Chapter 9: The Hunt Begins
8 April 2587 (CSS Military Calendar) 07:05:32/19:4 BBY
Slipspace en Route to Cato Neimoidia
Ben was still plagued with the vision of the eyes of the captain, looking into his very soul, he assumed. His mind was focused on their intensity, and he wondered what he could do to gain more information on the good captain. If he stopped himself for a moment and analyzed what he was thinking, he would probably come to the conclusion that he was infatuated with the captain he just met. As a Spartan, he wouldn't know how to proceed. They never truly covered relationships in his training, save for the occasional lecture about forming attachments in the 'workplace' as they called it. Something about a distraction on missions. He never truly listened to those lectures. They seemed so obvious that he didn't feel any urgency in giving the commander any part of his consciousness as he focused on more important things.
As Ben continued to wrestles with these thoughts, he was suddenly awoken with the rest of his team by the klaxons, telling them they were about to exit slipspace, and needed to be ready. He ridded himself of those thoughts, he quickly joined his team as they began moving towards their discarded armor and putting it back on faster than anyone with any less training and experience would be capable of.
Within a handful of minutes, their armor was on and they departed their quarters in perfect formation, heading towards the bridge to be debriefed. The sound of their heavy feet marching in unison reverberated through the corridors, and the small crew still present in the hallways made room for the squad and saluted Ben as they passed. The squad leader returned the favor to the crewmen before passing them by, and allowing them to return to their duties.
As the squad neared the door to the bridge, and the entryway opened before them, they felt the familiar feeling of exiting slipspace, and caught a glimpse of the sight from the bridge window on the far side of the room. Ben only took note of the sizeable Republic task force orbiting the planet and the swirling white clouds covering the green planet before them.
Paying little more attention to the events just beyond the window, Ben neared the captain as she stood, leaning forwards slightly and resting he hands on the holographic display in front of her. She seemed keenly interested on the unfolding battle, and Ben made his footsteps slightly louder to ensure the captain heard their entrance. Ben noticed she shook her head slightly before turning and standing at perfect attention before the Spartans. Her eyes bespoke calculation and planning, even though she tried to remain as unemotional as possible in front of the Spartan. Before she even let loose with one word, Ben mentally questioned himself why he was seemed able to pick up on that so quickly.
"It seems most of the battle is directed away from the palace where we suspect Dooku to be, so it should be easy enough to slip in." O'Neil said as she looked from one Spartan to another, but spending slightly more time looking into the visor of Ben.
During the brief handful of seconds she was looking into his visor, his heart rate increased. It was as if he was in the heat of battle, and he felt adrenalin pumping through his veins at the simple look from the good captain. Yet again, he was perplexed by his own subconscious reaction.
While he was dealing with these musings, his head nodded by automatic reaction to the words from a superior officer, and before he knew it, he was moving towards her side to observe the same holographic table in front of them. The rest of Omega fell in behind him, and after several loud steps, they were before the lit table with O'Neil moving to the other side to better command their attention.
Captain O'Neil turned her head to look at the ensigns on the deck, and said, "Patrick, I would like our humble Jedi guests to join us. I don't feel like repeating myself."
Just as Ben expected, he heard the usual, "Yes ma'am" before the several seconds of furious typing into the console in front of the mysterious ensign.
Just as the typing seemed to stop, the two holographic representations of the famed Jedi Generals appeared before them on a separate display. The bandage General Skywalker was previously sporting appeared to be gone, but there seemed to be a darker pigment to his head where the bandage used to reside. Beyond that, though, the two appeared just as they always did, save for the headset they also wore just where their hairline ended and their foreheads began, with a communicator reaching down their right side to the front of their mouths.
"You commed, Captain?" asked Skywalker in his apparently usual smug tone.
"Yes, I did, General Skywalker. I don't feel like repeating myself." was her even replay, which drew a peculiar grin from Kenobi.
Before Skywalker could begin to formulate ways to verbally spar with the Captain, Kenobi said with a diplomatic tone, "Regardless, Captain O'Neil, may I ask if this is about any strategy you may have formulated?"
"As a matter of fact, it is, General Kenobi." she began before averting her gaze away from the famous pair and towards the holographic table in front of her, pushing a series of buttons before the display zoomed into a structure sticking out of the side of what appeared to be a mountain.
She then looked back up at the pair, and said, while motioning with her hands towards the building on display, "As you both probably already know, this is the palace of Nute Gunray."
"We will be infiltrating here," she said while pointing to a position on the other end of the mountain, lighting it up in a yellow blinking dot, "and move through the mountain in the emergency escape tunnels our intel says are there."
"Once inside," she then continued as the yellow dot turned into a line stretching from the origin to the point in the middle of the palace, "we will look around for anything of interest."
The hologram vanished immediately after this sentence, and she continued, "If possible, we will try to capture Gunray. He has to have invaluable information on the Separatist Council."
"One question." said one of the Spartans, whom Ben recognized as Greg, "Can we blow this palace up when we're done?"
"Do I even need to answer that, Spartan?" replied O'Neil, only the faintest hint of amusement in her voice.
"No ma'am. I'll take that as a yes." Greg replied evenly.
8 April 2587 (CSS Military Calendar) 07:21:52/19:4 BBY
[500 Meters From] Gunray Palace Emergency Escape Tunnels, Cato Neimoidia, Cato Neimoidia System, Neimoidia Sector
Once the three craft had landed on a nearby flat cliff-side, the seven warriors began their journey up the trail to the nearest tunnel entrance. The walk was relatively long, so as to make sure they would not be discovered, and the chilly air did nothing but become a hindrance as the two Jedi had to cling to their robes to keep their warmth. The path they were walking on was a quagmire, and the Spartan's heavy feet quickly sunk into the mud. The two Jedi fared little better, but their experience in such environments allowed them to maintain their pace through the bog that was the treeless trail.
Finally, the group came within sight of the landing pad they were looking for, with the emergency tunnel entrance but twenty meters behind it. Anakin let out a labored sigh, turning his breath into a white cloud as soon as it left him, as he noticed the three squads of droids defending the entrance. He narrowed his eyes as he pulled out his lightsaber in preparation, and began mentally counting each droid he saw, and making notes of their patrol patterns.
Once he was done with his calculations, he turned to see Obi-Wan, his face as calm as always, looking in the same general direction with the Spartans aiming their targets and whispering into their com which droids were their targets. Obi-Wan concluded what he was doing as soon as Anakin glanced at him, and nodded to his former padawan, pulling out his own lightsaber in preparation.
He then shifted his body slightly to the right to look at the Spartans, and whispered, "Anakin and I will move from the side, and secure the watchtower over there." while pointing towards the ten meter high structure that housed three droids looking over the general area.
He then turned his focus back entirely on the group, and continued, "From there, we can sufficiently distract them as you work on opening that door. Understood?"
They all nodded in agreement, and the Spartans lowered their weapons while walking in a crouched position. They walked behind the two Jedi before peeling off and waiting behind a large boulder. The two Jedi, on the other hand, continued walking stealthily from cover to cover as droids periodically walked nearby or the watchtower took notice of their movements. But, the Force aided them, and within moments, they were at the base of the watchtower while all the droids were preoccupied looking at a rock that "mysteriously" flew and hit one of them in the head.
With the rest of the droids distracted, the two Jedi jumped with the help of the Force, and clung onto the railing of the top of the watchtower. Anakin turned his head to look at Obi-Wan, who had done the same, and nodded. Master Kenobi returned the nod, and the two quietly jumped and rolled in the air to land perfectly inside the watchtower. The droids didn't "hear" them as they landed, and they quietly walked the two meters dividing them before using the Force to tear apart the circuits on the inside of the droids. All three robots fell to the ground, but with the help of the Force, the two Jedi made that fall silent, and they lay slumped against the side of the railing.
With the droids out of the way, the two Jedi cautiously looked over the railing and took note of the droids still on their patrol. One squad was walking around the landing pad in a constant circle. Another squad was focused on doing a route running from the emergency entrance to the landing pad. The final squad walked along the edge of the small compound they were on.
Yet again, the pair glanced in the other direction, and as one would expect, Anakin had a smug grin spread across his features. Obi-Wan couldn't help but roll his eyes as Anakin returned his gaze to the general direction of the landing pad. The structure was elevated about one meter in the air, with one set of stairs on the far side, and was made up of support beams placed roughly half a meter apart from each other and roughly a quarter of a meter in width.
Anakin concentrated on the beams on the far side of the structure, and, using the Force, crushed the beams holding up the landing pad. With some of the support beams on the far side of the landing pad no longer able to support its weight, the pad fell onto the ground, sending a giant cloud of dust into the air.
All of the droids previously doing their patrols stopped, and looked around for whatever caused the disturbance. Ben, seeing this as the signal in question, stood and ran as the rest of Omega joined him. Once at the blast door, Ben turned to look at his squad, looking for one Spartan in particular.
"Ruse," he began, while motioning with his hands to the Spartan at the back of their formation, then towards the command console on the side of the door, "splice that thing and get us in."
Then, he turned to face away from the group and towards the door, as Ruse sprinted to the console and began typing furiously on the key pad.
Once Ruse said he was five seconds away from finishing, Ben put his hand up, palm facing the group, then pulled it down while making a fist, all while saying, "Everyone else, form up on me."
The rest of the Spartans did as instructed, and as Ruse said, the door opened up before them. Ben pulled up his rifle, and began examining the darkened tunnel before him with the rest of the Spartans. Quickly he began walking forward while still looking through his sights, and the rest of the Spartans fell in step behind him, with Ruse taking up the rear. Ben barely heard the sound of two, apparently light objects, landing outside the entrance, and turned to see the Jedi picking themselves up and joining the Spartans.
Ben turned back towards the darkened hallway, as one of the Jedi closed the door behind them with the Force. He took note of the fact that the hallway was a good thirty meters in width and twenty meters in height. Lights, hanging at the top center of the ceiling, were evenly spaced out by several meters, and connected by a thick black wire. The walls and floor looked cold, with duracrete as the floor itself. The lights were somewhat dimmed, but Ben was able to make out some cracks in the duracrete.
Ben returned his gaze back to the rifle sight, and saw that the tunnel went down a good hundred meters before making a sharp right turn. He looked around, noticing the rest of his Spartans had lowered their weapons and were walking at the leisurely pace, with the Jedi doing the same. Ben did the same, lowering his BR, and walked ahead of the group, looking around every so often to make sure the area was still clear. He simply couldn't shake the bad feeling he was having.
By the time they were halfway through the tunnel, Anakin announced for all to hear, "Wait." before stopping in his tracks.
Obi-Wan and the rest of the Spartans stopped, Obi-Wan pulling out his lightsaber, but not igniting it, and the Spartans raised their weapons and looked down their sights.
Obi-Wan leaned closer to Anakin, while still looking down the tunnel, and said, "Did you sense that as well?"
"Yeah. Do you think it's..." began Anakin before Obi-Wan interjected, saying, "probably."
"Do you mind if I ask?" asked Kim, who turned to look at the pair at the back of their formation.
"Greg, how good are you with that grenade launcher?" asked Anakin.
"I was the most accurate in my class. Why?" Greg replied before being answered with a thunderous series of rumbles, emanating from round the corner of the tunnel some forty meters away.
"That's why." was Anakin's calm, simple reply as a giant metal "leg" appeared around the corner, soon followed by the remainder of a large body, with a large turret sticking out of the front of the body, armor protecting each of the legs, and a lone red eye right below the turret.
"What the fuck is that?" yelled Ruse as the group raised their weapons, and prepared to fire on the monstrosity.
"Didn't you read the reports? This is an advanced dwarf spider droid." Obi-Wan said as he and Anakin ignited their blades while the Spartans began firing on the droid with their small arms.
As the droid began turning, Anakin said over the cacophony, "That's no use. That's cruiser grade armor. Your small arms won't do poodoo. Aim for the red light, Greg, with the grenade launcher. EMP won't do anything, so don't bother wasting them."
By the time Anakin was done, the droid was fully facing the group, and it sounded as if the turret was preparing to fire. Just before it was about to discharge, though, Greg pulled out his grenade launcher, and fired a fragmentation grenade at the red eye. The droid stumbled back several steps, giving the two Jedi ample opportunity to begin advancing o it.
Both of them were still twenty meters away before Greg fired another of his grenades at the red eye, causing the spider droids to take another couple steps back before hitting the wall. All the while, the rest of the squad was pouring fire into the red eye, hoping to bring down the droid.
Before any of them could claim victory over the droid, Anakin's blade sliced through the front right leg as Obi-Wan's sliced through the front left, sending the droid tumbling forward. Anakin then sliced upwards, cutting the turret in half, and Obi-Wan jumped on top of the beast, then drove his saber into the heart of the machine. The red light blinked for some time, and what was left of the droid began shaking violently. The two Jedi took this as their cue, and jumped away from the droid before it exploded violently, sending dirt into the air, and some loose chips of duracrete that was the ceiling falling all around.
The Spartans began sprinting to join the Jedi, and when close enough, Ben asked, "How did they know we were here?"
"That doesn't matter." was Anakin's reply before he continued, "All that matters is that we get to Gunray before he escapes."
"Agreed, now let's hurry. The entrance into the palace is only two hundred meters away from here." Obi-Wan said as he and Anakin extinguished their blades.
The Spartans lowered their weapons, and began sprinting with the Jedi towards the other end of the tunnel, all hoping they would reach Gunray before it was too late.
XXX
LiMerge Power Headquarters Building, Tythe, Tythe System, Savareen Sector
In the long abandoned headquarters of the relatively insignificant corporation awaited the famous political leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Outside, the air was cold, and his breath could be seen as a white cloud. His cape flew every which way from the wind, but his body never moved an inch form its place, as he waited patiently for his secret apprentice.
Finally, after much wait, a black dot appeared high above, and soon, it grew into the shape of a small stealth vessel. It descended through the atmosphere, and landed in front of the Count. The ramp lowered from the front, and a black cloaked figure descended, his cloak moving frantically in the wind. The mysterious figure, once in front of the Count, lowered himself onto one knee, and bowed his head in reverence.
"Rise, my apprentice." Dooku said, while motioning with his hand for his apprentice to rise.
Starkiller did as instructed, and lowered his hood to reveal his face for his master. Count Dooku turned heel and began walking towards the door behind him, with Starkiller following closely behind.
"The time is almost upon us, my apprentice." began Dooku as the door opened and the two crossed the threshold before the door closed behind them, sealing them off in the dimly lit, utilitarian looking, room.
"Soon, Master Kenobi and Knight Skywalker will come for us. And when they do, we will strike them down, before killing my master, and bringing order back to the galaxy." he concluded as he turned back again and looked stoically at his apprentice.
"I will not fail you, my master" Starkiller said in a low tone, before hearing the tell tale sound of a lightsaber ignition.
Knowing what this meant, he quickly shed his cloak and ignited his own crimson blade, holding it in his usual reverse grip. Dooku smirked evilly as he saluted with his lightsaber, his apprentice. Starkiller did the same, and soon, he charged forward, horizontally slashing at Dooku, who easily blocked the strike with a flick of his wrist. Starkiller turned around quickly and attacked form the other side with the same type of strike. Yet again, Dooku deftly blocked it, allowing the blade to rise above him. Starkiller pushed down, hoping to penetrate the Sith's upper defenses, but was unsuccessful.
Dooku smiled with malice, and Force pushed Starkiller away, but the apprentice was used to this attack, and spun in the air before landing on his feet. Yet again, Starkiller charged forward, furiously striking quickly against Dooku, who continued to block each one, but with more difficulty. Before either of them knew it, their sabers were locked, and they pushed with equal force against the other.
"You grow stronger, my apprentice. But there is still much room for improvement." Dooku said, emphasizing the last word as he pushed Starkiller away with his crimson blade, then extinguished his, prompting Starkiller to do the same.
XXX
Orbit of Tythe, Tythe System, Savareen Sector
While the two forces of evil battled each other, preparing for the upcoming engagement, a small stealth vessel escaped the confines of hyperspace and stopped itself many hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from the planet. Inside the ship, a blue skinned alien, with a deep, mechanical voice, stood from his place and began checking his ship. His black eyes darted from one thing to another on his command console, and he appeared satisfied when a grin escaped his features.
He then turned and began moving to the small cargo area of his ship. This was where the body was going to be kept, maintained in stasis by technology he had to acquire for this mission alone on Nar Shaddaa. The bounty hunter shook his head in mock amusement when recalling his little side-mission, when he had to track down a man deep in debt with the previous owner of this machine, and kill him. He often wondered why he was given the weirdest missions, but soon pushed that thought out when thinking of his paydays. Just a handful more of these missions, and he was set for life.
Now descending into his inner mind, a small grin continued to show on his face, and he felt no need to rid himself of it. Maybe he would track down Skywalker and kill that whelp on his free time. not much of a bounty, in comparison to others, like the venerated Senator Amidala, but why the hell not. That boy caused him enough problems, and taking away the poster boy for the Republic war effort seemed like it was something he could take interest in. It would certainly make the galaxy fear him, and possibly find him infinitely more work.
But, he resolved, he should worry about this mission first, then cross that bridge, with glee, when he comes to it.
XXX
Palace of Nute Gunray, Cato Neimoidia, Cato Neimoidia System, Neimoidia Sector
After the small trek, the group of seven found themselves in front of a blast door, with a orange holographic console to its right. Above the door, there was one set of red lights, which shone down on the metal blocking them.
Ben lowered his rifle with the rest of his squad, and turned to see the two Jedi with their eyes closed and appearing deep in thought. Omega squad waited for the two Jedi to get out of their trance before doing anything, periodically checking their surroundings to make sure they were not going to be disturbed.
Then, suddenly, both their eyes opened at once, and they looked at each other for the briefest of moments before returning their gaze to the squad of supersoldiers.
"Did you sense any..." began Obi-Wan.
"No. You?" interjected Anakin before his former Master could finish his statement.
"No." was Obi-Wan's simple reply, which seemed to have satisfied Anakin, but left the Spartans speechless, wondering how these two could know what the other was thinking.
Ben coughed lightly, garnering the attention of the two generals, before saying, "I'm assuming the area beyond is clear of hostiles."
"You assume correctly, Sergeant." Anakin said before turning to Ruse, motioning towards the console, and saying, "Do you mind?"
"Not in the least, sir." Ruse replied as he placed his weapon on the magnetic clamps on his back and walked towards the console.
The two Jedi holstered their lightsabers, knowing there wasn't any discernible threat, and waited the ten seconds for Ruse to finish his work. The Spartan worked, typing away on the console with speed and precision that took years to hone, before the red light above the door turned green, and it automatically opened for the group.
As the door opened, the Spartans, raised their weapons, and Ruse pulled his assault rifle off his back, looking down the sight, waiting for any enemies to emerge. Behind them, the two Jedi shook their heads in amusement, and walked casually forward and into the seemingly well lit room. The Spartans walked in step behind them, scanning the room for any threats that could possibly emerge.
The room itself was nothing more but a long hallway, with a regular set of doors at the far end some thirty meters away. To the door's left, on the opposite wall, was another set of doors, but that was it. The walls themselves were a royal purple color, with lights beaming from elegantly shaped lamps on the upper portion of the walls. Amongst the purple coloring was a curvaceous golden design.
Moving from casual walk to a sprint, the Jedi moved to the other end of the hall, stopping some three meters from the door on the far end. The Spartans were right behind them, always keeping themselves ready, but seeing nothing that posed a threat. When the Jedi stopped, the Spartans skidded to one as well, and looked curiously behind their helmets at the two Jedi, who seemed to contemplate the path they should take.
"The intel says to go straight. What are we waiting for?" asked Ben, as he stepped closer to Obi-Wan.
The reply was some moments later, and came from Anakin, who said with his eyes closed, "There's something important to or left. I don't know what, but it's something very valuable."
Ben waited for more information, but received none, so he concluded, "We can go forward, and capture Gunray, if he's still here."
"Splitting up could be a bad idea." Obi-Wan said, his eyes now open and his body turned to face the Spartans.
"Considering you guys think this is important, I don't see how we could have much of a choice. If we go forward, someone could destroy whatever's in there while we're gone. If he storm into this room to find whatever's important together, Gunray's chances of escape rise exponentially." reasoned Ben, as he took a step past the Jedi and towards the door in front of them.
"Then it's settled." Anakin piped in, as he walked towards the door to their left and opened it with the Force.
Obi-Wan was soon to follow, and the Spartans took this as their cue, moving towards the door before them, and opening it tentatively. They stormed in, in classic breach and clear maneuvers, scanning every corner for possible hostiles, but finding none. The door opened up to reveal a large room, with the same wall design as the hallway, but with a dual staircase at the forefront of the room, leading to a set of doors on a second story. The room was made up of four columns, forming a square, and all a light marble, with a gold designs making up their bases.
Suddenly, a squad of eight B1 and four B2 droids burst through the door with an explosion, and began firing on the squad of Spartans. The Spartan's reflexes were quicker, as they dove behind the columns, Ben and Greg taking up the one on the right, Kim, Ruse, and Ron taking up the one on the left. Ron began sniping the battle droids, as the rest fired their rifles on the oncoming enemies, who were quickly descending the dual staircases and taking cover behind its railings.
The first shot from the sniper rifle was low, and took off the frontal armor of the B2, leaving some circuits somewhat damaged, but the droid itself was intact overall. The second shot, mere milliseconds later, tore through the exposed wiring, and devastated the droid, causing it to fire randomly, hitting a B1 before slumping against the top railing, dead. Ron continued this pattern on another B2, which had occupied the space its brother previously fired from, while concentrated fire from Greg and Kim brought down another, which was already on the ground floor and advancing at a casual pace towards them.
With three of the B2's out of commission, the last one fired its heavier caliber plasma bolts at Ben, while he was out of cover and shooting at it. His shields held, but only at 40% once the third bolt hit him, and he instinctively returned to cover. Greg, took this as his opportunity, and popped out of cover from his side of the column, moving slightly over to get a good shot before firing a burst of twenty some odd rounds from his assault rifle, obliterating the inner workings of the large blue monstrosity before is fell with a distinct thud, electricity snaking out of its wounds and connecting with the ground before disappearing entirely.
With the major threats out of the way, the Spartans made quick work of the weak B1's, and with the area clear, advanced up the staircase. They peered into the exposed room, finding no more hostiles waiting for them, and advanced through the threshold and into an open atrium of sorts. It was closed off from the outside, with a massive glass dome at least a hundred meters into the air, and plant life seemed to flourish here. Some of the vegetation seemed to be less than half a meter in height, or some forty meters high, and everything in between. It reminded the Spartans of the tropical rainforests they spent part of their training in all those years ago.
"Well Francis, any input as to where to go." Ben said to his A.I., who had spent the mission thus far silent, just as Ben preferred.
"The palace schematics show an entranceway seventy-five meters straight ahead, through this little jungle you've discovered. I advise you go through there and make sure Gunray didn't leave us just yet." Francis replied before displaying a blue holographic arrow on all the Spartan's HUD's indicating the direction they were to follow, as well as the distance left to traverse.
"Alright Spartan's form up on me." Ben said while making the same motion as before with his available left hand and moving forward, brushing past some low hanging foliage.
As the Spartans were busy traversing the jungle Gunray seemed to have installed in his palace for some absurd reason, the two Jedi found themselves looking through a myriad of various gadgets they just discovered. Most of them were the usual exotic blaster pistol Gunray may have handled once in his life, or an elegant painting, but none of them peeked their interest. Nothing, that is, until they came across a peculiar device tucked away in a corner, purposefully out of the way.
Anakin moved closer to the unusual object, only noticing it by chance. It seemed to be metallic, with an intricately designed body, and various buttons adorning it. Three spiderlike legs protruded from this central structure, two larger ones in the back, one smaller one in the front, but were curled up, probably from deactivation.
"Master, is this what I think it is?" Anakin asked as he picked up the surprisingly heavy object and placing it in the well lit center of the room.
Obi-Wan turned to spy what his former padawan discovered, and inhaled a quick breath upon the sight. His eyes scanned the device, taking in every detail to confirm his suspicion.
"Yes Anakin, it is." Obi-Wan replied as he stepped closer to the device, and knelt down beside his young friend, whose sole focus seemed to be the device in question.
Anakin let out a long, almost frustrating sigh, before saying, "I'll com the Spartans, and see if they found Gunray yet. Then we should tell the Council and any ONI or Republic Intelligence in the system."
"Agreed." Obi-Wan simply replied without emotion as he continued to stare at the metal contraption in front of him.
Anakin then stood, turned away from his former master and took several steps away before pulling the com unit up to his mouth. He tuned in the frequency, then waited a moment to see if he could find the answer himself before he bothered the Spartans. He searched the Force for Gunray's signature, but only found a cold trail where he had once been. Anakin couldn't tell the exact time, but he knew Gunray was already gone before they arrived.
Anakin mentally scolded himself for not searching earlier before pulling out his long range communications device. After tweaking with it for some time, the familiar hologram of Master Yoda appeared before him.
Anakin gave a short bow of the head while saying, "Master Yoda, I have some important news."
The ears of the little green creature rose slightly, and he asked, "Discover something, have you, Knight Skywalker?"
"Yes Master. We found a mechno-chair used by Gunray. It could still contain information pertaining to the Dark Lord we've been looking for."
"Notify Republic Intelligence, as well as ONI, you must. Do more, you shall not. Continue with your mission, you will." Yoda said, before severing the connection, leaving Anakin wishing he brought Artoo with him to help crack open what was inside the chair.
Then, the thought occurred to him, as he replaced his long range com unit with that of the short range one he had earlier.
He placed the com unit up to his mouth, and said with some measure of excitement, "Omega, stop whatever you're doing. We need you here ASAP."
"Are you under attack, sir?" Ben said, with some measure of surprise.
"No, but I need the expertise of your A.I." Anakin said.
"Please, General Skywalker, don't inflate his ego." Ben replied dissatisfaction.
"Duly noted, Sergeant." Anakin responded before severing the connection, and walking back to Obi-Wan, who was looking at his former padawan quizzically.
"Do I even want to know Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked as Anakin neared him again.
"Yes, I think you would, Master. We can use their A.I. to hack into the chair, and discover who used it, when they used it, to whom they sent communiqués, and some important codes for encrypted channels."
XXX
Chancellor's Suite, Senate Building, Coruscant, Coruscant System, Coruscant Sector
"You mean to tell me Gunray, that you simply left the mechno-chair, which, might I add, contains all of our personal discussions, back at your now abandoned palace, for everyone Republic-related to discover?" Sidious said angrily, every word conveying more rage than the last.
"Your apprentice made it quite clear that there wasn't much time before the palace would be attacked. Besides, Sidious, there's nothing to worry about. The mechno-chair will self-destruct if anyone tried to tamper with it." Gunray said confidently, raising his chin, before bringing it back down under the invisible gaze of the Dark Lord.
"If they discover who I am, and begin hunting me down, I will personally see to it that you pay for your incompetence." Sidious crackled before severing the connection, and throwing the device he just used at a wall with the Force, shattering it into thousands of pieces upon impact.
Before any other objects in his office could meet a similar fate, Sidious controlled his anger, trying to make sure that he didn't make the Jedi more suspicious than they already were.
"I cannot wait to kill you Gunray, you incompetent fool." he said to himself before ridding himself of his dark cloak and returning to his facade of a job as Chancellor.
XXX
Palace of Nute Gunray, Cato Neimoidia, Cato Neimoidia System, Neimoidia Sector
Anakin continued to examine the device before him, the team of Spartans arrived through another doorway that neither Jedi used to enter. They examined the room with their weapons, looking at every corner to make sure there were no hostiles. Upon the sight of the kneeling Jedi, and the strange device they seemed to be examining, they lowered their weapons and approached.
"You called General?" Ben asked as he stopped and stood a meter behind the two Jedi.
"Yes." Skywalker began, "May I see Francis for a moment?"
"I don't see why not." Francis replied in Ben's helmet, before the Spartans moved his hand behind his head, looking for the slot that held his artificial friend.
Once the small metal device was in the fingers of the Spartan, he soon outstretched his hand and dropped it into the open palm of Skywalker, who readily accepted it. Once in his hands, a miniscule holographic representation of the revolutionary soldier stood before them all, and gave a curtly bow to the two Jedi.
Obi-Wan said to the A.I., "Francis, we need access to this device. Would you be able to hack into it, and open whatever's inside?"
The small hologram clutched his heart, and appeared as hurt as an A.I. could appear, before responding, "Sir, I'm offended you even need to ask."
He then removed his hand from his heart, and outstretched it towards the strange device before disappearing once his hand made contact. For several long, tense moments, the group waited, saying not a word, and anticipating anything to occur.
Then, suddenly the A.I. reappeared on the metal disk, and looked at the group, before saying, "You will find this interesting. I know where the Ace of Spades has been contacting the Separatists while in hiding."
The expression on the two Jedi's faces were priceless, as far as the A.I. was concerned, and he waited several moments to savor it.
"Well." Anakin said, now irritated that the A.I. failed to continue, and beginning to understand why Ben wasn't a fan of his small companion.
"The Works, on Coruscant." Francis said simply, allowing the already wide eyes of the Jedi to grow even wider upon this realization.
After a log silence, Anakin finally said with absolute conviction, "That's impossible! We would have sensed him!"
"That data doesn't lie." Francis replied evenly.
"We must report this to the Council as soon as possible." Obi-Wan said, his voice even, but his face showing how troubled he truly was.
"Can you tell who it is?" Ben asked, as he neared the Jedi, and plucked his A.I. out of Anakin's hand.
"No. I already ran voice recognition, and there are too many candidates to draw any accurate conclusions."
Before Ben placed the A.I. back in his helmet, Anakin asked the blue hologram, "Did you find out where Dooku went?"
"All it says is he went into the Savareen Sector. It'll take some time to locate where exactly, though." the A.I. responded.
As Ben slide the A.I into the back of his helmet, Obi-Wan and Anakin stood up, and asked, "Did you find anything worthwhile here?"
"No." Ben replied simply and evenly.
"Well then, no point in sticking around here." said Obi-Wan before the whole lot of them began making their way back the way they came and to the fighters or transport they came in.
8 April 2587 (CSS Military Calendar) 13:28:52/19:4 BBY
High Council Chamber, Jedi Temple, Coruscant, Coruscant System, Coruscant Sector
Coruscant Prime was shinning dimly through the cloud cover over Coruscant, particularly the Jedi Temple, casting a darkened, dimmed light into the chamber of the Jedi High Council. At this time, only two masters were present in the flesh, as all the rest were away on the front lines, arriving for the regular meeting through hologram. In the middle of the circle of chairs that made up the furnishings of the chamber, under the scrutiny of ll the masters before them, stood the two Jedi generals that achieved galactic-wide fame over the past three years.
"Masters, We have reason to believe that the Dark Lord is on Coruscant as we speak." Obi-Wan's hologram said to the assembled Council.
"Come across this information, how have you?" Grandmaster Yoda asked, leaning forwards slightly and allowing his hand to rest on the top of his gimer stick.
"While searching for Nute Gunray and Count Dooku on Cato Neimoidia, we came across a mechno-chair used between the Dark Lord and Gunray. The A.I., Francis, that accompanies us, was able to discover where the signals from the Dark Lord originated from, and they seem to be the Works." Obi-Wan explained, as the rest of the Council nodded their heads in grim understanding.
"Unfortunate, this news is. Sensed this, we should have. Blind, we are, if this thick, the shroud of the Dark Side is over our eyes." Yoda said grimly, his ears drooping and his head hung low forlornly.
Anakin chose to pipe in at this point, by saying, "Master, there is no point in dwelling on our shortcomings. We must focus on finding the Dark Lord while we can, before it's too late."
Yoda was genuinely surprised to hear this from Skywalker, but that mood was quickly quenched when he continued, "It is my honest opinion that Master Kenobi and I return to help in the search."
Obi-Wan's hologram turned to face Anakin, as Master Windu said in response, "No Knight Skywalker. We need you both out there to find Dooku before he strikes again."
A look of disappointment came upon Anakin's face as he bowed his head in defeat and said, "Yes, Master."
Yoda made a note of it to meditate on why Skywalker would want to return to Coruscant so suddenly, before saying "Over, this meeting is. Return to your duties, you all must." as the holograms of each master, and that of Obi-Wan and Anakin disappeared.
Once everyone was gone, save for Mace and Yoda, the dark skinned master turned to his green colleague and asked, "Why would Skywalker want to return to Coruscant so quickly? I thought he enjoyed the thrill of battle."
"Know not, I do, of Skywalker's change in heart. Unsuspected, but welcome, it is. Meditate on it, I will." Yoda replied as he allowed himself to be lowered on the floor from his comfortable chair and made his way to his quarters to mediate on the matter.
XXX
CSS Invisiblis, Orbit of Cato Neimoidia, Cato Neimoidia System, Neimoidia Sector
As the holograms of the High Council disappeared before the two Jedi, Obi-Wan turned to his former padawan, and asked, "Why are you so insistent on us returning to Coruscant?"
Anakin turned to face his older friend, and replied with whisper, "Because, Master, I can't very well protect my wife if I'm all the way out here."
"Protect her from what, Anakin? Coruscant is the most heavily guarded Republic world. The Separatists would be mad to attack it." Obi-Wan inquired in a hushed voice.
"I don't like the thought of Padmé on the same world as that evil bastard. She's in enough danger as it is." Anakin replied.
"I'm sure it's fine, Anakin. It's not like the Sith Lord knows of your relationship." Obi-Wan said hopefully, but soon felt that shattered when Anakin didn't reply.
"He doesn't know of your relationship, right?" Obi-Wan said, concern now flowing through him like blood.
Anakin appeared distant as he replied, "No. You, and Ahsoka are the only ones that know of it, but I could guess that Captain Typho and Padmé's most trusted handmaiden, Dormé, know as well. But last I checked, neither are Sith lords."
"You seem uncertain." Obi-Wan pressed, as he neared his 'brother' and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"It's just, if the Sith Lord is able to hide himself form the whole High Council for years on end, we can't assume anything." Anakin replied nervously.
"It's okay, Anakin. We'll find Dooku soon enough, and you'll finally be able to stay on Coruscant as long as your heart desires." Obi-Wan said optimistically, but unconvincingly.
"I hope so, Master. Every day without her I endure the unendurable." Anakin said sadness beginning to show on his face.
"Let's return to our fighters. I believe the Fourteenth and Open Circle are shipping out soon, and we are going to be needed." Obi-Wan said, changing the subject with an optimistic grin while leading Anakin back to the hanger bay.
"Sure. I need to blow something up to take my mind of this subject anyway." Anakin said with a slight grin, but still seemed distant, as the two exited the room and began walking down the small hallway.
Obi-Wan just shook his head in amusement before turning a corner with Anakin and trekking towards the large blast doors separating the two Jedi form the hanger bay.
While the two Jedi where making their way to the hanger bay, the Spartans had dismissed themselves form the bridge, and began walking towards their quarters. During their entire meeting, Ben had found himself focusing almost entirely on the captain, and on nothing else. It was only when prompted to speak that he did so, but he made his answers short to allow himself to return to his reverie. None of the other Spartans took note of this, save for Ruse, who was intrigued by the actions of his superior officer. Somehow, the other Spartan knew something was off, and planned on finding out.
As the team of Spartans began filing out of the room, Ruse caught up with Ben, who seemed several paces ahead of everyone else, and out his hand up to his superior's shoulder. Ben turned to look at the Spartan, and raised his eyebrow behind his visor at the usual action his comrade was committing.
Finally, Ruse said in a hushed voice, "Sir, may I have a word with you in private?"
Ben regarded his brother-in-arms for a moment, before replying, "Of course, Ruse." before turning and motioning for the rest of his team to move on.
They all complied, and once the hallway was empty of all onlookers, Ruse continued in his hushed voice, "Sir, are you alright. I noticed you seemed off about something."
Ben remained stoic both in voice and countenance while saying, "I'm fine, Ruse, but thank you for asking." before trying to turn, but was stopped by Ruse's hold on his arm.
"Sir, I know something is off. This is informal. There is no need to hide something." Ruse reasoned as his grip held firm on his comrade's arm.
Ben continued calmly, berating himself for acting so distant in the company of the good captain, while he said, "Ruse, I assure you, there is nothing wrong."
"Sir, I need to know what has you troubled. It may effect your combat effectiveness." Ruse continued to reason, trying to reach Ben's logical mind and extract whatever information he could.
Before either of the two could continue, the door to the bridge opened, and the captain walked through. She gave a curtly nod to both the Spartans, but her gaze lingered on Ben. The Spartans stiffened as she walked by, her strides giving off the impression she was calm and collected.
Once the captain was out of sight, Ruse looked at his friend, and noticed how silent he was, and did a quick check with his HUD to find his heart rate accelerated since their conversation began. Behind his golden visor, Ruse sported a mischievous grin.
"Does it have something to do with the captain?" Ruse asked, trying to hide his amusement.
Ben looked back at the Spartans sharply, before replying, "What would give you that idea?" with an overall calm tone, but the undercurrent of irritation was evident to Ruse's trained ears.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'. And if experience tells me anything, I could say she has something for you as well. Have you noticed how her eyes always linger on you, singling you out of the group?"
"You're mad, my friend." Ben said with amusement, but inside, his mind was racing with thought on ow to get out of this situation.
"Sure I am. Just talk to me if you want to pursue anything with the good captain. I wouldn't want to left out of this." Ruse goaded before he began walking away.
"Stop!" Ben ordered the Spartan, who complied automatically.
"You are to tell no one of your suspicions. Understood?" Ben said, with a commanding tone, giving no room for bartering.
"Yes sir." Ruse said evenly, as he always tried to do when ordered.
"Good. I will come to you if I see fit, but whatever is said in confidential. I'll kill you myself if you say anything, and threaten her career." Ben threatened while pointing a finger at Ruse's visor, putting it mere centimeters from the golden material.
"I wouldn't have it any other way, sir." Ruse said, with an air of amusement before continued his walk.
As Ben rounded the corner, he found the captain in question standing just around it, a satisfied expression on her face. Beyond, he saw Ruse continuing his walk, but talking his time evidently with his small strides, probably hoping to hear at least part of what was going to be said.
"Well Sergeant, is what is proposed by one of your soldiers true?" she asked, her smile bringing Ben inexplicable inner joy.
Ben replied as calmly as he could, "Yes ma'am."
Her smile only widened as she continued, "Well then, Sergeant, I would be honored if you may join me for dinner."
"The honor would be mine, Captain, but please call me Ben." Ben replied.
"Only if you call me Alicia , Ben," Alicia replied before winking and turning around to walk away.
"Of course, Alicia." Ben said, mostly to himself, before waiting a moment to walk away to his quarters, a joy he seldom felt coming to his heart.
XXX
CSS Redemption, Orbit of Boz Pity, Boz Pity System, Halla Sector
"Sir, we have confirmation that Omega team and Generals Kenobi and Skywalker are en route to our current position, and will be here in another eight hours." one of the ensigns said to Oku, as he stood over the bridge.
For the past several hours the fleet had been on standby, with the evacuation of the planet complete, now they all simply awaited the return of the two Jedi generals to begin offensive operations again. Silently, Oku cursed the Chancellor and the Jedi Council for requesting they assist in operations in Saleucami. He had been hoping through the last several days to return to the city, and enjoy the night-life again. But he had a duty to preform, and he would do so with distinction and grace. As the silence continued, Oku walked over to the com station on the bridge, and cleared his throat before beginning whatever he was about to say.
"Attention fleet. We will embark on our next mission in just under eight hours. The next target is Saleucami, where our Republic brothers have been struggling for months to dislodge the Confederate defenses, so get whatever rest you can, while you can." he announced over the fleet wide com unit before placing the device down and making his way to his own quarters.
Note: No Sector was provided for Cato Neimoidia, so I guessed it might be Neimoidia sector, considering its proximity to Neimoidia. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry if I offended someone. And I noticed some of you want to see the old Covenant Supercarriers. You'll enjoy the next chapter.