Anakin checked his chrono for what seemed like the thousandth time. "What was taking so long?" he wondered. Obi-wan had gone down to the planet below them hours ago to try and negotiate for the use of their dockyard to effect needed repairs to the Enforcer. Anakin was fidgeting and he knew that it was completely unbecoming of his rank as both a Jedi Master and Senior Jedi General. Of course, if this world refused them the use of the dockyard, they were pretty much stranded. The hyperdrive had completely failed during their last jump and it had taken them nearly a week to finally reach this system using nothing but the sublight engines. And even those were showing signs of severe strain from the battle and subsequent use. If they didn't get the ship fixed, and soon, they were completely karked.
The one good thing that had happened so far was that all the shuttles and landing craft they had dispatched to the surface of Caamas had managed to get away safely and meet back up with them. He and Obi-wan had used that opportunity to send Zett and Master Koon back to Tython for Master Che to treat. Zett would probably be fine. While Force Lightning hurt like hell, and could kill you if it was strong enough, the blast that Darth Aella had hit him with wasn't quite strong enough to do that. Though if he wasn't seen by the Jedi Healers as soon as possible it could cause permanent damage. Master Koon on the other hand was far more serious. His breather had failed and the med droids had gotten him hooked up to the correct gas mix only just in time to keep him from suffering brain damage. He had been unconscious since his heroics on the Bridge and had been unable to use the Force Breath technique to sustain himself. Ahsoka had flatly refused to leave. Despite her four broken ribs and concussion. Anakin couldn't help but smile at his old Padawan. Even now she was standing, swaying was more like it, in the Secondary Control Room with him, anxiously waiting for Obi-wan's signal.
Finally, after what felt like an interminable wait, Anakin's comm went off. It was Obi-wan. He was brief and to the point, "We've been approved. Orbital Dock Twenty-eight. I'll see you there."
As the Enforcer slowly eased her way into the dock, Anakin surveyed the men and women around him. They were good people all. And the concern they had shown for their Commanding Officer, Grand Admiral Coburn, was touching. He had been sent to Tython along with Master Koon. "Hopefully Master Yoda or one of the healers would be able to piece his shattered mind back together," Anakin thought. Turning back to the present, he heard Captain Medina give the order to shut down the engines. The Orbital Dock's tractor beams would hold them in place until repairs were finished. Truth be told, if the engines hadn't needed such urgent repair, Anakin would have ordered them to be kept on stand-by. They were above the planet Pammant and in the Pammant Docks. The very same docks that had built the Invisible Hand, General Grievous' flagship. Now, they were about to repair an Imperial Star Destroyer commanded by the two Jedi responsible for the destruction of the Invisible Hand. If anyone ever suggested that Obi-wan wasn't the finest negotiator in the Galaxy after this, Anakin was going to suggest that they get their head examined.
_
On Coruscant, Bail Organa sat in his office in the Senate with his head buried in his hands, tears streaming from his eyes. Master Yoda had sent him holocam footage of the Destruction of Caamas. Some appeared to be shot from a star fighter, while most of the rest had been shot on the ground. You could practically feel the terror those poor beings felt before being immolated in the planet wide firestorm. The Senate, hell, the people needed to see this. Bail was half tempted to march into the Senate Rotunda and put this footage on a continuous playback loop for everyone to see.
Of course, he couldn't actually do that. He would be arrested before he could get out of his pod. And most likely tortured for information on the Jedi. Or worse, they would torture Winter instead. And that, he could never allow. No, what he needed was for the media to get ahold of this and for them to play it. Then he could truthfully say he got it off the holonet. But even as he thought it, he realized that the media would never release this footage. They were under Palpatine's thumb as much if not more than the Senate was. How? How could he get this out to the public? Just then, the holonet display in his office shimmered and buzzed with static. And suddenly, the diminutive form of Master Yoda appeared in front of trillions of viewers galaxy wide.
"Citizens of the Galaxy. I am Yoda. Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, I am. Lied to you about the Jedi, Palpatine has. Betrayed the Republic, we did not. Sought to save the Republic, we did. But ask you to take my word, I do not. Show you, we will the evil of the Empire. Proof we have, that ordered the destruction of Caamas, the Empire did."
As Yoda finished his last sentence, the image shifted to display the battle above Caamas. It was filmed from what had to have been the most expertly piloted star fighter Bail had ever seen. It perfectly captured the fleet of Star Destroyers above the planet and showed them firing down on the planet below. The image broke up a bit as the craft started to spin and gyrate wildly, dodging incoming fire, it's own laser cannons spitting fire back at it's attackers. Meanwhile, Yoda narrated what was being shown.
"This craft, flown by Jedi Master Skywalker it was." In the background, you could hear Anakin's voice calmly discussing something about the fleet they were facing with several other, what Bail assumed to be, Jedi. One sounded like Obi-wan. "Flew into battle against an entire fleet to stop this attack did Master Skywalker. He and over one hundred other Jedi with him. Many were lost. Attacked, they did, so that other Jedi might save as many lives as possible. Every ship we had, we sent. Saved nearly one hundred thousand, we did. But billions killed, there were." The sadness in Yoda's voice was easily discernable to everyone who heard it as he delivered that last sentence.
The image shifted again, this time showing the scene on the surface. It clearly showed the Jedi on the ground, hurriedly loading the terrified Caamasi into shuttles. But more than that, it showed Clone Troopers. All proudly wearing the shoulder flashes for the 501st Battalion. Additionally, each Clone's armor had been modified to include a Republic sigil in red on the opposite shoulder. The Clones were just as busy as the Jedi. Loading the people into shuttles, organizing the evacuation, even rushing into the middle of a Base Delta Zero strike to rescue people that were trapped in the city. He saw a group of children being carried out of the burning city by what looked like a Clone Captain, a Jedi Padawan and a squad of Clones. Only vaguely was Bail still aware of Yoda's voice continuing to narrate.
"Much help the Jedi had in this. Proud we are to call the men of the 501st our friends. Much bravery did they show. Saved many, many lives they did. Lost some of their Brothers they did as well. This tragedy, left no one untouched, it has."
The holo shifted once again as Yoda finished speaking, this time to another orbital shot. It looked to have been recorded from a great distance with a macrobinocular lens. It showed Caamas, half the planet engulfed in flames, the burning world shooting flames so high they were visible from orbit. The image also showed the Imperial fleet slowly and methodically advancing around the planet, firing as they went, spreading the inferno across the entire world. As the image played, Bail felt a sickening horror deep in the pit of his stomach. From what seemed like half a world away, he heard Yoda's voice continuing to speak.
"Showed no mercy did the Empire. Destroyed the entire planet, they did. But even amongst this tragedy, heroes there are. The crew of the Star Destroyer Enforcer, defected they have. Brought their ship with them, they did. Stand ready they do to defeat the Emperor. Seen for themselves the horror that is the Sith." At that, the image jumped again, this time to what appeared to be a security holo on the practically destroyed Bridge of a Star Destroyer. As Bail watched, the Sith, for what else could she be with a glowing red lightsaber in her hand, spoke with a soft, almost haunting voice. She thanked a man in an Admiral's Uniform for his service, then made a crushing motion with her hand. Almost immediately, the Admiral started to scream and claw at his eyes, flinging his body around the ruins of the bridge. If anything, Bail felt his revulsion double at what Palpatine had caused. It was only when Master Skywalker appeared and spoke to the deranged man that the Admiral seemed to calm and fall into a deep slumber. What a contrast. The cruelty of a Sith, verses the compassion of a Jedi. Of all the things that Master Skywalker could have been doing in that moment, he took the time to aid someone in desperate need. As if launching a major rescue mission wasn't enough proof, the young Jedi Master had just given the galaxy a concrete example that even one individual life was important to the Jedi. Just as importantly, the holo showed the Captain and his entire surviving bridge crew abandon serving the Emperor and declare for the Republic and the Jedi. Those men and women would be heroes to everyone that learned of it and yearned for freedom. This, Bail could use in his efforts to recruit for their budding rebellion.
As the image faded back to that of Master Yoda, Bail could hear the resolve in Yoda's words, the iron in his voice as he said, "Citizens of the Galaxy, for nine hundred years have I been Jedi. Always sought to serve the Republic I did. But arrogant I became. Arrogant did the Jedi become. In our arrogance, failed you we did. Failed to stop the rise of the Sith, we did. By our inaction, allowed Darth Sidious to become Emperor we did. Your forgiveness we must ask.
"Declared war on the Galaxy, the Emperor has. Defeat him, we will. Your aide, in time, needed will be. The Republic and the Jedi, survive they do. Together, bring peace to the galaxy we can. May the Force be with you."
With a burst of static, the Jedi's transmission was ended. With a shock, Bail realized that he had been holding his breath. Letting it out in a rush, he began to breathe again. Yoda was a genius. Hacking the holonet, overriding every station, broadcasting his message into trillions of homes across the galaxy. Bail felt sure that the Destruction of Caamas would be the beginning of the end for Palpatine.
_
Deep in the bowels of Coruscant, Darth Aella screamed. Or rather, she tried to scream. Her throat was raw from the days of screaming that she had done. All that escaped was a moan. Four days ago, at least she thought it was four days ago, her Master had arrived over Caamas with his own fleet. Instead of summoning her to his ship, he had instead flown immediately to hers. As she knelt before him in the hanger, the Force seized around her and bound her tighter than Mandalorian Iron. With nothing but a look, Sidious raised her into the air till her eyes were leveled with his. She could still hear his words echoing through her mind, "You disappoint me, child." As her Master spoke the last word, her world went dark. When she awoke, she found herself bound by the Force, unable to move, the dark, menacing presence of her Master seemed to wrap itself around her as he held her immobile.
And the worst part, was that Sidious hadn't had to say a word. She had known that she had failed him. Oh, she could try and paint a rosy picture. At least fifty and possibly up to one hundred Jedi, dead. Caamas destroyed. She had personally faced down three of the finest swordsmen in the Jedi Order, plus a Jedi Knight who was no slouch herself and a Jedi Padawan. And lived to tell about it after. But none of that would matter. And she knew it wouldn't matter. She had fallen into the trap her Master had warned her about. Letting her emotions and the Dark Side control her, instead of her controlling them. If her Master let her live after this, she vowed to be better. She had to be better. She was Sith.
Without warning, she dropped to the floor. Without her Master holding her in place, her limbs began to shake uncontrollably. The after effects of the Force Lightning and various other Sith torture methods making themselves known. With effort, she called on the Force to still her limbs. She may be weaker than a newborn nexu cub, but she was damned if she was going to let anyone else see that. Suddenly her Master's bony finger was under her chin, tilting her head up to look at him. His eyes glowed yellow. From the tip of his finger, a trickle of Force Lightning flowed into her body, stiffening her and making her taste her own blood yet again as she involuntarily bit her tongue. This was just a reminder of her Master's power. The power of a true Master of the Dark Side. She craved this power. With the barest nod, Sidious released her and the lightning ceasing. In the rasping voice she knew so well, he told her, "Rise, my Apprentice. I trust you have learned your lesson."
"Yes, my Master."
"Good. We have much work to do."