Chapter 20: The Citadel (20 BBY)
It's now been a couple of weeks since Cindo was allowed to participate in the Republic war effort. He was just part of a briefing for his first mission. The mission was to rescue Jedi Master Piell and the Nexus Route coordinates from a place called the Citadel, an impenetrable prison built by the Republic to house rouge Jedi and Sith, but the separatists managed to take it over.
"Carbonite? Seriously?" Cindo said walking alongside Obi-Wan and HK. "Well, if you have a better idea on how to evade the sensors please inform me," Obi-Wan said stopping for a moment and smirking at him. "Couldn't you get somebody else for this mission?" he asked with an irritated look on his face. "It was you who said that you wanted to help," Obi-Wan said. "That's true," Cindo said with a sight of defeat. "But still. Why me out of everyone?" he asked. "I think you have more than proven yourself by defeating a platoon of battle droids and 3 Sith with your friend here," Obi-Wan explained gesturing towards HK.
They arrived at the hangar. The rest of the team consisting of Anakin, Viper squad, Captain Rex, ARK troopers Echo and Fives, Commander Cody and R2D2 with his reprogrammed droids was already there, alongside Plo Koon and Ahsoka who were going to overlook the freezing procedure to ensure nothing went wrong.
"HK get on the ship," Cindo ordered. "I'll be there to unfreeze you personally," HK said, bowing slightly. "Very funny," Cindo retorted.
"We're trusting those droids to get us into the Citadel?" Fives commented seeing the droids board the ship. "It's the only way. We're flying right into the heart of separatist territory. Droids won't be detected," Cody explained.
Cindo walked over to Viper squad who were checking their equipment. "Are your men ready, Major?" Cindo asked. "As ready as they'll ever be, sir," he reported putting a few rations into a backpack. "I don't see the need for food on this mission," Cindo commented seeing the quite abundant amount of rations Razer was packing. "They say that it should only take an hour or two for us to get out. The last time somebody told us that we were forced to wait ten days for extraction. And besides, my backpack is usually mostly empty anyways," Razer explained. The rest of the squad had finished preparing and were deep in a conversation, so Cindo didn't bother them and moved on.
He still had a couple of minutes before they got frozen, so he looked around the hangar for something to do or somebody to speak to. There were the two groups of soldiers, Anakin and Obi-Wan bickering as usual and Ahsoka and Plo.
He went towards Ahsoka seeing the sad expression on her face. "… I think he's being overly protective. He's picking and choosing which assignments I can be part of," she said sitting on the wing of Plo's fighter looking at the ground. Plo looks up and notices Cindo approaching them. "Hello, Cindo." He bowed slightly as he approached them. "Good day to you Master Plo," he greeted before looking down at Ahsoka. "What's got you riled up?"
"My master won't let me go on the mission," she answered still looking at the ground, her hands supporting her head. "Well he is your master," Cindo said making Ahsoka look up at him. "It's not for him to decide when and how I should put my life in danger. That should be my choice," she said. "Well, that is true. And from what you've told me about your time in the war you seem like you're well prepared for this," Cindo said. "I can only hope whatever Ahsoka told you wasn't overexaggerated," Plo commented under his breath.
The group was thawed out from the carbonite by the droids who landed the ship in a cavern nearby the Citadel. They began stretching out, being numb from not moving for a long period of time.
"Hey, Snips," Anakin said not having recovered from the carbonite yet. "Hey, Master," she greeted while stretching her neck. Anakin slowly turned his head towards her with a raised brow. Obi-Wan in all the confusion stepped beside Anakin and said, "I must have carbon sickness because I could swear that's Ahsoka." Anakin let out an irritated sigh. "Your eyes are fine. It's Ahsoka's hearing that needs help," Anakin determined sarcastically. "Or perhaps she persuaded our friend here to smuggle her on board," Obi-Wan said gesturing at Cindo. "No, Master, it wasn't Cindo's doing. I had orders," she said.
"Orders? From who?" Anakin questioned with a raised brow. "I discussed it with Master Plo," she said, fully confident that her lie will succeed. "He didn't tell me," Anakin said with his arms crossed. "You were already in carbonite," she replied, pointing at the carbonite for a moment. "Well, I gave you specific orders not to come," Anakin said sternly pointing an accusing finger at her. "If there's one thing I learned from you, Master, is that following direct orders isn't always the best way to solve a problem."
"I see Anakin's new teaching method is to do as I say, not as I do," Obi-Wan said walking over from the troops while Cindo put on his helmet. "Welcome aboard," he said to her with his arms behind his back. "Come on Anakin, let's see if there are any patrols nearby while our troops finish preparing," he continued as he started walking away deeper into the cavern they were currently in. "Right behind you, Master," Anakin responded giving Ahsoka one last slightly angry glare before heading off.
"Can't believe that worked," Cindo commented once they were out of hearing distance. "What can I say? I'm a smart girl," she said proudly walking over to Rex.
The group began heading off towards the Citadel while Anakin and Cindo stayed behind to brief the droids on what they'll be doing "Guard the shuttle you two. We'll contact you when we're ready for take-off," Anakin told R2 who returned some confirming beeps in response. "Are you sure you don't want me with you?" HK asked. "Don't worry HK. We need you here with the R2 and the others. And you also deserve a break as well," Cindo said tapping HK on its shoulder.
It was true. Back on Coruscant HK would spend the entire time guarding Cindo no matter what he did. Standing guard at doors or even pushing anybody that comes close away from him, HK wasn't going to let anything happen to Cindo. He told HK multiple times that he can relax because nothing will happen to him, but HK wouldn't stop doing these things, so Cindo just ended up accepting them.
The group came upon the exit of the cavern. There was a ledge and below it a large pool of acid. Gale was blowing towards them making the smell of the acid much stronger. Anakin put his backpack on the ground and brought out his macrobinoculars. "I see the entry point," Anakin said. "You were right. The wind conditions are too strong for jet packs," Cody commented looking into the vastness of the acid lake. "Yes. We'll have to do it the old fashioned way. With ascension cables and a steel grip," Obi-Wan determined. "I don't think so," Anakin backfired taking a closer look at the wall they'll be climbing. "What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked. "Electro-mines," he said. "There's nowhere to put a grappling hook at that height. If we hit one of those, the mission's over. They'll know we're here," he added. Obi-Wan took Anakin's macrobinoculars to look at the entry point himself. "I supposed that means we free climb it," Rex said with little to no enthusiasm in his voice. Cindo in the meanwhile was sensing a plethora of Force signatures in the Citadel. He could sense pain and suffering although very faintly.
The climb was tedious, to say the least. The wall itself didn't have many places to hold on to the smell of the acid lake made Cindo's stomach turn inside out and the strong wind only proved to be as annoying as everybody thought it would be. All of that combined made for a very slow climb. Cindo was the last one. He could hear Anakin and Ahsoka talking but he couldn't make out what they were saying because of the wind.
Glitch, who was next to Cindo, stopped climbing. "I need a break," Glitch said holding onto a small ledge with one hand while shaking his other hand. "We're almost there. Aren't you supposed to be a commando?" Cindo asked him shuffling over to his position. "Not really," Glitch commented looking down towards the acid lake. "What? What do you mean not really?" Cindo asked him with a confused look which was masked by his helmet. Glitch let out a deep breath. "This isn't the time or the place if you know what I mean," he said pointing down at the lake. He then attempted to continue on climbing but he slipped on his first move and plummeted downwards. He began screaming like a small child. "Oh, will you shut up!" Cindo ordered.
Glitch quieted down and began looking around. He closed his eyes after he started falling, so he didn't notice that he was actually levitating in the air. Cindo brought him closer to the wall and he grabbed on to it while shaking and breathing heavily from the panic he experienced. "Thanks…" He was barely able to speak the word. He looked up and saw that the rest of the group was already on the platform. "Let's go they're waiting for us," Cindo said before resuming his climb.
"What took you two so long?" Obi-Wan asked helping Glitch up on the platform. "I almost fell, but thankfully Cindo was there to save me," Glitch stated. "Well done," Obi-Wan said looking at Cindo. "Come on, the rest are waiting inside."
The clones and Viper squad were behind the Jedi who were stealthily navigating the dimly lit corridors. The part of the Citadel they were in was meant as a storage area, so it didn't have many doors and extra corridors. So, they mostly just went straight unless they found a patrol and then they either took it out silently or let it go past them. They were on the last intersection where the entrance to the detention area of the citadel was. Two B1 battle droids were standing guard at the door.
The door opened and a B1 with yellow markings stepped out followed by ten B1s with red markings. "The warden's orders are to sweep the area. Divide into groups of two and search each corridor. Report anything suspicious you find," the commander droid said. The patrols went to all of the corridors, forcing the Cindo and the rest of the group to fall back to the last intersection where they hid behind a corner and waited for the patrol to pass. They then went back to the door where the two droids were still standing guard.
"Let me deal with them," Ahsoka said already moving out from behind the corner. But before she could fully emerge she was pulled back by Anakin. "Slow down. There's a camera up there," Anakin said peeking carefully and pointing at it so the rest of them could see it. It was directly above the door. "How are we gonna get past the camera without being detected?" Obi-Wan asked peeking a bit higher than Anakin was. "I have an idea," Cindo said and everybody looked at him. "And what would that idea be if we may know?" Anakin asked.
"I can use the Force to become invisible, but only for a very, very short time. It requires immense concentration. I'll walk under the door where the camera won't be able to see me, uncloak myself, kill the droids and then disable the camera," Cindo said, everybody looking at him confusedly. "I hardly think this is the time for jokes," Obi-Wan stated and they turned back towards the droids to formulate a plan. Cindo got down on his knees and began concentrating. Soon he was nowhere to be seen until they heard the door open.
"Hey. Did you do that?" the droid on the left asked. "No," the other droid said and they turned around only to see an empty corridor. They started carefully moving into the other corridor. When they were out of the frame of the camera Cindo uncloaked himself and sliced their heads off. He then moved to the door console and disabled the camera. "What are you waiting for? Let's go," he said quietly peeking from the door, gesturing to the group to follow him. They exchanged confused glances before following Cindo into the detention area of the Citadel.
"I wanna do that!" Ahsoka exclaimed as she ran through the door and stopped beside Cindo. "Do you have five years time to learn it?" Cindo said. She shook her head in amusement and began moving to the rest of the group which was already on the move.
The corridors of the attention area were much more lively and required the team to split up. The way to Piell's cell was about even for both teams. Cindo was with Obi-Wan, Rex, Cody, Fives and Echo. Stealthily walking down the hallways they encountered many cameras and patrols, taking them out one by one. The risk of exposing themselves became bigger with any scrapped droids and cameras they left behind but there was no other way.
"Sir, we're about two more intersections away from the supposed location of Master Piell," Cody reported. Cindo was in the back of the group covering their backs. "Good. Check your weapons one last time and prepare to move," Obi-Wan said before peeking around the corner. "No, there's something else," Cindo said touching where his forehead would be under his mask. "What is that something else?" Obi-Wan asked. "I can sense somebody in immense pain down that hallway," Cindo reported pointing towards the hallway to their right. "We don't have time for that," Obi-Wan commented the pressure of the mission going to his head. Those hyperspace lanes could help the Republic turn the war effort.
"Is it not the Jedi way to save innocents?" Cindo asked knowing the Jedi Master all too well even after five years. Even before Cindo left, when Obi-Wan was just a Jedi Knight, he would uphold the code and standards of the Jedi at any cost. "You're right. But we can't spare any of these clones, the main mission is too vital. You'll have to go on your own. Contact me over your comm if you find anything," Obi-Wan said. "Will do," Cindo said and with a nod of confirmation began heading in the direction where he felt the pain coming from.
The closer he got the more he could feel the persons emotions. Just pure sadness, pain and regret. He peeked around a corner looking at a row of interrogation rooms. Only one door was ray shielded with two B1 battle droids with red markings on standby. The ray shield suddenly dissipated and an interrogation droid stepped through the door. "K6N2, Commander Crix would like a report about the interrogation. He's waiting for you in his office," the droid to the left of the door said. "Right away," the droid said in response. It began moving the opposite way of where Cindo was hiding and soon it disappeared behind a corner.
After he made sure there were no cameras around or patrols doing rounds he just simply stood up and started strolling towards the droids who spotted him and eyed him confusedly. "Stop right there!" one yelled, but Cindo kept on walking. "Uhm… do we open fire?" the other one asked. "I don't know. Do they let in visitors?" It didn't manage to get an answer as its head was smashed against the ceiling a second after. The other droid only managed to stand helplessly as its gun was forced out of its hand and its body impaled by a light blue blade.
Cindo disabled the ray shield by pressing a few buttons on the console and entered the dark interrogation room. He turned on the lights and was horrified by what he saw. The same red Twi'lek woman he fought briefly on Odessen was suspended from the ceiling with stun cuffs with a small pool of blood on the ground. She appeared to be barely conscious. Her face, hands and legs were covered in cuts and bruises. "P-please… end… it," she barely managed to say while blood was dripping from her mouth every time she opened it. Her Sith eyes were barely open and bloodshot.
He cut her free from the cuffs and carefully put her down on the ground. She fell unconscious soon after letting Cindo wonder how she ended up here. He sensed her regret and sorrow when she was still awake. No Sith would ever break as easily as she did. He needed to find out more, but she was in no condition to walk and he couldn't leave her in the cell to get help.
"Can't believe I'm doing this," Cindo remarked to himself as he threw her over his shoulder and began carrying her out of the cell. He bumped into the interrogation droid who fell on his back. "Stupid battle droids," the interrogation droid said before looking up and seeing an orange blade fly towards it. Cindo deactivated the saber but kept it in his hand just in case he would have to react quickly during the route to the rest of the group.
His wrist comm began beeping. "Yes, Obi-Wan?" he asked looking around to see if anybody else was coming. "We saved Master Piell but another problem has arisen. Master Piell only has half of the code. He gave the other half to his captain, who is apparently being held deeper within the Citadel with some officers. We are going to start heading there. Have you found who you were looking for?" Obi-Wan said. "Yes… Although it will take some time to get back to where you are," Cindo said silently as he began moving back towards the rest of the group. "We can't waste any more time," he could hear Anakin say in the background. "Don't wait for me. I'll catch up," Cindo reassured the rest of them. "Understood. Obi-Wan out," Kenobi said. The transmission ended and Cindo was finally able to concentrate on his surroundings.
The Twi'lek proved to only be a mild inconvenience. She was light so it wasn't hard to maneuver around quickly even with her hanging over his right shoulder. He was close to the cell where Master Piell was held when he spotted a man in black armor with long dark hair followed by two commando droids on the other end of the hallway. They were approaching the cell. Cindo knew that as soon as they noticed that the cell was empty they would raise the alarm and it would be all over. He had to act quickly.
He jumped around the corner. The droids immediately reacted by putting their guns up and aiming them at him. They were going to start shooting instantly but the man raised his hand commanding them not to. "What do we have here? A visitor perhaps?" The pale man with a furrowed face said. His orange eyes emotionlessly peered into Cindo's mask. "Not very talkative are you?" the man said disappointedly. Cindo kept on standing there silently. "Well, it seems like we're done here. Guards, kill this man if you will," he said gesturing at Cindo.
The droids began shooting wildly at him, but the bolts stopped midair. "Oh… A Jedi. How fun," the man exclaimed followed by hysterical laughter. Cindo used the Force to propel the blaster bolts back at the three of them. The man managed to pull out his red lightsaber and block a few of them, but the droids weren't so lucky. "Now this will be fun!" he yelled while twisting and tilting his head in random directions while also continuing on laughing. Cindo ignited his two lightsabers and waited for him to attack. "S-such beautiful colours. I'll add them to my wall," he said before running at Cindo. He blocked the man's initial flurry of attacks with ease. His fighting style was fast and erratic. Trying to get in as many swings as he could he kept on moving closer and closer to Cindo who upon seeing that the man got too close sidestepped to the left and pushed him forward making him stumble across Cindo's legs and fall to the floor.
The man jumped up on his feet almost instantly and lunged at him again with another flurry of fast attacks. The man attempted to shock him with lighting but Cindo absorbed it with his blue saber. He pushed the man away with the Force and fell a few steps back. Cindo put joined the two of his lightsabers into one. The man ran at him again, but this time he found himself suspended in the air with invisible hands gripping his neck. Cindo began slowly approaching him with his left arm extended and clenched and his right carrying the ignited saber. Before Cindo could strike down the deluded man, he used the Force to throw the droid bodies that were behind Cindo at him, knocking him down to the floor and freeing himself from the force choke.
He massaged his neck to relieve some of the pain. "You thought you could beat me?" he said before once again laughing. He jabbed his lightsaber at Cindo who was lying on the ground motionlessly. Before the saber could reach Cindo he sprung to life and rolled to the left, the lightsaber missing him by mere millimeters. He ignited one blade and cut the man's hand off. He began screaming and stumbling around the corridor gripping the cut off arm with his other arm. Cindo got up and used the Force to slam the man into the ceiling and down into the floor. The man began pulling himself away from Cindo trying to somehow escape from the situation. "It's not yet time, it's not yet time," he began repeating as he dragged himself down the hallway Cindo following him. Cindo attempted to impale the man, but he noticed something flying towards him from behind. He ducked and a second after heard a lightsaber ignite. He looked up and saw the Twi'lek stick the man's own lightsaber into his back, extinguishing the lightsaber and sitting back down right after, blood still slowly dripping from some of her wounds.
Cindo heard the clanking of droids approaching them. As soon as the two droids turned the corner they were cut in half by Cindo. He then kneeled down beside her. "You alright?" he asked her and she looked up at him emotionlessly. "I'll be fine," she answered. "Why did you save me?" Cindo didn't even know the complete answer himself, but he knew something was different about her. "I haven't met many Sith, but from those I've met, I could only sense anger and hatred. You weren't so different until you began crying and when I found you here. I only sensed regret and sadness then and I can feel that now as well. There's still hope for you," Cindo told her. "I will not become a Jedi," she told him clenching her stomach are with one hand. "Not a Jedi. Something else. I'll explain everything when we get you out of here," Cindo told her looking around to see and hear if anybody was close.
"We?" she asked her face contorted in pain. "Doesn't matter. We need to catch up. Can you walk?" he asked her. "I think I can," she said. Cindo helped her get up and put her beside the wall, so she could lean on it. "I'll just quickly put all of the dead droids and this guy into the cell and we'll be on the move."
The Twi'lek and Cindo didn't speak a word on the way. Cindo resorted to using hand gestures as to not alert any droids. His wrist comm started beeping again. "What's the situation?" Cindo asked. "Cindo we have the rest of the captives and are making our way to the landing platform. How close are you?" Obi-Wan asked. "I'm close. I'll wait for you at the exit," Cindo said ending the transmission.
A few minutes later Cindo, HK, R2D2 and his droids and the Twi'lek were waiting at the exit to the landing platform, planning their escape. They were going to a simple prisoner transfer. The rest of the group arrived with the rescued captives and they began making their move. They hid all the weapons in backpacks and gave them to the droids. They all walked out in a column with their hands behind their backs, except for the droids and Cindo who were walking beside them acting as guards. A droid approached them. "Stop right there! What are you doing with these prisoners?" the droid asked. "You dare talk to me like that droid!" Cindo yelled back, pointing a finger at it. "Oh, you must be Commander Crix. I'm very sorry sir. But I still have to know what's going on," the droid said carefully. "Prisoner transfer," Cindo said simply. "Sir, there is no scheduled prisoner transfer…" The droid was cut off by Cindo. "If you have a problem with this talk to Count Dooku about it. He's the one that ordered them transferred," Cindo said. "I didn't know sir. Do you need help with loading the prisoners?" the droid said. "No, thank you. You may return to your duties," Cindo said tapping it on its head and walking away.