Aboard the Kestrel, in orbit of Bothawui-4
"I've lost all feeds from the spaceport. We're being jammed."
Yap turned in his seat in the crew pit. "Lost all signals from the fleet. No signals from any of the civilian ships either."
"How could we not have seen any signatures on scanners? Where are those Vulture droids coming from?!" Nezir snarled over the chatter, pushing her way past two Clones. "It must be—"
"—All eyes on the Lucrehulk," Kelia ordered.
Against the hundreds of civilian vessels fleeing the moon, the Lucrehulk stood out, not just for its sheer size, but for the fact it was holding position. A position it had been holding for days.
It was the most likely culprit for the Vulture droids, Hyena Bombers, and Separatist drop ships which had suddenly appeared in the skies of Bothawui, yet there was no evidence on scanners that it had deployed any ships.
"Is there any signals' evidence that Lucrehulk is responsible for the jamming field?" Kelia asked, approaching the main viewer.
"Perhaps if we move in closer, our instruments will detect stronger interference," Sweep, the Kestrel's primary sensor operator, suggested.
"You can't just wait for an answer," Nezir snarled. "Not in the middle of an attack on—"
"Move us in closer," Kelia interrupted.
The conn echoed her order, moving the Kestrel into a higher orbit. Through the viewports, the Pra'aki became larger and larger.
Kelia squinted, so focused on visually inspecting the vessel's hangars that she was surprised when red turbolaser fire came from somewhere below the Pra'aki's starboard side.
The flashes of light glimmered against the shields of the Lucrehulk. Kelia followed the paths of the blast, eyes now trained on two Munificent frigates. For a wild moment, she thought the Separatists or perhaps the Banking Clan were firing on a Trade Federation vessel, but these Munificents were painted the navy blue color of Bothawui military vessels.
Kelia did not need another clue. If the Bothans were firing on this Trade Federation vessel, it was doing something to warrant their response. "All forward batteries, open fire. Launch alert fighters and bombers, prepare second stage craft for launch!"
Perth glanced at her for a moment, and then nodded and bellowed at the personnel in the crew pits. "All hands to Level One battlestations! All guns, open fire on that Lucrehulk! Launch alert fighters and bombers! Prepare second stage craft for launch!"
A moment later, the blue sheen of Republic turbolaser fire reflected in the Kestrel's viewports. Nezir and Kelia stood in the center of the bridge, watching the shots impact the Lucrehulk's shields.
Soon, the nearest two Republic Venators, the Liberty and the Forest, joined in, firing salvos of their own from their main battery turbolasers.
"The Pra'aki is returning fire!"
The deck shook as shots from the Pra'aki impacted the Kestrel's shields, but the outnumbered 'Trade Federation' vessel was hopelessly outnumbered and apparently hadn't brought its shields fully online. Before a single shot had even penetrated the Kestrel's own ray shields, the Lucrehulk was already aflame and beginning to break apart as high energy turbolaser bolts from five proper warships tore into its hull.
Hundreds of signatures, which had been previously obscured by a jamming and cloaking field extended down into Bothawui-4's atmosphere, suddenly appeared on sensors. Cargo barges, no, landing craft, had been disgorged alongside swarms of droid fighters and bombers and a small cloud of Droch-class pods, likely carrying squads of commando droids.
"The jamming field is down! Getting feeds from the planet. Commodore Ozzel wishes to speak with you."
"Why were its shields down?" Yap asked in bewilderment.
A few explanations quickly popped into Kelia's mind. Perhaps they did not want to appear hostile. Perhaps whatever jamming and cloaking field that vessel was projecting could not operate while the shields were up. But there was no time to discuss this right now.
"Hail the Pra'aki," Kelia ordered. "Instruct any survivors to abandon ship unarmed and—"
A massive explosion vaporized the core ship, shattering the Lucrehulk's ring-section into four vast chunks.
It was completely unsurvivable for organic life.
"Send out a general alert to all vessels. Watch out for debris." Before Kelia could respond to Ozzel's hail, Nezir tapped her shoulder.
"General Fal'wup has declared a no-fly zone over Drev'starn and has activated the air defense grid. We need to discuss the Republic's strategy, Captain," Nezir said in a patronizing tone. "But first, the Separatist forces on the planet must be repelled."
No-fly zone. Suddenly, Kelia had some inkling of what exactly Commodore Ozzel was calling about. It would be impossible for the Republic to evacuate—the Bothawui government was making it impossible for the Republic to complete their mission without a fight.
Clever. I probably would've done the same.
"Put him through," Kelia said, turning to face the holoprojector.
Ozzel's holopresence appeared, defying Kelia's expectations of what exactly he was calling about, the Commodore was screaming in barely controlled anger, face redder than the striping on his ship. "Captain Los'ean! You better have a damn good explanation for why you fired on and destroyed a neutral ship!"
Oh. That. Kelia clasped her hands at the small of her back. "That vessel was jamming all comms, while Separatist forces simultaneously attacked our personnel on the ground. Without the ability to receive any instructions from you, sir, I took the initiative. It is well within our rules of engagement, sir, to attack a suspicious vessel in those circumstances"
Ozzel seemed to calm down for a moment, turning his head towards the ranking representative of the Bothawui Government. "Secretary Nezir Mi'trek, this no-fly zone is unacceptable."
"We need to strategize how to defeat the Separatist attack, not how to retreat, Admiral," Nezir growled firmly. "There are thousands of Separatist fighters over the capital. We don't have the fighter capacity to eliminate them without anti-air batteries."
Kelia resisted the urge to scoff in disbelief at Nezir's blatant overstatement.
If there really were thousands of droid fighters and bombers over Drev'shtarn, the city's entire air defense network would be all but annihilated by now.
"It's uh, just commodore," Ozzel corrected. "Tell the First Secretary that the Republic would be more than willing to help clear the skies."
"To facilitate your retreat!" Nezir spat. "This is unbelievable. First, you jump into the system to fight a battle with the Separatists, now you do it to evacuate—"
"Commodore, the First Secretary is missing," Kelia interrupted, fur bristling. Nice detail you left out.
"I—what?! Who is in charge down there?" Ozzel barked.
"Requesting permission to extract my people from Ashnenvisk," Kelia said stiffly. "Commodore, we're getting nowhere with the Drev'shtarn evacuation—"
"Granted," Ozzel said with a dismissive wave of the hand. "While you do that, I am going to hail the surface to try and find someone who will be more cooperative."
"Good luck," Kelia said.
"Wait! We are not finished, Commodore," Nezir snarled. "Be reasonable! I am the ranking…" her voice died as Ozzel's holopresence blinked into nothingness.
o.o.o.o.o
Tav Mi'zya
A slushy mix of melting snow and gravel sloshed around under Tav's boot. He kept walking ahead of Sey'les, back towards Ashnenvisk.
Another step… Just another step… Till what?
Tav had no idea what to expect when he returned to Ashnenvisk, no longer in Niyusk's clutches. How could he explain what had happened?
I was sent here to arrest Niyusk. Niyusk shot down our transport and abducted me from the hospital. The First Secretary was going to sacrifice me and Lir Sey'les to appease a murderous rogue SpyNet Director… I punched the First Secretary in the face. The vehicle crashed and Sey'les grabbed a blaster and killed everyone except for me. There was nothing I could do…
No, that doesn't work. Now I'll have to explain why I helped her burn the bodies to ashes and wipe all the evidence in the interior of the vehicle. Shtak!
["I don't know what you did to me,"] a third voice snarled, reminding Tav that Sey'les had not only spared him, but also her parole officer.
["Rysh, I told you before… I was only protecting you. I love you, you know that?"]
["You still won't tell me what you did to me!"]
Tav ignored their argument as best he could. As Sey'les and Rysh argued louder and louder, he continued walking, focusing on the town of Ashnenvisk up ahead.
It can't be more than half a click out. Half a click till—
["AND YOU!"] Rysh yelped, shoving Tav from behind, who stumbled forward onto his hands and knees. ["Kasruk, where is the First Secretary? What did Sey'les do to him? How can you just stand there and—"]
Before Tav grasped what he was doing, his hand was balled in a fist colliding with Rysh's nose. Rysh snarled in return, tugging out tufts of Tav's fur, before snaring him in a headlock.
["Boys. BOYS!"] Sey'les barked. ["CUT IT OUT!"]
Angling his snout to the left, Tav twisted his narrow head from Rysh's grasp. The parole officer swung left and right, missing both punches. Tav charged headfirst, shoving him off the road and into the slushy ditch alongside it.
["Stop. Fighting. We. Are. All. Safe."] Sey'les grunted one word at a time, shoving Tav's shoulder with each new syllable. ["Act. Normal. Stop—"]
Tav grabbed her wrist mid-shove and stood still for a few seconds, panting angrily as he looked into Sey'les's bright blue eyes.
["However you think this will play out, it's not gonna work. Rysh could tell everyone."]
Sey'les pulled her wrist out of Tav's grasp and flashed her teeth, fur bristling. ["No, Tav, he won't."]
Tav snorted incredulously at Sey'les's tone. Do you think I will report this?! He opened his snout to retort but was interrupted by another furious snarl.
["Tell everyone what?!"] Rysh was now standing up, brushing the snow from his pants. ["Who exactly are you so afraid I will tell, Tav?"]
["Look, we need to approach this one thing at a time,"] Sey'les sighed, gently putting a hand on Rysh's shoulder. ["When we get back to town, take me back to lockup. Explain to them that we didn't actually have Drover's Plague. It was all a misunderstanding. You don't know where those SpyNet ghosts went, but they kicked us out of the van outside town, very rudely."]
["What about my unlawful detainment?!"] Rysh snarled. ["I don't tell them anything about that? The magical appearance of the First Secretary! That they—you… What did you do? And why were the SpyNet holding you?"] he added, pointing at Tav accusingly.
Sey'les shrugged. ["The less you know, the better."]
Without another word, Rysh brushed up against Sey'les, walked around her, and began jogging towards town as quickly as he could.
["Rysh!"] Sey'les yelped, jogging after him. ["Rysh, what the hell!"]
["JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME!"] Rysh shrieked, running faster. ["BOTH OF YOU!"]
Tav swore aloud and ran after them. His injuries had mostly healed, but there was a sore spot on his right side ribs that felt like it was tearing.
Sey'les sprinted and left Tav behind. A minute or so later, she reached Rysh and yanked on the back of his uniform. Rysh turned around, slapping her hand out of the way.
From a distance, Tav could not make out what they were saying, but he heard Rysh yelp once again ["JUST STAY AWAY!"]
Where a stitch had popped out under Tav's shirt, something was bleeding. He stopped jogging, and walked as briskly as he could to Sey'les's side. Rysh was now twenty or thirty meters away, continuing to jog back towards town.
We can't let him go, Tav thought. Rysh might tell someone Sey'les killed the First Secretary. Even if they believe I was abducted, they will know I helped her.
Tav was acutely aware that the consequences of that would not only befall him. Nezir would be impeached. If it came out that his children were part Shistavanen, they could lose their citizenship.
Tav eyeballed the blaster in Sey'les's holster.
["I'm not going to kill Rysh,"] Sey'les sniffled, wiping the tears out of her eyes as she stared at Rysh in the distance.
["I know,"] Tav growled, unsure whether she was talking to him or to herself.
Her behavior, the massacre in the tank, and the fact she had a parole officer had given Tav the impression she was not quite sane.
Panic and guilt wracked Tav. The thought of taking her blaster and shooting Rysh as he walked in the distance was appealing, but at the same time filled him with pure revulsion at himself.
["Let's keep walking,"] Sey'les grunted. ["We're almost there."]
With a sigh, Tav followed.
They walked for ten, perhaps twenty minutes before passing the first building on the outskirts of town. It was a giant warehouse and transport yard where, during the mining season, lithium and iron slag were piled a dozen of meters high. Rysh was nowhere in sight.
A convoy of Ж-marked speeder vans and APCs rolled in front of them.
Well, this is it, Tav thought. Hopefully the SpyNet will be satisfied with Sey'les and me and not go after Nezir.
But the convoy continued, not stopping for even a moment. .
["Looks like they are heading for the spaceport,"] Sey'les said, standing on the edge of the sidewalk. ["Niyusk ordered a withdrawal. It seems the SpyNet is following through."]
That's good. The longer the amount of time, the quicker the evidence dissipates.
["I think you should get rid of that,"] Tav said, pointing to the blaster in Sey'les's holster.
["Oh yeah,"] Sey'les growled thoughtfully, then quickly thrust the pistol handle-first towards Tav's chest. ["No, you take it. You're a Marshal. Say they left me in your custody when they dropped us off."]
Tav grabbed the blaster with a sigh. Every second with her makes my deniability less plausible.
o.o.o.o.o
General Vartell
In Hyperspace, aboard the Subjugator
Feeds from Bothawui had resumed. The Super Tactical Droid Vartell knew this logically meant the Kormoran, under its guise of the Pra'aki, had been destroyed.
On the main viewer that dominated the massive warship's bridge were split images of two hemispheres of Bothawui, each showing the deployment of Separatist fighters and transports. The units near the capital region were being pulverized by Drev'starn's air defenses, not that it would matter for long.
It didn't take the advanced processing power of a ST-series to understand TI-84's reason for deploying their conventional forces—to stop the Republic evacuation.
Vartell's ocular scanners turned to the northernmost portion of the western hemisphere. He could perceive a disturbance, so small on the map no human eye could possibly see it.
"Magnify the grid eighty-seven four hundred and three times."
"Roger, roger," a pilot droid said.
A small square appeared on the display over Bothawui's north pole, displaying live footage from a hacked Bothan satellite. In a birds eye view of the grid, a squadron of LAATs and ARC-170s could be seen from above.
"It's the Republic!" the pilot droid exclaimed unnecessarily.
A day prior, TI-84 had sent an databurst to the Subjugator which outlined something quite mysterious, even to a tactical droid—Bothawui military vehicles repainted with a Bothese Cyrillic character of unknown significance. Vartell could only assume the Republic were there to extract those Bothans and their own personnel who had landed to rescue survivors of a crashed Bothan military transport.
"Redirect squadrons nine through twenty-three to grid eighty-seven as per TI-84's recommendations. Destroy the Republic gunships first, then focus on the ground vehicles. Order them to destroy anything marked with that symbol. Relay instructions to Admiral Scirocco to take taskforce Aurek-Three under the Naliju Gale to draw away enemy warships in advance of our arrival."
"Yes sir!"
Vartell clasped his hands behind his back, staring through the vast viewports of his command. Despite his reservations about deploying a strategic asset such as the Subjugator, it was a prudent choice given Bothawui's proximity to Kamino—the threat to which would force the Republic to allocate a vast armada, undoubtedly including multiple Praetor, Maelstrom, and Mandator-class vessels, to drive the Confederacy out of the sector.
Vartell was impressed with Dooku's strategy. If the plan succeeded and bogged down multiple Republic sector fleets and armies in Bothan Space, it would buy the Confederacy enough time to reinforce their own badly depleted forces and allow them to retake the Outer Rim.
And given the Republic's current stance on abandoning Bothawui, it would succeed.