Well, when I said updates might get more infrequent, I certainly did not have this in mind. Unfortunately, university's been kicking my ass from all angles, to put it bluntly, but midterm season finally ended today, so that means more time to write out the outline for this story I had mapped out two months ago.
Anyway, hope y'all enjoy this one, next chapter ought to be out by next Monday or Tuesday. My hope is to grind out as many chapters as possible before finals, should be a blast. :D
"… I'm just saying we could all benefit from a more exact timeline."
Obi-Wan grimaced inwardly in response to Hondo's latest comments. Around him, he could sense the prying eyes and disapproving looks from the Mandalorians who were gathered at the briefing. Not even five minutes in, and already there seemed to be a palpable disconnect between the two factions.
However, if he was being honest, this was about how he expected this first meeting to go over. Hondo's tact—or lack thereof in this case—accompanied by his brash eccentricity tended to rub people the wrong way, a reflection of his group.
"Hondo, please. We've discussed this already," he chided, intervening before someone else lit into the Weequay out of frustration. "The logistics behind the attack are still being worked out."
"For now, the plan is to have your crew be Kenobi's strike force once our initial siege has begun," Bo-Katan informed then, sounding oddly aloof about the situation. Of everyone in the room, Obi-Wan was sure she would have the least amount of tolerance for Hondo's antics.
"And what are the responsibilities of this strike force?" Hondo inquired oh so casually.
Bo-Katan shot Obi-Wan a fleeting look as if to say He's your problem. Evidently, she already believed he would be the one to keep the pirates in check. Normally, he would argue such a sentiment, but amidst his current company, he couldn't say she was wrong.
"Once Bo-Katan's forces confirm Maul's location, we'll have to slip into the system. In theory, with the chaos of battle and proper cloaking equipment, we should get by undetected. Stealth will be key. I trust you and your crew can manage that?"
It was a rhetorical question more than anything, as they'd sooner see banthas fly before Hondo admitted to a shortcoming of any kind. Sure enough, he and a few crewmates voiced their confirmation moments later.
"Good. Once we're there, taking the two of them down will be a Jedi matter," Obi-Wan snuck a glance at Ahsoka then, who for the first time actually seemed interested in the discussion at hand.
"A director encounter with the horned men?" Hondo's voice was mixed with surprise and what almost sounded like admiration. "That is bold of you, Kenobi."
"Well, I suppose that's the job, isn't it?" he replied wearily, the pirate apparently having worn him down more than he had anticipated.
"Speaking of which, about our reimbursement…" the pirate began.
Satine was the one to step in this time. "You'll get your credits once you've all been cleared by Mandalorian command. Isn't that right, Bo?"
"I… yes. I think we've discussed enough in terms of battle tactics for now. After we personally deem you all trustworthy," she waved her hand in their general direction, "you'll be paid your commission."
"You will receive no argument from me, my lady," Hondo said quaintly in an attempt at diplomacy. "Just show us the way and we will go."
Bo-Katan did just that, and sure enough, Hondo's crew dispersed like a krayt dragon hunting its prey. Obi-Wan let out a sigh of relief as the room cleared, though judging from the frown on Bo-Katan's face, he wasn't quite out of the woods just yet.
Anakin was surprised and somewhat unsettled by how quickly things had happened. When he had arrived at the temple for Master Windu's rendezvous, half the 501st and 212th had been mobilized alongside Windu's 187th legion. Before long, he found himself whisked away on another Venator and in hyperspace, the plan of attack being laid out.
"Though uninhabited, Agamar does have a significant Separatist presence on world," Windu began. "The tactical droid, General Kalani, has been one of the more elusive ones. No doubt Count Dooku will utilize his data on Republic attacks to coordinate their defenses as needed."
Rex picked up on the name immediately. "Kalani, he was the same clanker in charge of the invasion on Onderon."
"Indeed. Intel confirms that the Separatist ship in the system is merely for supplies, but still fully operational. Once we exit hyperspace, we'll have to cut off any hyperlanes leading out of the system. A boarding party will be prepared accordingly."
"How can we be sure Dooku's even still there?" Anakin questioned.
"Based on previous scans and intel of the system, the ship has not attempted to flee. A shuttle seemed to have recently docked aboard, we presume that was Dooku's doing."
"Alright, all battalions, prepare to engage enemy fighters once we arrive. Master Windu and I will take a squad or two to pursue Count Dooku aboard the ship. Be quick, the element of surprise is our advantage."
A collective "Sir, yes, sir" ended the briefing then, limited as it was. Though in fairness, they could discuss battle tactics all they wanted, but when it came to the real thing, instincts were what counted, strategy be kriffing damned at times. It was like Rex had said: Experience outweighs everything.
As they made their way to the transports for deployment, Windu approached Anakin with an almost curious tone to his voice.
"You seem… apprehensive, Skywalker," he noted.
So, he had noticed. "I've never been to trust intel from an unknown source, Master Windu," Anakin replied only half-jokingly. "Where did this information come from?"
"One of our informants intercepted a high priority message being relayed to Count Dooku," he explained. "It appears he and General Kalani scheduled a meeting prior, only the Count never showed up."
"Until now," Anakin filled in the blanks, frowning slightly at the thought. "Who was this informant?"
"The transmission we were given was completely untraceable. However, an analysis of Separatist hyperspace routes all but confirmed the intel, and the Chancellor approved the mission from there. Does that answer your questions?" Windu's tone had a sense of finality to it, and Anakin knew better than to press further. Clearly, he seemed to be just as in the dark as he was.
"Yes, thank you," he replied plainly. Not a lie by any means, he had after all received sufficient explanation for the things he had asked about.
It was just that they weren't the answers he wanted to hear.
"May the Force be with you."
Anakin felt his reply couldn't have been stilted if he had tried.
"For a group of mercenaries, I didn't expect them to be so…" Bo-Katan trailed off, the disappointment in her voice less palpable than expected.
"Extravagant?" Obi-Wan filled in before shrugging. "You get used to it eventually."
"I sure hope they're better with blasters than they are at following protocol," she said with a shake of her head. "We don't have the time or resources to train them in any significant capacity."
"They can handle themselves. For what it's worth, I can tell you they have experience where it counts. An operation like this ought to be familiar territory for them," he assured.
Bo-Katan muttered a small curse in Mando'a under her breath before sighing. "Well, we're short on options anyway. As long as they do the job when it matters."
"I'm not a fan of Hondo and his 'friends' either," Ahsoka chimed in. "But if there's money on the line, they'll find a way to pull through."
"Well, they're a security risk either way. Which is why I've told the interrogation group to confiscate their comms once they've been cleared," she revealed.
"Taking precaution, Bo? How thoughtful of you," Satine teased. Perhaps they were more alike than they were willing to admit.
As expected, she shrugged off the compliment. "It's the practical thing to do, sister. Maul and the Republic would pay handsomely for our bounties. And until we're sure we can trust Kenobi's friends," a brief pointed look came in his direction then, "this is how things are gonna be."
"If that's the case, are we scrubbing the recon mission then?" Ahsoka inquired.
"Recon?" Obi-Wan repeated, wondering what he had missed in the interim.
Bo-Katan blinked in confusion before something about the statement clicked. "Oh, that. Your padawan and I—" she began.
"She's not my padawan," Obi-Wan corrected.
Ahsoka smiled briefly at the thought, while the Mando didn't miss a beat from his interruption. "Could've fooled me. Anyhow, we were looking to gain intel about Maul's crime syndicate. I know where Black Sun's been established, but in case he's expanded… better to have one of you force wielders in the picture."
"How long is this mission supposed to last?" Satine questioned.
"It's a routine operation, probably just a couple days or so. We'll be back once we have the information we need."
"And you're on board with this?"
"It's better than me just moping around here waiting for the attack. I'll be fine," she replied, waving off his concerns. "Besides, you know how many Clones I had to fend off before you rescued me?"
Though phrased as a joke, Obi-Wan registered a sense of sadness lingering in her words. Though on that matter, he didn't want to press her. While he had liberated her from what was likely a lifetime of imprisonment and felt responsible for her wellbeing, what she did now was up to her. After all, it was like he said: she wasn't his padawan and likewise, he wasn't her master.
In the end, Obi-Wan merely nodded and gave a few words of encouragement, signifying his approval.
"Great, we leave tomorrow then. I trust you two can keep an eye on this place?" Bo-Katan questioned, her request a formality more than anything.
"Of course," Satine said assuredly, before surprising her sister—and Obi-Wan and Ahsoka alike—with a hug. After a few pregnant moments of delay, she returned the gesture.
After a moment Satine drew back, a smile on her face. "Stay safe, Bo."
"Well, I've made this far after all these years, I don't plan on dying anytime soon."
"I'd hope not," Obi-Wan replied, a bit disconcerted with the easygoing tone to her voice. "Make sure you two watch each other's six out there."
"We will. If you need anything, contact us with the holotable. I've encrypted it an access code: 020812. In the meantime," Bo-Katan gestured at the door the pirates exited minutes ago, "I'll keep an eye on your new recruits."
Good luck with that, Obi-Wan thought, barely stifling a smirk as she left the room. Though from Ahsoka and Satine's body language, he could tell they echoed the sentiment, even as it remained unspoken.
The initial attack went about as well as it could've. Oddly enough, the Separatist ship was still in atmosphere upon arrival, with minimal air defenses to oppose their advance. Getting onto the ship was almost a little too easy and both Jedi knew it.
"I take it there were no complications on your end," Master Windu commented, as he and Anakin moved to converge on the ship's command center.
"Not yet," Anakin eventually replied, caught off guard by how Obi-Wan esque Windu's quip was. Perhaps his master rubbed off on the Council more than he had realized. "I have a feeling this is only the beginning."
As if on cue, a wave of droidekas entered the fray once they neared the ship's interior, slowing their advance. The Clones spread out in response, returning an equally impressive wave of fire while Windu and Anakin blocked the oncoming barrage as much as they could manage.
Every now and then, they would briefly take cover behind supply crates to force push the destroyers off balance. Though that was short-lived once a scan confirmed the crates were loaded with proton bombs.
"Maybe we can use that against them," Rex said thoughtfully. Anakin could tell even with their helmets the Clones all had smiles on their faces.
Before long, they managed to clear a path once they managed to ignite the explosives behind enemy lines.
"Come on!" Anakin urged, relishing in the rush of adrenaline from battle. And for a moment, he forgot all about Obi-Wan and Ahsoka and everything else that seemed to go awry for him lately.
But then the ray shields dropped, bringing him back to reality. Several of them, enough to cut Anakin off from most of their forces. He chanced a glance back, only to be met by a fierce look from Windu, who was trying in vain to pierce the barrier with his lightsaber.
"Dooku is still on board! Find him!" he stressed, before adding somewhat belatedly, "We'll be fine."
There was no time for a retort as Anakin found himself repelling blaster fire once more, the remaining Clones led by Rex firing from the rear. The only real issue was the droidekas, especially now that they had little to no cover left.
"Go!" Rex said as one of his grenades wiped out the last batch of regular battle droids, at least for the time being. "We'll cover you."
Anakin simply nodded in agreement before beginning a dash towards the heart of the ship, nimbly dodging blaster fire along the way. It didn't occur to him until it was too late that he probably should have waited for reinforcements.
The telltale boom of an explosive rattled his ears, caving in the tunnel's access point entirely then. Clearly, Dooku didn't care for the integrity of the ship if it meant getting Anakin on his own. Still, if the bomb had gone off a few moments earlier… he shuddered briefly before further pondering the situation.
Dooku was toying with them, there was no denying that. The sudden intel on his location after he had been hiding away in the political spectrum for most of the war, it had to have been a purposeful leak. The only question was why? With the influence he had over so many systems, there was no reason for Dooku to actively seek out a confrontation, even with his skills, which Anakin knew of firsthand.
A string of blaster fire interrupted his thought process, Anakin gritting his teeth as he searched for an opening. A steely resolve washed over him as the room soon became littered with decapitated droids. This was a victory they desperately needed; Anakin had seen the stats after all. Republic casualties were rising by the month, meaning the war effort would soon become unsustainable. It was all on him to complete the mission now; to bring them one step closer to ending it all.
This time, he won't escape.
Dooku shook his head as he watched the battle unfold from the security feeds of the command center. So wasteful, so predictable. It hadn't taken much to lure the Jedi. Skywalker was a given, but Master Windu's presence on the other hand… that certainly sparked his interest.
Their urgency was clear as day, but whether it was due to Kenobi's departure or not remained unclear. The actions of his grandpadawan were an enigma to him, a mystery waiting to be solved. For him to splinter off from the war at this juncture, to leave his unstable padawan for Mandalorian affairs, it simply defied logic. But even so, that didn't mean he wasn't pleased with the results.
Sidious was now free to openly direct the Jedi as they pleased, without scrutiny. Republic casualties would only increase, further accelerating their demise. In time, Skywalker would be ripe pickings, the poster boy of the Republic to be the engineer of its downfall… there was a great deal of pleasure he could take in that.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi, you've always defied my expectations. Perhaps you understood more than I thought you had that day on Geonosis," he murmured.
For now, it was simply a matter of biding their time. Opportunity would soon present itself.
General Kalani's voice interrupted his line of thought then. "Sir, they've taken the main cargo hold. The Jedi have split up and are advancing towards the command center."
"Desperation has driven them to the offensive, as anticipated," Dooku mused. "The ship is lost, have your forces fall back and retreat at once."
"No one's going anywhere."
Dooku smirked at the voice, before turning to face his adversary. "Skywalker," he acknowledged, igniting his crimson blade to parry the blue of his foe. "Impeccable timing as always."
Well, that's that, thanks to all my readers who've stuck around. Comment, review, heck even if you just clicked on the story, user interaction's always cool. :)
Next chapter: Anakin confronts Dooku, hateful words ensue.