Part 3 "Band of brothers" VenSD "Illustrious" Xinaghar orbit; 0700 hours
The battle was almost over and quite fast. Wolf was watching patiently so that the Venators could take part of this slaughter. He took his time, after all there was not prospect for victory and escaping this alive, that's why the Star Destroyers didn't attack the oncoming enemies. They needed some precious moments to start the evacuation of the unnecessary crew to the ground where they could boost a little bit the defenses there. The Clone captain was uneasy, after all he knew that he and his crew won't be seeing the other day and his orders were questionable to say the least.
It didn't matter, not anymore… Wolf frowned, he had forgotten about the orbital shipyard, they haven't checked in for some time now. They will have to survive on their own…somehow.
"Captain, Sergeant Orr made contact from the shipyards! He says it is urgent!"
What an irony, as soon as he thought about the station they called him. The Clone almost wished for reinforcements to come, but it was unrealistic as the replacements were due to arrive in several days so there will be no help for them. Wolf watched the battle outside for a second as the combined force of the three Venators managed to destroy a Recusant. One less ship to worry about…
"Captain Wolf, this is Sergeant Orr…*static*…we're overrun…*static*…traitors in…*static*…smuggled…droids…aaaaah"
These were the sergeant's last words, the commlink remained active for several more moments so that Wolf could hear what was going on. There were several blaster shots and he could distinguish the synthesized voices of battle droids. So the Xinaghari workers are in league with the CIS and were able to smuggle Confederate mechs. Clearly, the shipyards were lost to the Republic.
"Captain, an YT-1760 freighter is making a run for it, approaching from the capitol city of Zimia! It is not transmitting any codes!" a lieutenant approached him.
The Clone frowned, who are these people? He wondered whether the ship was carrying the Republic agents or some CIS spies. They had no time to waste, he had to decide whether to open fire or let them pass, it didn't matter much…
"What are your orders, sir?"
Wolf turned his head towards the viewport and saw the incoming Droch-class attack pods. It was now clear what the enemy wanted.
"Captain?"
"Let them go and let us hope they are on our side…"
The lieutenant nodded and turned to give the instructions to the turrets. Wolf went to the comms. Officer.
"Corporal, patch me through to the crew."
The officer pressed several buttons and activated the loudspeakers and also connected the captain with the crews of the other two Venators.
"Crew of Illustrious, defenders of Xinaghar, we now face a large enemy force, who clearly wants to take our ships. Defend them with all costs. I am proud to have served alongside such men! For the Republic!"
As the line was closed, the ship shook violently then from several consoles a shower of sparks erupted. One of the officers got fried on the spot. They were struck by several Ion blasts, the ship was disabled. A female voice came "Low power! Ship's defense systems are now offline!" Several moments later the claxons indicated that the hull was breached. As Wolf regained his balance he turned around to see the faces of the bridge's crew.
"Men, we're being boarded, prepare for battle!"
*******
Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ship "Grandeur" Xinaghar orbit; 0700 hours
The battle was going according to plan, the information provided by the Prime Minister proved to be accurate. Even the losses that the CIS fleet endured were tolerable, after all he could call for reinforcements. The albino Togorian was standing in front of the viewport his massive arms clasped behind his back. He was forging his reputation in fire, the same fire that will liberate all the oppressed beings from the leash of the Republic. The General could almost hear the crowds shouting "Sheerah the Liberator!" he was thankful to Count Dooku for giving him this opportunity so he did everything within his abilities to repay the good man.
"General, our agents in the shipyards have reported that they had overpowered the Clone Troopers and the loyalists."
Sheerah nodded to the Tactical Droid and turned back to watch the final accords of the battle. They had lost a Recusant Destroyer then a Frigate to a single starfighter! This was taking far too long to be tolerated. The Drochs were waiting for the capitol ships to fire their ion cannons and disable the Venators. The General needed the three capitol ships as to slow the Republic reinforcement which will surely arrive sometime in the following week. He had no illusions, his enemies will know soon what is going on and will come to retaliate! So he will have to accomplish his objectives quickly and prepare the defenses before the oppressors arrive.
Blue streaks of energy flew from the CIS capitol ships, the Venators made a final, desperate stand, before the blue lightings engulfed their hulls indicating that they were disabled. The Togorian purred from satisfaction and without turning towards his subordinates barked.
"Signal the Drochs to start their assault on the ships!"
He waited for a moment to consider the situation.
"Move the Lucrehulks closer and prepare the crafts for ground assault!"
Captain N'erot acknowledged the order then an OOM-class droid with blue markings of a pilot turned towards Sheerah.
"General, a Corellian freighter tries to pass through our blockade; they seem to have proper ID identifying them as our agents. Should we let them pass?"
The Togorian growled indicating his annoyance; the droids were dumb enough not to identify the CIS agents on the field. He then told the droid pilot to let the freighter pass, he then managed to overhear the voice of the Separatist agent and it sounded rather familiar. "Is it possible? Thorn?" he thought. Thorn – a Togorian, Sheerah's best friend from childhood, who left their homeworld to find his luck in smuggling and being a merc. Was it possible for his friend to have seen the light and joined their glorious revolution? Sheerah thought for a moment to ask his friend to visit him onboard but remembered that they both have their own duties, they will have time to catch up later… He had a battle to win here…
*******
V-wing fighter Xinaghar Orbit, 0700 hours
It was supposed to be another calm day of patrolling around the fleet for CP-1432 "Skip" or also known as Grey 9 but the seppies thought otherwise and showed up to ruin his day. Skip took it personally, after all they ruined his plans to survive at this theater of war. Patrolling around Xinaghar was a dream job as the sector was "pacified" recently until today a whole CIS fleet jumped while he was having his breakfast and '32 was a man who enjoyed every meal…
To make matters worse his squadron – the Grey Squadron had to remain and protect as long as they can the three VenSDs. He didn't need do a lot of thinking to realize that they were losing badly and the squadron was facing gazillion fighters. He was ticked off by the squadron leader who cocky as ever replied to his remark "Never tell me the odds!" Skip wanted to blast the man. His patriotic feelings towards the Republic quickly evaporated when he remembered his "duty" towards it.
The V-wing was shaking wildly as he frantically tried to pass through a wall of fire between the capitol ships while chasing a Tri-Fighter. "I love those guys…" he murmured sarcastically when another pair of shots missed their target. He checked the readings on the rest of the squadron, it was a miracle – only two casualties! No wonder they were considered the best in the battlegroup. Drops of sweat started forming on his forehead as he watched the Tri moving left and right and missing the center of the crosshair so that he could blast it to atoms. "I have you now!" he exclaimed as he managed to get on-lock followed by a quick burst of blaster fire that ripped the engines of the droid fighter tearing it apart. The pieces had already gained momentum and smashed at the hull of one of the Venators probably denting the outer plating. Well, this is surely their last problem they are worried about. The astromech screamed something unintelligible, even the computer had some difficulties translating it. Then after it was done he could read that a couple of Vultures were closing in towards him. The message was followed by red bursts of blaster fire missing him closely.
"Oh, no you don't!"
He made a corkscrew dive towards the space between two Venators. The Star Destroyers were hammered pretty hardly, the maneuver made him a bit dizzy but Skip managed to shake it off and proceed downwards towards the capitol ships. The V-wing was shaking as the blaster bolts came closer, he considered calling for some help but as he saw the squadron was down to 6 more fighters and by the looks of it they will soon flee for the ground. Skip was passing between the two large vessels followed by a couple of Vultures. One of the droid fighters got lucky and managed to blast away one of his deflector shield's heat sinks, the Q7-class astromech screeched wildly so Skip switched off the commline not to hear it. He needed to concentrate and retake control of the craft, luckily the torn piece didn't smash anything else as it flew away. That was the good news, the bad one was that the Vultures were trying to get on lock and fire their missiles at him. He needed to do something quickly or he won't survive this. As he reached the nose of one of the Venators – "Endurance", he made a sharp turn right, the maneuver rolled his ship ninety-degrees on its side (the tip of the topside wings were pointing at the nose of the Star Destroyer). Skip saw as two blasts passed just in front of his nose barely scratching his shields that were not able to restore themselves fully after the blast. The clone was holding his breath, this was close.
"There are too many of them!" "Can't shake 'em!" were the lines he heard the most from the coming from the surviving members of Grey Squadron. They were being slaughtered, after the sharp turn he started climbing towards the two towers of the bridge. He passed closely to the hull of the Venator the two Vultures closing in from above. The crimson blasts missing him closely managed only to strike the Star Destroyer doing little harm. Seeing on the screen that one of the enemy fighters was trying to get on-lock so that could launch its torpedoes. Skip decided to change his tactics. He then transferred power from the weapons to the engines and managed to boost his speed. Upon reaching the middle of the Star Destroyer the V-wing made a sharp turn right. This unexpected move puzzled the couple of Vultures. Skip got lucky because as he reached the rim of the Venator, the massive ship was struck by several Ion blasts that managed to disable his pursuers too.
Skip made a sharp dive towards the planet following the remaining squadron mates. The battle was over for the Republic, even the CIS fighters lost interest in them so the rest of the squadron could return to the surface. Upon seeing the state of the other V-wings he realized that he was the luckiest as he had lost only a heat sink, the rest of the fighters were heavily battered and burnt. They were entering atmosphere, the remnants of the squadron was headed towards the capitol city of Zimia. His V-wing was shaking wildly from the re-entry, he could see the orange glow of the heated hull on the rims of the fighter. Skip watched in horror as one ship disintegrated due to heavy structural damage. Another ner'vod dead in this war… The clone didn't voice the curse in his mind, the rest of the squadron that consisted of 4 more pilots, remained silent while they approached Zimia. After 10 minutes of flight he could see smokes rising from the capitol as fires were being dealt with on the surface. The Republic forces were beaten…hardly. A lot of good men died on that day…
Skip sighed, at least he was alive so that could fight another day…
*******
Droch-class boarding ship en-route towards VenSD "Illustrious"" Xinaghar orbit; 0715 Hours
Orto Carsev, a middle-aged Mandalorian, was crammed together with 4 Commando Droids and a couple of Super Battle Droids in a not so comfortable pod. He was part of a strike team, the objective of which was to create a beachhead on a Star Destroyer full of Clone Troopers. For each capitol ship there were four inbound boarding crafts each carrying, a similar to his, strike team. Orto had to secure the hangar area and then the Lucrehulks were supposed to "grab" in their arms the Venators so that the droid dispenser could be sent and proceed with the taking over the massive ship. The Mando didn't care much about the odds, he craved the adrenaline rush from a battle. It wasn't even personal, he didn't hate the boys in white armor on the contrary he pitied them for being on the wrong side and that of the Jetiise. He didn't like being on the CIS's side, to fight alongside soulless machines disgusted him but he did so because he had a deep respect for General Sheerah, who had asked him for assistance in liberating the Galaxy from the Republic. This was something he would not refuse. "Target in range, closing in." came the emotionless voice of the droid pilot. Orto checked on his HUD if everything was alright and then braced himself for impact.
The boarding ship pierced the hull of the Star Destroyer's with its pincers. Then the front hatch opened, the two SBDs jumped outside with their arms pointed forward. They were to secure the area for the Droid Commandos and the Mandalorians to come in. The BXs followed their bigger "brothers". Then Orto jumped too, unholstering his Westar 34 blaster pistols the same that his Mand'Alor Jango Fett used. The Mandalorian quickly took cover behind a crate, he needed to assess the situation. He was in the hangar area, the other three Drochs had pierced the hull and the other teams were taking their positions under heavy fire from the Clones. He could see that that there were no ships, only a few crates and from what he could make out there were at least 15 troopers. This was an interesting discovery, what about the rest, such ships were known to be carrying thousands of crew only? Was this a trap?
The Super Battle Droids were moving forward firing rapidly at the defenders' positions. Orto could see that one of the B2s was down with multiple smoking holes on its chest. The droid commandos started moving forward as well shooting at the Clones. It was Carsev's turn to move on, the attackers were slowly encircling the defenders. From what he could see most of the Clones were engineers and technicians, and a handful of troopers. Was it possible? The task was far easier than he thought it will be, from the looks of it, the ship was manned by a skeleton crew.
Another Super Battle Droid fell on the ground with a heavy thud. It was time the vode'an to take over the situation. He nodded to his squad mates. His black armor was reflecting the red light thus making him even more ominous. His first kill was an unsuspecting Clone engineer, who was caught in Orto's cross fire as he jumped forward laying down supressing fire. Just as the Mando hit the deck he quickly rolled forward between a couple of enemies. Quickly drawing his pistols he shot them before they could react. A third appeared - this time an armored trooper, and started shooting with his long barreled DC-15, Carsev rolled to the left as blue blast hit the place where he had been moments ago. The mandalorian ducked behind one of the crates for cover. Pinned down, his vision was limited. 'The guy was smart, well no one said that your enemies have to be stupid. ' he thought. A crimson bolt from the barrel of a Verpine Rifle caught the problematic Clone in the face, melting through the helmet. Sevvie, a female Mandalorian wearing a yellow-coloured armour, came to Orto's rescue. He somehow managed to swallow his pride to allow a woman to help him, not that it mattered for a Mando. She was shooting with her Verpine rifle, one of the crimson bolts caught the Clone in the face, melting through the helmet.
The remaining 7 defenders were moving slowly backwards. One of them managed to destroy a Commando droid and three other Clones managed to shoot down another SBD, so they were down to five B2s and thirteen commando droids. So the enemy had managed to destroy two others while he was dealing with the defenders. The droids' role was to keep the Clones pinned down for the Mandos to move forwards and kill them. Orto signaled the Super Battle Droids to maul the defenders' lines, so the massive automata started walking, their chest armor absorbing some of the blasts. It was a quick and almost painless. The Clones had no cover and could not keep shooting and retreating while under heavy fire. They were killed in a matter of seconds.
Then the hangar became quiet again, Orto looked around to see scan the area, but there were no Republic forces, he could see that every airlock was closed as the ship was disabled and the shields were down. For the next part of the operation, the teams had to split up. Two of them were supposed to go to the engine room to restart the core, at least the basic functions like the doors and elevators. The other two had to move towards the side hangar doors to open them so that the Lucrehulks could send the droid dispensers needed for the capture of the ship.
Everything was going as planned…
*******
Core room; VenSD "Illustrious" Xinaghar orbit; 0735 hours
It took the Engine room team to bring the core back to "life". They had to change some cables and burnt parts to achieve that feat. The team leader was Sevvie, a woman in her mid-thirties and still quite attractive despite some scars on her body. She had chosen the life of a mercenary and a bounty hunter when her late rich husband left her behind for another woman. This had been his last mistake as she murdered them both and while running from the local authorities she met a Mandalorian merc who helped her leave the planet. It was then when she was "reborn", she started leading a life of a Mandalorian bounty hunter. The Mando who "recruited" her was Orto Carsev, the very same man she saved the life while trying to take over this Star Destroyer.
Sevvie tapped quickly with her boot on the metal floor to indicate her impatience, not that the droids cared much. She looked around the room; the harsh emergency red lights didn't improve her mood either the color made her more aggressive. The droids were doing their job quickly and professionally as a machine is supposed to work. She felt awkward to having to fight alongside a lifeless automaton. At least the pay was good. Since her first kill Sevvie became addicted to the adrenaline rush that followed it. 'Guarding droids while they were repairing a disabled core was anything but exciting and this is how my husband, Carsev, repaid his debt for saving his life?'She took a mental note to bring this issue up when she will reunite with him.
Sevvie rolled her eyes in annoyance while listening to the four Super Battle Droids patrolling the corridors outside the core chamber. She found it odd that they hardly met any resistance to get to the engine room, several engineers and a couple of troopers who managed to destroy a commando droid. So the team consisted of three BXs, two were working on the core and the third was left in the control room nearby where the master computer was located to ensure that the Clones won't do something irrational. Then suddenly the red lights were winked off to be replaced by regular lighting. The power was back online.
"Commander, the core is activated; we have contacted the unit in the control room to deactivate the unnecessary functions." said one of the droids.
She nodded to the machine and activated her commlink "It is done, the core is online…"
"Good, proceed to the rendezvous point."
******
VenSD "Illustrious" port hangar area
Orto switched off the commlink, everything was running smoothly, even the Republic pukes didn't put much of a fight to stop him. He could almost hear his wife's annoyance. The Mando remembered when he met her on her homeworld - the peaceful planet of Chandrilla. Back then she was a scared girl who murdered her unfaithful husband and his lover. He remembered seeing the spark in her that could turn Sevvie into an excellent warrior so he took her under his wing. For his amazement she learned the basics quickly and begun her journey to become a true Mando female. Then came the marriage, this was something to be expected and the Mandalorian culture marriage is more like a contract between a man and a woman and so they said the short lines that made them a family. She became part of the clan Carsev…
He heard the clank of metal feet, a commando approached him.
"Sir, the side hangar doors are open the dispensers are inbound in 5 minutes."
Orto nodded "Good, have the other teams made contact?"
"Yes, sir, they have encountered minimal resistance."
The Mandalorian didn't respond, he turned around to have a better look on the hangar, the massive doors opened, the magnetic containment fields were up so that the air won't escape. Outside he could see the massive arms of a Lucrehulk. The landing on the planet had begun a few minutes before that, probably filling the sky with the massive transports. His HUD detected metal objects moving towards him, the droid dispensers 4 for B1 battle droids, 2 for B2 Super Battle Droids and 1 for Droidekas. After a couple of minutes the large "cylinders" were inside the hangar, Orto could feel the repulsor engines that kept them aloft, then gently descended and touched the floor. Soon after that the dispensers were activated and started pouring droids, Orto could sense the victory hanging in the air.
*******
20 minutes later the bridge of VenSD "Illustrious"
Wolf watched the enormous Lucrehulk "embracing" his ship; he was wondering why the CIS needed the three battered Venators. The Separatists' actions rarely seemed logical at all which was rather odd for a machine army. One by one the defensive positions throughout the bridge structure fell silent. The Clone then turned and moved towards one of the screens showing "live" feed from the cameras spread in the corridors. He could see marching droids all over mauling through the Republic defenses, Wolf then switched to check on the prison cells there the bodies of the guards lied on the floor smoke still trailing. There some of the important prisoners, mostly high ranking officers from the Xinaghari defense force who were siding with the CIS, were held. 'So the Separatists came to rescue them.' It didn't matter much to him, not anymore.
He could hear that the rest of the Clones became more agitated, Wolf turned to see what happened then a distinct noise got his attention. He could hear the muffled blasts of blasters and the clanking steps of multiple enemy droids. They were coming, 'So it is over... A short pause then the door exploded sending molten pieces of metal flying. One particular large chunk of shrapnel hit an officer square in the chest. 'At least he died quickly and did not suffer much. Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la /Not gone, merely marching far away'. Wolf drew his DC-17 pistol and took a position behind a console. He wondered why the clankers didn't attack immediately; they were toying with the Clones' nerves. Suddenly a couple of figures jumped right from the smoke. They were…Mandalorians! One was wearing a black armor and the other – yellow. The Clones didn't hesitate much and opened fire but of no use. The intruders had quicker reflexes and managed to evade several blasts and killed two officers during the process. They were followed by SBDs and normal battle droids.
The bridge area was becoming even more difficult, there were only 5 defenders left and the Mandos were reducing the numbers. Wolf managed to get a head shot of a droid and beheaded it, then sent a couple of bolts in the chest of another one reducing the automaton to scrap. This drew the attention of a B2 and the machine extended its hands in firing position this was followed by a quick succession of crimson bolts melting away a large part of his cover. Wolf then rolled behind to another one in the left and managed to shoot at the assailant but the blasts were deflected by the thick armor. He could sense a presence behind him and decided to turn, this was his last mistake, the black-armored Mandalorian stood there pointing his, he was sure that the assailant was male, Westar 34 pistol at his head. Wolf quickly decided to try his luck but was not quick enough; his brain didn't have time to absorb the information that his cranium was blasted…
*******
Orto felt sorry for the lads, they fought honorably, there was nothing personal – just business. They chose death instead to surrender, like true warriors. He wished that these soldiers were on the Mandalorian side so that they could defeat the Republic and get rid of the corrupt government and Jedi Order. He sighed these grand plans should wait for now, there was another war going on, in which the Mando'ade were merely mercenaries – warriors for sale. Orto looked at the other side of the bridge to see what Sevvie was doing, she seemed to be checking the troopers for pulse, just to be sure. She seemed to enjoy fighting, as if a mental barrier, one that prohibited such acts, was down. This was not the path of a Mandalorian, after all they are not sadistic savages. Orto took a mental note to talk his wife out of it. He moved towards the communications console to make contact with his Togorian friend on the Lucrehulk.
"General Sheerah, we captured the ship and freed the prisoners. We are standing by for further orders. Over"
"Excellent, Orto, my friend! The other teams reported success too, I am sending you a shuttle to join me on the surface. We have a planet to liberate!" came the deep raspy voice of the Togorian General.
This was part of the plan, to take over the ships and replace the crew with Xinaghari Separatists to slow down the Republic reinforcements. The first part of the operation was over, he then signaled Sevvie to join him and move towards the hangars where the shuttle will arrive. His wife removed her helmet and grinned at him, she was excited by the prospect of more battles…
*******
Meanwhile on Xinaghar; Malberg outskirts
Malberg was the largest CIS controlled city on the planet and the third largest after Kosmo and Zimia. The production of droids and other mechanized units didn't cease during the war for the world, they were churning up more and more every day. Malberg had the best production capabilities on this industrial planet thus rendering it a vital target. If the CIS hadn't arrived the Republic was going to strike there next so that they could reduce the droid production and to retake control over Xinaghar easily. If they had taken the city the CIS further assaults would have been impossible.
This day was different from the others, the large droid forces were assembling in every Separatist city. This event didn't go unnoticed by a couple of ARF Troopers lying in the snow on a hill outside of Malberg behind the hill the ruins of a farmhouse, that had been hit during a bombing raid by the Republic forces,provide cover for their BARC speeders as the two clones surveyed the area.
"Well, well, the Seppies are preparing for an attack."
"Yeah, we should report back to the boys at the Malia."
Malia was a small town not far from Malberg, it was the central settlement to the Republic's defense line and future staging point for the final assault. The two ARFs could see a long vehicle column heading out of the city. The first battalions were already heading out along the highway leading away from the Malberg. The end of the column could not be seen, somewhere further inside the city beyond their line of were a large number of MTTs, AATs, Homing and Dwarf spider droids, STAPs, Tri-Droids and many others. The Clone lying on the left patted his comrade on the shoulder.
"I can't reach Malia all communications are jammed."
"I guess we should race back there before the clankers strike."
The other one nodded and both Clones quickly jump on their feet and moved downslope towards the bottom of the hill where their BARC speeders were parked and didn't notice a human figure running towards a nearby abandoned shed on their left which originally part of the farm before it was destroyed. As they jumped on the speeder bikes and started the engine the two speeders exploded. The two ARFs were instantly incinerated by the fireball. This was their final mistake, in their hurry they became careless and they both paid the ultimate price for their carelessness. The two BARCs were sabotaged by CIS sympathizers who had noticed the presence of the Clones in the vicinity of the city. These loyal citizens spied on the ARFs and received instructions to sabotage their vehicles to prevent them from escaping. An area considered to have been abandoned - a mistake by the field intelligence.
*******
Galactic Marines HQ – capitol city Zimia Xinaghar; 0800 hours
It had taken the LAAT/i longer to arrive at Adrias' position on the rooftop as there were few left and they were ferrying wounded to the medical centers around the city. He told the pilots not to hurry so that they could finish their jobs. The former Jedi was sitting on one knee at the edge of the roof watching the smoke trails coming from most of the defense areas then his gaze moved upward to see the crashing debris from space. Most pieces will melt in the sky but some eventually will fall on the ground, he hoped this won't happen in a city or somewhere where people lived. The wind blew in the severe-looking face freezing the vapor of his breath on his beard. From the distance he could hear the distinct sound of the Gunship's engines, finally his transport. The pilot was good, he managed to "park" the craft next to the edge so that Adrias will have to make just one step to get in. The repulsors were kicking the snow from the roof.
When he got in, a couple of non-clone corpsmen saluted him; the former Jedi could see dried blood on their light gray uniforms. They came to pick him up when they finished with their job as an ambulance. Adrias just nodded, this would not be the last time they would be doing this and he was sure they were used to such sights. The most cynical people in an army sometimes are the medics as they have seen so much misery and pain than the regular soldiers. They always look as if they are impervious to such feelings as sympathy, this is what war do to people turn them into emotionless machines. Adrias turned his head to watch outside, the bay doors were open he could see the signs of a lot of battles, not just the last one. Layer upon layer of pain and suffering it dawned to him that maybe what he had done for the Galaxy actually was insignificant and that maybe he just killed the wrong-doers to be replaced by others. Adrias cringed inside 'Is my conscience taking revenge?'
He shook off these thoughts as the gunship arrived at the HQ landing pad or what left of it. Engineers, astromechs and medics were moving around, a busy day, one that included wounded and dead comrades and destroyed fighters. A sad scene, in the middle of it Adrias saw the Jedi Master Ki-Adi Mundi one of the most respected Jedi in the Order. The former Knight was taken aback to see such a wise and calm man on a field of battle. He did not expect to see the Cerean there. 'Maybe I was out of touch far too long…' he thought. The older man turned and saw him, Adrias came closer and bowed.
"Master Mundi, I did not expect to see you here…"
The man nodded.
"Neither did I…" Ki-Adi paused "I've heard that you were back as a field agent of the Intelligence. I see the rumors were true."
Adrias managed to make slight smile.
"I am afraid they are…I have spent a lot of time undercover, posing as a bounty hunter and mercenary."
He didn't say that he had murdered a lot of CIS officials and crime-lords; this was not something you can brag for in front of a Jedi Master.
"What brought you here?"
"I am following a lead…Someone ordered General Valentinian dead so I paid him a visit and he claims the Prime Minister is a traitor to the Republic, which is something I believe."
The Jedi raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure about this?"
Adrias sighed.
"I still don't have solid evidence but am working on it. I will talk to Valentinian, I guess it will be better that the good General act as if he is dead."
Ki-Adi nodded "Alright, then report back to me when you are finished, we will need all the help we can muster."
"I will…By the way, the freighter that lifted off…It was my ship, I sent my crew to warn the Republic."
"Excellent-" Ki-Adi could not finish his sentence as another explosion thundered in the proximity of the base. A clone commander ran towards Mundi "General, unknown forces destroyed our communications center, we are cut off." the Clone paused "There is another thing, our scans indicate that a large number of landing crafts are making an assault on various locations. Our estimates are that with our Type-B and C forces we won't be able to stop them…"
"Type-A forces were the best equipped forces, Type-B less experienced troopers with less heavy equipment, Type-C forces fitted to do police work in the captured cities."
This was what Adrias remembered from the classifications of the different types of forces on the field. This meant that the capitol and the surrounding areas were not very well defended. This was why the CIS destroyed the fighters and some of the SAM sites… The Republic will require his service once again… He didn't listen to the rest of the report, he didn't need to, he just pulled his hood on and started walking slowly towards main entrance of the HQ so that he could be back on the streets. He had a mission…