here's chapter three my dudes. -Cloaked Writer
"Excuse me, but are you General Shard?" Anakin asked. He heard slight movement beside him, and realized Captain Rex was standing as ridged as ever.
He heard the Clone snicker lightly through the vocalizer.
"I know, a bit shocking to see someone not wearing robes at the helm. Yes, I am the leader of the 300th Clone Attack Battalion. Welcome to the second test of our new weapon," He gestured to the space beside him to his right at the end of the cat-walk. Rex stepped forward first, and Anakin swore he saw a spring in his step, and honestly he didn't blame him. This General Shard was the closest thing the Clones had to an idol, if not a superstar. Anakin took his place on the far right.
"So, what is this new weapon your Commander mentioned?" Anakin asked Shard.
"We call it the Sovereign class Infection Array," Shard said, activating a handheld hologram to reveal a modified laser turret. It was a large cylinder, with support pipes in order to aim it up and down. At the end of the cylinder was a medium sized satellite dish.
"Looks good, what does it do?" Anakin asked, crossing his arms and looking out towards the Separatist Blockade over Ryloth. He was eager to begin the battle.
"It transmits a highly potent computer virus Captain Clicker made on Korasa when he got bored. It is a dormant virus at first, and allows us to monitor all systems of the target.
He folded his hands across his chest and straightened his back.
"Sovereign I, Fragment, target the rightmost Munificent freighter, monitor all systems and alter their scopes. Sovereign II, Fragment, target the Command Ship Battle-Sphere. If they are commanding droids on the ground cause them some problems, be creative. Fleet, ready weapons and have all fighter crews standing by, and have Sovereigns on standby."
Anakin stepped forward and peered out upon the Star Destroyer. The new weapons were placed in the slanted portion of the raised bridge, where they slowly moved to fire at their targets. They fired a small beam which lasted only a split second, which looked surprisingly similar to a blast from a Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery Turbolaser.
It passed through their shields with seemingly no effect. No grand explosion, no nothing.
"So, you use this weapon to monitor them..? How does this help turn the tide of the battle?" Anakin asked, crestfallen that there was no grand explosion. General Shard turned to him slowly and menacingly. Anakin had to admit, the visage of a gleaming dark helmet staring at him gave him the impression of looking at a decayed skull covered with death.
"For a start, this virus allows us to tap into their communications and databanks, allowing us to predict all of their moves before they make them. Further more, we can control or confuse some of their key systems. Doors, hangers, shields, placing false targets on their targeting scopes, the self destruct sequence, even the turrets and deactivated droids," he said, but his voice showed no sense of anger or disappointment with Anakin.
"Why would activating the dormant droids be useful?" Rex said, cocking his head to the side ever so slightly.
"The virus downloads software into their cheap droid brains, and make them republic spies. An army of troops appearing on the ships. That includes all security droid forces, usually Super Battle Droids, Commando Squadrons, Vulture Variants, and Droidekas. All the most deadly troops of the ship under our control. We take the bridge, and we have a new republic ship repurposed from the Separatist fleet. It would likely be a great symbol of hope for those under the heel of the Separatists, and strengthen the republic numbers." Shard said proudly.
"Clicker masterminded this entire weapon,"
"How soon can these be mass-produced?" Anakin asked. While it wasn't in his taste of blow-it-up-and-watch-from-an-escape-pod, he understood its potential to turn the tide of the war.
"Sadly, never. A single cannon costs the same as an entire Star Destroyer. A good investment, of course, but very expensive. We were fortunate enough to have some wealthy patrons as we worked on the projects, and outfitted these five ships with them, however it would be very difficult to outfit them to other ships without the cannon." Shard said, his voice sounding as sad as Anakin was feeling.
"The cannons can be outfitted onto ships however, and fire the regular Heavy Artillery Turbolaser electric pulse. But the battle should go underway," he said, with an air of wrapping up the conversation and beginning the battle. He pressed a button and a hologram of Admiral Yularen materialized before them.
"Admeral, we are ready when you are," Anakin said with a confident smile.
"Right, sir. Launch fighters!" He called over his shoulder, and Anakin saw the hanger bay doors open and a swarm of V-19 Torrent Starfighters poured into space, head by a small crimson Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor, piloted by Anakin's Padawan Learner.
The Battle proceeded swimmingly. The screams of fighters mixed with the drone of Vulture Droids. And it was then that they sprung their trap.
Four Separatist Frigates exited hyperspace, surrounding Anakin's ships, decimating them.
"Ahsoka, get your squadron back here immediately!" Yularen said, sparking an argument with Anakin's Padawan Learner.
General Shard turned on his heel, removing his helmet and bellowing orders to the crew, and Anakin caught his first glimpse of his face. It was similar in structure to a regular Fett Clone, however with several grievous differences. His right eye appeared damaged, and repaired with cheap cybernetics, with a patch of what appeared to be a BX Commando Droid face plate and photo receptor eye repairing the wound. His skin was of a lighter tone, suggesting he wore his helmet for a majority of his time. The most drastic difference that separated him from his brothers was the deep gash across his left cheek. A deep slash had removed a quarter of an inch of skin in a vicious scar, explaining why he usually spoke slowly and deliberately, in order to assure he was pronouncing everything correctly. And so other beings could be sure he was speaking basic and not some insulting word in ShyriiWook or Si Bisti.
"Sovereigns! I want those frigates either under our control or destroyed. Sovereign I, Signal the sleeping Separatist prize ship to turn coat and attack. Focus batteries on starfighters, transmit their readings to our gunners. Fire the main central blaster at the battle sphere. Sovereign II, relinquish the sphere from your control and fire upon the sphere's second escort. I want any remaining vulture droids in the hangers in the air, make sure they are tuned to our frequency in order to avoid them being shot by our fighters if you have the time, if not then belay that," General Shard shouted, before taking a deep breath and pressing a button on his comlink and shouting, his voice cascading through the ship like hell-fire.
"Launch all our fighters!"
Anakin watched in amazement as the previously hostile separatist ships suddenly changed course, turning their weapons on their comrades. A web of Sovereign fire crisscrossed the battle, some hitting, some missing. He could only watch as a vulture droid spiraled into the bridge of his new flagship. The Hologram of Yularen yelled, then flickered out. Anakin watched as Ahsoka entered the disabled Star Destroyer, as one of Anakin's ships was destroyed. A horde of muted V-19 Torrent Starfighters poured from the fleets and began a clean up operation, destroying the remaining ships.
"I need to return to my ship and see if my Admiral is all right, and I need to speak to Ahsoka," Anakin said swiftly.
"Certainly, Master Skywalker. Would you like your Captain to accompany you? or would you rather he remain here?" General Shard asked, gesturing to Rex, his single eyebrow raised. Anakin gave a small smile.
"If you don't mind, I am sure he would enjoy learning about your new weapon and virus?" Anakin replied, sensing the bliss emitting from Captain Rex. It was enough excitement to rival a Trandoshan sighting a Bantha for the first time.
Three Separatist Munificent-class freighters had been successfully taken by the virus. The new droid crews had underwent very light casualties, and moved to join General Shard's fleet, V-19 Torrent Starfighters docking in the new hangers.
A fleet of five Venator-class Star Destroyers emerged from hyperspace to the smoldering ruins of Anakin's fleet, as well as the husks of the Separatist forces.
"General Shard, are you there?" Obi-Wan's voice echoed through the bridge's speakers.
Shard strode forward, putting his helmet back on his head, and pressed a small button on a control panel at the bow of the bridge.
"Yes General Kenobi. There should be no more aerial issues on your descent. You are cleared for ground assault."
"And, should I bother asking where Anakin's other ship is, why there are three separatist freighters with your fleet, or why he is in a transport heading from your flagship to his own?"
"It's a long story," Shard said, with a hint of exasperation, but with a definite flavor of humor underlying his voice.
"I see," Mace Windu's voice said, bemusedly.
"I trust you can handle the ground assault on your own?" General Shard asked, changing topic. He was relatively new, despite his reputation with his Clones, and did not want to aggravate his peers, especially not High General Windu.
"I believe so, but it would be most helpful to have a squad or two of your fighters to add a bit of muscle to the campaign," Obi-Wan said pensively.
"I will see to it personally, Master Kenobi. Happy Landing." Shard said, before lifting his finger and cutting the transmission.
woo thats the end of the Storm Over Ryloth re-make. I will continue with this entire ark, and if any of you have suggestions on which arc to do next, I will definitely write all I can up until Order 66. Until then, Cloaked Writer out.