Chapter 9: The Subjugator
It had been a week since the Chancellor had informed Anakin and Dharok of the separatist cruiser, and finally the two of them had a plan. Fighting the cruiser with pure force, despite its status, would be too risky, as it would likely be defended by a considerable fleet. Therefore, it was agreed that stealth would be the best option for destroying the ships, with cruisers providing a cover for the Jedi to slip in undetected.
A strike team led by Anakin and Dharok would infiltrate the Subjugator, and travel to the centre of the ship. From there, an experimental matter-bomb would be wired into the ship and remotely detonated once the republic forces were clear.
"How many cruisers do we have for the mission?" Asked Dharok.
"Five. Should be more than enough cover for us to slip in."
"Shouldn't be too hard. They won't know we're coming and the sensors on the ship probably aren't functional."
"If Obi-Wan has taught me two things, it's to not underestimate your enemies and that caution can be a useful tool, especially in situations like this."
"I'd be more inclined to believe that if it wasn't being said by the loose cannon of the Jedi order."
"Let's just get ready. We're leaving soon."
"And the bomb?"
"It's ready. When our forces are far enough away, the bomb will be detonated and we'll evacuate.
Dharok had been… underwhelmed by the appearance of the Twilight.
"This is the ship that destroyed the Malevolence?"
"Technically, yes," replied Skywalker, "And technically no. Relax, we'll be using our own fighters for this. We need to get in and out quickly, and the Twilight might not get us out quick enough.
As the cruisers provided covering fire, the Jedi were to slip past any droid ships into the Subjugator and from there, the bomb would be wired.
"General Skywalker," said Yularen, over the commlink, "We're coming out of hyperspace in the Yavin system."
"Thank you, Admiral." He looked at Dharok. "Let's get moving."
Dharok sighed as he entered the his Starfighter and waited besides Skywalker.
If the sudden bursts of turbolaser fire was any indication, the attack force had arrived. The hangar doors opened as clones took positions in their fighters and launched into space. The Jedi soon followed, and they lay eyes on their target.
The ship seemed far from finished, though the ion cannons appear to have been loaded, and many finished hangar bays allowed a complement of defence fighters to be launched. The fleet defending was curiously smaller than expected, with a Lucrehulk-cruiser and five Munificent-cruisers defending the CIS superweapon.
The laser fire between the two forces raised in intensity as the Jedi interceptors and hundreds of republic Starfighters charged the Subjugator.
"Skywalker, do you see an opening?"
"Looks like there's a hangar near the ion cannons we can dock in. Might be our best bet for a quick exit."
"Agreed. We'll get in, plant the bomb and watch the fireworks."
As the Jedi neared the target hanger of the Subjugator, the droid resistance to the Jedi-manned Starfighters lightened heavily. Were the cruisers distracting them that much? Dharok took note of the scale of the imposing battleship ahead of them and his respect for Skywalker grew. After all, destroying one that hasn't been completed will be a costly endeavour, but destroying two fully-functional superweapons requires deserves a heightened level of respect.
"We're almost there. Stay ready to fire, we don't know what could be coming."
Dharok agreed, keeping his fingers on his ships trigger.
"Almost there…"
The Subjugator's hanger drew closer.
"Steady…"
Anakin's view of the hangar was blocked as a squad of vulture droids swarmed out of the hangar towards the Jedi interceptors.
"Dharok, we've got vultures"
"I see them, Skywalker, just get to that ship intact."
Anakin narrowly missed the erratic vulture droids, with Dharok able to shoot down many of the expendable fighters with ease, though curiously, it seemed as if the focus of the droids had been elsewhere.
"This is… too easy." Dharok observed, suspicious at the lack of fire on the part of the droids.
"Wait until we get inside the ship. That's when the fun begins."
After the remaining vulture droids sped towards the republic cruisers, the Jedi fighters made a shockingly clean landing into the Subjugator's central hangar. Anakin and Dharok made their way out of their fighters with the bomb in tow, ready to plant it. True to Anakin's word, they were met with a force of at least three dozen battle droids, and suddenly the risk of stray blaster fire triggering the bomb became very real.
Dharok and Anakin were forced to cover the bomb and redirect as much blaster fire as possible. They were able to hold their own easily enough, fuelled by the present risk of total annihilation and were able to deflect the blaster fire of the battle droids.
"Move in and cut them down," said Dharok, "I can hold their fire long enough."
Anakin nodded and charged into the battle droids, splitting them apart with precise and powerful blows while Dharok redirected blaster fire to the mechanical forces. This dynamic proved effective, as the droids were scrapped quickly.
"I doubt we've seen the last of these things. You alright, Skywalker?"
"I'm fine. Is the bomb damaged?"
"Well, we aren't dead, so I'm guessing it's still functional."
Any rest time the Jedi had was cut short by the sound of unexpected laser fire from super battle droids that swarmed the hangar.
"Be careful, Dharok, the wrist rockets on those things pack a-"
Anakin's warning was cut off by a series of rockets fired by super battle droids striking Dharok's Starfighter, disabling it indefinitely.
"…Punch" was all Anakin could say before he continued fighting off the advanced droids.
Seeing the destruction of his fighter, Dharok flew into a rage, leaving the bomb an easy target for the wrist blasters of the super battle droids. Many of them were cut down in a flurry of lightsaber strikes by the elite combatant. Once again, the hangar had been cleared. Anakin ran to check on the status of his fighter while Dharok regretfully insured the bomb had not been damaged.
"Nothing too serious, easily fixable when we get back to the cruisers."
"Skywalker, there isn't going to be a 'we'."
Anakin was taken aback by Dharok's statement and turned to face him, noticing a saddened yet inspired look in his eyes.
"What are you talking about? What's wrong?
Dharok sighed. "One of those droids hit the bomb. It didn't detonate, but… the link between it and the detonator is fried. I'm going to have to activate it manually."
"I can't leave you here to die, you're too important to the Jedi cause!" Anakin shouted, trying to sway Dharok to see his reasoning.
"If I don't do this, more people than us will die, Skywalker. And even if the link did work, that fighter of yours would be a little cramped. I don't think this was happenstance. I think this has been willed."
"I'm not leaving you here, Dharok…"
"Yes you are," Dharok picked up Skywalker, opening his cockpit with the force before planting him inside. "I'm going to signal the fleet to get clear, and you're going to regroup with them. I let this happen. I'll pay the price. Don't take this away from me."
Anakin tried to struggle against the Jedi, but to no avail.
"Let me detonate the bomb then," He demanded, "We need you!"
"No Anakin. Only one of us can survive this, and I'm not the Chosen One."
Anakin mourningly agreed and strapped himself in to the fighter. Dharok readied to close him in.
"Anakin, one more thing," The Jedi Knight looked at the imposing figure that stood above him, slowly closing the cockpit. "You need to tell the council about order-"
Dharok was cut off as more laser fire shot through the hangar hitting his metallic arm, this time from the gun of a squad of commando droids. Dharok slammed the cockpit shut and said something to Anakin, though it was unintelligible through the glass that separated them.
Dharok force pushed the fighter out of the hangar, forcing Anakin to watch on helplessly as Dharok fought against the oncoming wave of droids. He tried to activate his commlinks to no avail.
He was left with half of a last message, a sentiment without meaning as he sped towards the battered republic cruisers that had succeeded in destroying the droid fleet. He looked back and saw as the Subjugator imploded, splitting in two from the force of the matter bomb that Dharok had sacrificed himself to activate, saving countless lives and shifting the tide of the war with his passing.
Anakin arrived on the Resolute where Admiral Yularen was saddened, seeing only one fighter return to the hangar. His fear were realised when Anakin entered the bridge, alone.
"Where is General Torag?" Asked the Admiral, well aware of the answer.
Anakin looked towards the decimated wreckage of the Subjugator. He simply answered with one that caused a wave of silence throughout the bridge. "Gone."
Palpatine sat in his office. Awaiting the return of Skywalker, and hoping Dharok would not be beside him. He had sacrificed an expensive project in order to kill his most powerful threat, but all he could do was wait – a fact that infuriated the Dark Lord of the Sith.
The door to his office opened, and Anakin Skywalker walked in alone, a look of angst across his face. Palpatine smiled internally, not daring to allow his euphoria at the realisation of Dharok's passing show, as it would undoubtedly create a rift between him and Anakin, a relationship he needed stable if his ultimate plan was to be realised.
"Master Skywalker… where is General Torag?" He asked, a faux-surprise in his voice.
