Greetings, everyone! And welcome to chapter 9 of Star Wars: Twilight Blade! Wow, it's been a while since I worked on this!

Creativity: No kidding! Actually, it's been a while since we worked on… well, anything, really!

Author: That's right!

So, for those who are unaware, I'm in my final term of college and in my program, that means a final project! Naturally, that project is gonna be the make or break on me graduating, so I've gotta put a lot of my time and energy into it. That doesn't leave a whole lot of time for writing, but I've gotta take breaks to recharge sometime!

But enough about that! Let's get to the chapter reviews:

FallenAssassin9: Why, thank you! And yes, the Felucia campaign thing was an error on my part. I'll be correcting that posthaste. As for how you pronounce Marahl Corvis's name, sounded out, it's Mah-Rah-L Cor- Viss. Arvos is just Arr- Vose

Well, that's it for reviews for now! Now, we're off to Felucia for chapter 9! But before we do, a little 'housekeeping' might be in order.

So, I've been thinking about this story a lot, and I think I'm gonna be trimming it down by quite a bit. Like, I could end this thing in about… ten or more chapters. And honestly, I think that's for the best. I can keep it short and sweet and bring it to a close. That's some closure right there, and it frees up mental space for other stuff. I'll be doing that for some of my other stuff as well, now that I think about it. I don't want to overextend myself anymore.

Alright, enough about that! We still have a Discord password to provide: xtydzBf

Creativity: And now, without further ado…

Author: Allow us to proudly present chapter 9 of Star Wars: Twilight Blade!

There had been a lot of firsts in Arvos life recently, all within the span of a few weeks. It began with him stepping out the great doors of the Jedi Temple for the first time in his life, which could be seen as a gateway to many first-time experiences. Leaving the Temple for the first time with Master Marahl had been almost overwhelming. He'd seen the Coruscant's skyline and landscape many times before, but it always felt like it was kept at a distance. Sitting aboard a transport as they travelled to the Grand Army of the Republic's military base on Coruscant and actually seeing the towering structures up close was breathtaking.

The next big first-moment was seeing the soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic in person. Throughout the base, there were clones everywhere, often marching or hurrying to or from ships. Occasionally, he'd see wounded soldiers being wheeled to the medical wing, but that was a rarity. Eventually, they reached the base's airfield, and Arvos got to see a Republic Star Destroyer for the first time, which stole Arvos' breath away when he first beheld the behemoth of a boat. The starship was so large, could scarcely believe that the spaceport could accommodate multiple of these behemoths. However, the capital ship was not their destination. Instead, Master Marahl was leading Arvos to a smaller Republic vessel; an Eta-class Republic shuttle.

"We'll be taking this to the fleet currently stationed at Felucia, the 327th Star Corps." Master Marahl explained as she strode up the boarding ramp and closed the ramp once Arvos was also aboard.

"As I'm sure you are aware, our mission is to support Master Secura in the Felucia campaign. There's obviously more to it than that, but we'll go over the details once we're in hyperspace." Master Marahl explained as she made her way to the controls. She paused for a moment, seemingly expecting something before she frowned.

"Where is that… Ah, must still be in sleep mode." She muttered before she pressed a button on the control panel. There was a loud digital squawk from out of sight before an a white and red Astromech droid with an almost entirely blue domed head quickly rolled into the cockpit. It beeped a few times at Master Marahl before it noticed Arvos and chirped at him a few times.

"R4, this is Arvos Morrow, my new Padawan. Arvos, this is R4-V8. He's been paired with me for the duration of the Clone Wars." Master Marahl introduced. Arvos knelt down to get a better look at the droid, which chirped a few more times before it rolled over to plug for a scomp link and waiting.

"He just said that he's honored to meet you." Master Marahl explained as she took a seat in the pilot's chair and motioned to Arvos to do the same. As the apprentice finished strapping in, the master was busy prepping the ship for flight and getting clearance for departure. Arvos could hear the droid locking itself in positions as the ship began to lift into the air and join a stream of traffic heading out-of-system.

"R4, set a course for Felucia and prepare to jump to hyperspace once we're cleared." Master Marahl ordered. The droid chirped in acknowledgement and plugged its scomp link into the ship as the blue skies of Coruscant peeled away to reveal the infinite expanse of space. Arvos could see several ships coming and going from the planet, as well as a fleet of Venator class ships holding in orbit in defense of the heart of the Republic. Soon enough, the shuttle was clear of the fleet and a transmission permitted them to jump to hyperspace.

"Alright, off we go!" Master Marahl announced before the ship quickly accelerated and the cosmos dissolved into a vortex of blue. Having entered hyperspace, the Theelin master stretched before bringing up a projection of Felucia on the holoprojector.

"Alright, the autopilot will handle it from here. We'll go over the mission, then perhaps a lesson if we have time." Master Marahl stated before she zoomed in on Felucia, eventually reaching the Republic fleet holding in orbit over the neon jungle planet.

"Right now, all the fighting is concentrated on the planet's surface. That's where Master Secura is, specifically here." Master Marahl began to explain, pointing with one green finger to a spot on Felucia's surface, not too far from where the fleet was floating in orbit.

"We'll be joining reinforcements from the 327th Star Corps aboard the Liberty II and head down to the planet's surface to aid Master Secura and drive the Separatist Forces off of Felucia for good." She concluded. Arvos waited for a couple moments, expecting more information. However, it quickly became clear that he wouldn't be hearing anymore until they reached the fleet.

"As you say, Master." Arvos replied before Master Marahl rose and made her way back into the ship's lounge, motioning for her apprentice to follow. Arvos complied and found her unpacking a set of training remotes.

"Considering you are about to take part in your first real firefight, I think it best if you were to be in the right mindset for it." Master Marahl began explaining before she removed several other remotes, though they looked different from the usual stinger remotes that Arvos had trained with back in the Jedi Temple.

"These are target remotes, used for blaster training. One of the many differences between your training exercises back in the Temple and an active battlefield is that you may have allies on that battlefield with you; allies that will be occupied with dodging and firing on the enemy and cannot anticipate blaster bolts that you could potentially reflect in their direction if you aren't careful." The master continued as she activated all the probes, which took up their positions. Arvos could already begin to guess the exercise.

"You want me to deflect the bolts from the stinger remotes in a way that causes them to either hit or miss the target remotes." Arvos guessed. The Theelin female gave a wry smile.

"Yes and no. Some of the target remotes will be designated as enemies, while others will be designated as allies. There is a visual identifier for which is which, but you won't always be able to see it. Also, I'd hasten to add that, given this space is so confined, you should limit your footwork as best you can. This is also good training for if you are forced to fight within a confined space. Now then, ready position." The master instructed. Arvos removed one of his sabers from his belt and was about to take up a two-handed guard position, only for Master Marahl to shake her head.

"Do not limit yourself to a single blade for any exercise unless I explicitly tell you. You do yourself, nor those you would aid any favors by limiting yourself in such a manner." The Theelin admonished. Arvos nodded, ignoring the mild embarrassment he felt as he drew his second blade and igniting them both. There was a moment of pause before the exercise began. The stinger remotes began zipping about erratically and firing bolts at him while the target remotes similarly began to orbit as well, their patterns vastly different from the stinger remotes. One thing he noticed amidst the chaos of stinger bolts, saber sparks and blurring metal was that several of the targeting remotes had a highly reflective surface on them, though for what purpose he was unsure.

Suddenly, one of the remotes emitted a loud buzzing noise and rest came to an immediate halt! Arvos looked around at the remotes in confusion before his attention turned to his teacher.

"One of the reflected bolts hit an allied remote. You were distracted." Master Marahl stated as Arvos lowered his head in mild frustration before he resumed ready position. The Jedi Master restarted the remotes and the exercise continued.

Arvos quickly discovered that the exercise was a lot harder than it looked. He wound up getting three more remotes shot as the exercise continued before R4-V8 alerted them that they were about to exit hyper-space, and Arvos wasn't very happy with his performance, especially since this was an essential skill for the war he was about to step into.

"Don't let the exercise get to you. I intentionally made it harder that the situation would be in reality." Master Marahl revealed just as the ship began to rapidly decelerate and the stars suddenly stretched back into existence. Arvos turned to his master in mild surprise as the Theelin smiled a little bit.

"There's a reason that Jedi generally fight in front of their Clone units instead of in the middle or behind them. That isn't to say you won't find yourself in situations like what was just simulated, but it will be far less common." Master Marahl explained before the shuttle was hailed by the fleet that they were now approaching. In the background, Arvos could see Felucia. He'd seen pictures and holoprojections of it before, but to see the jungle planet in person was something else, having only seen Ilum and Coruscant from orbit before.

Once they were cleared for docking, Master Marahl took over the controls once more and piloted the ship to the Star Destroyer's hanger bay and set it down in its bay. Flanking it on either side were a small assortment of starships that included V-19 Torrents, V-wings, Y-Wings, ARC-170s, Gunships and more. Everywhere Arvos looked, he could see Clone troopers and other personnel hurrying this way and that, working on the starships, moving supplies, or otherwise performing mandated tasks. Arvos had seen his fair share of hustle and bustle within the Jedi Temple, but this still somehow felt even more busy. It was certainly much noisier, but that was probably due to the acoustics of the ship; Everything metal and nothing to absorb sound.

Waiting at the bottom of the ramp was a Clone officer, as well as a group of six troopers that were standing at attention in two rows. The officer and troopers all saluted in unison, a gesture that the two Jedi returned with a bow before they were led out of the hanger and into the network of corridors that filled the interior of the massive spacecraft until they eventually reached a turbolift that carried them up to the bridge, where they were greeted with quite the surprise in the form of two unexpected individuals.

"Alvya?!" Arvos exclaimed as he and his friend rushed to meet! Alvya looked just as surprised to see him as he was to see her, though her master didn't seem surprised at all. Looking back, neither did his own, judging by the subtle smile playing at her lips.

"You knew we would be working with them?" Arvos asked pointedly. Master Marahl shrugged.

"I got word last night that we'd be deployed in conjunction with another Jedi for the mission on Felucia, then found out this morning before we left who it was. I wasn't sure if we would be meeting beforehand though, since we're on a very tight schedule. Speaking of, we should begin the briefing." The master answered as she approached the holotable. Arvos and Alvya were quick to return to their respective masters. There would be time for catching up later.

They were soon joined around the holotable by a pair of ARC Troopers, both with yellow paintjobs on their armor, as well as the Admiral of the fleet, dressed in a crisp, gray uniform.

"At the moment, General Secura is laying siege to a Separatist base, located here." The Admiral began, pointing to a familiar location on Felucia. The projection quickly zoomed in to display the Separatist base in question, which looked rather formidable. Setting aside the massive walls and a compliment of Vulture Droid starfighters, it featured both anti-personnel and anti-air cannons for one, and even appeared to have on-site shield generators to boot. On top of that, it was built incredibly close to a massive crater that happened to be filled with curved spikes pointing inwards to towards its center. Arvos had learned enough about Felucia to recognize a sarlacc pit when he saw one.

"This base was the first one the Separatists established on Felucia, and it is also the last one standing. When General Secura and the 327 began demolishing the other Separatist installations on Felucia, they went to work on fortifying this one even more. We'd hoped they'd have cut their losses and left, but they seem determined to keep a foothold on Felucia." The Admiral continued as several icons appeared, displaying the position and numbers of Master Secura's forces relative to the Separatists'.

"At the moment, we're locked in a stalemate. They have no means of resupplying, and they don't intend to surrender or flee. However, we can't make a move on the base with all of the defenses. The shield protects them from our heavy artillery, and we can't take down the shields on foot or by air." The Admiral finished explaining.

"The only way to advance is to take out that shield but if you send troops through, they'll all just gunned down right away." Alvya realized, summarizing the problem succinctly. The Jedi Masters, ARC troopers and Admiral all nodded.

"Which means, we need a stealthier approach. The Jedi will split into two teams, each with a small Clone force and infiltrate the base. Once inside, one team will work their way to the anti-personnel cannons while another disables the shield generators. Once both targets are offline, General Secura's forces can advance on the base, and it'll be all over for the Separatists." One of the ARC troopers concluded. Arvos frowned.

"How do we get inside? It doesn't look like there are any obvious point of entry, what with the natural rock formations and that sarlacc in the way." Arvos pointed out. Master Evor Se smiled a bit in response, and Arvos didn't like the look of it.

"I was discussing this problem with ARC trooper Quickdraw, and we may have come up with a solution." Master Se began before he reposition the map, specifically moving it over to focus on the sarlacc pit.

"Back before the Clone Wars, I was sent to this location on assignment from the Jedi Council; There was a suspected Dark Side cult trying to establish themselves on Felucia to use the native Felucians for blood sacrifices, and they set up camp inside a network of tunnels that ran around the perimeter of where this sarlacc established itself. After examination, we learned that the Separatists apparently linked up their base to the tunnels and converted one section of them into an emergency launchpad for any Separatist leaders who happened to be on site, in case of a Republic attack." Master Se explained, still smiling. Arvos felt his stomach dropping.

"I don't like where this is going." Arvos muttered. He could see Master Marahl trying very hard to hide a look of distaste as well, but she kept quiet. Alvya looked similarly concerned about where this plan was going.

"According to our most recent intelligence, the launchpad has minimal guard and almost no communication with the rest of the base. The plan is to sneak onto the launchpad and capture it, then head down the tunnels to the base. Master Corvis and Padawan Moro will take their squad and take out the anti-personnel cannons, while myself and Padawan Geran will take out the shield generators." Master Se finished explaining, waiting for a response from the others. The Clones were largely inscrutable due to their helmets, but Arvos could sense a mixture of excitement and trepidation coming from them. The Admiral, on the other hand, did not look convinced at all.

"How exactly do you propose you reach this network of tunnels? Surely, you aren't suggesting that you climb into a sarlacc pit to sneak into the tunnels, are you?" The Admiral questioned. Alvya's master shook his head before pointing out a spot about a quarter rotation around the sarlacc pit from the base.

"Nothing quite that drastic, at least at the start. We'll enter the tunnels here, then work our way through the network to as close as we can get to the launchpad. Chances are, they'll have blocked up the passages leading to the launchpad, so we'll need to negotiate those. All things considered, this is still probably our best shot at sneaking into the base." Master Se explained, though Arvos had the distinct impression that there were a few omitted details. However, no one protested and neither did he. The Admiral hesitated for a few more moments before nodding.

"Very well. You'll land ten klicks away from the sarlacc pit and make your way to the entry point on foot. From there, you'll capture the emergency escape platform and make your way into the enemy base, then split into two teams to disable to guns and shields." The Admiral summarized. Everyone nodded in agreement and the ARC troopers saluted before they departed to prepare themselves and their squadrons for the mission. The Admiral turned and made their way over to one of the communications operators and ordered them to open a line to the ground forces while the Jedi departed after the Clones, though they weren't able to catch the same lift the Clones had taken. As soon as they were alone, Master Marahl decided that it was time to ask a few questions.

"So, what didn't you tell the Admiral about that these caves we're about to venture into?" The Theelin female asked pointedly, to which Master Se gave a concerning smile.

"Well, during my aforementioned previous excursion into the tunnels, I figured out that they're actually the petrified interiors of a sarlacc. I'm not sure if they belong to the same sarlacc living in the pit now, but I doubt it. The tunnels are too large for it to have been the same specimen. My guess is that the sarlacc that previously inhabited that pit contracted a disease that caused its body to petrify, weakening it to the point that another sarlacc was able to cannibalize it and take its place. Of course, that's just a guess." Master Se explained as they departed the turbolift and began making their way back to the hanger. Waiting for them in front of a pair of Republic LAAT gunships were two squads of Clones, each led by one of the ARC troopers they'd seen earlier.

"Generals, Commanders." The first ARC trooper greeted as the Jedi approached, saluting in sync with his squad and joined by the other squad and ARC trooper.

"At ease, men. I assume everyone has already been briefed, but we'll go over the plan one more time." Master Se declared before he went over the plan of attack once more, though he left out the details regarding the true nature of the tunnel system. Arvos wasn't sure if that was information that should be omitted, but he decided to trust Master Se. After all, he had already ventured into these tunnels once before and didn't seem to think there would be any danger.

"Alright, we're shipping out! Quickdraw, you and yours are with me!" Master Se suddenly ordered and the squadrons each immediately split up and climbed into their respective gunships.

"See you on the ground!" Alvya called to Arvos as she followed her master into the ship. Arvos and Master Marahl joined the other squad, led by ARC trooper Jax as they all climbing into the other LAAT gunship. Once they were all aboard, the bay doors closed, dropping the Jedi and clones into darkness for a few moments before the lights came on.

"This is LAAT 6-Kilo-Alpha to bridge, requesting permission to depart for planet's surface." A voice crackled over the gunship's intercom. There was a few moments of silence before a reply arrived.

"LAAT 6-Kilo-Alpha, you are cleared for departure."

"I'd suggest holding on to something, kid." One of the Clones told Arvos, who immediately reached up to grab one of the straps hanging from the roof for support. Not a moment to soon either, as the ship suddenly lurched and buckled as it slowly lifted off the floor of the Venator's hanger. If Arvos hadn't taken the Clone trooper's advice, he'd likely be sprawled across the floor instead.

The shifting continued as the LAAT ascended out of the hanger and accelerated towards Felucia. It was rather disconcerting that he couldn't see where the ship was going, only feel its movement. However, among that discomfort was the realization that he was about to take his first true steps into the Clone Wars. It was an unpleasant realization. A glance at his master indicated to Arvos that she could sense these thoughts and feelings.

"Steel yourself, Padawan. An apprentice you may be, but now, in the eyes of the Republic citizens and military alike, you are acting as a Jedi." Master Marahl lectured, though not without sympathy. Arvos nodded and closed his eyes to calm himself.

It was time to become the Jedi he needed to be.

And that's chapter 9 done! Almost a whole year has gone by since I last published a chapter for this, which is due to me revamping a different project, plus getting my diploma for electronic engineering technology!

Creativity: Of course, now that means we have to get a job…

Author: Still not gonna be as exhausting as College… I hope… Please…

Hopefully, we'll be going less than a year between uploads in the future. Obviously I have job-hunting and otherwise building a resume and skillset to do, but at least for the foreseeable future, I'll have time to work on my many projects on this site.

Creativity: Well, we gotta get back in practice anyway.

Author: No kidding… Welp, that's everything from us for now! Thank you for reading, please review, hope to see you on Discord and we'll see you next time!