Hey y'all, sorry for disappearing... again. It's been a weird, weird year of university, so weird I even took summer classes for the first time. Got my wisdom teeth removed, had relatives over constantly after restrictions began to get lifted, tried to get laser eye surgery to no avail... I could go on, but you get the point.
Anyhow, the important thing is that I'm back now and with the next 5 chapters mostly written, so you can expect some consistency in the weeks ahead. Weekly/biweekly updates for the time being.
Also a disclaimer that I spent some time looking over and rewriting some stuff in previous chapters, but nothing that changes the overall premise of the story. Enjoy reading :D
Recon was a slow, studious process, Ahsoka doing her best not to stand out amidst the practiced movements of her Mandalorian company. For the most part, she lingered around the back of the group, her heightened senses giving her the advantage there. Though given the circumstances, her presence hardly seemed necessary.
Bo-Katan and Ursa Wren had considered it her trial by fire at the time, but Oba Diah—or at least the parts of it they were sleuthing around—felt almost barren, hardly a creature in sight beyond the main city. Bo raised a fist just as they approached a vantage point near the outskirts of said city, presumably scanning the surrounding area for hostiles.
"Well, what do you see?" Ahsoka inquired.
"Everything in the city appears to be normal, at least on the outside," Bo declared. "We know from our intel Maul and his followers passed through, the question is how many of them, if any, remain."
"The Gauntlets we saw on the way weren't enough for you?" Ahsoka half joked, half deadpanned.
An annoyed look was thrown her way in return. "We still don't know for sure."
"Not unless we check for ourselves. You already knew Maul would try to strike a deal with the Pykes, they should be preoccupied."
"And if Maul is here, what are you gonna do, take him out along with his best squad of commandos?"
"Of course not. But if we leave now, all we've done is confirm what we knew already. Maybe instead, we could find out his plans for a change, stay one step ahead."
"If you get caught, we all get put in jeopardy, Ahsoka. We can't rush into the battle when it hasn't even begun."
"Actually, the Jedi may have a point," Ursa chimed in. "Judging from the quarry, it would only be a shadow force accompanying Maul at best, if he's even here."
Ahsoka took the opportunity to further sweeten the idea. "The Pykes database could have a lot of valuable information."
The Mandalorian sighed but relented all the same. "I don't like the idea of you going it alone, but the three of us together would draw too much attention. Comms on at all times, we'll be your eyes. Do not draw attention to yourself. Understand?"
Ahsoka nodded, more than happy to oblige.
Anakin returned to Coruscant nearly a day after his encounter with Dooku, feeling slightly better about that ordeal. Master Windu had been surprisingly understanding considering the circumstances, even offering to complete both their mission reports on his own, but he certainly wasn't going to complain about it.
When the ramp dismounted, Anakin had planned to covertly sneak off to Padmé's place, only to find Kix waiting for him expectantly, a sadness to the medic's eyes.
Unsure how to proceed, Rex instead offered greetings in his place, the way only a Clone in arms could.
"Kix," he spoke softly, deliberate in his inquiry, "what is it? What happened here?"
"Some—something went wrong. On a campaign while you were away," Kix spoke fast, clearly having not processed the situation fully. "Tup killed one of the generals, I—I don't know why, but…"
"Was it friendly fire?" Anakin speculated, skeptical but asking all the same to confirm.
"No, I can't explain it, I… Fives went with him to Kamino for a medical exam, but I haven't heard back from either of them in days."
Anakin gave what he hoped to be a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. "I'm sure they'll be okay. Though until we know more about the situation, we can't—"
"General Skywalker?" one of the Coruscant guard came rushing towards them.
Anakin folded his arms in annoyance. "That would be me, yes."
"We recently received some correspondence, a tip of some kind. Says it pertains to the case of former Commander Tano and the bombing of the Temple."
His mood quickly shifted from exasperated to intrigued. "And?"
"They didn't offer specifics. If you want to know more, we'll have to go back to the military base to discuss things."
Anakin looked between the blue and red paint of the Clones, torn by the decision to be made. Finally, concern for his Padawan won out. "Let me know as soon as you get an update, I'll be back soon," he told Kix.
To Rex, he gave the simple instruction of staying with Kix, the medic clearly in need of it.
He then followed the other Clone's lead before he could change his mind, hoping he made the right choice.
Much like the rest of the city, the Pykes primary facility was fairly nondescript on a surface level, but inside was a labyrinth of hallways and rooms Ahsoka could only guess was being used for who knew what. She moved purely off instinct, doing her best not to stay covert.
After giving a few trivial status updates to Bo-Katan and Ursa, Ahsoka paused as she heard voices in the room adjacent to her. Relaying the situation over to the two Mandalorians once more, she was relieved when her suggestion to have only one way communication for her comms received unanimous agreement.
Gently prying open the door with the Force, she did a cursory sweep of the area, a work facility used by the Pykes to process spice by the looks of things. Two things caught her eye then.
One, the slightly ajar door at the other end of the room, housing what appeared to be a control console. Valuable information to be had.
Two, a sliver of red and black on the ground below, the deterrent that made her hesitate. Maul.
The Dathomirian was engaged in a conversation with a couple of Pykes, Ahsoka internally breathing a sigh of relief upon realizing his appearance was merely a hologram. Even then, the Mandalorian commandos that were actually present in the flesh garnered a formidable intimidation factor on their own, no doubt the Pykes felt their presence.
Ahsoka pushed on nonetheless, hoping to at least catch snippets of conversation as she passed by.
"Curious," Maul's tone was almost anecdotical. "The hospitality of your kind on Zanbar had me under the impression you'd welcome this alliance."
"What you are asking of us is not plausible," one of the Pykes, his voice almost mechanical, jeered in response. "The alliance is one thing, but our production rates would have to be doubled to meet the quotas you demand. We cannot afford scrutiny from the Republic."
"The Republic will be of no concern in due time," the Sith proclaimed, an unnerving conviction to his statement. "The quotas can be amended. Aligning our interests is the primary concern."
"Perhaps your primary concern should be securing Mandalore," the Pyke responded, not so subtly side eyeing the Mandalorians present. "We've heard the rumors of unrest; it sounds like only a matter of time before the populace rebels."
"Meager pockets of resistance at best," Maul waved off dismissively. "Our forces have been following trails for weeks. It will only be a matter of time. Traitors will be made into an example, including you if I do not receive your cooperation soon."
Ahsoka's eyes widened at that as she slipped through the door to the control room. Kalevala was a prominent planet in the Mandalore system, it was inevitable they'd be found. How much time they had before then was the question.
She put it out of her mind for the time being, jamming a datacard into the control console to download as much info as she could. Cross referencing a layout of the facility with what she already knew, Ahsoka began to formulate an escape plan. One montral she kept near the door in case Maul or one of the Pykes said anything else of significance.
Though she couldn't see them, the Pykes radiated some fear of their own through the Force, clearly not expecting the threat from Maul. "But—"
"I already have the support of Lom Pyke. Replacing the three of you would hardly be of inconvenience."
"As for the Jedi, those aligned with the Republic will not interfere with our affairs," Maul continued, his next words bringing a shiver down Ahsoka's spine. "But they may be closer than you think."
Ahsoka cycled through the camera feeds present to confirm her suspicions. Sure enough, Maul and his commandos were looking past the Pykes now, their attention now on the slightly ajar door connecting to the platform above.
She snatched the datacard from the control console and ran, knowing she had a ten second head start max. Heading out the door in the opposite direction, she jammed her lightsaber into the control panel, hoping to buy a little time.
"Bo, Ursa, I need a pickup, south side of the city," Ahsoka relayed as she reenabled her comms.
"I figured as much from all the running you were doing," came the Mandolorian's dry response.
"We heard everything," Ursa affirmed as Ahsoka ran through another processing area. "Are you sure you can make it?"
"Positive. My cover may be blown, but Maul doesn't know you're here and I'd like to keep it that way," Ahsoka asserted, just as she found an exit to the outside.
Blaster fire rang out from behind her right as she forcibly slammed the door shut. From there, it was a matter of aerodynamics, Ahsoka leaping from one platform to the next.
After repeating this process several times, she took a moment to let out a deep exhale and ponder the turn of events. Had Maul actually been there…
She really hoped the information on that datacard was worth it.
Anakin felt an eerie sense of familiarity being back in the prison facility, the place where everything had gone to krififing hell. Even more so given the situation at hand. Ahsoka's departure was still a raw wound for him weeks later, so much so that a part of him hoped it would rectify itself in due time rather than him having confront it head on.
As such, when faced with the possibility of learning more about the bombing and whatever role she had in it, he questioned it, a defense mechanism against the surging hope in his heart. "If someone had further intel, why wait until now to come forward?"
The lead Clone—thankfully not Fox—explained that given the unknown variables coupled with the whirlwind of events, more evidence was certain to come in the following days. Even so, there was still a general sentiment to exercise caution considering the circumstances.
"Like we said, the correspondence we received was anonymous, completely untraceable," the Clone continued, before handing over said correspondence. "They requested you come alone if you want to know more."
Suddenly, a part of Anakin yearned for the confines of the Temple so he could simply log his mission report instead with Master Windu.
Too bad his proactive mindset won out.
"If the case really has hit a dead end until now, this is worth looking into," he declared, barely suppressing a sigh. "I'll play their game and meet at the rendezvous point they requested."
"That location doesn't offer much in terms of vantage points, General."
"That's probably why they chose it, trooper." Sensing the discomfort surrounding his proposal gave Anakin a renewed appreciation towards the 501st. They always backed up his hackneyed plans, no matter how ridiculous or risky.
He settled for a compromise in the end: A squad would flank him as best they could while avoiding detection, not to engage unless absolutely necessary. While the security was reassuring, Anakin felt a sense of unease bringing these Clones into the fray, a wild card he couldn't fully account for. All it took was one trigger happy trooper and they'd blow a chance that had one time offer written all over it.
And he'd hate to be on the receiving end of that scenario.
So far, the few days he had spent being "in charge" hadn't amounted to much for Obi-Wan. Most of the time he spent monitoring the HoloNet for news and checking inventory.
Not that he expected the role to be of much importance anyhow; he welcomed it in fact. Outside of meetings, Bo-Katan generally let her soldiers do whatever they pleased in the days leading up to the siege. Sure they had training sessions, but from the few times Obi-Wan dropped by, he could tell most were just going through the motions.
Of course, there was also the fact that he just didn't belong. Up until a few weeks ago, most of the people currently roaming around the base were terrorists, and it wouldn't surprise him one bit to see some of them return to that lifestyle in the aftermath.
As such, it was a tenuous alliance at best while they had a common enemy and goal to work towards, especially now that the pirates were on board. Though if he was being honest, Hondo seemed much more hospitable amidst their current company. The parts of his crew that did make the trip to Kalevala mainly kept to themselves, sleeping in their ships and coming out primarily for target practice and supplies.
He and Satine kept an eye on them like everyone else though, partly out of obligation, partly to stave off boredom. Late night games of dejarik could only go so far, even with the occasional pirate placing wagers. Otherwise, the two of them had become recluses of sorts on base, Satine especially. The irony of being aided by the people who had once conspired to overthrow her was certainly not lost on her.
Extra security measures were implemented at her behest, given the wide array of misfits that was their army. Random, more thorough background checks, refurbishing a scanner to check for incoming ships, and keeping a log of daily events. Unnecessary perhaps, but at least Bo-Katan couldn't fault them for not putting in effort in her absence.
Things were looking up until an alert buzzed from the holotable. He and Satine had been rotating duties for most of the day, always ensuring one of them was in proximity to the table. Satine had already reviewed the alert by the time he came in, her lips pursed in thought.
"We've got an unauthorized long range transmission," she announced.
"Shouldn't be long until the frequency gets traced," he said rather matter of factly, unsure what else to say in the moment.
"It's coming from outside."
"That doesn't make sense." Obi-Wan's brow furrowed in confusion. "I accounted for the Mandalorians, they're all inside with just the main exit over there. We also confiscated the pirates' communicators right away, every last one of them."
"Wouldn't be difficult to swipe one," Satine pointed out. "I suppose there's only one way to find out."
Obi-Wan nodded, accepting her formal invitation. It wasn't long before they discovered the origin of the frequency, a faint, incessant beeping coming from one of the pirates' ships. However, his instincts shouted at him right away; something was wrong.
"A tracking beacon," Satine voiced the conclusion they both came to.
Before she could move forward to investigate, Obi-Wan held her back with a firm hand, making sure his tone left no room for argument. "Satine, wait."
She looked back to him, quizzical yet understanding of his behavior as he further elaborated. "I have a bad feeling about this. Stay back."
After she had complied, mimicking his movements every step of the way, Obi-Wan tossed a medium sized rock into the ship, the reaction almost instantaneous. Seconds later, with only debris and smoke in place of where the ship had stood, his suspicions were confirmed.
"Not just a tracking beacon."
Satine's gaze hardened at the sight. "You said all the Mandalorians were inside, correct?"
"Yes, though I assume not for long now," Obi-Wan said, gesturing towards the wreckage.
"That's good enough. No one leaves the premises, not until we find who's responsible."
Her fire was contagious, enough to prompt Obi-Wan into igniting his lightsaber for the confrontation ahead of them. "Agreed. Shall we?"
A grim nod was the only response she gave in turn.
END OF PART III
Wookiepedia is a lifesaver, shoutout to the people who keep that lifeline updated. Forgetting the Pykes already had an established relationship with Maul at this point in canon until I was halfway through writing definitely screwed things up a bit for me. Writing out Lom Pyke to be off world was the best I could do lol.
Thanks for 90 favorites, I'll do my best to make your support worthwhile! Always a pleasure to read comments and such. :)
Until next time,
-BasketballIsFun