pointed not a blaster at their position but a rocket launcher.

The rocket fired as Ki-Adi almost simultaneously using his left hand pulled back with the Force. He could see the nose of the rocket launch followed by a fire and a trail of smoke. He felt the rush as the clones recognized the new threat and dove for the ground for greater cover. Then the Jedi Master pushed with the Force. Mundi was not sure if he actually saw the Force in action or it was some sort of Force visualization, but a cone of Force power rippled across the open area of the battlefield to meet the rocket head on. The Force power pushed through the rocket reversing its trajectory. However, it was not perfect reversal as the rocket headed back towards the battle droids at a downward angle.

The rocket impacted the ground immediately before the most forward battle droids. The explosion reverberated through the small canyon sending smoke, dust, and dirt in every direction. Two of the droids nearest ground zero were incinerated. The concussion from the blast continued back through the ravine in the direction from which the droids had come. Rocks and dirt were loosed from the cliff face and rained down into the crevice.

Up above Edge fell back away from the periphery as the fireball mushroomed in front of him. The intensity of the heat flamed so suddenly that his armor's environmental control could not compensate. He realized that if he had not fallen back out of the way, he would have been cooked.

Rather than fight the blast to stand firm, Ki-Adi allowed the blast to push him backwards through the air. However, he used the Force to guide him over several rocks and land with a controlled roll to absorb the impact. Even though he had been outside of immediate blast radius, the shockwave was considerable enough to flatten everything in the vicinity.

The ravine was immediately filled with dust and smoke limiting visibility to about 2 meters. The Jedi Master was certain that not all the droids had been destroyed but he could not see how many might be left. Even though the blast had been deafening especially in the confines of small canyon, Ki-Adi had instinctively used the Force to protect his hearing. At that moment he could hear the sound of the pebbles and rocks continue to fall from the now unstable cliff face.

"Commander," called the Jedi Master, "Tell Edge to get away from the edge of the cliff. It is unstable and is going to come down. Let me know when he is clear."

Ki-Adi spent the next few seconds helping the other clones and making sure that they were unharmed. Finally Commander Bacara nodded his head and declared, "He's clear General."

Ki-Adi then strode out from behind the cover from which the clones had attack. The dust and smoke was still thick enough to cut. Besides the continued trickle of pebbles and rocks, he could hear stirring where the remaining droids should be. Ki-Adi raised both of his hands with palms out toward the cliff wall. The clones including Bacara stopped what they were doing and watched the Jedi.

Master Mundi reached out with the Force into the cliff. He could feel the Force flowing through as well as through the rock formations that were part of the cliff. He began to pull. He could see the rocks pulling apart. The cliff face rumbled and more loose dirt and rocks tumbled down. There was a cracking sound like a small earthquake and a large portion of the cliff face separated and hung suspended in mid-air.

Bacara was amazed at what he was seeing. There must be three or four ton of rock hanging there. Bacara knew that Jedi were capable of such feats but actually seeing it was something completely different.

Then Ki-Adi pushed his hands to the right and outward slightly as if tossing a large ball. The cliff face moved suddenly in that direction as if it had been thrown disappearing into the murky cloud of smoke and dust to land with a resounding crash. A large cloud of dust billowed out surrounding Ki-Adi and the clones with an impenetrable wall of airborne dirt. More dirt and rocks cascaded down the new sloping wall of earth that had just been a cliff.

The Jedi Master was obviously and thoroughly strained from his exertion. He took a few unsteady steps and sat down on a large rock to collect his energy and rest. The clones jumped to work presumably on orders from their commander. Ki-Adi however was somewhat oblivious of his surroundings at least for the next few minutes as regained his strength.

CHAPTER 10

Count Dooku's secret base

Count Dooku furrowed his brow. Even through the shimmering image of the hologram, the Count's disdain was obvious. The Neimoidian commander withered under the glare of the former Jedi.

"You still have not found the Jedi?" Dooku asked incredulously.

Clearly intimidated Mok Vanuu hesitated. He looked around as if to find something or someone that might save him. Realizing that any further hesitation in reply only increased the appearance of his incompetency, he averted his gaze and replied, "Not yet. But we believe that he is already dead. The ship was utterly…"

"Nonsense," interrupted the Count. "Have you found the body?"

"No but he could have been incinerated in the crash since he wore no armor…" replied the commander timidly.

"Yet, you found tracks of at least one survivor?"

"A clone, my Lord, and we will find him soon," Mok answered gaining some confidence.

"Unacceptable. If you find the clone, you will find the Jedi."

"As you say, my Lord."

Count Dooku preferred to keep his anger in check. Usually subtle expressions of displeasure were enough to keep subordinates in line. However, this Neimoidian was dreadful at hiding his doubt. Stronger measures would be required to teach this spineless grub.

"You dare doubt me?" Dooku's ire spilling out in his voice augmented by the Force as well as his demeanor.

"N-n-noo, m-m-my, Lord. I-I-I w-w-wouldn't da…" stuttered Mok.

Not waiting for the dithering idiot to finish, the Count iterated, "But you do."

The Neimoidian kept his eyes to the floor refusing to look the Count in the eye. He seemed to shrink every passing second. Dooku wondered if he literally was wishing for a rock to crawl under.

"Let me remind you, commander, of your stellar performance thus far," the Sith Lord replied dripping with sarcasm. "I gave you detailed intel on how to detect and destroy the Jedi's ship and yet you underestimated him and let the Jedi slip through your fingers. You can't find him despite the likelihood that he is injured perhaps severely. Now you are losing a battle with Republic forces. Have I left anything out?"

"I did accomplish the primary objective," wimpered Vanuu hoping to salvage something from this debacle in order to get the reinforcements that he desperately needed to maintain occupation of Cerea.

"Yes, you did do that. So can you assume that since you have accomplished fifty percent then the mission is a success?"

"We have also destroyed a significant portion of the more heavily populated areas including the Citadels."

This Neimoidian just didn't know when to quit. He seemed to be a glutton for punishment and ridicule. Dooku had small inkling to just start laughing at the moronic behavior of this overgrown worm and afflict him as he seemed so much to desire. Perhaps a small display of the power of the Force might not be a bad idea.

Dooku raised his hand to the image and reached out with the Force. It took a great amount of concentration and effort for him to do this over such a distance. His ability paled in comparison to his master's ability. Still he was able to mask his strain from his appearance.

Mok Vanuu own hands went immediately to his throat. Finally, he looked up at the image of Dooku first in shock and then in utter panic as he realized that his inability to breathe was the doing of the Count. He gasped slightly with eyes beginning to bulge. "What have I gotten myself into?" Mok thought to himself as he began to believe he was doomed. He glanced around for some way to end the Count's hold as his feet left the floor to hover a half a meter suspended in midair.

Finally in what seemed like an eternity to Vanuu, Dooku released his inept commander. Mok Vanuu collapsed into a pile of robes coughing and sputtering trying to regain his breath. The count smiled inwardly as he realized that he could have snapped the Neimoidian's neck with just a hair more effort.

As the Neimoidian slowly tried to recover his composure Dooku continue to deride him, "You will not fail me in this. You will hunt down this Jedi and eliminate him. His survival will undo everything that has been accomplished. Use any and all of your resources to do so even if you have to sacrifice yourself by crashing your command ship upon his head."

At this Vanuu gave the Count a pleading look but slowly nodded his head still unable to move the air enough through his throat to give a verbal response. Dooku glared him in silence to let the terror sink deep into his lackey. Mok Vanuu resumed his cowering.

Finally the Count broke the silence, "Do you still have the data on the Republic ship? Is it still secure?"

"Y-y-yes, my Lord," Mok hoarsely replied.

"Destroy it, immediately," demanded Dooku.

"You can consider it done," Vanuu compliantly answered.

The Sith Lord knew that the slimy Neimoidian was going to request reinforcements. Dooku had been given privileged information through his own master of the exact size of the military force that the Republic had sent to liberate Cerea. The Supreme Chancellor had argued for and finally allocated a task force that was just barely sufficient to accomplish the mission. This meant that the Republic would ultimately be able to root out the Separatist occupation forces but not without considerable effort and time.

"Is there anything else, Commander?" asked the Count in an almost apologetic tone. After all, he only wanted to break the stubbornness of his commander not destroy it. That would come soon enough. Right now, Dooku still needed him to play his part.

"I need reinforcements if I am going to maintain control of Cerea," blurted out Vanuu.

Dooku cocked his right eyebrow with an incredulous expression. He wanted the commander to be reminded of his failures thus far but not to give up hope.

"I see," replied the Count. "You cannot get the job done with what you have been assigned."

"My Lord, the Republic forces outmatch us. It is only a matter of time before their numbers wear down ours to nothing."

"I can see from the data that this conclusion would be correct. Unfortunately, reinforcements will take some time. And unless the Jedi is eliminated then it doesn't matter."

Mok Vanuu still couldn't understand why the Jedi was so important but he didn't dare let his thoughts betray him now. He kept his head bowed and waited for the Count's decision.

"Take out the Jedi, Commander and the reinforcements will have been gathered and will arrive. But not until you accomplish this objective."

"Yes, my Lord, it will be done as you wish," resigned the commander in submission carefully masking his disappointment.

"Contact me when you have the Jedi's body in hand. And destroy that data. That will be all."

Dooku severed the communication link. The Neimoidian will have to die. No reinforcements will be coming but he will not realize this until it was too late. At that point he will die. Dooku was confident that his plan would be carried out efficiently. This Neimoidian would not be captured and put on trial like another one of recent events.

On the surface of Cerea

The droid patrols were searching. They were scouring the entire area looking for someone who had survived the crash. Judging by the numbers of clanker patrols and the apparent increase in the number of patrols, the Seps obviously were believed someone of great importance had survived. He didn't know if they thought that a clone had also survived but it seemed that the Seps knew that there was a Jedi lurking about.

CC-1000 had eluded the initial search patrols but the search grid had been expanded. Soon they would be discovered unless they began moving again. Due to the intensification of the droid search, the sole clone could not hope to carry the Jedi and evade them all.

He had to get the Jedi up and moving. The Jedi needed water and the Jedi needed be awake and alert. Now was as good as a time as any to try. He just hoped that he wouldn't kill the Jedi in the process. Jedi Kusdi had survived so far despite the severity of his injuries. If he didn't make the attempt, he was sure that they would be found and the Jedi would be dead either way.

CC-1000 readied the stim shot that should bring the Jedi to consciousness. He took a deep breath and raised the hand with the stim to plunge it into the Jedi's thigh, which should alleviate some of the shock to his system. Then he thrust the shot into the body of the Jedi.

Immediately the body of the Jedi stiffened and he began to stir. Kusdi once again grasped for something familiar. Recognition of anything was fleeting. Pain racked his body. The blinding pain in his skull pulsated continuously preventing him from obtaining any kind of focus whatsoever. A groan escaped from his lips but he was unaware that he had uttered the sound.

"General, can you hear me?" asked the clone soldier.

The Jedi's eyelids fluttered briefly but he was still unable to latch onto anything of substance. There was no recognition; only total disorientation.

"Here," implored the clone, "take a drink." A small water bottle was introduced to Kusdi's lips. The Jedi became vaguely aware of an idea: thirst. Almost reflexively, the Jedi was able to swallow a little water. Encouraged by the success, the soldier tried again. However, this Kusdi aspirated slightly and he coughed.

"Take it easy, General," reassured the clone.

Suddenly through the swirl of confusion and pain, one thought materialized. This one thought became something to which Kusdi could clutch: Nil. Kusdi repeated it over and over in his mind as it seemed to grow larger and more substantial.

Then to the complete surprise of the clone, Kusdi uttered his name, "Nil."

Nil was totally shocked. Never before had Kusdi used any of the clones self-designation. In fact, it was obvious that Kusdi silently disapproved of their use. But for some reason, Kusdi's first word was his name.

However, Nil doubted that this meant anything. He was skeptical that this was just a random occurrence.

"Yes, sir. It is Nil. I am with you," comforted the soldier comforted.

Kusdi used that single thought and image to draw strength. He repeated the name and used it to create center of focus. From there, he instinctively drew upon the Force to push aside the pain to make this center larger and more substantial. Finally, other senses began to engage as his orientation to his surroundings and his condition returned.

"Water," whispered Kusdi.

"Take it easy though," said Nil as he brought the water bottle to the lips of the Jedi. "Small sips, General."

Kusdi abided by the clone's suggestions. With each passing moment, despite his growing awareness that the effects of the stim were subsiding, Kusdi grew stronger as he opened himself up to the flow of the Force. Soon his eyes flickered open.

"You were badly injured in the crash," explained Nil.

Kusdi could still only speak one word at a time, "Others?"

"Just you and I," answered Nil.

Kusdi could feel the coolness of the small cave in which they were located. He saw the sunlight spilling into the cave dimly lighting the low ceiling not even tall enough for a man to stand.

Kusdi was now aware of the injuries that he had sustained and the repairs that the soldier had enacted. He needed to engage in a healing trance to speed his healing. He also sensed the anxiety and concern from Nil. Although he didn't know specifics, he did sense that time was of the essence.

Kusdi then drew upon small strength that had returned to utter two words instead of one. With considerable effort he said, "Meditate… now." Then he closed his eyes and fell into a Jedi healing trance.

Nil was confused and flabbergasted. He began a one-sided conversation in his mind, "Meditate. How could he meditate now? What in the world is he thinking?" Then Nil recalled a training module explaining that Jedi could enter a meditative state in order to speed his or her healing. He just hoped that Kusdi had learned this ability. He also hoped that they had enough time for the meditation to do its thing before a droid patrol found them. The only weapon that they had was the Jedi's light saber. Nil was pretty sure that he wouldn't have the skill needed to take out an entire patrol before it took out him. He probably would cut a hand or arm off anyway.

There was no use in worrying about what might happen. He would just have to keep watch until Kusdi awakened again or until a patrol stumbled upon their hiding place.

CHAPTER 11

On Belkadan

Ki-Adi withdrew socially as he meditated but remained physically in proximity to the clone team. Gradually as he regained his strength through the Force, his awareness of his surroundings sharpened and expanded. He sensed the gradual return of animal life that had fled the area during the battle.

The clones had finished destroying any of the battle droids that had survived, albeit only partially functional, the ambush. Edge maintained a vigilant watch for additional droid reinforcements. Crater had returned from the bunker reporting that Scope was still resting at the bunker. Any usable munitions were being scavenged from among the droid wreckage.

It had been several hours since the battle had ended. The day's light was beginning to fade. The dust from the "collapse" of the cliff had long since settle. As this was still the most defensible position until what appeared to be the entrance to the base, a pseudo camp was being established.

Commander Bacara had determined that the Separatists held several advantages during the night: they would be familiar with the terrain, they likely had greater numbers, and they would be slightly more adept at using (and switching between) night vision and infra-red vision. Therefore the team should assume a defensive posture and wait until first light to infiltrate the base.

As Mundi immersed himself in the ebb and flow of the Force, he found his center of being. It was during these moments that Ki-Adi's sense of awe concerning the immensity and complexity of the Force was renewed. He caught a glimpse of how the Force was connecting every living thing in the galaxy and perhaps the universe. Peace, knowledge, serenity, and harmony, which are the four pillars of Jedi wisdom, became a living entity for the Jedi Master that nourished and sustained his being.

As he reveled in the undercurrents of the Force, Master Mundi sensed that he and his team were being watched. At first he assumed that it was simply some of the native wildlife watching and waiting until it seemed safe to return to life in the jungle. Progressively the Jedi sensed that the Force was revealing that there was more than just wildlife scrutinizing the team. There was an intelligence with intent at work.

Then Ki-Adi became acutely aware that there was a small void hovering nearby. He turned his focus upon the void to determine what it meant and sensed it flitting back and forth at the edge of the jungle near the tops of the trees. The Jedi turned his head upward and opened his eyes. As his gaze discovered the source of this disturbance, Ki-Adi also recognized what he should have already felt: a small remote droid was examining them. He immediately felt that this droid had been with them for some time.

Mundi reached up with his hand to grab the droid with the Force but the droid had already comprehended that it had been discovered and darted deeper into the jungle. The Jedi's Force pull missed the droid to rip a branch from the tree careening off other branches to crash on the jungle floor. He had missed the droid and it was likely on its way back to its master.

Ki-Adi felt the small void disappear from his conscious awareness. But then he sensed a second area nearby where the Force seemed to move around something. He briefly questioned why he had not been able to perceive these droids earlier but quickly dismissed the thought as something to be evaluated at a later time.

Mundi focused on the area without using his optics. When he was certain of its location, he reached up without looking and pulled with the Force. He instantly knew that this time he had snagged a droid. As the remote zipped across the open expanse toward his hand, Mundi did risk a glance at the remote. He followed its trajectory into his hand where he felt the droid building up a defensive electrical charge to free itself from the Jedi Master. Instinctively with the Force as his ally, Ki-Adi sent a small jolt into the droid before it could release its charge to temporarily immobilize the remote.

"Commander Bacara," called out General Mundi, "we've got a problem." Ki-Adi could see that the droid was of Separatist design. As Bacara made his way to where Mundi was seated, the Jedi leader was already processing what this new revelation signified.

On Cerea

"General, General!" whispered Nil trying rouse the Jedi deep in a healing trance. When Kusdi did not stir or respond, the clone soldier began to consider his options. A Separatist patrol had finally entered the area where he and the Jedi were hidden in a small, shallow cave that was closer to an oversized burrow. There were several such "holes" in the area. They had once been home to some kind of native species but now were deserted. No doubt the droids would be thorough and check each one. It was inevitable that they would be discovered soon.

The sun had just moved behind the hill on which they were hidden as the droid patrol made its appearance. The light was bright enough to see but it was fading quickly. What had recently been long shadows were now becoming large areas of deepening gloom.

Nil considered that perhaps another stim shot would be needed to awaken the Jedi. Maybe he had not turned a corner but had slipped into a coma from which he would never awaken especially if a droid blaster made short work of the unconscious Jedi. If that were so, then he would need to take drastic measures if he were to escape alive.

Nil began preparing another stim shot as he whispered again, "General, if you can hear me, we've got company."

Still there was no response from Kusdi. Nil put the stim shot in his left hand and then rolled onto his other side so that he could reach the Jedi's thigh easier. As Nil raised his hand to plunge the stim into the Jedi, Kusdi with eyes closed calmly said in a muted voice, "That won't be necessary, Nil. I'm with you."

Inwardly, Nil breathed a sigh of relief. His feelings of dread melted away. He then put the stim shot back in his small med pack that he had managed to scavenge from the wreck.

"I apologize," Kusdi explained, "for being out so long. I was in a healing trance to help speed along the process, which seems to have helped tremendously. What is our status?"

"A patrol of five standard battle droids have entered our area. While there are several of these burrows in the area, they will find us within the next half hour if we stay put," reported the clone trooper.

"Do you think we can use stealth and escape unnoticed?" asked Kusdi whose voice revealed the weakness that still plagued him.

Nil was taken aback by the Jedi's change of attitude. Comparing this version of the Jedi to the one who had wrecked The Peepshow, Nil would never have guessed that Kusdi would ask for the opinion of him or any clone for that matter. However, Nil carefully kept his feelings and thoughts bury beneath his stone-faced exterior.

"We can try but I don't think it likely. We may need to take out this patrol. Do you think you can manage in a firefight if it comes to that?" informed the pragmatic soldier.

After brief pause Kusdi replied, "Master Yoda's mantra about trying which has been ingrained in me since a youngling comes to mind but in this case seems entirely inappropriate considering my condition and our circumstances."

"You lost me, sir."

"Never mind, Nil. I will trust in your strategic analysis. I should have enough for a short fight if we are able to make quick work of the droids and get away without close pursuit"

"Then perhaps we should consider a different approach," suggested Nil.

"And that would be?"

"Well sir, perhaps we should set our own terms for engagement and attack them before they can discover us."

"Nil, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were Force-sensitive."

Nil just looked at the now smiling Jedi in puzzlement. He had no idea what Kusdi meant. So he had nothing to say in reply.

When it was finally obvious that the clone was not going to respond, Kusdi said, "Let's come up with a plan. Where are the droids now?"

"They've scattered in a standard search grid in two pairs with the command droid overseeing and presumably reporting."

"Ok, let's take a look to see their progress."

First Nil crawled to the entrance to peer out of their hole and shortly thereafter with considerable effort, Kusdi joined him. The grass-like vegetation hung down over mouth of their hiding place making it easy to observe the surroundings but difficult for anyone or anything to see the occupants. Their burrow was situation near the top of a gently sloping hill that ending at a small grove of trees. The two pairs of droids were making their way up the hill checking the several burrows that were scattered across the hillside—all of them apparently empty. Kusdi was impressed that the clone had chosen well.

The droid commander had taken up a position in the middle of the hillside moving up the hill as the other droids moved up always maintaining an elevated position to watch his subordinates. The droid commander was still about ten meters below Kusdi and facing down the hill. The hill apparently kept climbing above them before gently rolling away. While they could try and scramble up and away from the droids, the distance for the wounded Jedi to traverse in the open without any cover would most likely be too great to complete without being spotted. By then a chase would ensue putting Nil and Kusdi at a great disadvantage and at a distance that would favor the long reach of the droid blasters who could easily stay out of range of the Jedi's light saber while flanking them.

"I have an idea to make this easier. Just follow my lead, Nil," Kusdi said in partial inquisitive manner.

"You're the general," answered Nil as he put on his helmet.

Kusdi then summoned the Force and made a small pushing to one of the burrows to the left of droid commander. The Force push made a small thud followed by the sound of following pebbles that attracted the attention of the commander.

The squeaky metallic voice rang out over the hillside, "Uh oh, we've got movement in that one. Check it out."

"Roger, roger," came the response.

Both pairs of droids began making their way to the burrow in question. The commander remained where it was a few meters from the burrow. When the first pair of droids closed to about the same distance, Kusdi made another push with the Force on the burrow causing yet more disturbance. Finally the droid commander began to make its way toward the hole being careful to let the other droids stay between it and the burrow.

When the droids had taken up strategic positions with one on either side and two in front of the opening, the droid commander began to get impatient with the hesitation of the other droids and criticized, "Well, take a look already."

As one droid cautiously moved toward the dark mouth of the burrow, Kusdi once again reached out his right hand drawing on the Force. This time however the Jedi used the Force to grab the droid commander and begin levitating him slowly in the air.

"Hey, what's going on?" screamed the droid as its counterparts now watched the strange performance. As the battle droid hovered about six meters off the ground and began to turn and wriggle as if to slip free from some invisible hand, Kusdi used the Force to flip the droid across the hillside to crash into the other droids like a bowling ball picking up a spare.

Three of the four droids went down in a pile as the fourth droid stared in astonishment unaware of the two figures emerging from the shadowy burrow above it. With a grimace and grunt, Kusdi used the Force to accelerate and jump the distance to the last standing droid. The Jedi drew his saber using his right hand while his left hand and arm hung uselessly. With the signature snap-hiss, the green blade elongated sweeping through the droid's chassis neatly cleaving the droid into two as it toppled over—its innards still glowing from being superheated.

Nil had scrambled out of the burrow and was surprisingly quick without the Force. He reached the fray a few moments after Kusdi who was now hunched over in obvious distress holding his lit light saber. The command droid lay nearby and attempted to stand. With a grimace the Jedi straightened and took a quick step toward the active droid. As Kusdi decapitated that droid, its voice cried out presumably in an emergency transmission, "It's the Jedi…"

Nil fell on one of the other droids using his body to pin its arms against itself to prevent it from using the blaster that it still clutched. Using his gloved hands, he violently yanked the droid's head right, left, and the right before the head pulled free from its body in a cascade of sparks.

The last droid had managed to point its blaster while lying on the ground at Kusdi and squeeze off two quick shots. The Jedi easily deflected the shots: one into the ground and the other into the sky. Seeing the danger, Nil slung the head that he held at the last operational droid striking its hands knocking the blaster wide as two more bolts skittered harmlessly into the burrow. Kusdi took quick steps toward the droid and with a lightning fast sweep left and right motion as if he were inscribing an "X" on the droid, the Jedi slashed the droid one direction taking out the blaster along with part of its body including a shoulder and hand before reversing direction to finish the droid's demise.

Kusdi disengaged his light saber sinking to his knees with a groan. Nil jumped up and grabbed the general attempting to steady him.

After a few moments of steady breathing to help control his pain, Kusdi remarked, "That was a great 'head' shot, Nil." Even through the expression of pain, the Jedi managed to look up at the clone with a wry smile on his face.

Again Nil was speechless. The Jedi was actually being friendly. This was going to take a little bit to get used to.

"I think the droid was sending a communication," surmised Kusdi.

Nil agreed, "Yeah and we can expect more droids soon."

Kusdi got up with some help from the clone. He teetered for just a moment before eventually appearing to gain some stability.

The Jedi Knight offered direction, "Take at least one of those blasters for yourself and anything else that we could use but make it quick. We need to start moving now."

Nil promptly went work. As he was bending down to grab a spare blaster pack he asked, "Are you sure you can travel?"

"We don't have a choice, do we? I'll make me a sling on the way and maybe we can find me a strong walking stick," answered Kusdi.

"Ok, I've got it all. There wasn't much. I'll get the pack as we head out," Nil replied.

"The crash site is back that way several klicks," Nil added as he pointed toward the grove of trees at the bottom of the hill. "So we should head up over the hill away from it."

"Ok, you lead the way at least for a while until I can recover from our little skirmish."

At that the pair headed off into the night. It would be a long night of evading the droid pursuit that would be hot on their trail. The chase had begun.

CHAPTER 12

In the capitol of Cerea

Mok Vanuu had just sent an incredible number of droids to assist with the elimination of the troublesome Jedi. Somehow the Jedi had managed to elude most of the droid patrols. Those droids that did stumble upon the Jedi and his clone companion usually wound up as scrap metal before reinforcements could arrive. He was frustrated by the ineptness of the droids. This latest redeployment should remedy the situation.

Unfortunately, diverting so many ground troops and even aerial support has led to a much more rapid withdrawal from battle fronts. They were losing ground much too fast. The Republic forces should have been kept at bay in a stalemate. But now the Republic forces would overwhelm him in less than two weeks. He wondered what Dooku would think if they were soundly defeated within a month of beginning the invasion. Vanuu also considered how difficult it might be for him to escape unscathed. He was steadily growing more and more afraid feeling like he was trapped in a no-win situation.

Catching himself slipping into his negative ruminations, he tried to refocus his thoughts. At least progress was being made. He knew that the Jedi was wounded. He also was wandering in a part of the planet that was relatively rural. Well, most of the planet was rural for that matter—uncivilized and backwards. This was partially why some of the Cereans had advocated for Separatist occupation. They hoped that Separatists would force the Cerean government to adopt a less traditional approach and allow technology to spread unimpeded. Where were these advocates now? And why weren't they helping him get this pesky Jedi?

It did not matter. Soon the Jedi would have no place to run. They would have him and then Dooku would send the reinforcements. This all would be a minor inconvenience. They would be able to dig in and the Republic would have a great difficulty removing them.

He received an urgent message on his datacard. This was not good. The Republic forces were almost in position to begin an assault on the capitol. If only he hadn't had to pull all those droids. Vanuu began to plan out contingencies in his mind should the capitol fall.

Another urgent beep distrubed Vanuu's concentration on what might be his exit strategy. It was Dooku. Suddenly Vanuu felt nauseous. What did the Count want now? He hoped and half-prayed that the Count had not grown tired of waiting for the Jedi to be eliminated and decided to remove him from command. The Separatist leader never enjoyed to be kept waiting. Mok nervously positioned himself in front of the holoprojector and touched the button to initiate communication.

"Yes, my Lord," deferred Mok.

"Have you completed your objective?" questioned Dooku with piercing eyes while raising his right eyebrow slightly.

Vanuu glanced at the image of the Count to gauge his disposition. He was not encouraged in what he saw. Fear gripped his heart. He took a breath tryin to push his growing anxiety away. The Neimoidian then explained, "I have sent more than enough droids. He has nowhere else to run. He will be found and killed in no time."

"In 'no time" is what I am concerned about," lamented the Count.

"It will be done"

"I am sure it will, commander," responded Dooku to the surprise of Vanuu. The Count was not known to be gracious. Vanuu considered that the Count must want something else.

"Send me any information that you have in regards to the hunt," stalled the Count. Dooku did not just want to jump too quickly but the Neimoidian's failure was beginning to make it awkward. Not only was Dooku growing impatient but he was steadily becoming angry: very, very angry.

"I have another task for you which you should be able to accomplish quite easily," soothed the Separatist leader.

"If there is anything I can do, my Lord, you know that I am more than willing to do it."

"You have the Cerean president imprisoned?"

"Yes, my Lord. He has been placed under house arrest."

"Very good. It is time for him to sign a treaty."

"I beg your pardon but with the Republic knocking on our door, I don't think he will consider it."

"Perhaps not. But you will draw up the necessary papers and make him sign it assuring him that Cerea will greatly benefit—much more than we will benefit by having them a part of the Separatist movement."

"It will be done, my Lord. And if he refuses?"

"I suggest that you let him know what will happen if he doesn't. I will contact you to hear of your successes," concluded Dooku emphasizing the plural form of the word so that Vanuu clearly understood that his failure thus far in eliminating the Jedi would not be overlooked the next time.

As the transmission ended, Mok's legs grew weak. He let out a deep breath. He had not realized how much stress that the conversation had put him under. He wanted to crawl away and hide but he knew that he had better get started on the treaty. It would take some time to hammer out the appropriate details before he could even present it to the Cerean president.

Mok Vanuu returned to his desk and got to work on the treaty. As he plugged in the appropriate catch phrases and terminology, he wondered how he had allowed himself to get into this mess.

Jedi Kusdi and Nil managed to avoid being captured—narrowly. Unfortunately, Kusdi had not been able to get any significant rest to help him recover. They would rest for a short while but only enough to gain back some of the strength that he had had just a few hours earlier. If it wasn't for the Force, Kusdi would have quickly backslidden in terms of his physical wellbeing. For right now, the Jedi was maintaining a status quo—just barely.

The two had been playing a cat and mouse game with the droids to avoid be caught. Most of the time, they had been able to circumvent patrols but this often required backtracking and circuitous routes preventing them from making any progress toward any destination. Since they were not confident in the direction that help might be, their inability to make progress was becoming a serious problem.

Kusdi knew that Cerea was primarily a rural planet with concentrated areas of population only occurring in a few select areas that had evolved into cultural centers housing the Outsider Citadels. Kusdi and Nil had agreed that the Republic and Separatist fronts were likely located in the vicinity of these areas. Unfortunately, large distances often separated these areas and the two had no idea which direction one might lie and how far it might be.

Jedi Kusdi had decided early on that they should try to avoid any native inhabitants. The pair did not want to cause any unintentional harm to any Cereans by causing the droids to retaliate. The abodes that they encountered were simple farmhouses usually already abandoned. Occasionally they would find a habitation that had recently been razed by droids. These were the ones that the pair would scour for resources such as food.

Unfortunately, the fugitives were not able to stop in any one place for very long. Only on two occasions did they have to engage the droids and these were only long enough to employ guereilla warfare tactics to strike fast and hard before using the ensuing chaos to make their escape.

During their journey, Nil briefed the general on what he believed had occurred while the general had been incapacitated. Apparently, Republic forces had arrived as an intense space battle could be seen towards the horizon late one night. Nil also described the number of droid patrols and their initial search pattern and then how things had changed since their crash landing. Nil also assured Kusdi that The Peepshow was a total loss and that very little if anything would have been gleaned from the wreckage. All in all, it was apparent to Kusdi that the Force was with them.

It was after several days of avoiding the droids with numerous times of backtracking that the Jedi experienced what he could only describe as an "impression through the Force." Kusdi tried to explain to the clone what it was like to no avail. How does one explain color to a blind person? After much discussion, often between the interruptions of the droid patrols, Kusdi settled into the idea that what he was feeling was like a "gut feeling" only stronger. This was an idea that Nil could grasp.

The Jedi Knight explained that the Force was impressing on him that there was some place that they needed to go. Kusdi was not sure of exactly where it was or why they needed to go there, which left Nil rather unsettled. He was not even sure how far it was but assured Nil that he would know the place when they found it. The general had a vague notion as to which direction that they needed to go and would be able to keep steering them even with the extra backtracking and sometimes random directional changes required to keep the droids guessing.

Since the two had developed a strong rapport, Nil had confidence in the general. Besides, Nil was satisfied that they now had some kind of direction albeit it was an ambiguous destination. Nevertheless, this new revelation seemed to curtail the floundering that had marked their travels to this point. It offered Nil some hope and assurance that what they would be doing was more than senseless wandering. They were growing very weary but the vague sense of purpose spurred them onward.

CHAPTER 13

On Belkadan

Ki-Adi had Chip working on the spy droid to dissect it. It was a tedious task to bypass the security protocols that would cause the unit to self-destruct. Finally after several hours he had managed to access the core systems and what appeared to be the memory.

The Jedi Master strode to the makeshift worktable behind the defense perimeter that the clones had established near their recent ambush site. So far, no other droids had been sent. The clones had scouted ahead and had identified the security measures and cameras that had been placed around the apparent entrance to the base.

"Chip, you've made some progress?" asked Mundi.

The clone had been delicately prodding the disassembled droid and snapped to attention as the Jedi general approached. With vigor Chip answered, "Yes, sir, general. It took some time but I have accessed the core systems."

"And what have you found?" inquired the Jedi as he studied the droid parts carefully arranged trying to make sense of what he was observing.

"The droid is definitely a monitoring device. Its function is pretty simple really. It is designed to record a basic video recording and return that information."

Understanding illuminated the Jedi Master's face, "Yes that makes sense as we have been jamming communications at least in the areas that are within the range of our jamming device."

Commander Bacara just arrived to the informational meeting and remarked, "So this was a way to spy on us?"

Ki-Adi replied, "It appears so, commander."

After a couple of seconds of silence Chip offered, "Would the general and commander like to see what it recorded? Most of it is still intact and should be clearly visible."

"Yes that might be helpful," agreed Mundi as Bacara nodded.

Chip made some adjustment to a small data pad and then to a small black object among the droid parts that had wires running to the data pad. "Just a second… there," the clone soldier reported as a snowy image appeared on the pad with some static. The image jumped and became a clear picture of a battle already in progress—the battle that had recently taken place. The video played for several minutes from a high vantage point. Curiously, Ki-Adi noted that the droid had been frequently focused on him and then the cortosis-plated droids. After the climatic ending resulting in the enormous dust cloud, it was several more minutes before another image could be identified. The last images were of the Jedi Master looking up in a different direction before raising his hand as if to grab something. A brief look of frustration was evident on the Jedi's face and in a few moments, the image of Mundi reached up at the camera. The camera rushed toward the hand of the Jedi ending in more static and fuzz.

Chip shut off the recording and silence ensued. All three men stared at the small screen as they pondered what they had seen. Mundi broke the silence, "This is a disturbing revelation."

Bacara added, "They certainly know that we are here now."

"It means much more than that, commander," the Jedi Master mysteriously surmised.

The two clones looked at each with surprised expressions and then at the general with raised eyebrows indicating that they expected him to elaborate further.

"This means that the Separatists have known that we have been here for a long time. Perhaps the entire time that we have been here," explained the Jedi. The clones still looked inquisitively at the general as they clearly did not know how the Jedi had come to this conclusion.

"These droids were sent because someone knew that we were jamming communications. They recorded video and returned to the sender bypassing the communication jamming to provide detailed information on what was happening," clarified Mundi.

"I get that. But I don't see how you came to the conclusion that the Separatists have known that we are here," countered Bacara.

"First of all these droids were designed to thwart a communications jammer. They were not just thrown together. They were carefully designed and crafted for this purpose," enlightened the Jedi Master.

"He's certainly correct there, Commander," offered Chip who received a quick scowl from Bacara obviously displeased. Bacara still did not fully trust the Jedi and did not want to encourage him further.

"Therefore, those that sent the droids were expecting someone who would be jamming communications in a covert operation," explained Ki-Adi.

The Jedi seeing that neither of the men had any objections continued, "Did you notice what the droid focused on?"

Seeing that the commander was not going to respond, Chip offered up an obvious observation, "The battle, sir."

Ki-Adi always remained a teacher at heart and was delighted at the opportunity to illuminate someone with a new point of view. His attitude was not intended to be one of arrogance as he joyfully hoped to encourage the clones to consider the circumstances at a deeper level. However, Bacara perceived the Jedi Master's endeavor as just another attempt to demonstrate the superiority of the Jedi religion. Wisely, the commander carefully kept his feelings buried and his expression impassive.

Ki-Adi smiled at Chip in the attempt to encourage him and said, "But the droid did not seem to care how the clones fared in the battle. It was focused on my tactics in the battle with the droids who, by the way, just happened to be plated with cortosis armor."

Bacara had to admit (only to himself of course) that Mundi did have some incredible insight. The recognition hit him like an explosion and even he could not completely maintain an expressionless façade. The wheels of his mind turned as he played out the implications of this revelation. Ki-Adi wisely held his tongue allowing Bacara to draw conclusions that he had already acquired.

Finally Bacara conceded to the Jedi's sound rationale, "So this was a set up from the beginning. You were lured here to test the effectiveness of these new droids."

"Well, Commander, I'm not sure that I personally was lured here but certainly someone wanted a Jedi to come and investigate," reasoned the Jedi.

Chip soaked it all in and proposed, "Then there is no reason to maintain a communication blackout with the ship. The captain needs to be warned and everything that we have learned needs to be sent on to Coruscant."

"That is exactly what I was thinking, Chip," Ki-Adi proffered. He was feeling very pleased that this teachable moment had been seized and skillfully appropriated. Mundi then asked that a secure channel be opened with Captain Hamsil.

Over Belkadan

Captain Hamsil was beginning to worry. The Jedi's sudden departure had not been totally unexpected. He thought that the Jedi Master would insist on accompanying the initial drop but Hamsil had been impressed with the discipline of Master Mundi as well as his patience. After interviewing the clones on deck, Hamsil was sure that the Jedi had felt something go wrong on the surface.

There had been no communication since then which was part of the plan. Communication blackout was standard on a covert insertion mission. He had been allowed to make routine reports that might be expected for a reconnaissance mission but no mention of the actual mission could be included. Everything since had gone as planned. They had monitored activity at several points in the relative vicinity of the drop zone. The exact nature of the activity was unknown due to his ship's standard sensor package. No transmission directly from the planet had been intercepted although there were some "curious" communications from just outside the system. Perhaps there were pirates in the area but Hamsil had the nagging feeling that there was more to it than that.

The captain had maintained perpetual readiness and observation but was growing increasingly uneasy. The timeframe was beginning to become stretched considerably. His continued presence, if he was being observed by enemy forces, would be raising suspicions for a routine reconnaissance. There were too many irregularities to this whole scenario.

Captain Hamsil was gazing at the planet contemplating all this as he had been doing for several days now. Nothing had changed really. Perhaps that was what worried him the most.

His revelries were interrupted by the communications officer, "Sir, we have an incoming transmission from the planet. It appears to be from the General Mundi and the landing party."

This surprised Hamsil greatly. He expected the general to be a little less obvious when he broke communication silence. Either the mission was complete or something had gone dreadfully wrong. His gut feeling was the latter.

"Is it encoded or encrypted in anyway?" asked the captain.

"No, sir. But it is on a secure channel and seems to be urgent," replied the officer.

"Ok, I'll take in my…" responded Hamsil partially before his was interrupted by the officer.

"Sorry, sir, but there is another transmission originating from the planet to a destination somewhere outside of the system," apologized the officer.

Hamsil only took about two and a half seconds before he barked, "General Quarters everyone. Let's hear what the general has to say." Chaos erupted on the bridge and alarms sounded.

"General Mundi, it is good to hear from you but I fear that the wheels have just come off," said Captain Hamsil.

Elsewhere below the surface of Belkadan

Dr. Sunnarti had been engrossed in completing his latest project per the request of Count Dooku: a command chair encased in cortosis. He was quite proud of this project and was sure that the Count would be as well. This chair would serve anyone who expected that one might be attacked by a Jedi wielding a light saber.

The chair offered a cocoon effect so that only a direct, stabbing blow would hit the person without striking the chair. Even a small turn would create an angle that would cause the light saber to short out if only for a moment. He thought that he might actually have to use it himself although he sincerely hoped that he would not. If this Jedi really had come to assassinate him, then it just might save his life.

Considering these implications and the rejoicing in his accomplishment suddenly reminded him that the latest test of the cortosis armor was long overdue. He wondered why the insipid droids had not contacted him to let him know of the results and the latest video from his surveillance droids.

He walked across his private workshop to a desk and touched a panel, "Have the surveillance droids returned with the latest video?"

A metallic voice through the com system faltered, "Yes, sir, well, sort of."

The doctor was steadily becoming flustered with the incompetence of the bucket of bolts, "What does that mean?"

"Well, sir, only one of the droids returned," the droid answered.

Sunnarti considered this for a moment. There could be a number of explanations: battery failure, a stray blaster, a mix-up in programming, but the most alarming was that it had been intentionally destroyed or disabled.

"Why didn't you inform me that the droid had returned," demanded an irate Sunnarti.

"Err, you said not to disturb you," came the response of the droid.

Sunnarti wanted to scream. "Stupid, stupid droid." The doctor could in no way conceive of a droid who might even come close to the intelligence of a living being. Although he had to admit, there were plenty of beings that seemed to have the intelligence of a wambat.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself down for a moment before replying, "Send me the video feed immediately. I need to see what happened."

The doctor took a seat behind his desk and when the light blinked indicating that the data had been transferred, he activated the screen in his desk that raised up to allow him to conveniently scrutinize the images. He played the video file back often rewinding and zooming in to observe various aspects that he found particularly interesting. Overall, he surmised that the experiment had been successful. He was certain now that this particular cortosis alloy could be formidable indeed.

He had been deeply impressed with how the Jedi had ended he battle. Although he was not an expert on the abilities of Jedi, he was pretty confident that what this Jedi had done was exceptional. Not only that, he was also sure that the Jedi and clones had come dangerously close to being overwhelmed by the droids. Without this final intervention, the droids might have actually won the battle. Yes, Sunnarti was feeling quite proud of himself.

His contemplations were disturbed by the images that appeared sometime later after the dust had begun to settle. He saw the Jedi look directly at the droid and reach up as if to grab it even though he was a considerable distance away. The droid's defensive protocols must have activated because the next set of images were jumbled from the droid dashing through the jungle to return to base.

The Jedi was now aware that his mission was no longer a secret. Sunnarti had to assume the worse. The other droid had at the very least been destroyed if not captured. It would take some time to get any information from a captured droid. He had been careful in designing it but a competent slicer could disable his security protocols.

He thought about everything very carefully. If he had known this earlier, then additional precautions could have been made. But several hours had elapsed since this footage had been taken. The Jedi could even be on his doorstep right now. He would heed Dooku's advice to not underestimate this Jedi. It would be better to escape with the entire research intact than try to save an installation that had already been compromised. The first step would be to put the base on alert and then call in the reinforcements to take out the Republic ship. When that was accomplished, he would transfer his data to one of the ships and then make his way out of the system. After he was safely away, he could inform Dooku of everything that had occurred and provide him with all the relevant data. Sunnarti was sure that the Count would be pleased with everything thus far and he would surely be rewarded with at the very least funding to continue his research.

Sunnarti touched the com once again, "Put the base on full alert. We will be invaded any time. If, that is, they haven't done so already."

"Yes, sir," came the metallic reply as red lights began to flash and alarms sound.

The doctor needed to gauge the amount of time that he had because if the Jedi had already made it into the base, then his time would be extremely short indeed. He touched the com one more time, "Report. Have any sections failed to report?"

"No sir. All areas are reporting normal."

"Have there been any brief or minor malfunctions or perhaps strange occurrences with the base entrances?"

"No, sir. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Satisfied that the Jedi had probably not made it into the base without being detected or at least without alerting anyone to his presence, Sunnarti ordered, "Get me a secure channel to our reinforcements just out of system."

"Right away, sir ," came the reply. After a few seconds, the light on the desk indicating an active com flashed, "Sir, I have your open channel but you should know that a transmission to the Republic ship has just been initiated."

Sunnarti realized that the delay from receiving the surveillance droid's data had not been debilitating. The Jedi had probably just realized that his secret mission had been compromised. He still had time. His goal was now to stay at least two steps ahead of the Jedi until he least could escape.

Sunnarti touched a second button on his desk, "It is time commander. Bring in our reinforcements and destroy the Republic ship."

CHAPTER 14

On Cerea

Kusdi and Nil made slow progress toward the unknown destination. They had to make large circuitous detours often backtracking in order to avoid the droid search parties. It was very tedious and taxing. Kusdi knew that he could have easily evaded the droids on his own but he knew from the Force that Nil had some part to play in whatever was to unfold. Besides, he and Nil had developed a very powerful bond. They were partners in survival and duty. They had shared a deep mutual respect and a sense of camaraderie that went beyond superior and subordinate. Each contributed a certain expertise that the other did not have. Kusdi's Jedi training offered a wide variety of stealth techniques when combined with the subtle uses of the Force made him a formidable opponent. Nil's knowledge of strategy, topography, and droid limitations enhanced the pair's ability to avoid capture exponentially.

The biggest obstacle was their lack of rest. Time was definitely against them as they were continually being harassed and harried. The toll on them physically, mentally, and even spiritually was beginning to have huge detrimental effects. It was just a matter of time before they would make a mistake—perhaps even fatal mistake.

While they were able to keep from being spotted, it had become increasingly difficult to completely remove all evidence of where they had been. The large rolling plains made it impossible to disappear into their surroundings. Fortunately the droids would often be an hour or two behind them.

During one of their rare down times to rest, the two quietly conversed.

"I think we might be getting fairly close," Kusdi mentioned hoping to bolster Nil's moral.

"Any idea of how far?" asked Nil.

They had chosen a secluded grove of trees set against a series of foothills that gradually rose to what Nil had designated as the south. Although neither had any idea as to whether that direction was actually south to the inhabitants of the planet.

"I'm sensing that where we need to be is just over that second ridge," Kusdi explained.

"I'm pretty sure we will find a small lake in that vicinity," added Nil.

This observation just sounded right to the Jedi. Fatigue was setting in so Kusdi just acknowledged it with a slight bobbing of his head.

Nil broke the momentary silence, "I'll keep watch and you take fifteen minutes and do your Jedi meditation thing. Then maybe I could have fifteen minutes of shut-eye. I don't think we should dare stay here longer than that."

Kusdi nodded his head and managed a slight smile before closing his eyes. Nil took advantage of the opportunity to partake of some water. Fortunately, there was plenty of fresh water to replenish their supplies as well as a large variety of apparently edible vegetation.

In the Cerean Capitol

Mok was growing increasingly impatient with his droids. How hard was it to kill one Jedi Knight? If he dedicated any more droids to the hunt then the Republic troops would blow right through his defenses.

He pulled up the latest intel on the hunt. The droids could discern no discernible pattern to the Jedi's movements. If he could figure out where the Jedi was headed then he could plan a suitable ambush and end this perpetual cat and mouse game.

Mok noticed how masterfully the Jedi had randomized his movements. There was no telling what the next step of the Jedi would be. Sometimes he backtracked. Sometimes he circled around. Sometimes one direction and then another. As he looked at the map and the confirmed locations scattered across the landscape, he simply zoned out for a few moments.

It was during this time when he brain sort of timed out that he had an epiphany. He went to the touch screen and tapped some new parameters into the map. Slowly the various locations appeared according to the time sequence.

"No, it needs to be faster," Mok said aloud to himself. He touched the screen again and the sequence started over this time about twice the speed. He frowned as he watched the screen, stopped the display, and increased the speed an additional three times the current speed.

It took only about eleven seconds for the program to run but there was a definite direction to the overall movement of the Jedi. For most of the sequence the Jedi was headed toward the more heavily populated portion of the planet where the Republic and Separatist forces were engaged in a fierce ground fight for control of strategic sites.

However, during the last week or so, the overall progress had changed direction. He no longer seemed to be headed toward Republic forces but now in a different direction.

Something seemed familiar about this new focus. He should know the significance of this new direction. He stared at the map desperately trying to think.

"Where are you going?" the Niemodian said to himself. He scrolled across the map in the general direction that the Jedi seemed to be headed from a extremely faraway perspective going halfway around the globe.

"This isn't helping," he said as he began tapping again. Again the terrain scrolled but this time with a much closer examination of the topography.

Nothing appeared significant to him so he adjusted the angle of trajectory slightly and ran the program again. Suddenly he saw a familiar sight: a lake. What was it about that lake?

Then it came to him. This was the lake. This was the primary target. Yes, it made perfect sense now. Of course the Jedi would be headed there. And he would have a surprise waiting for him.

"You can dodge and weave all you want. I know where you are going. And when you get there, I will be waiting for you. You won't get away from me this time, Jedi," said the ecstatic Separatist commander to the map.

Mok then went into a deep planning and strategy mode. He would cover every contingency. There could be no mistakes this time. Everything depended on it—maybe even his very life.

In Space Above Belkadan

Hamsil looked at the tactical display to determine which of his option best fit the situation that he faced. Three Separatist cruisers had reverted from hyperspace. Due to the positioning of the ships, they must have been positioned just outside of the system off the normal hyperspace route. They were closing fast to block any escape and disgorging droid fighters. He was outgunned. He was frustrated with himself for not being able to predict this unexpected twist. Retreat was only option and it was not going to be easy.

He wondered how the Jedi would feel about being left behind. Surely he would understand the necessity of a tactical retreat.

The clone at the communication counsel cried out, "I have an urgent message from General Mundi, sir."

Hamsil did not really have time to chat but ordered, "Put it through."

"He just sent an encrypted message which says that we are to withdraw and get the data that is attached to the Jedi Council. It is paramount that we succeed at all costs. The data is vital for the way. A data package with further encryption is attached."

The decision was made for him. He could waste no time. He tapped a code into the armrest of his command chair.

"Everyone," Hamsil called out with precision and calmness, "You are receiving your orders on how to proceed as I speak. We have no time to waste. Send an encrypted transmission to General Mundi's location that reads: Orders received. Enacting scenario Gamma 213 Episilon."

Everyone went promptly to work with the typical precision of a clone crew. The captain felt the vibration through the deck plating of the sublight engines that were now straining to move the ship into position. The
Separatist ships were beginning to pepper the shields of the Republic ship although they were still too far away to inflict any damage.

Hamsil stood up and began to pace the bridge with his hands grasped behind his back. The plan would be to make a feint as if he would take the long way around using the moon as a shield in order to get the ship into position for a hyperspace vector.

Hamsil was gambling somewhat that the droids would be ordered to destroy his vessel. If they got into position and held their advantage of numbers, then Hamsil would be stuck. The droids could take their time and mine one exit course effectively trapping the Republic ship behind the moon. Then at their leisure, the droids could pick apart their defenses until there was nothing left. Hamsil was pretty sure that the droids primary directive would override commonsense.

As the Republic ship began to move behind the moon, the droid ships tipped their hand by moving early. The fighters were in chase mode, which made it easier for the Republic gunners to pick them off. Even so the fighters were sent in mass and began to harass the Republic ship attempting to thin the ship's defenses.

Hamsil projected that the Separatist ships would send two cruisers to welcome him while the third followed him around the moon to pin him. He waited for what seemed like eternity. He could feel the pounding of lasers against the hull and the thud of ship's cannons attempting to take out as many of the fighters as possible.

The helm knew the order was coming. The clone kept one eye on his instruments and the other eye on his captain. It seemed like forever to him as well. But he also knew that timing was crucial. Hamsil had given him firmly given him specific instructions to execute on his command. It was a risky maneuver and the tension was thicker than a Wookie's matted hair.

Finally Hamsil issued the order, "Now helm. Hard about. Then give it all you got to go back the way we came." He ordered the communications be jammed so the droid fighters could not alert the cruisers and so the pursuing cruiser could not notify it's cohorts of his new change in direction.

As the ship shudder slightly and the inertial dampeners strained, Hamsil gave some additional instructions more for encouragement as detailed orders would have already been received, "Gunners, when you see the Separatist cruiser, pound it hard. Focus on the guns. Don't worry about the engines. By the time they turn around, hopefully we will be well on our way to our hyperspace jump."

Hamsil watched the stars spin by as the ship made its hard about. He could feel a pull to his right but for the most part the inertia dampeners compensated satisfactorily. As the moon's horizon settled into the left hand portion of the viewscreen, Hamsil had an idea. However he needed some more information. Hamsil asked, "Sensors, what is the gravity of this small moon and what is the composition of its surface?"

The brownish-gray moon obviously did not have any atmosphere. It's surface was pocked with meteor craters.

The clone informed the captain, "It is approximately one half of standard gravity. The surface is a mixture of silicon, some glass, various ores including iron, numerous metallic elements such aluminum and titanium, silica, volcanic ash, basaltic rock…"

"Ok, I get the picture. It should do," interrupted Hamsil. He began tapping into the sensor console as several images of the moon scrolled on a screen. Finally, three red dots appeared on the screen image of the moon and the captain stood up with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"This should do just fine. On my mark I need six concussion missiles to detonate at these coordinates on the surface of the moon. Make sure they detonate on impact," commanded Hamsil.

"Aye, Aye, Captain!" exclaimed an excited clone.

The crew watched the dark side of the moon crawl past as the horizon grew brighter. The captain's eyes squinted slightly as he carefully examined the screen. The captain inhaled and told the gunners, "Fire the missiles."

"Missiles away!" answered a clone.

Two red streaks of fire streaked from the right and left of the view screen, which were quickly follow by two additional pairs of missiles. They quickly headed toward the thin line of light that divided the light and dark sides of the moon that was just barely visible but quickly drawing closer. The red dots shrunk and disappeared immediately before six explosions erupted in a slight arc perpendicular to the ship's approach vector. The resulting explosions pushed huge plumes of brownish-gray matter away from the surface creating an enormous cloud into which the Republic ship would travel.

"Helm," the captain iterated with a most pleased expression on his face, "Just make sure we don't collide with the Separatist cruiser on the other side of the cloud."

CHAPTER 15

On the Surface of Belkadan

Master Mundi and the clone trooper named Chip had taken their positions. The team had moved quickly after discovering that the entire mission had been a set-up: they still had a job to do. Mundi and Chip had climbed a dalloralla tree near to the primary entrance of the base. The Separatist had made a large clearing where the five entrances opened to lead into the underground base. The tree branches weaved together to form a canopy over the entrance so that activity in and out of the base could not be observed from the air or even from a high resolution satellite.

Mundi and Chip had taken up a position over the large main entrance. They were on the lowest branch, which still put them about 10 meters above the ground. From their vantage point they could easily see everything that happened leading up to and around the base entrances.

Bacara and his men had carefully mapped out and rigged all of the surveillance cameras around the base entrance. When everything was ready, the cameras would be taken out at the same time. Then the plan would unfold.

The Jedi Master could sense the rising anxiety in his clone companion. Waiting while doing nothing was often very hard for the clones—they were bred for action. Ki-Adi took a deep breath and centered on the Force. He focused on the Jedi Code feeling the serenity that always accompanied his meditations. Then very carefully, he imagined then tendrils of peace and confidence extending outward toward the clone. Gingerly he could see them first touch Chip at various points and gradually wrap around the clone—first at the extremities—the arms and legs and then around his torso.

The result was that Chip became visibly relaxed. It was a reduction of tension that resulted in an even higher sense of awareness and alertness. Ki-Adi was then thankful that he was able access the Force in such a subtle fashion. In his youth, he knew that he would never have had the patience or discernment to engage the Force in such a subtle manner. While what he had done was similar to the Jedi Mind Trick and even required accessing the Force in a comparable approach, bolstering the emotional constitution of a person required a certain finesse that could only be attained with the acquisition of wisdom and patience.

Ki-Adi sensed a change in the demeanor of Chip. For just a moment, the clone intensely concentrated on something that resulted in the typical walling off his emotions. The Jedi quickly realized that the clone had received a communication via his in-helmet com. Chip then flattened his left palm and used his two fingers of his right hand to touch the middle of his left palm. He then motioned with his right hand in a ball and his thumb at his right eye. Then he pointed down with the two fingers of his right hand at one of the smaller base entrances.

Everything was ready and everyone in place. Mundi nodded and used the two fingers on his right hand to point at the entrance indicating that it was a 'go" to begin. The Jedi Master then made sure that Chip was on the same page as he pointed at the clone and then tapped his own chest to signal that Chip was to stick with him and follow his lead. Chip nodded affirmatively that he understood and the pair watched the area below them.

The sounds of the jungle seemed to have disappeared. The inhabitants instinctively knew that something was about to take place. It was as if all the animals were watching and waiting along with Ki-Adi and Chip.

Master Mundi watched as Crater crawled out of the brush across the rain forest floor that had been worn down by the droid appendages continually exiting and entering the base. The small access hatch was set into the ground to be flush with the ground and had holographic texturing that allowing it take on the characteristics of the surrounding terrain. While the technology could not compare to a cloak, it did allow the entrances to be a lot less obvious than just a grey, metal hatch.

It took Crater about ten seconds to deliver his ordinance package before crawling backwards to the point from which he had emerged. Unless Crater had become a little enthusiastic with his work, which was always a possibility, the blast should damage the hatch significantly enough to make it unusable but not allow direct access by blowing it completely open. It was intended to give the appearance that the team was trying a direct assault on the base but had been unable to create a clean access point through the blown hatch.

First the surveillance system would be taken down and then the fireworks would begin. Without any "eyes" outside, the Separatists would be forced to send some droids to either investigate or repel the clone invaders. After which, the next phase of the plan would commence.

Mundi could tell that Chip had received a message via his in-helmet comlink to Bacara. Chip gave Ki-Adi the "thumbs up" sign to which Mundi returned the sign nodding his head in agreement indicating that everything was good to go. The excitement of the clones reverberated through The Force.

As the Jedi Master turned his head to watch the explosion, a blinding flash lit up the clearing followed by an intense concussive detonation that echoed throughout the jungle in every direction. Dirt and debris rained on Ki-Adi and Chip, which had been deflected by the forest foliage back down toward the ground. The smoke from the explosion made it difficult to see. The bitter smell of the ordinance and molten durasteel combined with the putrid smell of decomposing jungle foliage offended Ki-Adi's sense of smell for a brief moment before drawing on the Force to lesson his inherent sensitivity to the new smells.

Ki-Adi wondered if their plan was going to work. Would they be able to draw the Separatists out? Ki-Adi then spotted through the thinning smoke the hatch that was the intended target of Crater's craftsmanship. It was definitely not going to be used for a long time. Crater had once again earned his name.

In Orbit Above Belkadan

The light from the sun reflecting on the small beads of glass that had been blown from the surface of small moon gave the illusion of glitter falling up. The Separatist cruiser that had followed Captain Hamsil around the moon to trap him diverted course to take it around the debris cloud. The result was an orbit that was much farther than Hamsil's ship.

Captain Hamsil's ship entered the cloud on a trajectory that angle slightly toward the surface of the moon. The intention was to use the moon's gravity, what little it had, to accelerate the ship and sling shot it as it left the gravitational pull of the moon. Various sized particles streamed over the surface of the ship as it pushed through. The inertia of the ship dragged some of the particles with it so that when the ship emerged on the other side of the cloud, the ship appeared to have added a thin comet's tail to its profile.

Hamsil's crew anticipated the ensuing battle. The gunners quickly found their target and immediately began pouring blaster fire over the Separatist ship. Concussion missiles streaked from the Republic ship pounding the Separatist ship's hull. Even before the targeting sensors resolved from the interference caused by the debris cloud, the Republic gunners were scoring hit after hit. Hamsil was thrilled by the results so far. Everything was working even better than he had hoped.

"That is one advantage that organic beings will always have over machines," Hamsil thought to himself. While the Republic gained an enormous advantage with the surprise tactic, the droid programming automatically compensated by ordering the return of fire. Fortunately, the conservative Separatist response had diverted its course so that the exchange of ship to ship cannon fire was not quite point blank range.

The Republic gunners had done a remarkable job taking out several of the gun emplacements. The Sep ship simply rolled one hundred and eighty degrees so that its port side batteries, which were fully charged and undamaged, emitted a devastating barrage of energy.

As his ship received the retribution that he knew was due, Hamsil followed the progress through his small view screen that contained numerous streams of data including damage reports. In less than fifteen seconds, the brief firefight was over. The Separatist ship was left with the decision to continue around the moon or try to reverse its course. Either way, Hamsil did not plan to stay in system long enough for it to get another shot at his ship. His ship had reached its maximum subspace acceleration and was coming around the moon as it moved farther from its dead surface of the planetoid.

Shields were damaged and down to thirty-seven percent. While they were recharging, the damage meant that the return to full would take much longer. Hamsil stuffed a brief moment of panic the resulted from his fear after seeing the damage report. He was an experienced professional and trained far too well to let his emotions control him. Weapons were at eighty-one percent efficiency on the starboard banks with the port side being untouched. Sublight engines had taken some minor damage but were functioning at a one hundred percent. Communications were optimal. Navigation had taken some damage but was already rerouted around damaged circuits.

The ship had fared much better than Hamsil had expected but now he had to get them out of the system. "Where are those other two ships?" Hamsil exclaimed. The moon had prevented him from determining their course and intentions just as it had done for him. He began to receive the data even as the clone trooper gave the report.

"Sir, one of the ships had gone around the other side of the moon to intercept us as expected. But the third had hung back and is now moving to cut us off," answered the voice of the clone manning the sensor station.

"Can we make it to the jump point before they reach us?" asked the Hamsil. He could eyeball the trajectories and speed of each ship and was pretty certain of the answer—he just wanted confirmation.

"That's a negative, sir," the clone informed his commanding officer.

"Ok, gentlemen, we are going to have to fight our way through and this one will be a slugfest. We are slightly outgunned but we have the advantage of having crew of men who can make every shot count. You just showed me your remarkable skill and that is what is going to get us through this," Hamsil announced with confidence. He could feel the pride of his crew swell as each one made their final preparations for the impending battle.

The captain was determined and focused. He must not fail. He furiously examined the tactical display in order to uncover his enemy's weaknesses. He would take full advantage of everything that he detected. He had too! Everything—the mission, his ship, and their survival—depended on it.

"Gentlemen, if anyone sees anything that could help us—no matter how small—I need to know," exclaimed the excited commander.

CHAPTER 16

On the Surface of Cerea

The night sky was clear on Cerea. For the last day and a half, the two fugitives had been enduring a steady cascade of rain making miserable things for Kusdi. Nil had his clone armor so precipitation did not hinder his physical capabilities except if they got bogged down in a mud and muck. Kusdi as a Jedi could have utilized the Force to create a Force barrier to repel the rain but he was still barely maintaining his current physical state, which was not anywhere to being optimal.

The cool night air felt good on the Jedi's face. In order to focus more on healing his body and keeping up his energy, he had not been as diligent about keeping all his systems regulated: in particular he had not been worried about getting a little too warm and perspiring. Therefore the drier air that was coming from the direction that the pair was calling "north" was evaporating his sweat keeping him cooler. While he was grateful for his training, he was also extremely weary. He wished now that he had taken his physical training a little more seriously. He regretted that he had relied too much on The Force during his early years. His master had lectured him numerous times on being too dependent on The Force but he had dismissed the advice as being rather archaic. It then occurred to him how prideful he had been. Since many of his fellow padawans had been in agreement with these views, Kusdi suddenly had the fear that perhaps a great flaw had become manifest within the heart of the Jedi Order. He was afraid that maybe this character flaw could have an insidious result. However, he was too exhausted to reflect on the implications of this new fear and it would only be a dangerous distraction that could prevent him from focusing his efforts on using The Force to rejuvenate his battered body.

He resolved to spend considerable time in meditation and reflection of this new revelation once this mission had concluded. He also was determined to carefully guard against this prideful attitude now that he had become aware of it. He would make sure that he treated Nil (and all clones) with the highest regards and respect from here on out. For a brief moment, the Jedi entertained the idea that perhaps there would not be a "later" time for him to ponder this new insight into his own character development and what it might mean for the future of the Jedi.

It was well into the night hours when the pair decided to rest. They had begun the steady accent toward the top of the ridge that seemed to be their goal. The patrols had definitely come with less frequency, which the two had decided may not necessarily be a good sign. They were pretty sure it wasn't because they had completely fooled the Separatists. Even though he was unsure of the reasons, Kusdi felt like he was making at least some progress in healing. He also was sure that the answer to the lessened patrols would be uncovered once they had reached the place that they were going.

As they sat taking in some nourishment, Nil with his helmet now off informed Kusdi, "We have a local tailing us, you know."

Without even looking up Kusdi agreed, "Yes, he has been with us for a couple of hours. He, however, does not seem to be a threat."

"Still," Nil told him, "we probably should find out what he wants for his and our safety. He could get ambushed by a droid patrol or carelessly cause a patrol to discover us."

Kusdi thought about it for a moment but then looked at Nil shaking his head negatively saying, "No, I think our friend is much too skilled for that but I agree that we should extend an 'invitation' of hospitality for him to join us."

Nil smiled at the Jedi's comment. A bond of friendship was definitely being formed between them. They were beginning to think alike.

Nil casually got up and stretched. He wandered off into the brush opposite of where their tail was holding his watchful position. Nil tried to make it look like he was going to relieve himself.

"Just go easy," Kusdi instructed as an afterthought. He closed his eyes to take advantage of this brief moment to mediate.

A nice breeze wafted through the trees. Kusdi could sense and smell the new growth that was occurring around him from the rain. He drew energy through the Force from the life all around him. While countless forms of life dwelled in the concrete jungle of Coruscant, the life energy on planets like Cerea was far different. It was much more harmonious and serene than the almost chaotic ebb of life on the bureaucratic seat of the Republic. The gentle rustle of the leaves whispered a soothing message of tranquility. A winged creature of the night added a cry of victory as it completed its hunt for sustenance. Even though the war had invaded this bastion, the destruction seemed thousands of light years away. Everything at this moment just seemed right to the Jedi Knight.

Soon the meditations were interrupted by the arrival of Nil with blaster in hand ushering in a young male Cerean. Despite the obvious curt expression on Nil's face, the Cerean was totally relaxed and seemed unconcerned with his immediate future.

Kusdi decided that their recent arrival afforded no danger. He gestured to a place beside him saying, "Please join me. Have you eaten recently? Can I offer you some food?"

The young male appeared to be physically fit and not lacking in nourishment. He wore simple clothes typical of Cerea. The outward wrap resembling a type of robe was darkly colored either green or brown. A slight gust of wind turned the edge up slightly to reveal a light tan suggesting to Kusdi that perhaps it was reversible making it ideal camouflage on Cerea for day or night.

Their guest gracefully took a seat on the ground next to Kusdi revealing that his youthful muscles were toned and in top form. His eyes sparkled with intelligence and compassion. Kusdi was sure that the new arrival was acutely aware of every detail of his surroundings.

The young man tipped his large cranial head typical of Cerea as a sign of respect to the invitation saying, "Thank you, Jedi or is it 'Master Jedi?'"

Jedi Kusdi pulled a clump of small orange fruit with red blemishes from a larger bunch and handed them to the guest. The fruit was tart and sweet but full of vitamins and anti-oxidants. The sharing of food in the Cerean culture that had traditionally been agriculturally centric was a vital ritual of hospitality. Kusdi understood that the Cerean would expect a friend to share the provisions of the land. The Cerean touched his forehead with the extended fingers of his right hand as he took the food with his left hand.

As the young visitor pulled off the berries with his right hand slipping them into his mouth, Kusdi responded, "No, I am only a Knight not a master. I am called Kusdi."

Kusdi also began chewing on some of the native fruit as Nil took a seat at small distance behind the pair in position not only to keep a close on their company but on their surroundings. The last thing that they needed was to be surprise by a droid patrol. Kusdi waited patiently as his friend finally swallowed the couple of berries that he been chewing.

The young male smiled and told Kusdi, "You have found some particularly flavorful Ka-Cy-Tee fruit. They have wonderful healing properties, which is something you seem to have great need of. You have chosen wisely, Jedi Kusdi."

Sensing that the young man still had more to add, Kusdi simply nodded his head in acknowledgement of the Cerean's observation. Kusdi not only recognized the nutritional value of the fruit but he also found their flavor to be especially delightful.

The new arrival continued, "My name is Ken-Ta Harnish."

"Nice to meet you, Ken-Ta. My companion's name is Nil," answered Kusdi. The fact that the Jedi now introduced him by name pleased the clone trooper immensely. Things had definitely changed between Nil and the Jedi.

On the Surface of Belkadan

Master Mundi waited patiently for the Separatists to respond, He could sense Chip getting edgy. It had only been a few minutes but when one is expectantly waiting for something big to happen, it seemed like an eternity. Perhaps they would have to engage in plan B and Mundi would use his light saber to carve an opening in one of the entry points. This meant that they would have to fight their way through the entire contingent of droids on the base. They had no idea how many droids were still left. Maybe the delay was due to the number of droids on site that were precariously depleted. Then again, since this had been a setup from the beginning, maybe the Separatists were expecting misdirection.

Regardless, Mundi knew that time was a luxury that they did not have. They needed to gain access to whoever was in charge before he absconded with the data on the cortosis armor. Ki-Adi carefully considered which smaller hatch would be better served to break into: the entrance opposite the one that Crater just decimated or an adjacent door.

He had decided on the adjacent access point to the right when a resounding metallic clang signaled the opening of the large entry way in the center. It opened with one end simply dropping down four meters to form an exit ramp from a chamber the surface. Mundi and Chip were above the opening slightly to its right. A direct drop straight down would position them on the ground to easily make a second jump into the base.

The clearing shortly echoed with the steady marching of metallic feet on durasteel deck plating. Row after row of battle droids five abreast began emerging from the base followed by 3 rows of super battle droids.

Bacara and his clones on the ground began firing as soon as they had a clear shot at the heads of the emerging battle droids. Blue blaster fire erupted from the edge of the clearing where the clones had taken cover. The heads of the several of the first droids were blown off in a cascade of sparks before they were able to return fire. In a moment, however, the red blaster fire from the droids began spraying across the clearing.

The droids kept pushing through the debris from their fallen comrades. When the supers finally were positioned to pour blaster at their assailants, the clones began a steady withdrawal. Once the base entrance was clear of exiting battle droids five droidekas rolled up the ramp and unfurled to add their considerable firepower to the fray. Two spider droids then ambled up the ramp and positioned themselves so that they were slightly behind but in between the three innermost destroyer droids.

The battle droids began to systematically and steadily push forward into the rain forest in pursuit of the clones. The droids had no regard for plant or animal incinerating anything that stood in the way of their line of fire. The spider droids advanced next as the droidekas waited until they could safely shut down their shield generators to redeploy.

Behind the advancing droid line, Ki-Adi using the Force dropped silently to the ground. Chip using his repel cable followed suit with almost of much gracefulness and barely a whisper. The two leaned over the edge and dropped inside unnoticed just as the door began closing.

In Orbit Above Belkadan

Captain Hamsil studied the navigational display with the in system gravity wells overlays. He desperately hoped that inspiration would come. But there was no other way to the hyperspace jump coordinates. There probably were other routes but they had never been plotted. The only way that they could make the hyperspace jump was to go through the Separatist cruiser. The captain feared the worse. His ship had already suffered significant damage in their previous encounter. Repairs were quickly being made but his Acclamator-class ship was outgunned by the Separatist cruiser even if his ship had been undamaged and in pristine condition.

He reconsidered withdrawing to try to effect repairs but he just did not have enough navigational data. They could run for a little while but the three Separatist cruisers were more than enough to eventually corner and destroy them. He thought to himself, "No, it would be better to face the one ship now than the other three later."

"May the Force be with us," the distraught captain muttered.

One of the clones close enough to him turned from his station and asked, "Did you say something, sir."

"Nothing soldier. Let's show those clankers how we do it!" responded Hamsil angrily in the attempt to hide the dread that was threatening to overwhelm him. Of course, his training would never allow that to happen. Neither would his determination. He would complete the mission. Failure was not an option for Hamsil.

"Separatist cruiser is opening fire. They are positioned to intercept us. The only way is for us to go through," the helm announced.

"Hold fire, men. On my command, I want blaster cannons only to fire. I want to save the missiles until we are close enough that they will not be intercepted. On my second mark, I want a barrage of concussion missiles that will overwhelm their point defenses," ordered the captain.

Hamsil was sure that the droids had been ordered to take them out at whatever cost was needed. The Separatist definitely were not stingy with their droids or resources. He suspected that the Separatist cruiser would even sacrifice itself by colliding with his ship if it meant that they would be destroyed. As he studied the telemetry, it occurred to him that the Separatist ship would probably try to use Belkadan's gravity to pull his crippled ship down in a fiery inferno after ramming it.

Hamsil pushed a button on his armrest to open a channel to the hanger, "I need you to prepare a special surprise for these tinheads. We are going to need some separation. I want you to load up a shuttle with all the ordinance that it will hold. Set it to explode upon impact and get it ready to fly off the deck programming it to go full-speed straight ahead."

"Aye, aye, captain. It will be my pleasure!" announced a suddenly enthused clone. "I will be waiting for the order to let it fly!"

The helm reported that they had now entered the zone where the shield would begin taking damage. Flashes of light from the droid blasters hitting their shields appeared on the viewscreen as the droid cruiser steadily grew larger. Still Hamsil waited to give the order to return fire.

"Sir, shields are taking minimal damage but I want to remind you that the generators are damaged and taking much longer to recharge the shields," a clone told his captain.

"Thank you for the reminder but I am well aware of our shield status," the captain replied. Hamsil realized that the stress in his voice probably sounded a little snippy even though he had not meant it to be perceived that way. Always the leader, Hamsil habitually monitored his voice inflections and facial expressions as he knew that the smallest unintentional display could undermine his influence and therefore his effectiveness as a commander.

"A slight change gunners," proclaimed the ship's leader, "I need batteries A, D, and G to focus on the point defense systems. Take them out so our missiles will hammer them. The rest of our blaster batteries fire at will. Engage the enemy, men!"

The concussion from the blaster recoil vibrated the deck. The frantic pace of battle commenced erupting in a cacophony of electronic alarms and voices crying out reports and directions to the various stations throughout the ship.

Green and red blaster fire poured back and forth between the two ships. Missiles arced from the Separatist cruiser. Many of them were picked off by the Republic point defenses. But still no missiles were hurled from the Republic ship. However, the batteries assigned to the task reported that they continued to successfully disable point defense batteries.

Hamsil's ship bucked at times as explosions rocked his ship as blaster fire from the Separtist ship destroyed sensitive areas. Damage reports gushed into the captains read outs. "Port sensors destroyed. Shields are down to twelve percent. Distance between the ships was closing to less than a kilometer. Medics needed on deck C."

The Separatist cruiser was coming alongside the Republic ship almost as if it intended to throw grappling hooks across in order to board it. In a few moments they would be at point blank range.

Amidst the chaos the captain calmly ordered, "Missiles away! Fire at will."

From all over the hull, red lights flared from concussion missile propulsion. Even from the missile tubes on the opposite side, missiles streaked out and then looped around the Republic hull to pound the enemy cruiser. Hull breaches erupted across the enemy's ship as it discharged atmosphere. The Republic gunners had successfully taken out over half of the point defenses while the Republic ship had reported that only one of its missile tubes had been knocked out.

"All batteries fire at will! Pound those kriffin' clankers!" ordered Hamsil as there was no sense in targeting those defenses any longer. Hamsil watched as the two came alongside each other trading blows like two heavyweight boxers going toe to toe. The Separatist cruiser was taking heavy damage but it did not seem as if it would be enough.

"They are targeting our engines sir!" a clone shouted to be heard above the din. The ship continued to rock and shudder as explosion after explosion pounded it. Then a new telemetry crossed Hamsil's holoscreen that caught his attention with great concern. At the same time one of his bridge officers announced, "The cruiser has changed course, sir. It appears as if they mean to ram us."

While this was not unexpected for Hamsil, suddenly facing the reality seemed to punch him in the stomach. As he considered the damage to his ship and the numerous systems that were failing, he knew that they would not survive a collision of any sort even one that was a glancing. This did not bode well for the completion of their mission. He was afraid—not of dying but of failing. For just a moment, he wondered how Master Mundi was faring on the surface. Then he seized on his anger and pushed his fear aside. He still had one card up his sleeve.

CHAPTER 17

Below the Surface of Belkadan

Inside the secret base, Ki-Adi and Chip quickly took cover behind some cargo containers. There were two battle droids in the staging hanger that had been left behind to maintain a sense of readiness. Ki-Adi used the Force to create a small invisible distraction that kept the focus of the droids opposite from the hanger exit as the pair quietly slipped out into the adjoining hallway. The vibrations from explosions on the surface reverberated occasionally in the hanger.

From there Mundi and his clone companion slid down the hallway. Mundi was not entirely sure of where they needed to go but was trusting in the Force to guide him. The immediate objective was to find a computer terminal so Chip could hack into the system. They needed at least a map and where the main research was conducted. Ki-Adi hoped that they could capture whoever was in charge with his or her research intact.

As they encountered security cameras, which were scattered throughout the facility, Master Mundi used an old Jedi trick to momentarily blind the camera so they could slip past. If someone was watching the monitor, they would see about five seconds of static. They encountered no one: droid or living being. The Jedi Master surmised that whoever was in charge had emptied the base of its droids, which most likely meant that this being was either preparing to vacate the premises or had already done so.

Following a hunch, Ki-Adi used the Force to open some doors to a compartment off of hallway branch. The contents were rather mundane and the room rather small. Apparently with a base full of droids, this room was not really used. It did, however, contain a computer terminal.

Without a word, Chip went to the terminal hoping that it was active. With a small, inaudible sigh of relief, he discovered that it was fully functional. Chip quickly went to work and had full access within a few seconds. Unfortunately, Chip determined that access to the research data was locked out from every terminal except for the one located in the research laboratory. Chip was able to pull up the schematics of the base.

"Here is the lab," explained the expert hacker through the speaker of his helmet, "and over here is a hanger with a shuttle that is preparing to leave."

"So our target has not left yet," declared the Jedi, "It seems our little diversion has worked not only to clear out most if not all of the droids but given our prey some false security,"

Chip explained that he could not access the research data from this location. He then showed Ki-Adi that the only terminal that could access the information was being used right at that moment.

"Apparently, our good friend is still trying to collect his data before leaving," concluded Ki-Adi.

"Here are the locations of the remaining droids," Chip shared as small red dots flashed on the holographic map. Chip pointed at several of the dots.

"This is the hanger?" asked the Jedi pointing to the one location that seemed to be separate from the facility.

"Yes," acknowledged the clone, "There are only a handful of droids there."

"And no droids between us and either the lab or the hanger," finished Ki-Adi.

"I suggest that you head to the lab while I disable the security measures. I'll then head to the hanger to secure it just in case you miss the rat," proposed Chip turning his helmeted head toward the Jedi.

The Jedi Master nodded his head in agreement before adding, "It seems that you have the longer of the journey. I will break silence to warn you to expect company if for some reason, I fail to apprehend the object of our hunt."

Master Mundi gracefully spun with his robes swishing slightly opening the door and leaving Chip to finish his work. Chip turned back to the terminal and made quick work of the security protocols before he too exited the room to proceed to his intended destination.

On the Surface of Cerea

Ken-Ta told Jedi Kusdi his story. He began by revealing how he had diverted two patrols by leading them away from the fugitive pairs' position. They should have a few hours at least but they should be careful not to let their guard down as the droids seem to be especially intent on finding the two. Ken-Ta did not understand the droid motivation as the Separatist had rerouted large numbers of droids from the main battle fronts that were greatly needed for defense. The redirection of vital reinforcements had such a damaging effect that the Separatist's were quickly losing ground. The strategic mistake was so glaring that it should have been obvious to even the most inexperienced commanders. The Cerean youth wondered what was important enough to risk losing their hold on the planet. Now that he had determined that they were searching for a Jedi and not even a Jedi Master, he still could not grasp the rationale of the Separatist commander.

Kusdi pondered this as their guest elaborated but he too was at a loss. Had he missed some important intel along the way? Were the Separatists hiding something that they either thought he had uncovered or was in danger of uncovering? He assured Ken-Ta that he did not understand why he was so important to the Seps but perhaps the Force would reveal more. Kusdi looked at Nil questioningly who was listening intently but he just shook his head indicating that he had no insight either.

Kusdi turned to Ken-Ta and asked, "So you came out here to try to discover what was so important to the Separatists?"

Ken-Ta averted his eyes looking down at his feet. He remained silent for a few moments. Kusdi wisely kept quiet as waiting for the young Cerean to expound. Finally, Ken-Ta looked up sheepishly at the Jedi and took a deep breath. Kusdi nodded at him to encourage him to explain realizing that the Cerean had ventured for a different reason..

Ken-Ta exhaled slowly before beginning again. He informed the Jedi that he had not ventured to find what the Separatists were seeking. He explained that his fiancé was Sylvn, the daughter of Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi. When Ken-Ta mentioned that Master Mundi had a daughter, Kusdi could not hide the shock that was displayed on his face. Seeing the shocked expression, Ken-Ta understood why Kusdi was staring at him in disbelief and proceeded to give an explanation.

It is true that attachments in particular marriage and family is forbidden by the Jedi Code. However, occasionally the Jedi Council grants specific exceptions to many of the codes although usually very reluctantly and not without a great deal of drama. In Master Mundi's case, the reason for the exception was due to practicality and the survival of the Cerean species.

Suddenly, Kusdi understood, "The Cerean females vastly outnumber the males. So the males are essential to the continued propagation of the Cerean species."

"And the Jedi Council weighing the importance of Master Mundi's duty as a Cerean reluctantly agreed to allow him to marry," added Ken-Ta as Kusdi bobbed his head in agreement.

Ken-Ta then clarified the details as he understood it. Apparently the Council did not deny the fact the Ki-Adi had married and had had a family but they also not inform the other Jedi of the fact especially those in training. Most Jedi were oblivious to the idea. The Council believed that if the Jedi learned that an exception had been made then others would seek to become excluded from the prohibition against having families. When one has a family, one must provide for the family. This combined with the emotional attachment could literally cripple a Jedi and the entire Jedi Order leading many well-intended Jedi to the dark side. When a person has a responsibility to care for another, then one's duty becomes rather emotional. The Jedi are responsible for every being equally. When someone is more important that the rest of the galaxy, then the Jedi's ability to make objective decisions could be compromised. The Jedi's passion might be aroused. The Jedi out of fear and then anger seek to protect what is more important. As Master Yoda frequently pointed out, "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hatred and hatred leads to suffering."

The rationale of the Council made sense to Kusdi. He had always accepted the ban as being fundamental to the Jedi Code but now questions began stirring within him. He wondered what it might be like to have someone special. Is not the bound between Master and Padawan special? He quickly caught himself and returned his focus to the moment at hand, which he recognized was due to his Jedi training of being mindful of the moment. Perhaps later he could reflect further on the matter and the implications that it might have on him as well as other Jedi.

"Ok, so you are engaged to a Jedi's daughter?" prompted Kusdi.

Ken-Ta affirmed Kusdi's intent for him to continue by smiling. Sylvn was Master Mundi's oldest daughter who was Force sensitive. However, because of the relationship, she was prevented from formally training. Instead, Mundi was given permission to informally train his daughter in order for her to not be tempted in using her innate abilities in the service of the dark side. While she had not reached the proficiency of a Jedi Knight with the ability to build her own light saber, her father had given her the first light saber that he had built to keep safe and to use in training. Ken-Ta even beamed for a moment as he proclaimed that she had become quite capable with it especially considering that she did not have the intensive training for those at the Jedi Temple.

Sylvn and Ken-Ta had been in the capital fighting with the resistance when she had had a premonition through the Force that she needed to return home to her mothers and siblings. She had abruptly left while Ken-Ta had stayed behind to continue the fight. He was not very worried for Sylvn as she was a competent warrior and quite able to take care of herself. When the Republic had arrived and he had not heard from Sylvn, he had begun to be afraid. Then the Separtists began withdrawing droids and when intelligence had learned that the missing droids were searching for something or someone, Ken-Ta had volunteered to penetrate enemy lines to ascertain what the enemy was up to. Besides knowing the terrain extremely well, Ken-Ta had a vested interest in finding out what had become of Sylvn.

Rather than completing his mission immediately, Ken-Ta had headed directly to the Mundi homestead. It was here that Ken-Ta became visably distraught. His eyes welled up with tears and softly sobbed. He put his head down into his hands.

"It's okay," empathized Kusdi, "Take your time… when you're ready…" The Jedi reached out to gently place his hand on the Cerean's shoulder.

After a few moments, Ken-Ta was able to continue. When he arrived at the valley, one of the few such valleys on this part of the planet, he found a scene of utter destruction. The entire valley was a smoking cinder. The trees were burnt to the ground. Not a living thing was left in the valley. The homestead had been incinerated completely. Nothing was left except for smoking ruins and ashes. The ground appeared to have been superheated to the point of becoming molten.

He described how he began to search for survivals but he knew in his heart that no one was alive. Everyone had died in the devastating barrage of a capital ship planetary bombardment. Ken-Ta explained how he sometimes had these feelings in his gut and was always right. Some people had told him that it was just intuition but Sylvn had said that it was the Force connecting through the innate sensitivity that everyone had by simply being connected to the Force as a living being. The last account had been almost a question as Ken-Ta looked at the Jedi for affirmation that her conclusion had been correct.

Sensing that the young Cerean needed some affirmation, the Jedi told him, "That is what the Jedi believe. It could be that you have some subtle Force sensitivity that was not enough to train but could give you above average insight. You should trust your intuition."

The newest arrival seemed to accept this and continued. He described finding the remains of numerous droids that had been annihilated with the entire area. It appeared that a battle was being waged between the droids and someone at the clearing at the edge of the lake, which was situated about a hundred meters from the domicile.

"It was poking through the ashes of a person that I found this," said Ken-Ta as he pulled a small cylinder that had been severely scorched from within his robes. He passed it to Kusdi who took it and began examining it.

"I would know it anywhere," mumbled the grieving Cerean. "It is Sylvn's light saber."

Kusdi looked up and tried to offer him some encouragement, "Perhaps, it was someone else. Maybe there is another explanation."

Ken-Ta shook his head negatively, "No, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was my Sylvn. I feel it in my gut. Besides all the evidence points to the obvious conclusion. She was defending her family being completely engrossed in the fight when the attack from above came."

Kusdi reached out again and grabbed the Cerean's shoulder reassuringly pouring as much compassion as he could manage. This was not one of his stronger predispositions in the Force. It seemed to be enough as Ken-Ta looked up with gratitude in his eyes.

"She probably never knew what happened," consoled Kusdi. Ken-Ta nodded in agreement as they sat in silence for fifteen or twenty minutes. It was during this time that Nil being very uncomfortable with such intense expression of grief slipped away to make a sweep of the area.

The night was extremely silent—almost deafening. It was then that everything seemed to become clear to Kusdi.

The Jedi broke the silence, "Ken-Ta, I need to ask you something. Master Mundi's residence… It's close isn't it?"

The Cerean gave Kusdi a look that expressed, "Of course, isn't it obvious?" Then he realized that the Jedi was not familiar with the terrain not being from this planet.

"You have been heading there for several days now. It is just over the ridge," said Ken-Ta confirming Kusdi's suspicions.

"The Force has been guiding us in this direction but we had no idea where we were headed. Now we do. It is very clear. However, I'm not sure how we are supposed to proceed."

Kusdi then asked a series of questions to prompt Ken-Ta, who was emotionally drained and no longer in the mood to talk much. After spending time stacking stones over the ashes of Sylvn, Ken-Ta had searched further but had concluded that the rest of the family must have taken shelter in the homestead, which was totally obliterated. They must have died inside.

Then Ken-Ta had remembered his mission and thought that perhaps the absent droids had been sent to the Mundi dwelling thus answering the question. But as he looked around, he realized that there were not enough droid remains to account for the large numbers that had withdrawn from the front lines. He had then gone in search of the other droids which he had found trailing the Jedi and the clone. However, after a couple of days, a large number of the droids were diverted somewhere else. He was not sure to where they had been redirected. He felt that they had not returned the front lines but were up to some sinister purpose related to their search. It soon became apparent that the two were headed in their winding and elusive way toward the Mundi residence. Ken-ta had assumed that the pair knew where they were going.

Nil returned indicating that everything was still clear. Kusdi then announced, "I need some time to meditate on this new information to see what the implications may be and how we should proceed. Nil, are you okay to keep watch for a while?"

Ken-Ta spoke up, "I know that you two are worn thin. Please let me watch for a while as you rest. I know the area like the back of my hand."

Nil and Kusdi looked at each other. Nil was not offering any input abdicating the decision to the Jedi.

Kusdi offered, "I think we can trust him, don't you, Nil?"

The clone appreciated that the Jedi was asking for his approval even though the Jedi was his superior officer. Nil responded by addressing Ken-Ta, "Ok, wake me in an hour. If you see or hear ANYTHING, keep it quiet and wake me. Our best bet is to try and slip away without being seen. Okay?"

Ken-Ta was greatly pleased that he had earned the trust of the two seasoned veterans telling them, "Absolutely!" Kusdi then repositioned himself into the traditional Jedi meditative pose and began contemplating these newest revelations. Kusdi began repeating the words that had been ingrained in him since his earliest recollections, "There is no emotion..."

CHAPTER 18

On the Surface of Belkadan

Commander Bacara continued to direct his men to withdraw deeper into the rain forest. The battle droids were spread out blasting the vegetation in order to increase their line of sight. Chip had provided a crucial count of the numbers of droids that were intent on eradicating them. The battle droids were not really much of a concern as they had prepared several surprises for them that soon would take out most of if not all of them. Even the droidekas were not much of a concern because they would either be hampered several trying negotiate the jungle growth or they would try to flank them by taking the path that the droids had blazed and been using to traverse the difficult terrain. The big concern would be the two spider droids but he was confident that he and his men could deal with them as long as they chose the terms of engagement.

He was glad that the Jedi had taken it upon himself to infiltrate the base. Now he and his men could show their worth by taking out these droids. Up to this point, the encounters had been stacked heavily against them. The whole mission had been a trap for the Jedi. The Jedi Master had been an incredible asset to his team. In fact, he agreed with the assessment of his men that they would have failed miserably without him. This was only because the enemy had anticipated their arrival and been thoroughly prepared.

Master Mundi in particular seemed to be a leader of the highest caliber. Bacara knew that this was not usually the case with the Jedi who were automatically given the status of general simply by being a Jedi. Many of the Jedi were arrogant and wreckless. They often took foolish chances guided by this so called Force that lacked a sound strategic basis resulting in the loss of life, which typically were clones. Clones that were his brothers! This most of all was what burned up Bacara.

The power that the Jedi wielded was incredible. General Mundi was extremely conscientious. He did give Mundi immense credit there. It was just too much power for individuals to exercise: At least brandished without any accountability beyond themselves. He had heard the differences between the Jedi and the Sith who were their opposite. In one sense they both seemed to be the same. Both groups thought that they knew better than other people and often made decisions for them because they thought that they could better do so because of their connection to "the Force."

Sure the Republic was run by the Senate. However, the Senate was corrupt and manipulated by those that thought that they knew best and were often only concerned with what was best in their own interests or the interests of those who funded their political campaigns. Besides, as Bacara saw it, the Jedi did not serve the Republic but the Republic and the Senate served the Jedi. What the Jedi wanted, the Jedi got: sometimes without even asking any questions. This seemed to be too much control.

General Mundi was different as a person, as a leader, and as a Jedi. But ultimately his loyalty was to the Jedi Order and its goals, which were never articulated in public or understood by anyone who was not privy to the inner workings of the Order. Mundi was a superb warrior. He was an excellent leader. He was even a caring person. Mundi had earned Bacara's respect if only grudgingly. However, Bacara did not feel he could ever completely trust the general even if his men seem to be totally enamored with the Jedi. He wondered if his loyalty might be put to the test regarding the Jedi.

His ruminations were interrupted by Crater's voice coming through the secure com channel, "The battle droids have almost advanced into the range of optimal damage, Commander."

"Copy that," answered Bacara, "You have a green light. It's your all, Crater."

Bacara liked giving his men permission to engage at their own discretion. It showed that he trusted them and it boosted morale. Besides, he did trust these men. They were the best of the best. He had made sure of it before they had started their training for this new unit. They just had to prove it.

The droids continue to advance. Blaster fire echoed through the trees as plants and small trees erupted into smoke and flame. Bacara heard the sound of the destroyer droids rolling. Some had apparently decided to flank them as he had expected by rolling down the path to get behind them.

Edge announced through the com, "Looks like two destroyer droids have peeled off to flank us."

"Copy that. Don't worry about them at the moment. Just keep your head down," replied Bacara.

It seemed like forever to the Commander as he waited for Crater to spring his surprise. To Crater's credit, his discipline overrode his enthusiasm as he waited patiently for the precise time to set things off.

"Fire in the hole," declared Crater at long last. "Burn you stupid tinheads," he added in a mutter that echoed everyone's sentiments making it seem like he had forgotten to shut off the channel when Bacara knew he was too disciplined to do something so absent-minded.

Fifty yards away from Bacara, a battle droid's attention was drawn to its feet where a red began flashing. It had not noticed that something was partially buried there until that moment. A metallic voice that almost sounded like it was filled with dread then said, "Uh oh…"

Then the jungle erupted in tumult of roar and fire as Crater detonated the charges that he had planted hours earlier. Trees splintered from the fire and from the heat. Vegetation flared as it was incinerated. The sudden heating of the surrounding air surged up until it met the higher, cooler air pushing it sideways creating billowing mushroom cloud of smoke.

The smaller trees ringing the blast site were pushed away crashing down around Bacara and his men. Some trees closer to the epicenter but outside of the fire radius were snapped off mid-trunk while others were simply uprooted. Flaming debris rained down all around the blast site igniting much of the surrounding jungle including many of the large dalloralla trees.

Bacara's ears were ringing even though his helmet had protected him automatically by dampening the thunderous noise from the blast. It took Bacara a few seconds to reorient himself and realize that he was lying on his back. Even though he had taken shelter behind a large decaying log, the blast had knocked him back and covered him with debris. A large branch from a tree had fallen over him but had not injured him in any way.

"Report. Is anyone hurt?" demanded Bacara. To his great relief everyone checked in with only a few bruises and minor burns. Mostly his men chuckled and gently ribbed Crater for utter devastation.

Then another explosion registered in the distance. It had come from behind them some ways. Bacara then had to confirm his orientation that it had come from behind them. It had.

"Looks those destroyer droids won't be flanking us after all," Crater joked as it became obvious that they had rolled into the section of the path that he had laced with mines.

"Ok men. We need to determine how many droids are still out there. So be careful and do not engage until you have backup. Remember there were five destroyers and two spider droids. Spread out and good hunting," ordered Bacara.

Collision alarms blared across the bridge. The two ships continued to pound each other with blaster fire and missiles. Both ships were leaving a trail of debris that was slowly getting sucked into the Belkadan's atmosphere.

"Thirty seconds to impact!" screamed a clone over the cacophony of noise and alarms.

It was time for the desperate measure that Hamsil had prepared. He pushed a series of buttons on the arm of his command chair and called, "Launch the shuttle now. Full speed and have it continuously shoot its lasers until it impacts the enemy cruiser."

He waited anxious for confirmation for three or four seconds although it seemed more like an hour. Finally, a clone called out, "Shuttle is away, Captain."

"On screen," answered Hamsil. The viewscreen split to show a shuttle driving straight toward the Separatist cruiser lasers firing. He knew that the low-powered lasers would not normally do much if any damage. However, he hoped that the cruiser's lack of shields and having already sustained significant damage might allow the lasers to blast away some of the hull so it would burrow deeper into the ship before exploding.

Hamsil punched several more buttons and announced with more than a little anxiety in his voice, "All hands brace for impact." He watched the shuttle disappear into a section of the ship that was bleeding flaming metal and atmosphere. Suddenly the screen lit up in a blinding white flash and the Republic received a jarring impact that overwhelmed the inertia dampeners. The ship kicked violently sending loose materials flying in every direction. Several of the bridge crew had not held tight enough and were launched several feet through the air.

Then there was resounding boom that echoes throughout the ship and the ship jerked violently in the opposite direction. The deck plating shook from the explosion that could have only come from within the ship. Those who had been able to maintain a hold and remain in place during the first ship's spasm could do so this time. Consoles broke loose sliding in showers of sparks. Bones snapped unable to withstand the violent force of the jolt when bodies met bulkhead. Yells and grunts reverberated across the bridge. The main lights went out to be replaced by the emergency lighting.

Captain Hamsil picked himself off the deck and went back to his chair. He had not broken any bones but his right shoulder was at least severely bruised and his back was going to be sore for a long time. As he sat down the main lights came back on revealing clearly the ruin of the bridge. If the bridge was in this bad of shape than what condition must the rest of the ship be.

The view screen was black for the moment. The crew was beginning to pick themselves up as well. "I know were banged up and there are those that need medical attention but we need to find out what is going on outside the ship."

A clone stumbled to a console that seemed to be working. At least the artificial gravity was working and the inertia dampeners were still functioning keeping them from being squashed. Another console flashed with a fountain of sparks to Hamsil's left.

"Attempting to reroute power," said the clone. Others that were able were moving to various stations. Finally the view screen flickered and then came on first fuzzy and then gradually becoming more clear.

The stars were spinning and twisting by. Then the planet began rolling by filling the screen. Hamsil tapped the buttons on his chair but the circuitry appeared be shot.

"Can we decrease the magnification and getting a bigger picture?" requested Hamsil. The screen jumped once and then a second time so that the planet's green hue filled only most of the screen. A large trail of debris could be seen that led to a ship that had sustained significant damage. The planet continued to move through the screen until only stars were visible again.

Hamsil got up and walked to the console where the clone was now seated and asked, "Can we rewind that and zoom in on the Separatist cruiser?"

"I think so," answered the clone as he began trying to manipulate the controls. The image on the screen jumped and began working backward. Then as it continued wind backwards, the screen zoomed in on the ship revealing that it was utterly demolished. The ship had broken into two large pieces both which were engulfed in flames. The rearward section of the ship was already drifting toward the planet's surface. The other section would soon follow.

"It doesn't look like the Separatist is in any shape to continue pursuit," observed the clone.

"But that leaves two others to finish the job," Hamsil retorted as the clone bit his tongue.

"I apologize. That was uncalled for," the captain said. He did not like that he had lost his composure even in this situation. "Can we get some damage reports? And see if engineering can level out the ship."

"I can report some very bad news," said the clone looking at the captain. Hamsil raised his eyebrows questioningly but said nothing.

"That large explosion that we felt was the starboard engine. It's a total loss," added the clone.

CHAPTER 19

Ki-Adi made his way to the lab encountering no resistance along the way. When he came to the security cameras, he simply used the Force to blank them momentarily until he had passed by. It seemed to him that the person in charge was a scientist or researcher. The skirmishes that they had encountered were had not been put together by a sound tactician. With the information that he had gathered, it was now obviously clear that they resembled scientific experiments more than anything else. While the cortosis droids had been quite formidable, they had not been used to their greatest strategic potential.

In the wrong hands, the droids could prove to be the undoing of Jedi and provide the Separatist an easy victory. Therefore it was imperative that Ki-Adi capture this person and hope that the data had not already left the planet. If it had, then he would have to convince his captive to reveal where he had sent the data.

Mundi stood outside the door to what he believed to be the main laboratory. He reached out with the Force to sense what was going on behind the closed door. He could sense a living being in the next room who had just felt a sense of relief mixed with a sense of finality. At least he had not left yet but it seemed to the Jedi that this was soon not to be the case.

Master Mundi motioned with his hands using the Force and opened the door in a shower of sparks. In front of him near the far wall was a desk projecting various droid schematics. Behind the desk facing the door sitting in large black chair was a Khil. The Khil looked up at the door his expression conveying surprise for a brief moment. The gray skinned being said something in his musical lilt, frowned, then touched his desktop and began speaking again this time in Standard, "My apologies, Master Jedi. I am not used to having guests and needing to translate."

Ki-Adi edged cautiously into the room quickly scanning the room to determine if there were any immediate threats. There did not seem to be anything of noteworthiness. Remaining focused on the Khil making sure that it was not going to respond aggressively. All the Jedi sense was curiosity without any animosity. Ki-Adi stopped about two meters into the room and replied, "No apologies needed… umm, mister…?"

The Khil offered a slight smile saying, "Doctor Sunaratii should suffice."

"Ok, Doctor, but I'm afraid that I will have to take you and your research into custody at least for the time being," answered Ki-Adi.

"I am surprised to see you, Master Jedi. I had thought that you were still on the surface. Apparently that was a distraction," Sunaratii offered. He needed to carefully try to uncover if the Jedi was the only one or if the entire team had infiltrated the base.

Ki-Adi offering no information simply said, "Doctor, if you would please come with me."

"I sincerely doubt that you have come to simply 'take me into custody' as you say. I assure you that my research on cortosis was not a personal attack against the Jedi even though I'm sure you won't see it that way. I was willing to work with the Jedi and under the Council but they refused my petitions over and over so I had to find other 'supporters' for my research," explained the doctor.

Sunaratii was clearly stalling. However, Ki-Adi did not know exactly why. He had sense that the doctor finished something extremely important just prior to his arrival but he must not have completed everything. Just then the desk issued three loud chirps. The Jedi sensed an overwhelming satisfaction from the doctor.

"And that signals means that I must apologize, Master Jedi. I cannot comply with your request," announced Sunaratii as he touched his desk.

Alarm lit up Ki-Adi's Force sense. He considered for a brief moment using the Force to pull Sunaratii over the desk but realized that the danger was coming from either side of him. Two doors, at the end of the room, opened with a swoosh: one door to the Jedi's left and the other on his right. Immediately he heard the clank of metallic footsteps and the swirling sound of the servo-motors as two pairs of super battle droids with cortosis armor stepped forward and began firing their blasters repeatedly.

Without thinking, Ki-Adi used the Force to snatch his light saber from his belt which ignited with the familiar snap-hiss. Ki-Adi unconsciously slip into Form III style using the Force to accelerate his movements in order to keep with the heavy crossfire. He knew immediately that he would not be able to keep this up for more than a few more moments.

Deflected blaster bolts careened uncontrollably in every direction striking the ceiling, floor, and walls and even occasionally a shield that had been erected in front of Doctor Sunaratii. The cortosis armor prevented Mundi from taking the offensive. He could retreat through the open doorway. However, Sunaratii would almost assuredly make good on his escape.

The Jedi Master expected the doctor to already trying to escape but he seemed to be carefully analyzing and almost enjoying how Ki-Adi would counter this new threat. Sunaratii was a scientist to the core and could not resist observing the outcome of his latest "experiment." Anyone would have taken advantage of the prepared distraction to escape but once again the doctor was making a tactical mistake. Ki-Adi just hoped that he could take advantage of the doctor's latest misstep.

Jedi Kusdi emerged from his meditations more refreshed than he had been since crashing on Cerea. Although he was by far not one hundred percent, he felt that he probably could manage an encounter with the Separatists that amounted to more than a skirmish. However, he felt that it would be best if at all possible not to put this to a test.

The clouds had gathered and a gentle shower had fallen earlier as he was meditating. This would make tracking them more difficult. The humidity seemed almost thick enough to cut with his light saber resulting in a thick fog that gathered about the trees clinging to them like a shroud. The fog absorbed the sounds of the night giving an eerie ambiance. Kusdi could understand why more primitive races often treated these weather events with a superstition and a sense of foreboding.

He stood up and stretched his muscles working through a quick series of Jedi stretching techniques. He was pleased that his body had recovered so well. Still he did not want to push it to the limit for fear of either tearing something loose or rupturing something that might give him a serious setback.

Nil stirred from his sleep grunting as he rolled over to sit up. He took his helmet off and said some critical remark about being in a soup and put his helmet back on. It was definitely more comfortable with his armor that contained environmental controls.

Ken-Ta silently slipped into the makeshift camp fog swirling around him. Except for the fog and his presence in the Force, Kusdi was not sure that even he would have noticed him. Of course the heavy moisture on the grass helped to absorb any vibrations and noise from his footsteps.

Ken-Ta broke the silence with a soft spoken voice, "I heard you stirring so I returned from watch."

Kusdi gave the Cerean a curious look. He hadn't realized that they had made very much noise. Then he thought of Nil's soft grunts and figured that to Ken-Ta these must have sounded like a crashing tree. Kusdi asked, "Did you see anything?"

"A droid patrols passed by to the south about a half klick away but their presence has been strangely absent," answered the young Cerean.

Kusdi considered this and thought that one possible answer was a little too obvious, "Perhaps they have been moved back to the capital?"

Ken-Ta shooked his head negatively, "No, they were seriously intent on finding you even to the point of being overmatched in the capital. And now they choose to move them back. That just doesn't make sense. They are planning something. I'm just not sure what."

"Perhaps the Force will reveal more," concluded Kusdi. He was glad for the Cereans presence during the night. The Cerean obviously knew the area like the back of his hand. Even if the droids were searching this area vigorously, he was certain that Ken-Ta would have located the patrols long before the patrols located them.

Nil spoke up, "What is the plan? Do we continue over the ridge? The local here has already informed us that there is nothing there."

Kusdi smiled slightly at Nil. The clones were always practical. Even though Kusdi had come to realize that the clones were individually unique, they did demonstrate many qualities that common across the board.

"I believe that the Force has been leading me to Master Mundi's house. I do not yet understand why but I know that I must go there even if there were no survivors," explained the Jedi as Nil shook his head slightly from side to side revealing his displeasure. Kusdi was sure that underneath the helmet Nil wearing a huge scowl of disapproval.

Nil took his helmet off with a slight hiss. He was clearly perturbed with the Jedi's decision. "Sir," argued Nil, "there really is no point for us to go there." He pointed at Ken-Ta and then added, "He's already been there and there's nothing left."

Ken-Ta just stood there impassively watching the two interact. Kusdi reached out subtlely through the Force but sensed no anxiety. He was completely calm and at peace with whatever path was taken next. This served to bolster Kusdi's confidence in his decision.

"Sorry, Nil, but you didn't quite understand," Kusdi replied calmly. He sent a few gentle waves of calmness through the Force. He had come to value not only Nil's insight but his friendship and he did not want to make this any more difficult than it would be.

Nil stood there waiting for Kusdi to explain more with his helmet under his right arm. His frustration having dissipated and his expression softened somewhat looking inquisitively at the Jedi.

"I said that the Force was guiding me," clarified Kusdi, "I will go alone."

Immediately Nil reacted with exasperation, "No, you can't go alone. If you go, then I will be coming with you."

Kusdi continued to pour calmness and peace through the Force, "I appreciate your loyalty, Nil. But I have something important for you to accomplish."

Kusdi pulled out the scorched and partially melted light saber hilt from his robes and held it up. Nil just stared at Kusdi. He expression projected clearly a loud but nonverbal, "So what?!"

"It is no coincidence that Ken-Ta has brought us Sylvn's light saber at this moment at this precise moment. This must be returned to Master Mundi. He will return to Cerea. The Force has revealed that much to me."

Nil's frustration turned to disbelief. He could not believe that after all they had been through; Kusdi was asking him to be a courier for some burned out piece of fodder. He retorted, "Why can't he do that? He found it after all. My place is with you. You need someone to watch your back."

"Actually, I am giving it back to Ken-Ta," said Kusdi as he stepped over to the Cerean and handed him the inoperable light saber.

Kusdi turned back toward Nil and walked over to stand face to face with him. He continued, "I need you to make sure that his back is watched. I need you to make sure that he gets safely back to Republic controlled lines so he can return Sylvn's light saber to her father and tell Master Mundi his story."

Understanding flashed in Nil's eyes. He recognized what role Kusdi had assigned to him. More importantly, he realized that Kusdi had not ordered him to accompany the Cerean as a superior officer does to a subordinate—as Kusdi would have done before the crash. Kusdi was urging him to do this as a comrade—as a friend.

"But why can't we both make sure he gets back," replied Nil unconvincingly already knowing what Kusdi's response would be.

"I'm afraid, my friend," said Kusdi putting his left hand on Nil's shoulder, "my charge lies on a different path."

Nil relented completely, "I figured that you say something like that. I'll make sure he gets where he needs to go."

"Thank you, my friend," Nil answered. "It will be light soon. We all need to be on our way."

At this Ken-Ta finally spoke up, "If you travel straight up the incline, it should take you about forty-five minutes to reach the crest of the ridge. The way should be clear of droid patrols. From there it is another half an hour or so around the lake to the homestead."

Nil that gathered up the equipment and weapons that he had scavenged along the way. Kusdi offered Ken-Ta a small bag, "Some food for you journey."

However, Ken-Ta raised his hands in objection, "You keep it. I'll make sure that we both have plenty of nourishment."

"Ok then," Kusdi concluded, "May the Force be with us all." The three parted company. Kusdi went up the hill disappearing in the fog and Ken-Ta leading Nil in a different direction.

CHAPTER 20

Captain Hamsil looked over the data pad detailing the damage that they had received. The hull was perforated so badly that the structural integrity of the ship was highly questionable. Numerous sections had lost atmospheric compression. While the areas with critical components were accessible by the crew, many of the weapons emplacements were either destroyed or lacked a breathable atmosphere. The ship was basically defenseless, which placed them in a major dilemma.

The starboard nacelle had been totally destroyed. The central nacelle had sustained severe damage to the point that it was nonfunctional. The left nacelle was operating at an estimated fifty percent of its capacity. While their momentum had carried them through the gravity well of Belkadan, they had slowed considerably. At least they were not in danger in being dragged into the planet's atmosphere to perish in a fiery death since the ship was in no condition to survive a planetary landing.

They were still proceeding toward the closest hyper space lane but it was going to take a good hour to get to that point. Only they did not have any hour as the other two Separatist ships were closing fast. The good news was that the two ships now had to circumvent the planet to reach them. Their ETA was thirty-five minutes. When the other two Separatist cruisers caught up to them, they would be destroyed.

Hamsil looked at the crew who were busy on what was left of the bridge. Over half of them were not the usual crew members although if he were called to testify under oath, he would not be able to confirm this since they were clones and they all looked alike to him. Fortunately, they all also performed admirably and he did not need to question their competence.

The one person he missed was his lieutenant. Hamsil had handpicked him and had been grooming him to be one day be a captain of his own ship. He was talented and dependable. But he was one of dozens of crew that had not survived the battle over Belkadan.

Hamsil shook his head to clear it from his ruminations. He had other pressing matters to consider—like how they would remain alive. Taking a deep breath, he once again scrolled through the damage assessment.

Shields were gone completely. The hyper drive was functional but it was highly questionable as to whether the ship could withstand a jump. The communications array was apparently intact but was inoperable at the moment. Sensors limited to a unidirectional capacity. The morgue was filled to overflowing. Then there were the numerous names who were presumed dead probably from being jettisoned into space after a hull breach.

Hamsil's hand sagged as he closed in eyes and sighed. It was pretty much hopeless. The ship was all but dead and they would be space dust soon—in about thirty-two minutes to be exact.

As Kusdi crested the ridge, the sky was significantly lighter and the fog had thinned somewhat. He looked behind him and could see the fog rising as the atmosphere warmed from the sun. He turned to look at the valley and was horrified at what he saw there. The fog was swirling from the air currents created by the sun warming the air and the lake cooling it off. But that was not what caused the bile to rise up into the Jedi's throat.

More than half of the valley had been obliterated by fire. On his left the gentle slope of the land was black with ash. Trees burned down to the partial stumps. Nothing had been left alive. The shore line was littered with various types of water life including numerous species of fish that had apparently died and then washed ashore probably when blaster fire from cruisers had superheated the lake as the land was scorched.

Part of the decimation had been caused by a forest fire ignited by the blasters. But the lush vegetation with abundant water had prevented the fire from spreading beyond that half of the valley. It had burned itself out or had been extinguished by a recent shower, which occurred often enough in the early morning hours right before the sun rose.

Kusdi could just make out through the thinning fog where the outer edge of the space bombardment began. Here the earth was scorched excessively. It would be hard to imagine anything growing here again although Kusdi knew how resilient the land could be.

The lake appeared to be long and narrow—only reaching three hundred meters or so across. He was unable to determine how long it was due to the fog. He could see that the right side of the lake was lined at least partially with cliffs forming a secondary ridge higher than the gentle sloping first ridge that he had climbed. Kusdi recalled that this particular land formation was uncommon on Cerea. He could see why Mundi had chosen this area to create a homestead.

The stench of ash and burnt vegetation was oppressive. However, even from a distance, the smell of rotting fish (if that was what the Cerean called these creatures) was exceptionally strong. The Jedi determined that he would keep a healthy distance from the lake shore just to avoid the uncomfortable odor. While he could easily use the Force to curtail his sensory experience, he felt that doing so here was somehow disrespectful to the extreme loss that the land had suffered. Besides he wanted his full range of senses operating at maximum capacity. He felt that he would need his total ability to access the Force in other ways in the near future.

Kusdi began making his way around the lake keeping a wary eye on his surroundings and his Force awareness extended as far as he could manage. He did not want to be surprised and caught in a dire situation out in the open with no cover. It was difficult making progress on foot especially when he entered the area where the bombardment had fallen. The super heating from the blasters made the terrain unstable creating places where the surface would give way because various minerals would liquify at different temperatures. Air pockets were created that collapsed under the weight of the walking Jedi sometimes as much as two feet.

Additionally, there were already significant ruts gouged into the landscape from the run off of the rain water. The erosion created several trenches that disappeared presumably into underground caverns. While Kusdi could easily Force leap across the narrow chasms, he had to be careful that his landing did not cause the walls of the crevices to collapse sucking him into a fissure to become stuck or worse.

Kusdi could now see that the lake on this side was covered in a thick scum of ash and debris. The Jedi's heart broke as he encountered the devastation sickening him further.

Soon Kusdi began encountering large sections of rock poking through the soil. At first they were only one or two meters in circumference although most of them were far from being circular. He thought that they seemed much like the granite that could be found on a multitude of planets in the galaxy. These rocks were very sporadic at first but increased in frequency the farther that he traveled. They appeared to exceptionally large and stable enough to support a landing from a Force-jumping Jedi. Kusdi soon decided to jump from one section of rock to another as this was not only a much quicker strategy but seemed to be much safer. He began covering the distance very quickly now although the constant use of the Force started to drain him.

Fortunately, the farther that he progressed around the lake, the sections of rock became much, much bigger allowing Kusdi to walk several meters before making a jump. Eventually the need to jump decreased to only an occasional small leap. The rock was scorched and melted slightly to give a very smooth surface. It was almost black when wet and could be very slippery. Although as a Jedi, Kusdi was exceptionally agile and had no difficulty navigating the slick surface, he imagined that someone who was careless could have easily lost his or her balance and fallen.

Kusdi paused and surveyed his surroundings. The fog was almost gone. He figured that he had traveled about a kilometer and a half. This was a huge area to bombard from space so thoroughly. Someone had been seriously intent that absolutely nothing would survive. Apparently, that someone had been successful.

The lake was beginning to narrow and he could hear the sound of running water. He was approaching a river. He guessed that this was the head of the river as the water in the lake was less putrid and was fairly free from ash and debris. He could also see the water current move toward the sound.

He could also make out an area that was no longer smooth and even. Here several large blacken shapes protruded from the landscape appearing at this distance to be pulverized and charred durocrete. He knew in his heart that this was Master Mundi's home. Kusdi could also make out near the shore a small pile of rocks that marked where Ken-Ta had indicated that Sylvn had died.

Kusdi was suddenly struck that the devastation from the bombardment had been so thorough that there were no stones to be found. The Cerean must have carried those stones quite a distance working extremely hard to do so. It must have taken him quite a long time to complete his task. Kusdi's respect for the young Cerean continued to grow by leaps and bounds.

It seemed to Kusdi that one moment he was looking at the grave marker from a distance and then he was standing over it contemplating the loss through the Force. He really could not imagine what it would be like to lose a daughter. It had been drilled into him ever since he could remember: no attachments. Emotional attachments created disharmony in one's connection to the Force and eventually opened the door for the dark side.

For a moment Jedi Kusdi appreciated that Jedi were forbidden to have attachments. Obviously when one had no physical attachments, one's life was much simpler logistically. However, Kusdi considered how easily one's perspective and even connection with the Force could be clouded by attachments especially the emotional attachments presented by family. There seemed to Kusdi to be much wisdom.

Yet, there was a small part of him that wondered what he had missed. Having been denied the chance to experience the warmth and love of a family almost seemed to be injustice that had been perpetuated against him. This line of thought was indeed a slippery slope that could lead to one's downfall. Master Mundi would need all the support of the Jedi and especially the council when he faced this tragedy.

Kusdi went deep into meditation and the Force. He sought not just the peace that comes through the Jedi meditation and recitation of the Jedi Code but he sought to project that peace upon this entire area. He wanted to impart the sense of peace that he was feeling into the rocks of Sylvn's grace and into the earth around it. Perhaps he might be able to imbue his feelings of peace into the terrain itself leaving a small tangible portion of himself for Mundi to sense when the Jedi Master would eventually come to inspect his daughter's grave.

Kusdi did not know how long he was there meditating immersed in the Force. He was sure that he could sense the peace from his Jedi meditation permeating the surrounding region. It was blissful to him. It was invigorating.

However, he was rudely interrupted by the sound of tumbling metal grating on the stone. By the time Kusdi opened his eyes, stood up, and turned around igniting his light saber, three destroyer droids had already unfurled with blasters pointing at him and shields initiated. A dozen more were still rolling into position to flank him on either side.

The sound of clanking metal reached him as dozens of battle droids including supers descended to his position. He also heard the whoosh of water as at least a dozen super battle droids began emerging from the lake. This arrival of land droids coincided with the whine and screech of a half dozen vulture droids passing over head in two formations of three. The two groups of three turned in opposite directions to come around together for a second pass.

Kusdi considered using his Force speed to try and out run the droid ambush but the distance to any kind of cover was not even remotely realistic. Then there were the vulture droids to consider which he could never outrun. The Jedi also considered using the lake as cover to make an escape. He did not have a rebreather that would allow him to breath underwater and while he could literally slow his body functions through the Force to remain underwater for perhaps a couple of hours, that was only if he expended no physical energy in movement.

Then suddenly and simultaneously, the droids opened fire.

CHAPTER 21

Ki-Adi spun to the left and right spinning his light saber to deflect the blaster bolts. He let many bolts pass by that would not hit his person directly. Still bolts began burning through portions of his robe that trailed his movements. The battle droids fired round after round in tandem. The heavy blasters with which the droids were equipped allowed for an intense barrage of fire lasting for several seconds before requiring a moment of rest to cool.

Two of the super battle droids suddenly switched tactics by lowering their arms and rearming with flame throwers. Mundi assumed that the Doctor's shield would continue to protect him against the heat. However, the Jedi Master certainly had cause for great concern.

This gave the Jedi a brief moment of reprieve from the almost overwhelming torrent of blaster fire by removing two of the four temporarily from the assault. The super battle droid still using his blaster to Mundi's right paused as his blaster rifle cooled.

Just as the two newly armed droids raised their flame throwers, floor violently heaved as a thunderous roar shook not only the room in the battle was taking place but the entire underground facility. Ceiling panels fell and the lights flickered off and on several times. Ki-Adi recognized that somewhere nearby a massive explosion had occurred most likely the result of Crater's handywork. While Mundi instinctively utilized his Jedi training to easily maintain his balance, the droids were not able to compensate for the sudden artificial earthquake. They teetered back and forth as dust showered all of the combatants. Ki-Adi took advantage of the droid's sudden inability to adequately target their quarry. He crouched and launched himself backwards. He landed on his back sliding toward the open door. As he glided backwards face up, he deactivated his light saber allowing it to fall onto his stomach. He quickly motioned to with each hand toward the two pairs of droids to his right and left bringing his hands together in a single power filled hand clap.

Before the droids had a chance to fill the room with a flaming inferno, each pair of black droids flew toward each other as if they had been connected by a rubber band stretched to its limit and having its tension suddenly released. With a booming crash the two pairs of droids met in midair at the center of the room. Droid parts crumpled and shattered. Smaller pieces careened across the room while a large mass of twisted black metal landed in a sparking pile in front of Ki-Adi as he slid to a stop in the doorway to the lab.

As the Jedi Master got to his feet, Doctor Sunaratii worried glanced at the walls to make sure they were not going to collapse before he inquired, "I suppose that now you will attempt to kill me for my transgressions."

Mundi gave the doctor a look that seemed to say, "Where did you get a crazy idea like that?" Ki-Adi carefully picked his steps around the debris of the destroyed droids until he finally stood a few mere centimeters from the bluish energy field that stretched from wall to wall separating the two. He stood patiently as he gazed at the Khil holding his unlit light saber nonchalantly. Ki-Adi wanted to be prepared in case the doctor had another surprise but did not want to be perceived as threatening. Recognizing that no explanation was forthcoming, Ki-Adi informed the doctor, "I'm not sure where you are getting your information about the Jedi but the Jedi do not assassinate people. We do not kill unarmed people."

Unconvinced, Sunaratii countered, "Why else would the Jedi send a Jedi Master?"

"I came to uncover the nature of the threat. Now that I know about the cortosis research, I need to simply take you into custody and confiscate your research. You must not be permitted to continue your research or be allowed to turn your data over to the Separatists. If they are able to mass produce droids with cortosis armor, the power would tip considerably in the Separatist's favor."

"I approached the Jedi Council several times concerning my intent to research the properties of cortosis but I was rebuffed at every attempt."

"If the Jedi denied your request and access to the data in our archives, then they obviously were concerned that it might be used for exactly this kind of military application," replied Ki-Adi as he waved his empty left hand toward the pile of cortosis-coated droid debris.

Sunaratii was still unconvinced. He shook his head saying, "I suppose that is exactly what I would expect a Jedi assassin to say in your position."

The Jedi Master realized that he was not going to be able to persuade the doctor that he would be taken into custody peacefully. Perhaps it did not matter since the doctor was intelligent enough to understand that he held the advantage. Ki-Adi carefully scanned the area looking for anyway he might disable the force field quickly enough to capture the doctor. He was certain that Sunaratii had an escape route other than the laboratory door. He exuded too much calm and confidence for someone that was trapped.

Doctor Sunaratii saw the Jedi's wandering eyes even Ki-Adi was trying to indifferent. He saw the Jedi glance more than once at the floor and inwardly congratulated himself. If the Jedi was able to find a way inside the shield quickly or cleverly, he would have done so by now.

"Master Jedi," Sunaratii explained, "I have been preparing for the possibility of this moment for quite some time. And yes, I have even prepared the floor and ceiling." Mundi hid his surprise realizing that he had underestimated the doctor's ability to observe minute details.

"Yes, I supposed you have," answered Ki-Adi. Perhaps if he could appeal to the doctor's vanity, he might have a chance to lure him into a sense of complacency.

"I see that you are not entirely convinced. Go ahead and test the floor."

Ki-Adi made no move so Sunaratii encouraged him further, "It's okay. Use your light saber and strike the floor."

Ki-Adi was certain that it would do no good to use his light saber. It seemed obvious that the floor was lined with cortosis making a light saber useless. But if he could acknowledge Sunaratii's apparent superiority, then perhaps the doctor would make a mistake. Mundi ignited his light saber with the familier snap-hiss and thrum of the blade. He then stepped back and slapped at the floor gouging the floor with his blue blade before it abruptly disappeared. A black streak in the floor now stared up at Ki-Adi taunting him to try again.

"Yes, I see that you have prepared for every contingency," acknowledged the Jedi trying to appear defeated and humbled by the doctor.

The doctor watched him carefully and then scowled at the Jedi answering, "You really don't fool me, Jedi. The Jedi are too arrogant and proud to recognize when someone else has the upper hand. It was a good try, Master Jedi, but now I fear I must go." Sunaratii reached with his left hand to touch a wrist band on his right sleeve. As he did, Ki-Adi reached out with his left hand to grab the pile of droid debris with the Force and whip it to the crash against the doctor's shield. The sound of arcing electricity filled the room as the shield flashed over and over. But it still held strong.

The doctor spun in his chair as a concealed door opened behind him. As he got up to enter the secret passage, the Jedi Master ignited his light saber and stabbed it into the flashing blue shield. Ki-Adi focused the Force through the light saber creating a resonance vibration throughout the force field. He pushed with the Force and could feel the shield emitters straining to keep the field intact. By this time, however, the doctor had calmly walked through the doorway and the door had closed with a hiss indicating that it had sealed behind him.

Finally the shield emitters located on the adjacent walls overloaded and exploded in a shower of sparks. The light saber pushed through the now empty space to momentarily stab into the back of Doctor Sunaratii's chair that faced away from the Jedi. The black chair seemed to swallow the blue blade when in reality the light saber had deactivated. Ki-Adi looked at the chair and then his light saber for a second before comprehending that the chair had been made of cortosis.

Ki-Adi hung his light saber on his belt as he reached with his hand the now closed escape hatch. He intended to use the Force to open the door and follow Sunaratii as best as he could. It was at that moment that the Jedi noticed a small red light steadily flashing on the doctor's desk that changed from slow and steady to quick and short bursts.

Ki-Adi spun around and used the Force to dive through the open laboratory door for the hallway as the behind him burst into a fireball. The Jedi landed in a roll coming quickly to his feet. He anticipated the need to use the Force to run down the hall to escape the flames of the blast but realized that he did not need to sprint. He turned around to see the explosion had been just large enough destroy the doctor's exit preventing any chance of pursuit and wreck most of the laboratory. Sunaratii had planned the exact amount of explosives to do the job: not too much and not too little.

Mundi had to give the doctor credit: he was very precise in his measurements. Ki-Adi pulled out his comlink from his robes and activated it, "Chip, just giving you a heads up, the doctor is probably on his way toward your position."

"He got away from you, did he?" asked the clone voice through the small comlink speaker.

"Yes, it appears that I underestimated the doctor. Just make sure that you don't make the same mistake. I will make my way to the hanger and join you as soon as I can. Remember that we want him alive."

"Copy that, general."

Ki-Adi slipped the comlink into his robes and using Force-enhanced speed dashed down the hallway.

Captain Hamsil carefully watched the small screen that was showing his ship's progress and the steady approach of the two remaining Separatist cruisers. Two countdowns were displayed: one until the cruisers caught them and the other telling them when they would be able to enter hyper space safely. Unfortunately, he needed another four minutes and twenty-two seconds to reach the hyper space lane. He had almost no weapons, no shield, and no chance. Four minutes would be more than enough time for the Separatist to destroy them. He stared at the numbers hoping that somehow a miracle would occur that would indicate some good news. But they were running out of time and nothing beyond the supernatural would change the situation.

Hamsil wished that they had more data. There had to be additional safe hyperspace lanes but no one had bothered to come out this far to the edge of the galaxy and plot them. He was sure that there were pirates that operated in this sector and they would have worked out additional routes. But he was not privy to such information at the moment.

Hamsil looked questioningly at a clone who was manning the communication's array. The clone shook his head negatively. Hamsil's primary mission was to get the data to the Jedi Council but the Separatist had planted some communication jamming devices in this area to prevent him from sending the data packet. If he could just do that, then at least something good would have come of this debacle. He hoped that they might move out of range of the jammer or into a dead spot of its coverage to send the data burst. But so far there had been no opportunity to do so.

"The Separatist cruisers are still closing fast. They'll be on us in a moment," announced the clone manning the sensor board with the display. Hamsil knew the clone was just nervous and was hoping that his captain had some information that changed the scenario or a new plan. The captain squelched the urge to lash verbally that he wasn't stupid although Hamsil felt that way as he watch the countdown of their impending doom.

The bridge crew remained quiet except when it was necessary to communicate and then it was subdued. The tension was almost deafening to everyone on the bridge.

"Pull up the system charts again," decided Hamsil. No other viable options were presenting themselves. They would have to try something totally desperate. Hamsil studied the charts once again but he had already seen them at least a dozen times. Still nothing new jumped out at him. Most of it was marked with a dull grey indicating that the area was unknown and uncharted.

Hamsil took a deep breath and thought to himself, "Here goes nothing." There seemed to be only two options: wait to be destroyed by the enemy cruisers or take a chance on the unknown.

"Helm, change our heading to the coordinates that I'm sending you now," announced the captain as he made some notations on a data pad.

"Sir, that would take us on a much longer route to the hyperspace lane," the clone at the cobbled together helm informed the captain.

"I am aware of that but we aren't going to reach the lane anyway," responded the captain.

Small flashes of red light appeared on the view screen which would occasionally flicker anyway. "The Seps are starting to fire on us," announced a clone. Hamsil knew that they didn't have much time at all. He wasn't even sure that the ship would survive the stress of a hyperspace jump in a safe lane let alone survive what he intended to try.

"I need you to plot a micro-second hyperspace jump along the coordinates that I just sent you," ordered Hamsil looking at the clone at the helm.

"But sir, I already have a jump plotted for exiting the system," replied the clone.

"I realize that but now I need this one and I need it yesterday," Hamsil sternly informed the clone who turned to his console and starting furiously working. A small boom echoed through the ship as the hull took a hit from one of the cruisers.

Time seemed to slow as the crew waited for the nav computer to finish its computations. Finally, the clone looked back at the captain nodding affirmatively as he said, "Plotted, sir."

Hamsil considered saying something like a prayer. He knew that many species worship some kind of deities. The Jedi had their religion that taught the supremacy of the Force. But in the end, he just didn't know to whom he would pray to anyway. So he decided to say the stand by, "May the Force be with us."

The clone looked back at Hamsil with his hands prepared to engage the console. The captain took at breath and with as much confidence as he could muster said, "Engage." The stars elongated into the familiar lines briefly as the hyperspace engine whined. The ship shuddered slightly and suddenly bucked violently. Everything turned upside down as debris went flying in all directions. Consoles exploded into showers of sparks and the main lights were extinguished. Hamsil felt himself being launched throw the air. He briefly recognized the bulkhead in the fading light before a flash of light and a jolt of intense pain resulted in unconsciousness.

CHAPTER 22

When the droid blasters started firing, Kusdi instinctively drew upon the Force and jumped up and flipped over the nearest destroyer droid to land behind it. Kusdi ignited his light saber midflight batting away a couple of blaster bolts. He had no plan beyond getting behind the droidekas. He knew that they would have a tough time reorienting to a target behind them. The droidekas pivoted as far as they could and then began to waddle in order to turn around.

By the time he landed, Kusdi was fully immersed in the flow of the Force. He could feel the Force pulsating in every cell of his body. He heard a feminine voice softly say, "Jump! Keep moving!" This sounded like great advice to him. He made short sweep with his light saber to his right through the waist of a battle droids severing it into two parts as the top half tumble to the ground. As he did so, he leapt up and to his left landing on the shoulders of a super battle droid. Droids were trying to target him and blaster fire from every direction followed his trajectory only moments behind him. He didn't even wait to settle on the droid but sprang off it continuing to his left as if the droid was a trampoline. Unfortunately for the droid, friendly fire hammered him into a sparking mess before he could react.

Kusdi came down chopping down through another battle droid from its right shoulder exiting at its left hip. Before the droids torso could slide off and crash on the ground, Kusdi had bounded away again to land in between and slightly behind two droidekas who had finally been able to turn around. Kusdi concentrated on deflecting the bolts that were coming from the droids marching out of the edge of the lake trusting using the shields of the destroyer droids to protect him from the droids behind him.

He saw one of the super battle droids coming out of the lake finish rearming a grenade launcher and point it at him. Using Force-enhanced speed he turned to his left, took a step and made a huge leap away from the lake just as the first grenade launched to strike a droideka that was once again waddling in an attempt to turn around. The grenade's blast overwhelmed the destroyer's shield blowing it into hundreds of pieces.

As Kusdi landed about fifteen meters from the exploding droideka, he kept his momentum going running between a half dozen droids slashing left and right to take them out. Still more droids seemed to be advancing. He considered briefly using the Force to retreat but he could see that he would never be able to sustain Force speed long enough to find some kind of cover. It was just too far.

Kusdi heard the voice once again. This time he was sure that the voice was not an audible voice but one that he heard through the Force within his consciousness. It simply said, "Ataru."

Ataru was the fourth form of Jedi light saber combat that utilized Force-assisted acrobats for attack and defense. Master Yoda was known to be the most proficient of all current Jedi. Usually it was used on small confined spaces but it seemed to Kusdi that he could use the droids themselves especially the super battle droids as points from which to spring.

He slipped deeper into the Force—deeper than he had ever gone. He could feel the energy of the Force crackle over his skin. It tinged his skin with a light blue energy barrier. He never felt so alive!

He bounced back and forth, spinning and weaving, leaping and jumping. He deflected many blaster bolts but occasionally one would get through his defenses. These were usually inerrant bolts because the droids found targeting the fast moving Jedi exceptionally difficult. In the back of Kusdi's mind, he registered the hits and was surprised that he did not feel them but he was too focused to stop and realize that his Force barrier was absorbing the energy from the blaster bolts.

The Jedi bounced back and forth in spinning blur. With his light saber blazing, it was impossible to tell with the average eye exactly what Kusdi was doing. Each time he landed another droid would be incapacitated. Almost before landing, he bounded away in completely new and random direction. Unfortunately more battle droids advanced to replace the ones who were destroyed and Kusdi was beginning to feel overly taxed by his furious pace and the intensity that he was drawing upon the Force. In the back of his mind he knew that he couldn't maintain this pace much longer but he was totally in the moment and completely immersed in the Force. He would continue until either the Force or his body gave out.

Mok Vanuu was absolutely furious. How could one Jedi do so much damage? He had rejoiced when the Jedi had walked right into his trap. It had been a moment of triumph! Finally the pesky Jedi would die and Dooku would send him the reinforcements that he so desperately needed. Perhaps he could still salvage the situation and fend off the Republic forces.

After he had ordered the droids to attack, the Neimoidian thought that he few seconds maybe a minute or two and the Jedi would be dead. After all, he had sent literally hundreds of droids after one Jedi, who was just a Jedi Knight and not a Master. Instead the Jedi continued decimate his droid forces.

He had hoped that he could end this quickly and pull the rest of the droids back into the city as reinforcements. Now he was wondering if what he had thought to be a drastic overwhelming number of droids was going to be enough.

He slammed his fist down on the desk as he watched another droideka scatter into a thousand pieces from an erroneous grenade launched by one of the super battle droids. He gazed at the blur of blue light that took out droid after droid. If he wasn't so furious, he might have found the sight to be quite awe-inspiring. Red blaster fire ricocheted in every direction from the deflection of the Jedi's light saber and inaccurate targeting sensors. He noticed occasionally a blaster bolt would disappear into the Jedi ball of fury but it seemed to have no detrimental effect.

If only he had the ships in orbit positioned over this area as he had done when eliminating the earlier target that Dooku had deemed to be of primary significance. He had sent a few droids to corner the family and the lone female that must have been a Jedi padawan as she had a light saber but was not anywhere near the skill of this Jedi. Then he had unleashed an aerial barrage from orbit on the entire area laying it all too instant waste. The tactic had not been very subtle but it had been extremely effective.

However, he could not do that because the Republic battle ships had arrived requiring him to pull back his battle ships and cruisers into a tighter line in orbit over the capitol city. Now he wished he could send his ships to wipe this Jedi out from orbit now that he had his position. Doing so would irreparably compromise his defenses rapidly terminating his occupation.

Mok did a quick mental calculation—at this rate of attrition, the Jedi will have destroyed all of his forces achieving victory within the next eighteen and a half minutes. Of course he had no idea of a Jedi's limitations to draw heavily upon the Force. Without a change in tactics or circumstances, Mok assumed that the Jedi would live and he would fail.

It was time to enact part one of his backup plan. This would result in losses much heavier than what he wanted. He really needed every functioning droid that he could salvage from this debacle. However, he would be doomed if he did not finish off the Jedi. He had no choice but to proceed.

Nil and Ken-Ta decided to take a small detour before returning to the capitol. Ken-Ta being very familiar with the entire area knew of a place where they could keep an eye on the Jedi. They had circled around to the far side of the lake and watched Kusdi's progress from atop the cliffs. It had taken them much longer to navigate the cliffs than it had for the Jedi to Force-jump his terrain. They had just settled into an ideal vantage point and were watching Kusdi near the pile of rocks that Ken-Ta had erected over Sylvn's final resting place.

When the droids began descending to encircle Kusdi, Nil had instinctively jumped up to go to his general's aid. The young Cerean grabbed his arm and informed him that it was too far and that it would take too long for them to reach the Jedi.

"Do you expect me to just sit here and watch?!" exclaimed the clone trooper.

"That is all we are able to do at this point. What happens next is entirely up to Jedi Kusdi and the will of the Force," replied Ken-Ta. He let go of the clone's arm and returned to observing the situation through the binocs. Nil hesitated for a few seconds before realizing that the Cerean was right and assumed a similar position. Even though they were a considerable distance away, they did not want to take any chances of being spotted via a lens reflection or by the circling vulture droids so they found a position to observe Kusdi with more cover from some brush.

By this time Kusdi was in the midst of his battle. Nil dejectedly observed, "This doesn't look good at all."

Ken-Ta added, "If you would have somehow made it down there, you would not have had a chance."

"I suppose your right but it still burns me up not being able to do anything."

"Our best bet is to watch what happens as a witness to Jedi Kusdi's heroic bravery. Besides the Jedi will want a report on what happens if he is captured or killed."

They watched the ensuing battle in silence becoming filled with awe as Kusdi seemed to be accomplishing the miraculous. They both were so dumbfounded by the display of swordsmanship and survival that neither one of them could utter a single word.

CHAPTER 23

Captain Hamsil awoke to absolute agony. He felt as if the entire ship had come to rest on top of him or at least on top of the lower half of his body. Unfortunately, this was not necessarily far from the truth.

A clone medic was tending to him—two others were in standing over him in conversation. The excruciating pain that racked his body made it difficult to concentrate on anything including what they were saying. Several words pushed their way into his conscious thoughts: "bleed out" and "stabilize" and "massive systems failure" were said. At least that is what Hamsil thought they were saying. He was not where he was or what had happened. The images of the clones blurred and he passed out again. The only thing that he knew was the pain.

The medic told the other two, "He passed out probably from the pain. I'm going to try a neural blocker to keep his pain receptors from firing in his brain. Nevertheless, we can't move him. His legs are crushed and if we move the debris, he will likely bleed out before I can cauterize the arteries. The pressure is of the debris is what is keeping him alive."

The ship was a shambles. Main power was offline. There were multiple hull breaches including one that was venting atmosphere on the bridge, which was being repaired. Casualty rates exceeded ninety percent with more than half of ship's hands loss. The numerous bypasses to keep the ship running had been overloaded by the jump to hyperspace. Just about every circuit on the ship was fried. There were alive but barely.

The ship was dead in space in the middle of nowhere. The good news was limited. They had not tried to pass through a meteor field and been instantly destroyed and the ship had not been completely ripped apart from the stresses of the hyper jump. Lastly, they had escaped from their pursuers at least for the moment. While the Separatists would not have any more data regarding this area of space than they had, they could theoretically plot multiple micro-jumps along their last known trajectory to search for them. However, the droids may not want to take the chance of colliding with some unknown. For all they knew, the Republic ship had done just that with the wreckage of the ship spread all the way to Endor.

Protocol dictated the priority for repairs: life support and main power. Communications would need to be restored and then additional systems such as propulsion with navigation if that were even possible. However, initial assessments had determined that the engines as well as the hyperdrive were a complete loss. The rear starboard side of the ship had been completely blown away so even if propulsion could be restored, most likely the ship would tear itself apart.

"Ok, I have given him the blockers," the medic announced, "I can try and wake him again." He stuck a hypo spray into the captain's right shoulder and the captain groaned as he started to come to.

Hamsil fought his way toward consciousness. The pain was still severe but it seemed muffled as if it was under water. The fog gradually lifted and he could see the clone medic. He noticed the large pile of debris that partially covered his body. He thought at first that he was having trouble seeing but then realized that the bridge was using emergency lighting only. He then noticed the hiss of atmospheric loss and the sound of a torch working to seal the breach. His eyelids were heavy and they began to flicker. The blackness returned as the clone seemed to jump around as he lost the ability to focus.

The medic stuck the captain with another stim shot and the captain was able to regain consciousness. He struggled to speak and had to summon every ounce of strength to finally croak out in a whisper, "How bad?"

The medic looked at the other two clones questioningly who just shrugged their shoulders. They just were not sure where to begin.

"How bad is the ship or how bad are your injuries?" the clone asked.

The captain closed his eyes as he visibly tried to summon the strength to respond. The medic cut him off, "Don't answer that. Both are bad. Real bad."

The captain nodded his head slightly to indicate that he understood. The hissing had gradually subsided but now had stopped. The medic had nothing to say.

The captain gasped as a fresh wave of pain washed over him. He took a moment then moaned, "Fulfill mission… send data to Jedi."

One of the clones who was standing spoke up, "Communication are inoperable as is our computer access. The data has multiple failsafe backups so that we should be able to eventually get to it as long as the Seps don't find us first." Hamsil noticed first time that this clone had a large bandage on the left side of his head. He could fill the fatigue chasing him like a lion chases an antelope. It was going to catch him any moment now.

With one last exertion before passing out again, Hamsil imparted, "Priority… send data… that's order."

The medic stated, "That's all I can do at the moment. If I give him any more stims, he'll die although he's probably going to die in the next twenty-four hours anyway."

The other clone who had previously been silent said, "We're all probably going to die within the next twenty-four hours."

The clone with the bandaged head nodded his head wincing as he did and added, "I'll make sure that repair crews make the communications array and computer access a priority right after life support is stabilized and main power comes back online. With any luck, we can get a message out before the Seps track us down."

The medic told the two departing clones, "I'll monitor the captain and try to keep him comfortable. I'll let you know if there are any changes. I guess one of you two have rank and are in charge now."

The clone with the bandaged head without turning around waved his right hand in the air in a dismissive fashion and said, "It probably doesn't matter either way. You can have it if you want it. We've all got our jobs to do."

Commander Bacara and his men had eliminated all of the droids except for two droidekas and a spider droid. Because of their inability to traverse the difficult rain forest terrain, these three had been outside of the blast radius. Three of destroyers had taken the path to try and flank the retreating clone troopers. These three had met their demise as they encountered the mines that Crater had prepared for such a maneuver.

One of the spider droids had been able to proceed further into the jungle due to the enthusiastic blaster fire of the battle droids destroying the smaller vegetative growth. While it had not been caught by the blast itself, a large branch from one of the trees had dropped on it to pin it. While the two remaining droidekas and the spider droid retreated to the clearing that marked the entrance to the Separatist base, Bacara's team had been able to finish the disabled spider droid with minimal effort and risk.

Since additional droid reinforcements had not joined their fallen comrades, Bacara had concluded that either there were no more droids left or they were busy elsewhere. Perhaps they were engage with Chip and the general. Therefore the commander was determined to finish these three remaining obstacles and get into the base.

The two destroyer droids were unfurled with shields raised facing the jungle into which the clones had originally retreated. They stood guard to prevent the clones from easy access to the main entrance into the base. As this door was set into the ground to drop inward to open, it would be practically impossible for the Republic forces access covertly.

The spider droid was engaged in a patrol route that circled around the two destroyer droids that were about five meters apart. The spider droid passed in front the destroyer droids pausing when it was halfway between them and then circled around to pass behind them again pausing halfway between them. Bacara was considering how he might exploit the close proximity between the droids.

The monstrous dalloralla still maintained the canopy over the entrance. Further into the rain forest, Crater's massive explosion had punched a hole through the canopy that was solidly weaved to provide a perpetual vegetative roof on this part of the planet. Here the sunlight streamed through to shine on ground that had probably not seen direct sunlight in hundreds if not thousands of years. The proximity of this clearing had brightened this area considerably so that it did not have the subtle bleakness which it previously had.

Bacara conversed with his team through the com system built into their helmets. They had flanked the droids in order to take advantage of the thicker cover. Edge and Crater were on one side and Bacara on the other. The droids had not conceived that their enemy could actually circle around them through the jungle. On their own, Bacara knew that the droids were complete idiots and would never measure up to the capability of his average clone brother let alone a member of his team.

Crater had reported that his ordinance was becoming critically low. He still had some explosives but he wanted to conserve as much as possible in case they needed to blast their way into the base. Bacara knew that Crater had restrained himself incredibly to make this statement. He questioned Crater and they had concluded that they could spare some ordinance to take out the droids as long as they did not miss. And they would need something big to take out two destroyers and a spider droid—blasters would not be sufficient. Three or four rockets would have been really nice right now.

Bacara had been studying the jungle canopy as they discussed the ordinance situation. When there was a momentary lull in the conversation Bacara asked, "What would it take to bring down the canopy?"

Edge surmised, "Some of the branches are pretty big? They took out a spider droid already."

Crater chimed in, "I would need to get up there and see if I could find some stress points. A few small explosives at just the right place or places could bring down some of those larger branches."

"Okay, Crater, back out a ways and use your ascension cable to get up there. Use the branches like the Jedi and Chip did to come back into the clearing. But be quiet! We don't want to realize what we are planning and spread out. Edge stay down on the ground and be ready make a diversion if we need it. Crater, you got twenty minutes," Bacara ordered.

"Okay boss," answered Crater.

As the commander he did not need to tell his men that he was going to go back and see if he might find scavenged a grenade or two from a fallen super battle droid. They had quickly searched the wreckage to make sure there were no droids still partially functioning not taking the time to grab anything usable. Bacara would take a few minutes to check out where he knew that a couple super tinheads had fallen.

Chip had been able to make his way to the auxillary hanger unimpeded and undetected. He had gained from the security system before he disabled it that there were four battle droids preparing a shuttle for departure. However, he also knew that inactivated droids would not have appeared in the system. If he charged into the hanger guns blazing, he could take out four surprised tinnies but then there might be more droids awakened by his sudden intrusion and he could find himself sorely overmatched.

So Chip had found a storage room nearby with a computer terminal. He reactivated a security camera inside the hanger and another one right outside the hanger door. The shuttle was definitely departing soon. The droids were obviously waiting for someone to arrive. He knew he had to get inside.

Chip opened the door into the hanger from his terminal and watched the four tinnies turned toward the door with blasters raised. Whoever was due to arrive would not likely be using the main entrance. Chip closed the door and he saw the droids via the camera turn to one another heads bobbing slightly.

One of the droids said, "What was that?"

The other droid near it responded, "I don't know."

Another droid behind the first two then added, "One of you better check it out before the commander gets here."

For just a moment the first two droids argued about who should do it before one of the droids headed cautiously to the door and opened it. He opened it tentatively and then stuck his head into the hallway. He closed the door and turned to his cohorts, "Nobody there."

The droids then went back to their duties. Chip thought the droids were rather humorous. He opened and closed the door remotely again. Again, the droids argued over who should check it out and then the other droid repeated the same scenario as the first droid gathering no more information than the other one had. Chip thought about the ancient proverb that stated, "Insanity is doing the same things that you have always done but expecting different results." He then corrected himself because the droids were not really insane but just insanely stupid. He chuckled as he once again open and closed the door.

The first droid opened the door and found nothing but this time he declared, "There must be glitch in the system. Run a diagnostic." This was exactly what he was waiting for.

Chip watched one of the droids headed to a computer console and began pushing buttons. Chip began working his magic on his computer terminal. In a few seconds, he paused and looked at the monitor to make sure the droid had not moved away from his console. It hadn't. So with his index finger, he pushed one key and watched the console in the hanger explode. The droid was tossed backward through the air—its head headed in one direction, its right arm in another direction, and the body straight back to slam into the rear landing strut of the shuttle.

One of the other droids exclaimed, "Owww, that must have hurt."

Another answered, "I guess there really is a problem."

The droids began cleaning up the mess as Chip opened and closed the door for good measure as if to taunt the droids to figure out the problem. They looked at the door briefly but remained intent on cleaning up which only took a couple of minutes. Not only did this take out one of the four droids but this would have automatically activated any droids that were being held in reserve. Nothing happened so Chip concluded that it would be safe to take the rest of the droids out and secure the hanger.

When they had finished, Chip opened the door again. This time however he locked it open and disabled the security cameras again. He grabbed his blaster and bolted out of the room taking up a position next to the open door with his blaster raised over his head butt down. He heard the droids arguing more vigorously about who would check things out this time. Finally the clone heard the metallic footsteps approach the open door and pause in front of it. He heard the droid punch the door controls on the wall exclaiming, "Stupid door won't close."

Then another high-pitched droid voice replied, "See if the controls on the other side work."

Chip heard the feet of the droid shuffle just on the other side of the open aperture. A moment later Chip saw the head of the battle droid come cautiously through open door. It obviously did not expect to find anything as it had found nothing every time prior to this. But this time, Chip was there to bring the butt of his blaster rifle down on the head of the droid with a crash. The head of the droid came off with a crack, a fizzle of sparks, and then the clatter of it bouncing down the hall. The body tottered forward to bang onto the deck plating.

The clone soldier leapt over the falling droid and fired across the hanger at the nearest droid. Its head was tip slightly to its left in an almost inquisitive expression. If there had been an expression on the droid's face, it was succinctly burned off as three blaster bolts in rapid succession literally melted the droid's head from its shoulder. The body froze there in a standing position inoperative.

The last droid was slightly behind the shuttle. It was carrying a crate but upon seeing an enemy combatant dropped what it was carrying to pull its shouldered blaster and squeeze off a couple of shots before ducking behind the shuttle. The shots were wild. Chip didn't even flinch. He did curse to himself because he didn't have a clear shot at the last droid.

The clone soldier purposely strode into the hanger right at the rear of the shuttle. He wasn't even going to bother with cover. He walked to the ramp of the shuttle that had been let down from the rear of the shuttle to allow access as the droids had loaded some miscellaneous cargo. Chip jumped up on the ramp switching his blaster rifle into his left hand. Two steps and he jumped down to land right in front of the surprised droid who just said, "Uh-oh."

The droid tried to raise its own weapon to take a shot but Chip simply slapped the blaster down with his right hand while simultaneously using his left hand to put the barrel of his blaster right on the chest of the droid. He fired one shot at point blank range which blew sparks and red-hot metal out the back of the droid. The droid's blaster went off but harmlessly as it left a burnt mark on the deck.

The concussion from Chip's shot knocked the droid backward to land face up still clutching its blaster. Chip took another step leading with his left foot and put a blaster bolt into the droid's head. Chip knew the droid was finished but this one had made him work for the kill and had majorly aggravated him.

The clone slicer saw the small control room about ten meters behind the shuttle. He knew there would be a computer console in there that he could lock things down reactivating the security systems in this area. The control room would also open the main hanger door so that the ship could take off. He was hopeful that he could override the open door through which he had entered the hanger without going back to the terminal that he had used to open it.

In just a few minutes, he had the hanger locked down and secured. Then it was just a matter of hunkering down and waiting for the general. With any luck the rest of the mission would go as smoothly as this part had.

CHAPTER 24

Jedi Kusdi was not consciously aware of anything except the Force. He felt as if it were consuming him, which in fact it was. Every cell in his body flowed with the Force. Unbeknownst to him, he began to glow with a bright yellow light as he bounced back and forth spinning and flipping. He did not need to slice the next droid with his light saber but simply bounced off of them. The impact from his rotation shattered the battle droids sending them flying through the air in pieces. He did not know how long this would last but had determined that he would ride it like a wave—albeit somewhere in the back of his mind he thought that the wave was more like a tidal wave that eventually would come crashing down to decimate everything around it.

With the presence of the Force or perhaps through the presence of the Force, he felt another entity with him. It was feminine although he was not able to stop and ponder the significance of the disembodied soul. Nevertheless, it was there supporting him, guiding him, and empowering him. He had never felt the Force like this before. In fact he had never experienced anything remotely similar to his before.

Suddenly out of nowhere he heard or maybe just felt the presence call him to leap up and away. At the same time, he heard the screech of the incoming vulture droids. Two of them were coming in at perpendicular angles firing their blaster cannons. They began sewing the ground with a double-stitch pattern to crisscross the area that Kusdi had landed. They had no regard for their fellow droid combatants blasting away whatever happened to be in their way—one of which happened to be one of the ominous droidekas.

Kusdi landed almost twenty meters away into a roll coming quickly to his feet—it was an incredible leap by any standard. He had no time to marvel at his feat even though he was safely away from this first threat. However, it had broken the flow of the Force that he had been riding. The glow began to subside as the ground forces finally picked up the Jedi as target. A fatigue set into him as he automatically slipped into the Form III defensive posture. As he did so, it was only a moment before he saw two more vulture droids making a run at him. This time they were coming in side by in a parallel formation.

Without thinking with his light saber instinctively deflecting bolts in one hand, he reached out through the Force with his other hand picking up a pile of droid debris to throw it up into the air in the path of the vulture droids. He then started running to his left taking three large steps doing a front hand spring into a forward double flip that carried him just out of the path of the incoming line of blaster fire. If it had been any wider, he would have not been able to get clear of the barrage.

Most of the debris that the Jedi had tossed into the air either was incinerated by the blaster cannons or bounced harmlessly off the droid armor. A larger piece of debris struck one of the vulture droids that caused it to jerk to its right to clip its wingman. The clipped droid immediately emitted a stream of smoke as it began corkscrewing uncontrollably to crash in a fiery explosion ten meters behind where Kusdi ended up. The concussion from the blast caught the Jedi Knight unexpectedly to toss him like a rag doll another twenty meters to brutally smash onto the solid rock shoreline. He landed face first flipping over onto his back skidding another three meters before stopping. He felt something snap in his left shoulder and left rib cage causing an intense pain to rack his body once again.

He willed himself to roll over and stand creating additional agony. He ignited his light saber trying to keep the ground from spinning as he desperately attempted to assume a defensive posture. It took him a moment to finally clear his head enough to realize that the vulture droids had demolished the battle droid ranks in Kusdi immediate vicinity. More were advancing to take the place of those that had been cut down. But for a few seconds, Kusdi had time to catch his breath which was coming in short, shallow gasps due to the anguish from his injuries.

Then Kusdi saw the remaining vulture droids, which were now down to five, form up in a parallel line to make a run at him. The droid programming was not sophisticated enough to learn this quickly. Someone was monitoring the battle and saw that he had narrowly escaped the second pair. With five abreast, even if he were completely uninjured, he doubted that he would be able to evade the strafing run. He looked around for some possible escape but could see nothing that would help: he was totally in the open and horribly vulnerable. He turned to face the line of droids who were coming across the lake to engage their target. He angled his light saber across his body to shield him from the impending blaster fire.

The vultures started fire thirty meters from the shore sending a spray of water and steam into the sky. The area of blaster fire from end to end was spread twenty meters across. Kusdi knew that if he would try to run to the side even with a Force-assisted run, the droids would easily adjust their trajectory in unison to compensate for his evasion attempt. He mentally fought through the exhaustion resulting from his earlier heavy use of the Force to focus on the incoming assault. The Force was with him but his access seemed sluggish at best.

Within a couple of seconds the droids were upon Kusdi. He relied upon instinct, his years of training, and the Force to guide him. He shifted his body to narrow his profile so that he only had to contend directly with one line of blaster fire. The speed of the droids' approach then meant that he figuratively only had to deal with one blaster bolt. It came at him faster than the normal human eye could track but the Force slowed time for Kusdi as he caught that bolt with his light saber intending to deflect it into the ground. However, the concussive force of the bolt was too much for the weakened Jedi. The bolt struck his light saber feeling as if it almost ripped his arm off spinning him around. The explosive force from the surrounding blaster bolts lifted the Jedi into the air to slam him onto the ground five meters away. The heat from the blasters blackened his already tattered robes and burned the right side of his face. He felt his insides twist and tear as he consciousness slipped away from him.

Kusdi did not know how long he was out but somewhere in his unconsciousness, he heard the approach of metallic footsteps plodding and scraping on stone. He knew that he was severely injured and probably had internal injuries. He tried to take a deep breath to steady himself but could not manage it concluding that his fractured ribs had likely punctured a lung collapsing it. He tried to move but the pain seared his body threatening to return his consciousness to the abyss of blackness. He tried opening his eyes but realized that only one was fluttering and the light sent spears of agony to stabbed into his head so he just stopped struggling and kept his eyes shut.

He just lay there waiting from the battle droids to arrive to finish him off. This was the end but he was at peace. He expected the hammer to fall any second. It seemed to be taking such a long time.

Then he heard the female voice firmly call to him, "Fall into the Force." He knew that somehow the voice belong to Sylvn, the daughter of Master Mundi. As if she heard his thoughts, she replied, "Yes. Now for my father you must reach into the Force." She was somehow in his head and he understood that she had been there the entire time. So he obliged and reached not out to the Force but reached into the Force.

"Yes, that's it. Keep reaching. Keep reaching," the voice encouraged.

The Force coursed through growing in intensity but not in the same way that it had when he had fought the onslaught of droids. This time he felt as if he were sinking deeper and deeper into an ocean—an ocean that roiled with power and strength waiting to burst forth in utter calamity. The connection kept building and building as Sylvn kept urging him deeper into the Force.

On the cliff overlooking the ensuing battle, Nil and Ken-Ta watched the dust begin to swirl around the fallen Jedi. As the droids advanced, the swirl became a visible turbulence that began to distort and bend the light around the Kusdi. It appeared as if the light were being dragged toward the Jedi collecting in the air around him swirling and growing.

The droids had encircled the Jedi with their blasters pointed at his body. They kept steadily advancing until they were about five meters from the body. At this point they stopped in their tracks as the turbulence around the body was becoming overpowering. As the light continued to grow, the droids began to visibly shake from the turbulence. As the space around Kusdi's body was warped and distorted, the droids started sliding toward the Jedi. They immediately began back pedaling to no avail as they kept sliding toward the Jedi as if they were being sucked into a miniature gravitic anomaly. Then two of the closer battle droids turned as if to run away but were swept into every-growing spatial distortion.

Kusdi was not aware of the effect that his immersion into the Force was creating. He just kept reaching into the Force deeper and deeper. He was awed at the immensity of power that he had found. It truly was greater than anything that he could have imagined and much more vast than anything that he could have attempted to produce through intentional manipulation of the Force on his own. He realized just how trivial his connection to the Force had always been.

In unison, the droids began firing into the anomaly with no effect. The bolts from blasters were sucked into now blinding light only adding fuel to the growing ball of energy. They weren't deflected but vanished into it. More droids disappeared into the anomaly which was now powerful enough to drag even the heavy super battle droids into it.

The vulture droids next flew in low in an attempt to shred the void with their blaster cannons. They attacked in a group of three followed by a group of two. However, the turbulence was bending everything toward it and that included the trajectory of the vulture droids. The blaster bolts all disappeared into the void which seemed to be growing exponentially. The speed of the vulture droids saved them from being sucked into the void directly. However, as they passed over the Jedi, whose body could really not be seen, they were yanked downward uncontrollably without the ability to pull up. The first three slammed into the ground in a powerful inferno that spilled liquid fire cutting a swatch through the advancing droids twenty meters wide and fifty meters long.

The two trailing vulture droids attempted to split apart to avoid the fireball but their maneuverability was also already compromised. The intense heat from the first set of exploding droids initiated a detonation that sent two additional rivulets of fire and debris at angles further outside the initial torrent of crashing vulture droids. The result was that even more advancing droids were wiped out. Nil later estimated that demolished vulture droids had obliterated a least a third of the remaining droids on the ground.

Jedi Kusdi felt the immeasurable energy of the Force as he never thought possible. He felt that the only thing left to do was simply let go. If he let go, then the power of the Force would utterly consume him. It would consume him completely and totally but it would not destroy him. He would not be annihilated disappear forever but would actually become complete. If he let go, he would become whole. It was strange because he had never thought of himself as being incomplete but right now at this moment, he realized that his entire existence to this point had been only a shadow of what he should be.

Again he heard the voice of Sylvn say, "Just let go." The urgency was gone. Her voice expressed absolute peace. Just let go. How often are people often unable to let go of the things that keep them tied down and in bondage? All they need to do is just let go, which is often the hardest thing that many people will ever do. Kusdi knew that he needed to let go. Just let go of everything: his assumptions, his biases, his limitations, and even his hold on the physical world. Just let go.

And he did.

When Kusdi let go, all of the energy that had been collecting and growing suddenly released in a massive roar. Nil and Ken-Ta saw the energy explode outward in a visible ever-expanding ring. The ring smashed into the remaining droids pummeling them and shattering them into thousands of pieces. Even the droidekas were unable to withstand the force of the released energy which pushed straight through their shields to destroy the destroyer droids. The energy even pushed the lake water to create a six foot wave that travel across lake to crash on the far shore.

In the end, not a single droid was operational except for a small remote droid that had been positioned several hundred meters up on the ridge observing the battle progression. As the droid made its way down to the place where the Jedi had fallen, Nil and Ken-Ta had left their position to make their way down to the same area. By the time they arrived, the remote would be long gone but they would find the same thing: hundreds of wrecked battle droids and one burned and tattered but empty Jedi robe. Jedi Kusdi had fallen and his body had dissolved as he had become one with the Force.

CHAPTER 25

Mok had been totally distraught as he watched every last droid wiped out by the fallen Jedi. His spirits were bolstered slightly when his little remote had sent the video of the empty Jedi robes and his melted light saber. At first Mok had thought that somehow the Jedi had miraculously escaped but either the Jedi was running around naked and badly injured or he had been destroyed in whatever it was that happened.

Mok still could not explain what he had witnessed. He thought that maybe Count Dooku could illuminate him but then he just hoped that the Count would draw the same conclusion that the Jedi had perished. He desperately needed reinforcements now. The Republic forces were making steady advances on all fronts. Even half of those droids sent to kill the Jedi would have been a huge deterrent until more droids could arrive. But that was not to be. Reinforcements needed to be in system within the hour or he would be forced to surrender if he were to survive. He was sure Dooku would not want him to be taken captive as he had some valuable information about the Separatist mission as well as who had helped the Separatists capture the government so easily.

The Neimoidian had sent the video footage from the battle with the request for a holo conference. Dooku had sent an encoded message setting the time almost two hours after Mok's initial transmission. The Count was cutting things dangerously close. He assumed that the Count needed time to study the information and confer with the mysterious cloaked figure who seemed to be overseeing the various operations.

The time had arrived. Knowing that he would be talking with Dooku once again filled Mok with trepidation. He was desperate for reinforcements. The dire circumstances allowed him to look past his normal feelings of reluctance when communicating with the Count.

The special holo projector chimed once immediately before the image of Dooku appeared. Mok waited for the Count to address him first with his eyes averted.

Assured that the proper deference had been given, Dooku began, "You have done well, Mok. You have accomplished the primary mission and you have eliminated the Jedi although it seems to have taken you a lot of time to do so and you have expended a tremendous amount of resources to do so."

"The Jedi was quite formidable, my Lord," excused Mok hoping that the nefarious Count would be pacified.

"Indeed. If I had not seen the footage myself, I would not have believed it," added Dooku.

"My Lord, forgive my impudence, but the situation is becoming quite dire for us," the Neimoidian offered.

"Yes, I am aware of your need and as promised, the reinforcements will arrive within the hour," lied Dooku.

Mok was thrilled to hear this. He had been anticipating that perhaps the Count might abandon him after all but his fears were relieved. His hopefulness had blinded him to the possibility that Dooku may betray him after all.

"Thank you, my Lord," Mok replied.

"However," the former Jedi began again, "I have one more task for you to fulfill immediately."

The suspicious nature of the Neimoidian instantaneously reared its head as Mok asked, "Yes, my Lord, and what would that be?"

Count Dooku paused for a moment before he queried his subordinate to gather additional information. After a moment of uncomfortable silence for the Neimoidian commander, the Count said, "I assume that you still have the Cerean president under arrest."

"Yes, my Lord, he remains our captive as you have previously instructed," responded a slightly relieved Mok. Earlier his forces had been able to repel an attempt to liberate the captured president. Mok had hidden this piece of information believing that the Count did not need to know how close they had come to succeeding. Then a new worry slipped into the Neimoidian's mind: perhaps the Count had learned of the attempt through alternate sources and now was angry that he had not been informed.

"Very good. I need you to take the Gossam commandos and confront the president. Demand that he sign a treaty that aligns Cerea with the Separatist movement," ordered the Count.

Mok was certain that the president would refuse especially because the Separatists were on the verge of losing control of the planet. Mok was not sure that the Count was aware of how badly the Separatist forces were being driven back. This seemed like a bad time to make such a demand. Perhaps after the reinforcements arrive, the president might be persuaded but not at this time the possibility for rescue was so close.

"Perhaps," Mok explained, "it would be better to wait for the reinforcements, my Lord. Then he might see how hopeless his planet's situation is."

"No," countered Dooku, "this is exactly the right time. If he signs the treaty now then it will carry more weight when being examined by the Republic senate."

Mok was still unconvinced. It seemed a waste of time. He did not have enough forces at the moment to maintain control and he had no real consequence if the president refused. He must try to convince Dooku of this. Mok asked, "And if he refuses?"

"Then execute him!" Dooku replied condescendingly. "The presences of the Gossam commandos are intended to intimidate and if necessary retaliate. Either he complies or he is terminated and you elevate his subordinate so that he or she will sign the treaty."

Mok could not believe what he was hearing. This seemed like political suicide for his occupation. The Cereans would never accept a treaty signed in this fashion let alone the Republic. If it came to this course of action, the results would likely be disasterous.

"But, my Lord…" began the Neimoidian before Dooku interrupted with one eyebrow raised as if daring him to continue his objection, "Do you have concerns with my orders?"

Instantly the Neimoidian lost any backbone that he had developed and he backed down as was typical to his species, "No, my Lord, I will do as you say."

"Waste no time, Mok. You will leave straight away and have this treaty signed before the reinforcements arrive or I won't be happy. Then you will answer to me," threatened the Count.

"Yes, m-m-my Lord," stammered Mok as the Count's holo image disappeared.

He guessed that he had no choice but to comply. Mok stood up and took a deep breath. It was best to get this over with as soon as possible. He then pushed a button on his desk and four super battle droids with red armor entered the office to join the two that had already been standing guard on either side of the door.

"You are with me," Mok told them as he went on to explain even though as droids they were oblivious to the rationale of their orders, "we have a little mission to accomplish." He then left the office with his droids in tow to make the walk to the small apartment that was functioning as the president's "cell."

Darth Sidious took great delight with every Jedi name that he was able to turn red. Revenge was wonderfully intoxicating. The Sith would have their revenge on the Jedi. After a thousand years, he was able to make it happen.

Tyrannus had delivered the satisfying news that the Jedi Kusdi had fallen. His death had not been a part of the original intention of the plan but it had nevertheless brought him great pleasure to have this fall into his lap. The Force was indeed with the Sith.

Sidious touched used his desk to navigate a cursor over Kusdi's name. On this board, Sidious had carefully constructed a Jedi family tree of sorts. The data had been collected by several Sith Lords over the thousand years. It detailed every Jedi and their padawans. Many had died over the years. One conspicuously remained green: Master Yoda. Curse the longevity of his species. Many, many Jedi had achieved knighthood over his lifetime. But that would soon come to an end.

A wicked smile crossed over Sidious' cowled face as he carefully and purposefully touched the screen turning the name, "Kusdi," red. He reveled in the moment. Revenge was sweet and he thoroughly enjoyed every name that was darkened because of the machinations that he and his predecessors had set in motion. Almost every Jedi over the years had been accounted for. A few had undertaken missions and had not been heard from again. These were highlighted in yellow. Even the Jedi Council was unaware of the fate of these few. There was a cause of concern for these unknown variables. They could have discovered unknown Force-sensitives and taken them on as padawans. Conceivably they could have spawned their own offshoot Jedi Orders. However, this was not likely as the missions were considered dangerous and often considered one-way trips.

Sidious contemplated his board and the numerous plans within plans that he had in motion. He was attempting to walk a razor that would have enormous rewards or just as easily result in disaster. This, however, was the Sith way. He felt that he had been born for this time and place. Of all of the previous Sith Lords, none of them had quite the gift for manipulating events and orchestrating the intricate plans that were needed to create a new Sith empire while eliminating the Jedi completely and thus giving the Sith their revenge.

The Clone War had been carefully devised to destroy the thousands of Jedi that now ruled the galaxy. Everyday Jedi fell in battle although not near the number that had died on Geonosis. That had truly been a memorable day.

The Jedi were dying faster than they could complete their training. Some Jedi were even promoted to knighthood earlier than they normally would have been. Their inexperience usually resulted in their early demise as Jedi Kusdi so clearly demonstrated. Soon there would come a time when the Jedi Order would be on the verge of collapse and that would the time to Sidious to finish them off. Until then, he had to maintain a careful balance of power between the Republic and Separatist militaries. The war had to continue without either side gaining a clear upper hand.

Above all, Sidious had to make sure that the Separatist movement did not overtake the Republic to destroy it. The Separatist movement that he had entrusted to Darth Tyrannus did not have the infrastructure or the resources to effectively control the galaxy. The Republic had what he needed to bring order to the chaos but the Republic had failed to keep the petty squabblers in line because of its "precious" principles. That weakness would be its downfall and out of the failure of the Republic would rise a new order that would bring security to the inhabitants of the galaxy and would be able to protect it from the imminent threat that he and the previous Sith Lords had foreseen.

Yes, everything was going as planned. Sure there had been several setbacks along the way such as losing his prized pupil, Darth Maul. But out of those supposed hindrances, the Force had brought forth an even better direction. Finally the Sith would have their revenge and balance would be brought to the Force through the Chosen One that had been discovered when Maul had fallen.

CHAPTER 26

Crater had signaled that he was ready. He had analyzed the dalwalla tree branch system and had found three critical stress points. Using a laser torch, he had inserted a small charge in each of the three spots. He was disappointed that the he did not have the leeway for his usual overkill but it was essential that he be conservative with his use of ordnance. It had taken a little longer than what Bacara had wanted but in order to move through the tree canopy undetected and silently carve into the branches, he had to work slowly. When he had remarked jokingly that it would have been easier if the Jedi had been there to use his light saber, Bacara had erupted with a torrent of curses.

Crater understood the commander's concerns. He had a point. The Jedi were capable of incredible feats and held a remarkable amount of power without any real accountability. Sure they technically were answerable to the Senate but it seemed only when it was suitable to whatever agenda that they had. However, Crater really liked General Mundi. He genuinely seemed to care for each of them and seemed transparent. He even did not appear to harbor any ill feelings toward Bacara despite the commander's obvious animosity.

Besides he respected the general's leadership ability—he often solicited and relied on the advice of his men. This was something a lot of the Jedi did not do. The general also was an incredible asset in battle—he was true warrior—formidiable in every aspect. Crater had stated that he was glad that the Jedi especially General Mundi was on their side.

Bacara had acknowledged to his men that he had grown to respect the general although he told them that he would never tell the Jedi to his face and would deny it if anybody ever told him. He also threatened his men that if they ever told the general then he would make their lives a living hell. Everyone had gotten a huge chuckle with that comment. Crater understood that Commander Bacara was a very proud man and it irked him that the Jedi could do things that he could not do. Bacara did not like feeling as if he had to depend on anyone but himself and maybe his clone brothers. He certainly hated to depend on the Jedi. Since Crater had observed that most of the regular clones did not harbor such intense feelings about the Jedi, he wondered if this was one of the so-called genetic defects that had been manipulated out of the original Fett template that had been left in Bacara and the ARC commandos.

Then again, no one seemed to have such hostility toward the Jedi as Bacara. He seemed to take any suggested way that the Jedi could help as a personal attack. Although Crater had observed that Bacara had lightened up considerably in the last couple of days. Bacara seemed to be forming a grudging respect for General Mundi although it was absolutely clear that his feelings did not extend to the rest of the Jedi.

Crater waited for the commander's signal. The plan was for Edge and the commander to attack the droids using blasters from opposite sides of the clearing. The droid firepower was considerable which meant that they would not be able to remain in one place for more than a few moments. The shields on the droidekas were ample enough to withstand the clone blaster rifles especially if they were unable to maintain a steady barrage of fire. The intent was to keep the droids occupied for a few minutes until Crater would bring down the tree canopy on top of the unsuspecting droids.

"Okay, Edge," said Bacara over the team's localized comlink. "Let's do it."

Blue blaster bolts poured from the two opposite edges of the clearing to splash against the shields of destroyer droids. Each droid rotated its blasters to return fire in the direction of its closest assailant. Immediately before they began firing, the clone blaster fire ceased. The red blaster bolts from the droidekas began shredding the foliage where the clone fire had originated but Edge and Bacara had already retreated to relocate.

As Bacara had predicted, the spider droid quickly scrambled to take up position in between the destroyer droids in order to utilize their shields as partial cover even though its armor was thick enough to withstand a considerable amount of blaster fire. The spider droid had just taken up its position as the destroyers stopped their fire. A light smoke from the blistered undergrowth drifted from across the floor of the clearing. The droids waited to see what would happen next. They apparently had learned from the earlier mistakes deciding to refrain from an ill-advised pursuit into the treacherous terrain that may be concealing any number of traps.

Suddenly from a new vantage point, Bacara discharged a half dozen blaster bolts onto "his" destroyer droid. The droideka reoriented and returned fire with the spider also adding its blaster cannon in same vicinity. Bacara had already moved on. Then Edge in his new position mimicked Bacara's tactic. His destroyer also returned fire with the spider droid readjusting to fire at the source of the attack on the opposite side of the clearing. Edge had also quickly moved before being in any danger.

It was at this point that Bacara gave Crater, who had been watching from a position that was perpendicular from his two fellow clones, the signal to unfurl his trap. Crater pressed a button on his right arm which simultaneously ignited the small explosives that he had implanted in the branches above. There was solid but dull thump that vibrated through the trees followed by the sound of snapping and cracking branches but no crash.

A shower of twigs and leaves came down over the droids with a few small branches pinging off the armor of the spider droid but nothing significant. The spider droid lowered its hind legs to get a better view of the canopy in order to identify this potential new threat. However, it saw nothing and the droids went back to scanning for any enemies that might emerge from the greenery at the edge of the clearing.

"Sithspawn," shouted Crater forgetting that his comlink was on.

Bacara immediately barked, "Get up there and fix the problem, Crater! Edge we need to keep these droids occupied. Take turns firing to keep them occupied. I'll go first." He sprayed a quick barrage of blaster bolts and then slipped back deeper into the brush. As the droids returned their fire trying to hit the unseen assailant, Edge offered a new source of irritating blaster fire.

Crater jumped up from his stomach and while crouching half ran and half walked around the large trunk of one of the dalwalla trees. He had chosen this particular spot because it provided the easiest and quickest way to ascend into the tree canopy. He knew where the problem was located. It was the branch where he had made the remark about finding a light saber useful. He had said that because he thought that carving out a small section from underneath the branch would have made the stress point certain to give way.

Crater partly ran and hopped from one branch to another as he heard another round of clone blaster, which was probably Bacara, reverberate throughout the clearing. Crater reached the branch where he was positive that the problem was situated landing on the branch solidly hoping to dislodge it. The whole tree canopy shook but did not give way. Crater took three large steps and jumped over a meter wide burnt and splintered gash in the branch. The limb was about two meters in diameter but was now missing about half of its substance. It had started to split from its own weight but it had held. Eventually given enough time, the branch would sever completely but he could not wait. Standing over the hole with his back to the trunk of the tree, he rained a steady stream of blaster fire from the rifle that had previously been slung across his back into the small crater of the bough. Embers exploded upward and outward as thick black smoke billowed around the clone. Crater was glad for his armor that allowed him to breathe purified air. Otherwise he would be gasping for breath.

After about a fifteen seconds of continuous blaster fire, Crater saw that his rifle was about to overheat and he ceased to fire. "Blast it stupid branch! Just break!" yelled the frustrated clone. Crater watched the temperature gauge go down. While it only took about three or four seconds for the weapon to cool down, it seemed like an eternity to the explosives specialist. When the gauge turned green, he began firing again screaming, "AARRRGGGHHH!" He waved his blaster back and forth to give maximum coverage for his destruction. He could feel the vibrations from the blaster bolts impacting limb. Then suddenly he felt the tree heave as it emitted a large crack. Every branch and leaf around Crater shook as an enormous ripping sound echoed throughout the canopy. Crater stopped firing as almost lost his balance completely reaching out with his right hand to steady himself against the trunk of the tree.

There was a sudden whoosh and a deafening crash as the intricate walkway of branches interwoven together literally dropped to the rain forest floor. The tree on which Crater was standing flipped in the opposite direction easily bucking the clone from his precarious perch. His heart was suddenly gripped with panic as he started to freefall. Instinctively Crater shot his ascension cable into a blur of brown. It must have found something solid as Crater's arm was jerked upward feeling as if his arm might be pulled from its socket like an angry wookie. His body then jerked and twisted violently in response to the sudden change in direction and the attempt to overcome the effects of gravity. The pin had imbedded into the vertical trunk of the tree causing Crater's out of control body to swing around with incredible velocity to smash into the base of the tree.

He bounced off the trunk continue to twist before swinging back to smack the trunk again. Right before he hit the trunk for the second time, the thought briefly occurred to him that perhaps he might have been better off testing the ground. Upon the second impact, the brown trunk turned to blackness as he somehow managed to reach up and disconnect the cable causing him to land in a crumpled and unconscious heap in a pile of broken limbs and leaves.

Bacara felt the tree canopy fall just as much as he heard it. He dove for cover and it seemed like every branch on the planet was falling him. He made himself as small as possible and remained motionless for several seconds after the torrent had stopped. He had escaped unharmed but still needed to take care of business.

While Crater's efforts had not resulted in the complete obliteration of every branch as the earlier explosion had done, there were significant portions of the tree branches missing so that the sky was now visible and the sunlight was streaming onto the massive pile of tree debris. The beams of sunlight clearly illuminated the dust that the deluge had stirred up.

Bacara made his way painstakingly across the top of wreckage to where he knew the droids were last located. Immediately he saw that the spider droid was still functional but had was pinned to the ground. At least one of its legs was severely damaged. Bacara wasted no time in putting his blaster rifle up against a vulnerable spot and fired three quick times and then two more for good measure. The droid sparked and its red eyes went dark.

Bacara saw Edge making his way toward him as Edged asked through the comlink, "Did we get them?"

Bacara poked through the branches with his blaster rifle at one droideka and fired into it just to make sure. The other one was clearly destroyed being completely smashed by very large branch. "Yeah, we got 'em. But we are going to have a heck of a time clearing out an area to force open one of the hatches."

Edge replied, "Oh, I guess we didn't think that far ahead, did we?"

Bacara ignored his comment and called out through their secure channel, "Crater, good job." There was no answer. "Crater, report." Still there was no answer.

Bacara began picking his way in the direction where he knew Crater should be. Edge asked, "Do you think he is okay?"

Bacara tried to reassure him almost as much as he was trying to reassure himself by replying, "I'm sure he's fine. He's probably got his helmet off so that he can enjoy the carnage with his own eyes."

CHAPTER 27

When General Mundi had informed him to expect company, Chip put his helmet back on and grabbed his blaster rifle. He watched the monitors outside of the hanger although he suspected that his next guess would be arrival a different path so he kept glancing in hanger from his vantage point inside the small control room.

Abruptly the swishing sound of a door sounded behind the clone. He knew immediately that there must have been a secret passage. He briefly berated himself for not considering that the control room was the obvious choice for the exit of a secret passage. Realizing that he was out of position, he did not have time to dwell on his miscalculation. He turned to his right to look over his shoulder at the clank of metallic footsteps even as he made a dash for the room's exit.

He at first that thought that he was a dead man as he saw a super battle droid stride through what had moments before appeared to be a wall. If the droid had not been surprised by the presence of a clone trooper, Chip indeed might have been killed. Instead the delay allowed Chip a head start to make an escape.

Chip one-handedly pointed his blaster rifle behind him as he ran for the door. He blindly sprayed blue blaster bolts hoping for a lucky shot.

The super realized the presence of the intruder too late. It raised its blaster arm trying to track the moving clone target. His blaster bolts were slightly behind the trooper shattering the transparisteel glass of the control booth. Broken glass cascaded over the instrument panel and out across the hanger floor.

Chip went to his knees and slid through the doorway to decrease his speed instantly and to shrink his profile to make it more difficult to be hit. He used both hands to push off to his left to roll down the ramp which was emptied into the hanger at a ninety-degree angle from the control room entrance. Fortunately for the clone, one of his shots did find the vulnerable electronic eye of the first super battle droid causing it to careen forward to land facedown in a smoking heap. The final shot of the falling battle droid had the misfortune of clipping the back of Chip's right leg at the vulnerable point behind the knee.

A second and third battle droid followed the first into the control room but were delayed as they navigated around their fallen comrade. Dr. Sunaratii followed the droids fuming as he saw almost disasterous result of his droid's inerrant blaster fire. "Idiot droids! Be careful what you are shooting at!" he screamed. The droids ignorant to the doctor's tirade continued to exit the control room in pursuit of their prey.

Chip felt the burning pain from the blaster strike in his leg but he brushed it off looking around for the nearest cover. The best source of cover was the shuttle which still had it's rear hatch down. He darted for the open hatch in a hobbled gallop favoring his injured leg. He dove onto the floor of the shuttle just as another splattering of blaster bolts peppered the outside of the shuttle hull and the wall inside leaving several charred, smoking holes.

"What are you doing, you stupid droids? Do you want to destroy our only way off of this rock? Half-power. Use half-power and kill him!" yelled the doctor as he concentrated on the control room console. It may take a few more hits but the clone would eventually do down with half power from a couple of super battle droids and there would be no fear that the idiotic droids would irreparably damage the shuttle.

The doctor accessed the security protocols first, which had been locked down by the clone. The clone was quite skilled but Sunaratii had created his own unique access codes that would override every other command. The doctor canceled out the clone's lockouts and immediately closed every security door along the regular route from his lab to the hanger. He saw the Jedi suddenly appear in a security monitor apparently coming to a swift halt as a door closed in front of him. Including the hanger entrance there were three more doors that the Jedi needed to negotiate. The doctor had activated the security doors just in time. He then closed the blast doors that augmented entrance to the hanger adding an additional layer of protection against the persistent Jedi.

Ki-Adi was making good time as he darted down hallways using his Force speed until he saw several security doors begin closing down the final leg of his path. He made it easily through one using his speed but had to pull up before he was able to get through two more. Without wasting any time, Mundi pull his light saber from his belt using the Force with a flip into his right hand as he raised it. Igniting the light saber while gripping it overhand he let the blade elongate to pass into the door causing a red glow to appear where the blade entered it at the Jedi's eye level. Ki-Adi held his breath not wanting to breathe in any fumes from the melting durasteel door. Using the Force to push his light saber through the metal separating the molecules of the metal at a microscopic level, he began cutting out a one and a half meter circle moving in clockwise motion. The cut only took about seven seconds to complete but time was of the essence if the Master Jedi was going to reach the hanger before the doctor departed.

He took one step back deactivated his light saber while pushing with the Force with his left hand. The cut metal shot backward leaving a hole in the door with edges that still glowed red. He tucked and jumped through the hole and still in stride zipped down the hall to the next door where he began the process again.

Dr. Sunaratii knew that the doors would slow the Jedi but offer little resistance. He immediately glanced into the hanger to see that the droids were making very little progress with the clone invader. He did not have time to waste with this nuisance.

He promptly opened the outer hanger door to prepare for his imminent departure. Then he activated the warm up sequence of the shuttle. The clone was still holding his position just inside the shuttle but he would take care of that annoyance. He accessed the sub-systems of the shuttle until he found the one that he wanted and then he initiated it.

Chip got up and flattened himself against the wall of the shuttle. The two battle droids took up position behind some storage crates. He heard the Khil order the droids to use half power which he recognized that the droids had obeyed. He periodically poked his head out and returned fire but it was only a matter of time before he timed it wrong and took a blaster bolt in the chest or even worse the head.

"General, I could use some help here," Chip called through his in helmet com.

"I'll be there in a couple of minutes. Just hold tight and keep your head down," replied the Jedi.

"Okay. I'm pinned down in the shuttle so they can't leave until I go down. Unfortunately, the access door is open and the controls are in the line of fire."

"Just hold on. One more door to go."

Abruptly Chip noticed a blue energy field appear around the edges of the door. It flickered and crackled as it moved into the shuttle. He watched it spill onto his boots and climb his legs. He felt his legs tingling as he watched the blue energy washed over and around his gloved left hand. Then the armor's electrical resistance was overwhelmed as he body went into uncontrollable spasms. The blue energy cascading over the shuttle ceased as Chip collapsed into an unconscious heap onto the shuttle floor.

Sunaratii was very pleased with himself as he watched the clone shudder in an electrically induced seizure. He had engaged the shuttle's deflector shield, which is normally reserved as a low powered emission for slower than light speed space travel to prevent various small pieces of space debris from perforating a ship's hull. The doctor had increased the power of the deflector shielding to ensure that the energy would attempt to wrap around the now open rearward hatch, which it had done marvelously.

He shut down the deflector as he ordered the droids, "Get that clone out of the shuttle. Just dump him in the corner. He will be out cold for quite a while." The droids emerged from their cover positions converging on the ramp of the shuttle, which also functioned as its rear door. As they removed the clone, Sunaratii went back to work at the console.

He noticed that the Jedi had reached the door immediately outside of the hanger using his light saber on the blast door. He patted his pocket to make sure that his datapad with all his research was still secure and said out loud to himself, "One last surprise for you, Master Jedi."

Sunaratii quickly strode out of the control room and down the ramp heading for the open shuttle door. He observed a glow in the center of the blast door. The Jedi would be gaining access momentarily. The glow quickly grew brighter emitting at first a wisp of smoke which rapidly grew to a steady stream. He did not have a moment to waste.

"Get in the shuttle," ordered the doctor as he climbed the ramp into the waiting craft, "unless you want to stay and welcome the Jedi."

The two droids scrambled to follow the doctor into the shuttle. Their hasty footsteps clanked loudly on the open shuttle door.

Ki-Adi took a deep breath while igniting his light saber. Gripping it with both hands, he plunged it straight into the middle of the blast door. The duel layer durosteel blast doors where heat resistant and twice the thickness of the regular durosteel doors. They were designed to withstand explosions presumably from an incoming ship that crashed in the hanger.

He focused the Force through his light saber pushing its intense energy through the metal layer after layer and then expanding the energy outward just as he done days earlier with the spider droid. It briefly occurred to him that he was glad that the doctor had not considered using cortosis on the blast door. This would have been majorly problematic. He would have to bring this possibility before the Jedi Council so that they could deliberate how the Jedi might overcome such an obstacle.

The door initially glowed softly at the point of entry but soon began to burn intensely. Smoke began pouring from the hot metal as charred and blackened pieces of the door fell to the floor. The glow began expanding until a circle about a meter in diameter began smoldering. The heat from the melting door became very powerful but the Jedi Master easily used the Force to deflect it away from him and back into the door.

He was getting very close to the point where he could easily use the Force to push through the door when he felt some subtle vibrations through the deck plating. He recognized that the vibrations were likely from a ship taking off. He deactivated his light saber and with the fluid motion snapped it on his belt. With his head bowed he pulled both hands close to his body. The Jedi drew the Force heavily until himself keeping it focused on his torso just in front of his hands. A small white ball of light formed there that partially transparent. With an intense shove, the ball of light shot into the partially melted door causing the door to burst inward showering the hanger with molten debris and chunks of charred metal. The softened metal bent inward with jagged edges.

Ki-Adi heard the whine of repulser engines and tucked into a ball and jumped through the new hole being careful not to snag his robes on the jagged protruding edges of the mangled door. As he came through the Jedi saw the shuttle complete a ninety degree rotation and head through the outside hanger door quickly accelerating.

Mundi considered try to grab the ship with the Force but decided that it was already out of his reach. He watched it pass through a short clearing that was formed under a canopy of the massive dalwallo tree branches. The Jedi Master marveled out how the Separatists had kept layers of vegetation to step up and out of the trees effectively concealing from aerial eyes that a hanger was even present.

The Jedi Master reflected for a moment on what the implications may be. He had failed to capture the doctor and the research. Although he had some idea of what the doctor had accomplished, he did not know the full extent. Mundi also did not know how much of the data the doctor was able to communicate to the person overseeing the research, which Ki-Adi confidently believed to be Dooku. If the Separatists were able to mass produce cortosis armored droids, then it could be disastrous for the Jedi and the Republic.

Ki-Adi spotted Chip in the corner and ran over to him. He could sense through the Force even before he got to him that the clone was fine but unconscious. The Jedi popped the seal of the clone's helmet and with his hand on Chip's forehead used a Jedi healing technique to help the clone recover from his incapacitating electrical encounter. Even though Mundi hoped the clone would quickly regain consciousness, he also knew that the clone trooper was going to feel the effects of the jolt for quite some time.

Doctor Sunaratii was very relieved to be airborne and out of the hanger especially after the inner hanger door exploded just as he was taking off. He kept expecting something to happen to him or the shuttle as he flew through the camouflaged clearing. His anxiety was greatly alleviated as he emerged from the tree line into the open skies and headed for orbit.

He signaled his ships and received the report. One cruiser with minor damaged; another cruiser destroyed. The Republic ship managed to escape on an uncharted hyperspace vector. It had not had the opportunity to make any transmissions before jumping and was heavily damaged prior to initiating the desperate jump. The probability was very high that the ship was destroyed either from the jump itself or by encountering an uncharted spatial anomaly.

Sunaratii ordered the undamaged ship to rendezvous with him in orbit and he gave detailed instructions for the other ship to attempt pursuit. Using the same vector, the droid ship would make microjumps to the edge of its sensor range. The ship would conduct a scan and if the Republic ship was not in sensor range, then it would repeat the process. This was one way to safely but painstakingly chart new hyperspace routes. Because this often literally took months or longer to complete, this was rarely used or was sometimes given to drones that were automatically program to record the route and navigate around potentially hazardous areas.

If the droids encountered the Republic ship, then it should not engage the enemy but maintain a safe distance while jamming communications. It should report and then wait for further instructions once scans of the ship's condition could be ascertained.

Sunaratii received the new coordinates from the cruiser with which he would be docking and adjusting his course appropriately. He took a deep breath and started to relax but sat up as he remembered the surprise that he had planned. The doctor was so ecstatic about eluding the Jedi and so narrowly that he had completely forgotten the final step of his escape. He pulled up the system that he needed, which tied into the main computer of the base. Then, with a slight smile, he initiated one final command sequence.

CHAPTER 28

Captain Hamsil pushed his way into the real world. It was difficult and took in incredible amount of conscious effort. It would be so much easier to give up and drift back into the swirl of confused images and blackness. At least he could stop fighting and perhaps find some peace. But he realized that someone was pulling him upward. Someone was urging him to push his way through the darkness towards the light.

"He's coming too," a familiar voice remarked.

"But will he be oriented enough to provide the authentication codes?" asked the same familiar but subtlety different voice.

It took more effort before Hamsil's eyes flickered open. It took him a moment to recognize where he was and to remember what had happened. Then with a groan, he realized the dire circumstance he and his crew had found themselves. Finally he saw the two clones, one kneeling beside him and the other standing, looking at him expectantly.

The captain took a deep breath that was stopped short by the searing pain in his chest. He coughed a few times—each time sending a new wave of pain rolling over him. The kneeling clone quickly searched through a small case and pulled out a small injector and stuck it into Hamsil's arm. "That should help you. Just give it a minute." The coughing began to subside as Hamsil nodded slightly.

Finally the captain whispered, "Report."

The standing clone began, "It isn't good, sir. The main reactors are severely damaged. We have restored some functionality but we have enough power for five days—a week at the most."

Hamsil did not waste any energy offering an expression. He simply nodded his head down and up once to indicate that he understood. So the clone continued, "We have no propulsion, shields, and minimal life support. Basically we're dead in space. We did manage as you ordered to get the communication system online but because of the power shortage, it has a limited range."

The clone paused again and once again the captain gave a slight nod to indicate that he understood. The clone continued, "We think that we can transmit the data to a Republic relay station located near Bimmel. It should then be re-transmitted to nearest Republic base where it should be sent on to Coruscant."

Hamsil closed his eyes and added very slowly, "And the Jedi Temple."

The clones looked at each other. The kneeling one nodded affirmatively and the standing one poked at the data pad in his hand, which was previously at his side. The clone then replied, "The Jedi will also be informed. We have included a report of course and the details of our position as well as the route that we took to get here."

The captain opened his eyes and repeatedly his head bobbing. The clone then held up the data pad and then said, "But in order to make sure the transmission gets through without being blocked, we need your personal authentication code. Hopefully this will expedite things and a rescue mission will be sent before our power runs out."

Hamsil nodded three times with a little more energy before pulling his head back to indicate that the clone needed to come closer. The clone used his index finger on his left hand and pushed on it before handing it to the kneeling clone. The kneeling clone quickly took the data pad and brought up to the captain's mouth who was whispered the code into the small microphone on the pad. The captain relaxed and the kneeling clone inspected the pad. "Authentication code verified," the kneeling clone told the standing one as he handed the data pad back to him.

The standing clone took the pad and tapped on it a few times. He then watched it for several seconds. "There," he declared, "the data packet has been sent. With any luck we might make it out of this alive." He gave the captain a knowing glance as he said this. No one had actually told the captain but the conclusion was unanimous: without a miracle the captain was not going to get off the ship alive.

The kneeling clone looked up at the standing clone and suggested, "Perhaps if we send out a general distress call, we might get help sooner."

Hamsil had closed his eyes but they fluttered open. "No distress," ordered the captain with more forcefulness than he had expressed until that moment.

The standing clone agreed, "No, we can't send a general distress call. We don't know if the Seps are still searching for us. Besides, there probably aren't any Republic forces in the vicinity."

The captain returned to nodding as he closed his eyes again. The kneeling clone then said, "Get your rest, Captain. We'll let you know if there are any more developments."

The captain started nodding but opened his eyes and looked directly at the standing clone. The captain returning to his whisper said, "Purge the memory."

The standing clone crinkled his forehead for just a moment before raising his eyebrows in recognition and nodding his head. He then replied, "I understand. We mustn't let the data fall into the wrong hands. I'll have the memory banks purged immediately including the backups."

At that last comment, Captain Hamsil felt a deep satisfaction. At least he had completed the mission and fulfilled his final order. He hoped that help would arrive in time for his crew but he already knew what the askance look from the clone had confirmed—his body was broken beyond repair. He wondered briefly what it would be like to die and if there truly was a greater whole that everyone eventually joined. He was tired—very, very tired. But somehow he knew that while he might not get off of the ship alive, he was not going to die just yet. Into unconsciousness, he quietly slipped.

Mok Vanuu felt his confidence bolstered with each step. The sound of his personal droid bodyguard contributed significantly to this newfound confidence. With the imminent arrival of droid reinforcements that he believed Dooku had sent, the Neiomodian reveled in the feeling of being in total control. Order was paramount for his species and soon everything would be completely in order on this backwards planet. The Separatist movement would supply the technology to transform this planet and in the process whatever resources could be plundered from the planet, which probably was not much, would be commandeered by the Cereans new "allies." Only one thing stood opposed to the Separatist domination: a signed treaty by the current Cerean president or his replacement.

Vanuu stood in front of the president's current "quarters." It was deep down in the administrative building that the Separatists were using as governmental headquarters. The president had been moved to the lowest levels, which were the most secure, after the failed Republic rescue attempt. It was basically a very comfortable holding cell for the president. The door was sealed and two super battle droids served as guards. The droids never needed to rest and they did not need to be replaced by personnel rotation as humanoid guards required. He considered droids to be ideal guards especially for someone that posed little threat such as the Cerean president that perpetually espoused his pacifist philosophy.

Mok ordered the door to be opened and he burst through with his Gossam escort in tow. The president looked up from the rather comfortable bed revealing no surprise that it was the Neiomodian Separatist leader that had come to pay him a visit. Vanuu was followed by four Gossam commandos who filed into the room. They positioned themselves menacingly behind the Neimoidian creating a barrier to prevent any escape. Each carried a heavy repeating blaster—one hand on the trigger and the other on the stock—ready to swing forward in a deadly barrage. They were gray-skinned males that wore heavy armor, which continued up their long, thin neck. Their oblong heads which came to a rounded point at the back were covered with tan cloth armor. There were several gaps evenly spaced along the top to allow for the armor to breath. There were also gaps on the sides of the armor to allow for unobstructed hearing although each one had a small wire running along one side. Their circular eyes opened with horizontal slits revealing unexpressive blackness. Even though each commando had special multi-function goggles which would form fit their eyes, the goggles were pull-up to rest on what could pass as their foreheads. Overall, their presence was thoroughly terrifying.

The Cerean president did not bother to get up. His disdain was evident in his body language. He barely inclined his tall tapering head but simply glanced with his eyes Vanuu. He wore robes similar to most Cereans except his were a forest green with a gold ornamental hood that draped over his robes befitting his status leader of Cerea. However, his clothes were rumpled and somewhat disheveled revealing that he had spent a lot of time even sleeping in his current outfit. He wore his hair long as but had had the thick, course mane braided as it rested on his back. He did not even respond verbally but just looked up at Vanuu as if saying, "What are you bothering me for now?"

Mok waited for some type of response from the president clearly hoping to the commandos would intimidate the Cerean. Seeing that his tactics had failed, the Separatist leader cleared his throat and got straight to the point by beginning, "I have come to finalize an agreement between Cerea and the Separatist movement."

President Bo-Ro-Tara furrowed his brows while drawing his left cheek up slightly and scowling at his new guest. "That will never happen," the Cerean gruffly replied.

Mok Vanuu chuckled slightly as he drew his hands together in front of him placing each opposing fingertip on the other fingertip. "I'm afraid that you have no choice in the matter," answered the Neiomodian as he began tapping his finger tips together in sequence. "Either you sign the treaty or I will replace you with someone who will." The threat hung ominously in the air.

The president became uncharacteristically furious, "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh but I will if you do not acquiesce immediately."

The president promptly got up to face his captor standing over Vanuu by at least a head length. The commandos immediately jerked their blasters in unison to point them at the Cerean. President Tara tried to stare down the Neiomodian but Mok simply reached inside his robes and pulled out an oversized datapad. "I have already drawn up the legal paperwork to make your membership official."

"I refuse. This is just a desperate attempt, Vanuu. You are beaten. It is just a matter of time before the Republic forces drive you out."

Mok raised his right hand up into the air and the two droids on either side of the door simultaneously raised their blaster arms directly at the president. "What you don't know is that reinforcements are due in system at any minute. The Republic is the one who will fail. You will sign the treaty and the Republic will have no choice but recognize its authority. There will be no challenges since you have historically chosen to maintain autonomy and not join the Republic."

The Cerean president fumed as he stared at Vanuu. He tried to discern whether or not the Separatist leader was bluffing but could not determine what was going through the mind of his opponent. Finally he decided that it did not matter in any case. Either the Neiomodian was bluffing or he would be executed after signing the treaty anyway. The Cerean figured that he had nothing to lose by calling the bluff, if it was one.

The president took a deep breath and relaxed. He turned around and took a step backward to reach the bed. He then turned back around to face his adversaries and sat down on the bed sitting with his back straight and head held high and erect. He placed his forearms on his knees becoming completely at peace with his decision. Without looking directly at Mok Vanuu, the Cerean closed his eyes and calmly said, "I was chosen to lead our people and continue the traditions peace and tranquility. You have chosen to invade our planet to force your twisted values upon us. The Cerean people will never accept your technology as a way of life. My signing a document will not aid you in accomplishing your goals. Therefore I must be faithful to my office and Cerea. I must decline."

Mok Vanuu was livid. His body shook with rage. He took the refusal as a personal affront. The president was challenging him, which was something he definitely could not ignore. "Y-y-y-o-u…" stammered the Neiomodian. He was too incensed to even speak. Mok understood as he watched the Cerean remain on the bed unmoved that the president had made his decision and that no amount of argument would change his mind.

"Very well, have it your way," Vanuu finally answered. "Execute him."

The two outer commandos without emotion or moral turmoil promptly squeezed the trigger on their repeating blasters. In quick succession several rounds poured from the blasters killing the president. The president fell over on his left side from the impact without opening his eyes. The stench of burnt flesh filled the room as smoke drifted from the body toward the ceiling.

Mok Vanuu tried assuaging his conscious as he talked to the Gossam commandos, "He asked for it. We will find a replacement after the reinforcements arrive." He turned to leave but the commandos refused to part to allow him to pass. He was confused by their lack of responsiveness. He stepped back to gaze at the commandos simply saying incredulously, "Well?!"

He waited a moment expecting his supposed subordinates to respond but when they did not, he ordered, "Stand down now. We are through here."

Still the commandos remained motionless staring at Neimoidian. "I order you to move out of the way!" Then it suddenly occurred to Vanuu that the commandos appeared to be receiving a communication through their comlinks. He wondered whether the commandos were receiving some emergency notification.

Mok considered whether he should try to push his way through the blocked doorway past the two center commandos. Then the commandos turned their blasters to train them on the now frightened Neimoidian. The outer two commandos pointed at his head and the inner two at his torso.

Mok Vanuu began to panic and back slowly away. "I order you to stand down. Do you hear me?! Stand down immediately!" He back into the wall and then it suddenly dawned on him: these commandos had been a special gift from Dooku himself. In a moment of clarity, Mok saw everything that had remained obscured. There were no reinforcements coming. Dooku had lied. He had been betrayed. Of course, Dooku would not allow Vanuu to be captured. He was too great of a liability and had too much damaging information. These commandos that were supposed to be Mok's "bodyguard" were in reality Dooku's insurance policy.

"Dooooookkuuu," screamed Vanuu in utter anguish as he futilely tried to find cover near the bed of the president. The Gossam commandos opened fire and the Neiomodian fell dead on top of the body of the deceased Cerean president.

CHAPTER 29

Nil and Ken-Ta had recovered Jedi Kusdi's light saber and intended to make their way back to friendly forces. The hike had taken a considerable amount of time. Nil lamented the length of time but they had to be certain that they were not being tracked or that they might run into more droids.

Along the way, Ken-Ta explained to Nil that he had the capitol city just before Republic forces had arrived. It had been easy to slip through the Separatist occupation forces as they were intent on trying to root out Cerean resistance cells, which were unorganized and poorly armed. After Ken-Ta had left the city, he had observed definitive lines being formed as the Republic clones were trying to drive the Separatist forces from the capital. Upon returning to the capital after recovering Syln's melted light saber, he had observed a large contingent withdraw from the battle line significantly weakening the Separatist position. After following the droids, Ken-Ta had encounter Nil and Kusdi.

They discussed how they should reconnect with allies. After losing so much time making sure that they were evading Separatist pursuit, they concluded that they should approach the battle line directly. It would take too much time to circumvent the battle and try to find friendly forces from the rear. If they absolutely could not find a way through the lines, then they would go around them.

They could see the smoke several kilometers before they could even see the city. To Ken-Ta it seemed that the entire city must be on fire. As they drew closer to the outer edge of the city where the Separatist presence should be the strongest, they began seeing the flare from engines of ships leaving the surface. The steady stream of ships leaving, some of which appeared to be much larger than shuttles, piqued the curiosity of the two companions.

Only once did they encounter any droids and that was apparently a patrol that was making a beeline in the direction that they were headed. This suggested an obvious explanation that the two did not verbally acknowledge. Ken-Ta could only hope that this meant the Separatist were beaten and were leaving. However, he did not dare say it out loud because he was afraid that doing so might jinx his optimistic appraisal. They began to pick up the pace despite the extreme fatigue that they both were experiencing.

As they neared the city, suddenly the sky made hazy from the immense amount of smoke began pouring a hailstorm of red energy. Without a word both Nil and Ken-Ta broke out into a sprint. The terrain of soft, rolling grasslands quickly turned into blackened sections of scorched earth. As they climbed a gentle climbing ridge, they got their first glimpse of the decimated city. Two large droid transports were just taking off. There were several smaller ones preparing to lift off as a protective semi-circle perimeter had been established as these droids along with the aerial bombardment attempted to hold the advancing Republic forces at bay.

Nil understood immediately that the droids at the perimeter were being left behind to allow other droids to escape. Those left behind would not surrender. Some would even probably be booby-trapped in order to slow the clones and take as many of them out as possible. This was a typical Separatist strategy as the war was one of attrition: a war that stretched out longer favored the Separatists who could manufacture replacements through their droid factories a thousand times faster than clones could be bred and replaced.

The last spacecraft lifted off as the orbital barrage ceased. Advancing Republic clones broke through the droid lines on one side as two AT-XTs (All Terrain Experimental Transport) poured blaster fired into the sky at the last two shuttles. One shuttle was struck warbling and streaming smoke slowing considerably. As its companion shuttle outdistanced its wounded comrade, the smoking ship was hit again. An explosion flashed and it immediately lost altitude leaving a trail of thick black smoke before disappearing behind a ridge. A billowing cloud of smoke mushroom just after the doomed ship disappeared.

With the drama at an end, Ken-Ta fell to his knees in absolute horror as he witnessed the utter devastation that was once the capital of Cerea. Even though Ken-Ta aligned himself with the majority of Cereans with his affinity to nature and rejection of technology, he like most Cereans took pride in their capital, Tecave City. Large fires burned out of control in several sections of the city. Smaller fires rage as well. Not a single building seemed to be untouched with large portions of the city lying in crumbled ruins. Smoke hung in what was once streets like a thick fog.

Nil helped Ken-Ta to stand up gently telling him, "We need to get to command and make our report." In stunned silence the two made their way to the Republic forces eventually gaining directions to the command center. Ken-Ta was in complete shock not saying very much. This turned out to be best since the command was more interested in what their fellow had to report than the Cerean local. Ken-Ta was given official possession of the two inoperative light sabers and the two companions parted company as Nil was reassigned after his debriefing was complete. Ken-Ta returned to his family of origin as waited for Master Mundi to return. When Ki-Adi Mundi returned, as Ken-Ta intuitively knew that he would, Ken-Ta would offer the Jedi Master the light sabers and tell him the final chapters of their stories.

Ki-Adi stood up after examining Chip to determine his next step. The doctor had escaped the planet. He was sure that the research on the cortosis had been successful retrieved. Captain Hamsil's last communication that he would make every effort to deliver what information the team had gathered to the Republic. This probably would entail sending reinforcements.

Although he considered the possibility unlikely, the Jedi Master deemed it prudent to verify that Captain Hamsil was not still in the system. He did not want to risk breaking communication silence with the captain so he decided to try to access the sensors. Besides there was always a chance, albeit an extremely small one, that the doctor had overlooked something in the computer. So Mundi headed to the partially wrecked control room.

Fortunately the terminal was still intact. The terminal had not been locked out and Ki-Adi easily accessed the sensors finding two Separatist cruisers and a shuttle on route to rendezvous with one of the cruisers. There were no Republic ships in range at least. However, the sensors did indicate the presence of debris that appeared to be from a destroyed vessel. A large section had already succumbed to the planet's gravitational pull crashing on the other side of the planet. It was impossible to tell if this was Captain Hamsil's ship but Ki-Adi felt through the Force that it was not.

He had just switched gears to begin searching the rest of the memory banks to see what he might be able to pillage when his monitor was commandeered by an incoming transmission. The screen flickered and blackened for a moment before a progress bar popped up going from zero to one hundred percent in less than a second and then disappearing. The Force hummed within in him in alarm. The terminal then locked up completely and a small timer counting down from twenty seconds appeared in the lower right hand corner.

For a brief second, Obi-Wan Kenobi came to Ki-Adi's mind. He imagined his friend and fellow Jedi Master sarcastically saying, "Oh, this can't be good." Obi-Wan had the tendency to not only state the obvious but make light of unexpected turn of events.

"Well, my friend," Mundi murmured out loud to himself and to his absent friend. "This definitely is not good."

Ki-Adi quickly stood up and bolted out of the control room accessing his com link to Bacara as he ran toward the unconscious clone. Mundi did not wait for the commander's acknowledgment sensing through the Force that the commander was receiving him. "Commander, clear out!" he ordered. "Get as far away from the base as you can. You have about fifteen seconds."

Commander Bacara and his men were busy clearing away the debris from the access hatch that had sustained minimal damage. Crater had quickly regained consciousness suffering only a mild concussion and dislocated his right should. The shoulder was popped back into place with a grunt from Crater. The shoulder would be sore but it should only be nominally restrictive. As Bacara expected, Crater had insisted that he was completely fine to continue. The three had made their way through the mess of broken limbs and tree branches. After a quick assessment, they picked the most likely hatch to access and began clearing away debris so that Crater could use his last bit of ordinance to hopefully and subtly peel away the hatch so that they could enter the base with little obstructions.

They had just finished clearing large limbs from around the hatch and were consulting with Crater about best placement of the explosives when Bacara's in helmet com link beeped. With a blink of the eye, Bacara activated the link seeing that it was from the general. He had just barely started to respond when the Jedi's order interrupted his reply.

Automatically, Bacara's training took over. With a literal blink of an eye he switched over the secure com frequency that was dedicated to helmet-to-helmet communication with current team members. He sternly gave them an order conveying the urgency of the situation through his vocal inflections, "Take cover in the deeper forest! Now! Go! Go! Go!"

Without a moment of hesitation and not even a second to question the new order Crater and Edge began madly scrambling over and under the downed branches. The wreckage was thick and painstakingly slow for the three clones. Sometimes one would dive over a thick, leafy limb.

"This was taking way too long," Bacara thought to himself. They will never making to the edge where the jungle brush was still relatively intact. He had mentally started his own countdown and kept thinking that their doom should have come already. Finally they reached a large portion of a downed tree. The trunk had been split down the middle. Half of it still stood with its pale yellow heartwood gleaming from a sunbeam that had managed to find its way through the thinned tree canopy. The other half lay at an angle across their path. It would take too long to try to find a passage underneath or to follow the length of it.

Bacara arrived at the obstacle a half a moment before the others. He already had the blades on his forearm armor extended and effortlessly slithered to the top. While still facedown on the split wood, he turned quickly extending his right hand to Crater while using his left hand to anchor himself with his armor blades. He pulled up Crater who went up and over and reached for Edge who had already started his accent on his own.

It was at that moment when a deafening roar sounded and the ground began to shake violently.

CHAPTER 30

Ki-Adi with precise steps dashed for Chip who was still unconscious. The Jedi Master's internal rhythm continued the countdown in the back of his mind. He noticed that nothing had changed in the empty hanger. There were no warning lights or sirens signaling the impending destruction. The doctor had been clever in the design and activation of the self-destruct sequence. Mundi had no time to dwell on the brief realization.

With movements accelerated and augmented by the Force, Ki-Adi scooped up the unaware clone throwing him over his right shoulder even as he stepped toward the open hanger door. A light force field was in place which allowed for object such as a ship or speeder to pass through while maintaining a barrier between the inner atmosphere, which was cool and scrubbed for impurities and the planet's hot, humid air. As Ki-Adi passed through the field, he was briefly aware that the electric current made the small hairs on his body stand on end.

The Jedi leapt through the open door down a five meter drop-off that was often constructed to prevent indigenous wildlife from penetrating an open hanger door. The warm air blasted him as gracefully landed on a steeply graded clearing. Using his momentum and the Force, Ki-Adi sprinted down the hill as it became just a slight grade. He was scampering across a clearing the opened up in a V shape from the hanger until it was twenty-five meters across. All of the undergrowth had been savaged and probably an herbicide applied to keep it completely clear. The massive dallerwalla trees formed a canopy that effectively camouflaged the hanger from any passing ships.

After three hundred meters, small plants grew. As the hill continued downward, the plant life grew taller creating an organic runway underneath a vegetative canopy. It was a tunnel designed for small vessels such as shuttles or fighters to enter and exit with almost no detection.

Mundi had no time to ponder the cunning design as he covered the three hundred meters in only a few seconds. This was all the time that he had as he utilized the Force to cushion the landing of his living cargo as he tossed Chip onto the ground and in the same fluid motion fell softly on top of him using his own body as a shield in the exact moment that the last second ticked away. The Jedi Master expected a large fireball to erupt from the hanger perhaps to engulf the entire clearing. However, the ground shook violently with a vociferous roar.

Ki-Adi lifted his head and turned back to see what was happening. The hanger was gone—engulfed by the earth around it. A huge cloud of dust billowed up from the site. The leaves of the trees clamored from the shifting ground. Then one of the great dallorwallo trees to the right side slowly began leaning toward the absent hanger. Gravity pulled at its immense trunk. It seemed as if the ground was gradually pulling on the vines hanging down from the upper limbs to pull it down. The ground had stopped shaking but in slow motion that tree finally succumbed to its fate crashing on top of where the hanger had previously been positioned.

Edge could discern that Commander Bacara had determined the situation urgent that they get of there. His abruptness of his command and the shortness of his voice combined with his hurried movements betrayed the commander's feelings. Edge had never known the commander to become panicked but occasionally he became apprehensive—this was one of those times. Bacara blazed the trail through the fallen underbrush and branches without any regard to the noise that they were making. Edge quickly deduced that somehow the commander had been alerted to danger in the proximity, which was most likely some kind of impending explosion.

The commander was moving forward ahead of him by about two or three paces to his left. Crater was directly in front of him. Edge had automatically assumed the role of watching out for Crater since he had recently received a concussion. So Edge followed close behind Crater although his movements did not disclose any hint that he was experiencing any difficulty.

His own anxiety level kept increasing as he kept expecting the hammer to fall. His heart pounded in his ears as his breathing increased. He feel his palms sweating in his gloves despite the attempt of his armor to compensate. However, Edge simply pushed the feelings away as he leapt, hopped, and just pushed through the debris.

Edge could see the commander making for a large fallen tree trunk. With grace and agility, the commander slithered to the top. He quickly reached down and hauled Crater up and over. Edge stepped with left foot intending to push off with his right to leap up and grab the commander's outstretched hand with practiced efficiency.

But as he pushed off with his right foot, there was nothing there to support him as the ground gave way beneath him. His right swiped for the commander's hand but he was left grasping air. The jungle roared around him as he was sucked downward by the collapsing ground. Everything vibrated and shook. The roar was deafening as it reverberated through his armor instantly disorienting him. He was engulfed in a cloud of dust and surrounded by falling debris. He kicked desperately with his feet trying to gain some footing as he turned from lying face down to his right side. Then instinctively he pointed his right hand which was still raised above his head and fired his ascension cable. At least it seemed like his was shooting it in the right direction.

His cable must have anchored into something solid because suddenly the locking mechanism engaged snapping the cable taut. The jerk put enormous strain on Edge's shoulder threatening to dislocate it but his well-conditioned muscles absorbed the shock causing him moderate pain. At once, the debris began battering him as his downward momentum ceased. He kicked his feet trying desperately to gain a foothold in the shifting earth. Chaos reigned around him in a blur of brown dust and green foliage.

For a brief moment, panic gripped Edge as it seemed as if he might be buried alive. Then his well-honed instincts screamed at him as he looked up just in time to see a large tree limb slam into his head and shoulder careening off and spinning away. He felt something give in his shoulder as his vision began to darken. His last thought before slipping into total unconsciousness was that he thought it interesting that he was not in any pain.

Bacara reached for Edge's gloved hand to pull him up but suddenly it was snatched away from him. He was maybe a few hundredths of a second too late. The ground shook. The earth roared. Then Edge was gone—sucked away into a swirl of dust, dirt, and plant life. For a moment Bacara was in shock. He had expected a fireball and to be instantly incinerated. He quickly regained his senses as he concluded that an explosion had taken place but it was one designed to bury the Confederate base.

He also realized that although the large fallen tree trunk vibrated furiously, it remained stable still held firm by what roots had not been severed when it had collapsed. It jerked suddenly and dipped slightly. Bacara expected it to start sliding into the sink hole that had opened up but that was all the movement that he experienced. He withdrew his hand using both of his hands to get on his knees noting that Crater had somehow managed to climb onto the tree trunk to join him.

Then an ascension cable slammed into the tree trunk exactly where his hand was only a moment before. If he had not moved his hand when he did, then it might have been impaled. The cable lodged firmly in the tree trunk and the cable snapped tight.

Bacara was more than hopeful; he was overjoyed. He had been completely taken by surprise. Then for a brief moment he had felt the crushing devastation as he was certain that Edge was sucked away to his doom. Now it seemed like a miracle. The rest of his team just might make it out of here alive.

The roar of shifting earth subsided. Sunlight now streamed steadily down on Bacara but dust filled the air. It was impossible to see what the area looked like. He was certain that the ground here would not have sunlight in dozens if not hundreds of years until now.

The cable remained taut but unmoving. Edge should have been rewinding the cable in order to pull himself back up. Bacara knew that something was wrong. Without thinking he ordered Crater through their internal com system to give him a hand pulling Edge back up. The ground still sloped downward but the hole had filled with dirt, branches, and leaves. They were able to pull the cable maybe a meter or two before it became stuck.

"We'll have to go get him," declared Bacara as he firmly anchored his own cable into the wood before descending onto the treacherous turf. The ground definitely was not settled. The numerous branches and limbs created many pockets of air. It would take a lot of rain and several months before the ground became stable again.

Bacara looked up at Crater further instructing him, "You keep tension on the cable. I'll start digging. We might not have much time."

Bacara scooped dirt with his hands. Threw branches aside and even carefully used his blaster rifle to cut through limbs that were hindering his progress and were too thick to be broken and too embedded to be moved. Even with his armor straining to keep him cool, Bacara worked up a sweat. It took about forty-five minutes to work his way down the cable.

Meanwhile the dust cloud had settled considerably. Crater was able to give some guidance to the commander but generally he remained an observer. He looked at the devastation of the area and realized that an aerial flyby would probably conclude that an enormous sickhole had naturally occurred. A scar would be left for a long time but it would appear as something natural and thus not likely draw attention. It would not appear that an underground base had been located here and had been destroyed. This was definitely a clever job. If there were any secrets (which Crater sincerely doubted), they would be buried here a very long time. Crater, the demolitions expert, appreciated the complexity and thoroughness of the person who had created this demolition.

Crater was awakened from his revelry by Bacara's announcement, "I've got him. He's in a small pocket of space surrounded by foliage and he's alive but he's injured. I'm not sure how bad, yet. Set your cable and come down and join me. I'll need your help to get him out of here."

CHAPTER 31

Ki-Adi considered what had occurred and realized the wisdom of the doctor's plan. He had rigged the base to self-destruct not with a massive explosion that would have left a large blackened scar on the landscape thus inviting any potential guests to investigate. He had designed the base to implode presumably after incineration since Ki-Adi could now smell the distinctive odor of burnt durasteel. Not only would anything that may have escaped the destruction be buried, which was highly unlikely judging by the thoroughness of doctor's previous actions, but the landscape would appear as if damaged by some natural disaster.

Ki-Adi got up and took in all of the destruction. He realized that the clone's armor must have bruised his shoulder as he carried him across the clearing. He felt the shoulder with his left hand as he worked it through a range of motion. The injury was minor and would heal quickly. It should not inhibit him in any way.

After a few moments, the Jedi turned his attention to Chip. He bent down and placed his hand on the clone's forehead after rolling him over. The general realized that he had left the clone's helmet in the hanger but then quickly dismissed the loss as insignificant since it was highly likely that the helmet's circuitry had been fried in the electrical jolt that had incapacitated Chip.

Gently using the Force, the Jedi slowly brought Chip into consciousness. He could sense the sudden awareness within the clone as pain roiled through him. Chip braced himself as he fought through the initial intensity to be fully conscious.

Ki-Adi stood up as Chip let out long groan and his eyes fluttered open. "You should be okay, Chip. A little sore and maybe some tingling sensation but you'll be back to normal in a couple of days," explained the Jedi.

"What happened?" muttered the still groggy clone. "I feel like a bantha used me as a doormat."

Ki-Adi chuckled with a smile. "You received a healthy jolt presumably from our quarry. Your armor probably saved your life."

Chip rolled over onto his right elbow and from there pushed himself so that he was sitting upright on the ground—his body braced with his arms. "And the Khil?" asked the clone referring to Sunaratti.

"I'm afraid he was to escape," replied the Jedi as he reached out with the Force trying to sense any danger. He was sure that the droids were all destroyed so he was not expecting to sense anything. He also knew that while large catastrophic events might drive some wildlife away, these events also had the tendency to draw attention. Satisfied, Ki-Adi returned his attention back to his companion.

As Chip was slowing getting up, he became unsteady but the Jedi quickly reached out with his hand to grab the soldier's arm. "I'm sorry, general," responded the clone when he had regained his balance. "I allowed him to catch me by surprise. It won't happen again."

Ki-Adi turned to look the clone square in the eye, "Chip, there is no need to apologize. This whole mission was a setup. The doctor was thoroughly prepared for us. If anyone is to blame, it is me as I clearly underestimated the doctor's cleverness."

Chip was satisfied and began surveying the area as well as his armor. "Armor's electronics are fried. What's next, general?" asked the clone.

"We should contact Commander Baccara and find out how the rest of the team faired."

Count Dooku sat preparing himself for the report with Dr. Sunaratti. It was always good to make him wait reminding the doctor, who had strong tendencies toward arrogance, that it was Dooku who was not only in charge but should be feared. He had digested the doctor's synopsis and the research data. He had been rather skeptical of what the doctor may be able to accomplish but he was very pleased with the results. If the research could actually be applied to mass production of cortosis armored droids, then the Separatists would not only win the war but could actually totally annihilate the Republic and replace it.

First a droid manufacturing plant would need to be refitted to accommodate a new process of armor plating. This would take a considerable amount of currency and cause at least a partial shutdown of production. While this would be a setback, it would be only a minor one. The dividends would far outweigh the temporary losses.

The second problem to overcome was a fairly major obstacle. This would be how to maintain a steady supply of refined cortosis according to the doctor's specifications. Raw cortosis was not exactly an ore in abundance nor in much demand. Since the demand was almost non-existent, no one scouted planets for new sources. Compounding the difficulty was that the worlds that could be mined with which Dooku was familiar as it was a closely guarded Jedi secret were currently on Republic held systems. However, Dooku had been preparing for this possibility and had managed through his sources to obtain a fairly large quantity of raw cortosis. It would be enough to at least begin mass production. Once these new droids rolled off the line then they could be used to help secure planets that would provide additional supplies of the black material.

Dooku felt that he had kept the doctor waiting long enough and opened the channel. Dooku stood on the holo projecting dais. He usually preferred to stand when addressing subordinates as this projected a posture of domination designed to intimidate them. The Khil's face flickered in front of Dooku as the Count immediately spoke at the doctor, "What is your current status?"

The doctor cleared his throat slightly and glanced subserviently back and forth before looking downward. Clearly, the doctor was appropriately intimidated as his future was totally uncertain and rested in the Count's hands. Finally Sunaratti replied, "We await the return of the other cruiser, which should be here momentarily. Then we await your instructions."

Sunaratti could feel the Dooku's gaze upon him but he did not dare look up. Finally the count addressed the doctor with condescension dripping like venom in his voice, "Were they successful in locating the Republic ship?"

The doctor stuttered, "N-n-n-o, my Lord. They made a reckless hyper jump into uncharted space…"

"Yes, yes," interrupted the fallen Jedi, "I have read the report you sent me. They should not have had the opportunity to leave the system."

The doctor remained quiet accepting the Separatist leader's reproach. There was an uncomfortable silence. The count took a subtle pleasure that the doctor seemed to be cowed, at least for the moment. Perhaps the doctor was learning his place. Dooku decided to push the doctor a little harder to see just how genuine his newfound humility really was.

"What do you have to say in your defense?" demanded the fallen Jedi. He used the Force to add intensity to his request.

The doctor did not look up but took a deep breath and began, "I took your warning not to underestimate the Jedi seriously and now understand why. Master Mundi's approach to the obstacles was unexpected."

The doctor had taken great lengths to create safeguards—although they were safeguards that he thought were unnecessary at the time. The doctor realized that he had just barely eluded the Jedi's pursuit and this was only because of the extra precautions that he had taken. After arriving in orbit, he had scanned the surface and discovered two humanoid life forms near the auxiliary hanger from which he had narrowly escaped. Although the base appeared to have been destroyed, the Jedi Master had been able to somehow detect the self-destruct sequence and avoid being caught in the subsequent implosion. His admiration for the resourcefulness of the Jedi continued to grow.

The doctor sneaked a glance at the hologram of the Separatist leader and then added, "I also failed to anticipate that the Republic ship would attempt a risky hyperspace jump into uncharted sectors." Then the doctor surmised with an air of his previous confidence, "Although we did not find any wreckage, I'm sure the Republic ship was destroyed."

Dooku was please with the doctor's overall attitude but raised an eyebrow at the last statement. The doctor was learning his place but years of arrogance were hard to undo overnight. The count needed to squash him a little more. "So you think that they were destroyed, doctor?"

If the Khil's gray cast face could have become any more ashen, it would have at that moment. He realized that he had mispoke but he needed to justify his presumption. Obviously, the ruthless fallen Jedi knew something that he did not.

"I made that tentative postulation," explained Sunnartti with emphasis on the uncertainty of his conclusion, "based on the data, which showed that the Republic ship was heavily damaged—possibly unable to withstand the stresses of a hyperspace jump especially one into an uncharted area where there could be unexpected gravitational shear from rogue astrological phenomenon like an asteroid, small comet, or black hole." When the doctor was pressed and under stress, he often reverted to using the technical jargon of his profession, which gave the appearance that he knew what he was talking about. However, Dooku was not buying it.

"I have just received word from our spies that the ship did escape and transmitted some valuable data regarding your research. The Jedi are now fully aware of your research with cortosis and they will not want you to continue," Dooku informed the doctor with an ominous overtone.

The doctor now was terrified. He had been extremely disciplined in mastering the innate paranoia tendencies for his species. But now he could no longer remain calm. The Jedi knew that he was doing work that they would consider to be a direct attack against them. For a moment, he considered abandoning his work and running to the farthest corner of the galaxy to hide. But he quickly concluded based on his recent experience with Master Mundi that they would find him no matter where he hid. They obviously had abilities and resources that he could never counter. His only hope was continued protection from his current benefactor that was well versed in the ways of the Jedi.

Sunnartti replied with a quiver in his voice, "What can I do, Lord? They will find me."

Dooku was very pleased at how quickly the doctor had surmised his precarious situation. The Khil realized that he was now utterly dependent on his protection. "Do not fear, doctor. Despite your mistakes, you have served well so far. We will continue our collaboration and I will protect you. You are still a very valuable resource."

Sunnarrtii was enormously relieved. His body visibly relaxed as he replied, "Thank you, Lord. How can I serve?" He was resigned to his place of servitude to the fallen Jedi. The doctor did not like his situation and would take the first opportunity to escape when it arose. But for now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Dooku looked at the chronometer and realized that the he needed to close this conversation. He would need to report to his master shortly. He had sufficiently humbled the doctor and was sure that the doctor would fulfill his next assignment without the condescending attitude.

Count Dooku got right to the point, "Doctor, You will go to Metalorn where you will oversee a refit of part of a droid manufacturing plant for the cortosis armor. I will supply everything you need including an additional supply of cortosis. You have sixty days to begin production."

The doctor responded, "Lord, I am unfamiliar with the mass production process and…"

Dooku cut him off, "There will be a plant manager to assist you. You will learn what you need to know and have it operational within sixty days."

"Yes, my Lord," answered Sunnartti keeping his eyes averted.

"There is one last matter," continued Dooku in a businesslike tone of voice, "You indicated that you had created a prototype of the cortosis chair but you did not have the opportunity to test it with an actual light saber strike."

The doctor had forgotten about this second project but was hopeful that he had supplied enough information to please Dooku. He responded with an affirmation that the count had stated everything correctly.

"My client was very pleased with the designed and the information that you sent on the specifications. He would like some modifications to your design included and would like you to construct another. In sixty days, I will come to evaluate your progress with the droids and inspect the command chair with the new modifications in order to deliver it to my client. You will be rewarded handsomely and will most likely never need funding for your future research."

Doctor Sunnartti was overjoyed with Dooku's pronouncement. So much so that he immediately forgot his concerns over whether or not the droid refit could be accomplished within Dooku's timeframe. "Thank you, my Lord. I will not fail you," answered the Khil.

"No, I know you won't," concluded Dooku menacingly as he severed the communication link.

CHAPTER 32

Jedi Master Yoda stared at the empty seats in a circular arrangement within the High Council Chamber. Since the start of the Clone Wars, the entire council had not met together in person even once. There was always at least one empty seat—usually multiple chairs were vacant. Sometimes a master might be "present" via hologram but that was not the same. One of the great strengths of High Council had always been the collective focus of the masters in meditation. Since the shroud of the dark side of the Force had fallen, their ability to anticipate danger to the Republic had steadily declined. With the war, the masters were often required to be present in various theaters across the galaxy. This, Yoda had concluded, was further weakening the council.

However, the Jedi Master could see no way to change those circumstances without seriously compromising the Republic's ability to keep the Separatist forces in check. They would just have to trust the Force to be with them, which was something that this generation of Jedi Knights seems to automatically assume would happen. Yoda was seriously concerned that this was beginning not to be the case.

The setting sunlight streamed in through the windows. The cityscape was busy as the inhabitants of Coruscant went about their lives oblivious to the dark struggle that had engulfed the rest of the galaxy. Sure they knew about the war and the battles being waged. They saw the worlds being ravaged and the lives being destroyed through the holodocumentaries and the various media sources. But most had not personally been touched by the madness of war. At least not yet.

Yoda had the sense that everyone would be affected before the war ended. He could not determine specifics. The Force was vague but the impression that he got standing in the temple was that the war was coming.

Gradually more and more speeders with their running lights joined the throngs of travelers that were diverted around the airspace of the temple to give it a large cushion of protection. Building lights turned on randomly in the distance as the citizens adjusted to the failing sunlight.

Yoda felt the air currents change as the doors to the chamber slid open silently to admit Master Windu whose presence had been felt by Master Yoda long before approached the chamber. Master Yoda with cane in hand turned to greet Master Windu.

"Greetings, Master Windu," hailed the Grand Master indicating that they had some official Jedi business to conduct. This meeting was not just an informal meeting of two good friends. Windu dipped his head slightly in response indicating that he understood the importance of their meeting. He strode to stand in front of the aging Jedi Master but at an angle to that each one would be able to look just past the other.

Master Windu replied, "The information that Master Mundi has supplied us is very disturbing. Has there been any further communication from him?"

Yoda let out a sigh as he told Windu that there had not been any further word from him or the Republic ship. They both knew what needed to done. A rescue had to be mounted for Master Mundi as the message had indicated that the Jedi Master was last known to be stranded on Belkadan.

"Go to Belkadan, I must," Yoda informed Windu.

"You had better take two cruisers although I doubt that the Separatist will still be in the system now that their base has been uncovered," responded the dark-skinned Jedi.

Yoda then briefly explained that it would be best that he heard about the tragedy that had befallen his family from a friend. Since the fact that he had a family, was relatively a secret as attachments such as spouses and families were forbidden. Yoda could still remember the rationale when this mandate had been adopted following the Sith Wars. The attachment often fostered a deep passion that easily led to the dark side especially when that attachment was suddenly and forcibly severed. The mandate had served the Jedi well for hundreds of years safeguarding the Order.

Both wondered how this might impact Master Mundi. They feared that this might lead the Cerean Jedi down the path to the dark side. There was a long moment of silence as they contemplated this possibility before Windu finally said out loud, "Do you forsee this being a problem for Master Mundi and the Jedi Order?" His comment was rather subtle which was unlike the normal approach of Windu.

Master Yoda closed his eyes simply uttering a long, "Hhmmmm…" Before long Master Yoda opened his eyes and declared, "Hard to see it is."

Then Windu added, "But Ki-Adi understood the risks before he was allowed the exception."

"Trust the wisdom," Yoda concluded, "of the entire council, we must."

The two then deduced that Master Mundi would likely follow the Cerean custom of privately mourning his loss. Master Yoda would offer to accompany the Cerean but they agreed that he would likely turn down the offer. This would be the most difficult time for Master Mundi but he was honor bound to face it alone. They had to trust in the Force and in the Jedi training that Ki-Adi had received.

They also concluded that a top priority on Yoda's return would be to find out what Dooku was planning to do with the cortosis armor. They understood that this development could turn the tide against the Republic in a very significant way. The armor could compromise the effectiveness of the Jedi Knight support and leadership with the clone army. Up until now, the Republic had gained slight advantages over the Separatist and been able to make slow but steady progress due mainly to the clones superior ability to adapt augmented by the strengths of the Jedi Knights. The Separatist were only able to make the advances that they did because their droid factories could produce immense numbers of droids to replace quickly those that were lost in the various campaigns. Droids armored with cortosis would suddenly change turn the tables on the small advantage that the Jedi led Republic army held.

"Unless you encounter trouble, then you should be back within a week. I assumed that you wanted me to take over your role as military adviser until you return?" inquired Master Windu as he sought confirmation of this unspoken request.

"In your capable hands I entrust things," responded the Grand Master. They both walked out of the chamber. Yoda left to prepare for his trip to the Outer Rim and Windu went to inform the chancellor of the temporary change in leadership.

Darth Sidious watched the kneeling hologram of his apprentice flicker to life as Dooku's sonorous voice offered the address, "What is thy bidding, my master?"

Sidious as Supreme Chancellor Palpitine had received the transmission that also went to the Jedi Temple regarding Master Mundi's discovery. While he despised the lack of protocol by informing the Jedi Council simultaneously as the Supreme Chancellor, he was not overly bothered by the affront. He had planned to "leak" the information to the council anyway.

As Darth Sidious, he also had been privy to the data of the Khil doctor's actual research. When Windu and the chancellor had discussed the new data and Yoda's temporary assignment, Sidious carefully concealed his elation. The Jedi Council's leadership continued to be divided making it easier to keep is cover and subterfuge the council's ability to access the Force. Sidious had learned long ago that Master Yoda was especially powerful and a very dangerous adversary.

Master Windu was dangerous as well especially his ability to find his opponent's weakness. However, Windu was not nearly as insightful and problematic as Master Yoda.

Sidious addressed his apprentice, "Rise Lord Tyrannus. You have done well. This armor could be a powerful tool against the Jedi." Of course, Sidious did not state the obvious conclusion that the armor could be problematic for a Sith as well.

"Thank you my master," the Sith Lord said as he stood.

Sidious did not wait for former Jedi to continue, "You have made arrangements for the doctor to begin fitting a droid factory with this armor?"

Count Dooku whose alter ego was Lord Tyrannus answered, "Yes, my Master. I am sending him to Metalorn to oversee the factor refit. I have given him one month to complete the alterations and begin production."

Sidious let out a small cackle of delight as he thought of the potential Jedi that would be killed through their encounter with these new droids. He then asked, "And the command chair that I requested?"

Tyrannus informed him that the Khil was to have one constructed as he oversaw the refit and to complete it in the time frame. Tyrannus himself assured his master that he would test it and then deliver it to Sidious personally. Sidious was very pleased with the information. He told Tyrannus that it would be the perfect addition to the "small project" that they had acquired from the Geonosians.

Sidious then brought his concern to the table, "Lord Tyrannus, you will need to keep to this time table. I cannot misdirect the Jedi for very long now that they know of the armor's existence." Once the two Sith learned that it was to be a Jedi Master and not a mere Jedi Knight to investigate Belkadan, they both knew that the Jedi would quickly learn of the doctor's research. The armor would prove to be problematic and even deadly for the average Jedi Knight but as Ki-Adi had proven, the Jedi especially a Jedi Master, could find a way to defeat the new droids.

"Once production begins, the new super battle droids should prove to be an overwhelming addition to the defenses of the Techno Union factory," reported Tyrannus.

"Very good, Lord Tyrannus, keep me informed of your progress," concluded Sidious as he closed the communication link. He considered the potential of these new droids. Many Jedi would fall but perhaps they would fall too quickly. While he led the foolish Dooku to believe that he wanted the Separatists to win, this was only a deception. The goal was to eliminate the Jedi—as many as possible—maybe even all of them. At the least, enough Jedi would need to die so that they ceased to be a threat collectively and could then be hunted down and exterminated. He would have to watch carefully how well these droids functioned and use his influence to control the cortosis that Dooku could obtain and therefore control how quickly the droids could be produced.

Most likely he would have to eventually allow the Jedi to uncover where the droids were being produced. Perhaps he could even arrange for young Skywalker to be instrumental in the destruction of the factory. If anyone could find a weakness, it would be him. He was proving to be extremely resourceful and making progress toward the ultimate goal that Sidious had for the young Jedi.

Sidious brought up the hologram of his Jedi tracking board. He touched a few places on his desk and Ki-Adi-Mundi's name went from green to yellow indicating that he was "at risk" and basically incapacitated for several months. If Dooku managed to turn him, then he would become an asset. At the very least, he now was out of the picture for quite a while as was Master Yoda for at least a week. He typed on the desk and the data beneath Master Yoda's name changed and updated to indicate his new position and assignment.

Sidious closed the hologram quite pleased with how recent events had played out perfectly according to his plans.

CHAPTER 33

Ki-Adi and his clone companion conferred with Commander Bacara. Only Edge had been injured in the destruction of the Separatist base. Even though he had been rescued, he has suffered a dislocated shoulder, some broken ribs, and a serious concussion. Edge was awake and did not seem to have experienced any permanent brain damage although he had a pounding headache. Overall all the rest of the team that had left Scope had survived intact although they had been battered.

The Jedi learned that the base from Bacara's end had suffered the same implosive destruction that Ki-Adi had witnessed. Maybe with some large earth moving equipment, they might find something to be useful but both had concluded that it would not be worth the effort.

The two separate teams would have to make their way back to the bunker where they had left Scope. Although they did not know if it too had been booby-trapped, Chip was confident that it had been a standalone construction. It could have been configured with its own separate self-destruct protocols, which would have doomed Scope. However, the bunker was minimally connected to the main facility and therefore its loss would pose no tactical threat. Besides, Ki-Adi had the impression that the bunker was still intact. It would offer not only shelter but a defensible position in case the Separatists returned before the Republic managed to rescue the team.

Even if Captain Hamsil had failed to communicate with the Republic command, Ki-Adi assured Bacara that Jedi Council would eventually mount a rescue and recovery operation when he failed to report. They would be rescued sooner or later. Everyone, of course, hoped that it would be sooner.

Master Mundi sensed that Bacara wanted to speak with Chips privately. Since Chips' electronic systems were fried, he needed to use Ki-Adi's hand held com unit. While Chips reported to Bacara, the Jedi Master scouted ahead. As the ranking officer, Mundi did not need to allow the conversation but he figured that since the clones normally could utilize the private communication systems in their helmets, then this small act would convey that Ki-Adi implicitly trusted his troops.

Bacara heard the clone soldier's tale of infiltrating the base and how the assailant had barely slipped through their grasp. Chips also shared his conclusion, "The Jedi saved my life, commander. He could have left me. It sure would have been easier to do so being that we only had a few seconds."

Bacara tried to rationally justify the Jedi's decision answering, "He probably just didn't want to lose another resource."

Chips was glad that he was speaking through a com link and not face to face as this enable him to bolster his courage. He disagreed and with his commander's assessment and felt compelled to say so. "With respect, sir, but I think it was more than that. He sees us as more than fodder for the droids. Throughout this mission, he has consistently shown respect and dedication to us just as any of our clone brothers would have done."

Bacara was silent. He considered what Chips had said. The commander knew, of course, that Chips was right. The Jedi had been an incredible asset and proven to be not only a capable leader but a formidable warrior. This was someone that they could trust as a leader that would look out for their wellbeing. He had to respect the Jedi for that. It was a grudging respect but the Jedi had definitely earned it.

Bacara thought about his attitude and actions over the recent mission. He knew that if one of his men had treated him in the same manner then he would have busted that clone not only in rank but probably his head as well. Yet, this Jedi had shown restraint continuing to trust him to lead.

However, this did not change that overall relationship of the Jedi and the Republic. His role was to protect the Republic. The Jedi held too much power without any accountability. It seemed that they were the ones who tried to control the Republic operating in the background. For a thousand of years now, the Jedi had been able to subtly influence the progress of the Republic. What would happen if they found that a background role was no longer enough?

Bacara just did not trust the Jedi in general. He would follow General Mundi into battle. The clone was confident that the general would make the best choices for him and his men. He would offer the Jedi the respect that he deserved in the future but even so, he was reluctant. Bacara was sure that Master Mundi would side with the Jedi Order leadership even if it meant overthrowing the Republic. This Jedi would most likely lead well except if he was ordered to a course of action that served the Jedi ability to commandeer control of the Republic. In that case, he would have to do what was right for the Republic.

Hopefully, such a day would never come. Bacara wanted a leader that he could serve and follow. He wanted someone who would inspire heroic deeds. He just could not allow himself to be blinded to the dynamics of power between the Republic and the Jedi. He would reluctantly respect this Jedi but he could never trust him wholeheartedly.

Finally Bacara responded, "I get it, soldier. Just get to the rendezvous point and we can talk this out later." Bacara had to make sure that his men were not swayed from their primary objective: to protect and serve the Republic. If the day ever came in which the Jedi would become enemies, then he would need to make sure that his men executed their orders without hesitation. The Jedi were powerful enemies. He was glad they were on their side. But if the time came, then they might only get one chance.

Meanwhile, Ki-Adi continued to scout ahead. He could sense that the clones were beginning to trust him, which was what Ki-Adi needed in order to lead these elite clones. He also knew that Bacara remained resistant to fully trusting him. He was not quite sure why. So far the commander had yet to open up and share his concerns. Many soldiers had trouble following a leader who had not been trained to be a military leader such as the Jedi. Ki-Adi also knew that this was justified for a lot of Jedi especially the younger Jedi Knights who were increasingly arrogant and reckless. However, Bacara's feelings ran much deeper than this common concern. Bacara thought things through and as such he must have drawn some interesting conclusions about the Jedi. Mundi could tell that the clone commander's feelings were not personal toward him but directed at the Jedi in general. Perhaps with time, Ki-Adi might be able to either change or draw out the commander.

Ki-Adi had concluded that they would be stuck there at least for several days. It would take that long for a task force to be assembled and then travel so far into the Outer Rim. During that time he would be able to spend some considerable time meditating. His hope was that the Force would shed some illumination on where all of this was proceeding.

EPILOGUE

"Sir, a ship has just dropped out of hyperspace," a clone voice worriedly decried. The ship's sensors along with life support were about the only things operational. The sensors like everything else were severely damaged by the Separatist cruisers—they only had a limited range which meant that the ship had dropped out of hyperspace practically on top of them. The new arrivals knew that they were there in the middle of nowhere.

Fear spiked momentarily through the clone who had assumed command because the original officers of the Republic ship were either incapacitated or dead. A single thought confronted the clone: the Separatists had tracked them down and meant to destroy them.

"Is it the Seps?" the clone in charge asked as he waited for the pounding to begin. But the new ship did not begin firing.

"Sensors are a mess but it's not the tinheads," responded the original clone in the typical baritone resonant voice.

"It can't be a Republic ship. It would take a lot longer for a rescue to get here."

The clone manning the sensor tried to make adjustments before slamming the control panel with his fists in frustration. He went back to making adjustments and finally said, "No, sir. It's not Republic."

"Well?" asked the clone in charge. Not knowing what was happening and who was out there was dreadful. They were blind and dead in space.

The clone at the sensors then replied, "The ship is not transmitting a transponder code."

That could only mean one thing. The clone commander stared off and let one word slip through his lips, "Pirates." Pirates often kept an array of false transponder codes so that they could slip in and out of various ports that either welcomed pirates such as Nar Shaddaa or just turned a blind eye toward them. Often when descending upon prey, they would not transmit any code so that a deeper fear would be generated in their victims.

"Should we prepare to repel boarding parties?" asked a third clone who had been stationed on the makeshift bridge.

"Do your best," answered the commander knowing that they would only be able to mount a minimal resistance at best. "I'm going to have to see if I can awaken Captain Hamsil. He needs to know that we have guests."