Sabotage and Subterfuge

From the large viewport in his quarters on the Menace, Darth Maul watched the swarms of ships and soldiers amassed on the landing field. Armored troops marched to their transports, silhouetted against the glowing light from thousands of ship engines as dusk gave way to the full blackness of night. At dawn, the fleet would launch, bringing long overdue retribution to the Republic. Everything was going according to plan.

Maul turned from the window and seated himself cross-legged on the octagonal dias at the center of his room. He closed his eyes, entering a state of meditation. He felt the dark side of the Force flowing strongly, around and through him. In his mind's eye he saw the panicked Senators of the Republic fleeing before him. It was a satisfying vision. One he believed would soon come to pass.

But there was danger too. He felt rather than saw the approach of his enemies. Kenobi and Skywalker were coming, he could sense it. But he also sensed that they were alone. The Rogues, as he had foreseen, would not join the fight. It mattered little. Whatever foolhardy plan the Jedi and his young protege had devised, Maul was certain it would not be enough to stop him now. Nothing would be enough. Soon Kenobi would be dead, and the Skywalker boy would be ready to begin his journey to the dark side.

Maul opened his eyes and stood. He retrieved his black hooded cloak and swung it around his shoulders. He would return to the bridge to keep a closer eye on the invasion preparations. His cloak in place, he clipped the long hilt of his lightsaber to his belt. Kenobi and Skywalker would find their way to him, he was sure of it. And when they did, he would be ready.

Obi-Wan marched with KeAnn's company of Rogues through the fields at the edge of Aldera. There had been a few wary looks when KeAnn had dragged him out from behind the transport, but these troops clearly trusted their commander. They didn't question her decision to bring a potentially dangerous prisoner with them into the city.

Obi-Wan's hands were bound in front of him, and the clip on his utility belt where his lightsaber usually hung was empty. He watched the weapon bounce against KeAnn's hip as she walked in front of him. Binders were one thing, separation from his lightsaber was another. Still, KeAnn had promised to help him. He thought her reason for doing so somewhat thin, but she knew the city and the Separatists. She could very well be the key to finding a way onto Maul's ship. If she didn't betray him first.

The company approached the southern edge of the city of Aldera. Alderaan's capital had once been a glittering jewel of a city, a bastion of intellectualism centered around the planet's long history of promoting peace and diplomacy. It was still a beautiful city, but the marks of the war were everywhere. Against the backdrop of the high mountains to the west, the many spires and towers of Aldera still stood, but many of them were burnt out shells of their former splendor.

Things were even worse in the more middle-class residential area that the group now approached. It was utterly deserted, a maze of once-respectable homes and gardens torched, bombed, and riddled with blaster fire. There were no signs of life anywhere. It was a sight that had become only too familiar to Obi-Wan during his service in the war.

KeAnn halted and the others followed suit, crouching low in the high grass of the meadow just outside the city. She gave a signal to one of the other soldiers and a handful of Rogues made their way swiftly and cautiously into the streets ahead, checking buildings as they went. After a few minutes, the soldier who had led the scouting group returned and gave the all clear.

Obi-Wan stood and walked with the others into the city streets. It was eerie and quiet. KeAnn spread her troops out in a line, maximizing their ability to clear houses and continue to move forward. Obi-Wan could sense the nervousness of the Rogues, even though there didn't appear to be any Separatist forces anywhere near them.

The hair on the back of Obi-Wan's neck stood up. Then he heard the shell. He flung himself to the side as it slammed into the building next to him. Rubble flew in all directions as the corner of the building toppled. Obi-Wan's ears were ringing. He scrambled up, his hands still bound. There was no time to do anything about his restraints, he knew more shells were coming. He ran forward into the dust. He could make out the forms of the Rogues around him as they ran too, many taking cover in the ruined structures all around them.

"Get down!" KeAnn shouted as another round came whistling overhead. Obi-Wan dove into the street as the shell burst about a block away. He crawled the last few feet to KeAnn's position, where she was crouched with several other soldiers. KeAnn was shouting furiously into the comm.

"This is Commander Lyosar, we have contact!" Another shell exploded in the meadow behind them, mercifully overshooting its target. "Repeat, contact in the southeast quadrant!" More rounds poured in. Some of the Rogues were pushing forward, but others were huddled behind the walls of the surrounding buildings, sitting targets for the Separatist bombs. KeAnn jumped into the street, waving her hands and shouting at her troops, trying to keep them moving.

"Get out of the buildings! Get out! Move, move! Keep moving!" She shouted, urging them forward. Obi-Wan followed her out into the street. It felt exposed, but he knew, as KeAnn did, that the best defense from an artillery barrage was to continually change position. Hunkering down was liable to get you killed. KeAnn leapt into a ditch as another round of artillery screamed overhead, and Obi-Wan went in after her. Two young officers made their way down the ditch towards KeAnn, looking for orders.

"Johan, Rissa, take your platoons and head west toward the river," KeAnn told them, gesturing to the marshlands in the distance. "Tegan and I will take first and third platoons south through the city. We'll be harder to hit if we split up and stay thin on the line."

"The southern route will be cutting it close to the landing field, Commander," Rissa said. KeAnn brushed off her concern.

"We'll be alright. Now get moving, and hold your fire. You'll only give them a target." The two officers nodded and moved off, signaling for their platoons to follow. KeAnn grabbed the nearest soldier. "Pass it along, we need to fan out and keep moving." KeAnn unclipped her commlink from her belt and tried again to hail Tactical. "Naberrie? Commander Naberrie? Anybody?" There was only silence. "Tegan, try Tactical on your comm." Tegan made her own attempt, but nothing came through. She shook her head.

"Can't get anyone at Tactical HQ, Commander," Tegan said. "Looks like the signal is down or jammed." KeAnn sighed heavily. Obi-Wan remained beside her, hoping she was going to be able to deliver on her promise to help him. He didn't think getting shelled to pieces had been part of her plan.

"Alright, listen up," KeAnn said after a moment's thought. "I'll get a message to Tactical in person. That gun battery isn't mapped and they need to know about it." She jerked her thumb in Obi-Wan's direction. "I can drop our baggage with them while I'm at it." The brief glance Tegan gave Obi-Wan told him that the officer was eager to be rid of the Jedi prisoner. The feeling was mutual. "You take the others through the city to the rendezvous."

"Yes, Commander." Tegan gave a quick nod, which KeAnn returned. KeAnn then grabbed Obi-Wan roughly, pushing him ahead of her.

"Come on Kenobi, let's move." Obi-Wan did as he was told, keeping low as the two of them moved out of the city and back into the meadowlands. Once they were out of sight of the other Rogues, KeAnn stopped and crouched down, pulling Obi-Wan with her.

"Let's get you out of these binders," she said as she unlocked his restraints. She unclipped his lightsaber from her belt and held it out to him. Obi-Wan took it and returned the weapon to its rightful place on his own utility belt. Perhaps he could trust her after all.

"How far to the landing field?" he asked as he and KeAnn continued through the tall grass, staying low to avoid any unwanted attention.

"A couple of hours march. Luckily, the terrain is flat. But don't rush, the movement in the grass could give us away, and if we get caught out here, there's nowhere to hide." Obi-Wan nodded. They continued on, KeAnn occasionally checking her compass or risking a quick glance above the grass to check their position.

"I can see the landing field," she said, after they'd walked for nearly two hours. "We'll have better cover when we get closer, the rockslides off the mountains have strewn the fields around it with boulders." Sure enough, as they continued to walk Obi-Wan began to see large grey rocks dotting the landscape here and there. As the grass began to thin, he caught his first glimpse of the Separatist landing field, and the thousands of ships amassing there.

The sight of the full might of the Separatist fleet so assembled was astonishing to behold. And, Obi-Wan realized with a nervous twinge, the ships gathered didn't even include the massive number of vessels currently orbiting Alderaan as part of the blockade. It was an invasion army the likes of which had not been seen in the galaxy for thousands of years.

Their progress slowed as they neared the Separatist ships, as they were forced to crouch lower and move more carefully to avoid being seen. About one-hundred meters out they stopped, taking cover behind a craggy boulder within sight of Maul's great black monolith of a flagship. The Menace.

"We'll have to wait, they're still loading troops." KeAnn said as she peered over the boulder through her macrobinoculars. "You're best chance to get inside without being seen is after all the soldiers and personnel are aboard." Obi-Wan agreed. He would only get one shot at this, he had to make sure he moved at the right time.

"You'll need a distraction." KeAnn said as she slunk back down behind the boulder. She surveyed Obi-Wan. "Give me your cloak," she said. Obi-Wan looked at her in surprise.

"What for?" he asked, loathe to give it up.

"It's a good bet the Separatists will be on the lookout for you. If they're expecting a Jedi," she said, pulling the hilt of her lightsaber out from under her jacket, "let's give them one."

Obi-Wan sighed, but nodded in agreement and pulled off his cloak, handing it to KeAnn. She put it on and pulled up the hood to help hide her face. Obi-Wan chanced a glance around the rock at the Menace, and he could see that the number of troops waiting to board the vessel was dwindling. Soon he and KeAnn would part ways, but there was something he had to know.

"I must ask you about Darth Maul," he said, pulling his head back around and turning to KeAnn. "Are the rumours true?" KeAnn's face darkened. She shook her head, looking uncertain and a little fearful.

"He knows the ways of the Force, that much I can tell you," she said cryptically.

"But is he truly a Lord of the Sith?" Obi-Wan pressed her for more information. He needed to know what he was up against.

"I honestly don't know," she said with a sigh. "That might be a question for Captain Skywalker." Obi-Wan was taken aback.

"Sola? What do you mean?" he asked. KeAnn shoot him an incredulous look.

"How many Outer Rim freighter pilots do you know who carry around ancient Sith weapons?" she asked. Obi-Wan's brow wrinkled in confusion. He wracked his brain, trying to think what she was possibly referring to.

"What are you…" he stopped himself mid-question as the realization hit him. "The knife," he said. Of course. He knew he'd recognized it from somewhere. A distant memory from his history lessons as a student at the Jedi Temple flashed through his mind. A story about the ancient days, when the Jedi had guarded the kyber crystals needed to build lightsabers. The Sith had eventually learned to synthesize their own crystals, but before that they had forged special vibroknives.

"Blades that can't be cut by a lightsaber," he muttered out loud as the pieces fell into place. "It's a Sith blade." He looked back to KeAnn, who nodded. "But Sola Skywalker isn't a Sith," he stated matter-of-factly. But what reason did he have to be so certain? Doubt began to seep in. "Is she?" KeAnn shrugged.

"You can ask her yourself soon enough," she said, as she peeked back around the boulder. "They're closing the gangways." Obi-Wan pushed himself up to have a look. The gangways were almost shut, but the cargo holds were still open. That was where he needed to go. KeAnn was already gathering her things, making ready to provide the promised distraction. She offered Obi-Wan a quick salute.

"May the Force be with you," she said. Then she slipped into the grass and the rustle of her movement soon faded. A few moments later there was a tremendous boom and Obi-Wan watched a ship on the other side of the landing field go up in a plume of fire and smoke. The Separatist troops still milling about the Menace rushed off in the direction of the conflagration. Obi-Wan sensed their panic and confusion. Now was the time. He dashed out from behind the boulder and moved quickly towards the ship, dodging behind crates or cargo sleds here and there to avoid being seen.

Another explosion went off. In the distance he could just make out the bright green glow of KeAnn's lightsaber. More field crew moved off toward the flames or stood watching, whispering among themselves. Obi-Wan crept to the nearest open cargo hold unnoticed, and slipped inside.

The controls of the Neimoidian ship were arranged in a manner totally foreign to Anakin, but he had managed to intuit enough to maintain basic control of the vessel. He'd learned from his time on the podracing circuit that it was best to trust your instincts, and he relied on them now to pilot the alien vessel.

He'd cleared Rogue Base without trouble, looping out and away over Aldera before entering orbit, to give the impression he'd launched from the city and not from the Rogue's mountain hideaway. He had been worried about needing some type of clearance to join the Separatist fleet in orbit, but in the mass of ships from a hundred different worlds no one seemed concerned with a small Neimoidian freighter.

Anakin spotted a group of Neimoidian vessels and hovered near them, but not too close. He wanted to blend in, but if any of the Neimodians hailed him in their native language he was going to be in trouble, so he kept his distance. The number of ships already assembled just beyond Alderaan's atmosphere was staggering, and more continued to appear from the surface as the landing field below was cleared.

At last Anakin saw the great hulk of Maul's flagship, the Menace, as it cruised up from Aldera. It's black hull gleamed amid the engine lights of the fleet. Anakin sensed the nearness of Obi-Wan's presence, and of his mother. He wanted to reach out to her, to tell her he was coming for her, but Owen's words crept back into his mind. She would only tell him to run, to go back, to save himself. So he kept his mind closed, and leaned back in the pilot's seat, waiting for Obi-Wan to strike the first blow.

Inside the ventilation shaft, Obi-Wan waited. He'd crawled from the cargo bay into the bowels of the ship, heading for its center. Through the vent a few inches away he could see the corridor below. He peered through the slates of the vent, but pulled his head back as a platoon of Separatist clones passed beneath him. He would have to proceed with caution.

The ventilation shaft began to vibrate as the ship shook with the rumble of its engines. The shaking intensified as the power increased. The ship was leaving the planet's surface. Soon the ship would reach orbit and the fleet would prepare to make the jump to lightspeed. Obi-Wan needed to have the communications down before that happened.

Sensing that the corridor below him was empty, Obi-Wan pulled up the vent cover and flipped down into the hall, landing with a soft thud. He moved quickly down the corridor, keeping an eye on the wiring conduits overhead. He followed the blue conduit, hoping that the Separatists were utilizing the same standard military color-coding employed by the Republic.

Hearing boots up head, he quickly dodged down a side corridor, pressing himself into a doorway. The troops passed him, their eyes straight ahead. Obi-Wan re-entered the main passage behind them, moving in the opposite direction, continuing to follow what he hoped was the communications conduit. A few hundred meters down the passage the pipes above him disappeared into the wall to his left. Obi-Wan could just make out the gentle hum of gears and electricity. The central communications hub must be on the other side of the wall.

Obi-Wan crept further down the corridor, looking for a way inside. He came to an open door, and carefully peering into it he could see the several levels of conduit, wires, and computer terminals that made up the central communications hub. Unfortunately, he could also see a number technicians wandering the platforms around the hubs and manning the work stations.

Obi-Wan was standing at the door at the top level of the hub, which extended at least four decks below his current position. Something with as much computing power as a communication hub would require cooling. Through the doorway Obi-Wan would see thick pipes radiating from the ceiling of the large, circular space that held the hub. He had no doubt the pipes held water to cool the computer terminals throughout the hub. A plan began to formulate in his mind.

Waiting for the technicians on his level to move off to the other side of the hub, Obi-Wan ducked inside the hub, his lightsaber in his hand. The blue blade ignited with a snap-hiss, and the technicians turned, beginning to shout, but it was too late. Obi-Wan sliced at the pipe above his head and a torrent of water came down, short-circuiting the hub's computers. He ran along the deck, drenched, and sliced another pipe, and another. Water poured down as the technicians scrambled to get out of the way, terrified of being electrocuted.

His work done, Obi-Wan dove for a door on the other side of the hub and pounded the controls, slamming the door behind him. He had come out across from an empty lift and jumped into it. Quickly surveying the controls, he depressed the button for the detention level. He shook his head and limbs, trying to dislodge the water from his body.

When the lift passed the deck above the detention facilities, Obi-Wan hit the emergency stop. Igniting his lightsaber, he cut into the top of the lift above him and scrambled out into the elevator shaft. As he'd hoped, there was a service corridor only a few feet above him. He climbed into it, heading in the direction of the brig, and Sola Skywalker.

Anakin sat, hunched down in the pilot's seat as his ship idled in orbit, his eyes fixed on the indicator light above the comm showing that the Separatist channel was still live. He tapped the arm of the seat nervously. It was taking longer than he would have like for Obi-Wan to knock out the communication hub. Had something gone wrong? Had the Jedi been captured...or worse?

Just as the young man's mind was beginning to wander down a dark road of possible scenarios, the indicator light went black. Anakin sat up and tried to activate the comm. Nothing. Obi-Wan had done it. Moving rapidly, Anakin brought his weapon systems online. He'd been eyeing a Kaleesh battle cruiser a few hundred meters away. It would be his first target. Training his laser cannon on the other Separatist ship, Anakin took a deep breath, and fired.