Chapter 46
Mission to Malaar

Vader jolted up out of his upper bunk so fast he cracked his forehead of the ceiling of his little bed niche. Hissing a long litany of curses through clenched teeth he clutched his head and struggled to regain his bearings. It took him several minutes to clear the fog of sleep and the shreds of nightmare from his mind and remember that he was in his cabin aboard the Star Destroyer Valiant.

Ugh, I hate nightmares, he grumbled, laying back down on his bed and staring at his little section of ceiling. I'm so tired of dreaming about severed heads and glaring dead eyes… I'd much rather dream about Padmé!

Moments later he flushed darkly as he realized just what it was that he'd thought. Ack! Bad Anakin, bad! Do not think about her like that!

Of course, despite his protests, his mind decided to slide down into a particularly nasty gutter as it pursued the thought of the beautiful Nabooan Senator. The more he tried to stop thinking about her, the more he ended up thinking about her. Until he was forced to act.

He rolled off his bed, dropping gracefully to the floor, and stalked into the tiny refresher. Vader quickly shed his sleep-clothes and hopped into the miniscule sonic shower. As he cleaned up, he wished desperately for a real water shower.

Oh what I wouldn't give for some nice ice cold water…

A few hours later Vader was on the Valiant's bridge and bored. Obi-Wan was down on Muunilinst busy commanding the Republic forces. He was stuck up here because Obi-Wan didn't feel he was in a good state of mind to be in the middle of a battle.

While Vader had to agree with Obi-Wan, he wasn't ready to be in another fight, it didn't mean that he was happy about it. It was boring up here! For three days he'd been up here with nothing to do and only the clones for company. If something didn't happen soon, he swore he was going to lose his mind!

"Commander, emergency transmission." One of the clones manning the communications section called out.

Vader blinked in surprise, but quickly collected himself as he strode over to see what was going on. It was really strange for people to be calling him 'Commander'. "Where is the transmission coming from?" He asked curiously.

"From Atzatz, sir." The clone replied, naming a planet several systems away near the border of two different sectors.

"Atzatz," Vader frowned in surprise. He'd expected the transmission to come form somewhere closer by, like the surface of Muunilinst. "Put it on screen."

"Yes sir," the clone nodded obediently.

A nearby screen lit up and an image of a haggard-looking Jedi Knight came into focus. He was a Togruta, just like Council Member Shaak Ti, and he was clearly strained. His brightly-color skin was pale and dull and his striped lekku constantly quivered in barely controlled distress.

"Padawan, may I speak with your Master?" The weary Togruta asked.

"I'm sorry, he's unavailable at the moment." Vader apologized. "Can I take a message for him?"

The Knight's black eyes dulled. "What's he doing?"

"He's leading the assault on Muunilinst's capital." Vader replied.

The male Togruta ran a hand over his red-and-white face, his shoulders slumping in despair. "Oh blast it all…"

"Um…sir?" Vader blinked. "What's wrong?"

"Everyone is this sector is busy," the Togruta Knight sighed. "A few hours ago I received a distress signal from some Jedi reinforcements headed to Aargonar. They were shot down by Separatist mercenaries in the Malaar System. My forces are all tied up here so I've been trying to find someone else to rescue them, but…"

Vader bit his lip and thoughtfully tugged on his braid. "We might be able to help. Not all our forces have been committed yet. Forward me your information and I'll get in contact with my Master as soon as I can."

"Alright, thank you." The Togruta nodded gratefully. "May the Force be with you."

"And may the Force be with you." Vader replied just before the connection was cut.

He then took the disk a clone handed him containing the forwarded information and requested that he be alerted the instant General Kenobi became available. Vader left the bridge for his cabin, curious to find out about this little crisis that seemed to have flared up. And maybe by the time Obi-Wan was back in communications with the Valiant, he'd have a plan of action ready.

Vader chewed on his metallic right thumb as he studied the information displayed on the screen of this data terminal. One window contained all the information that was on the disk, which wasn't all that much. The other window was what had come up when he ran a search on Malaar. And down in the lower corner was a little chronometer, yelling at him that it had been almost three hours since he'd first heard about the problem he was now considering.

Damn it Obi-Wan, where the hell are you? Vader fumed. What's taking you so long? Muunilinst is a planet full of bankers, how tough are they?

Whatever the reason was, Obi-Wan had yet to call back up to the Valiant and report his status. That left Vader sitting here with nothing to do but think. And the more he thought, the more he wanted to get up and act.

Malaar wasn't all that far from where he was now. At top military speed he could reach the planet with a shuttle and a squad of clone troops for back-up in only a couple of hours. There were more than enough clones waiting in reserve and there were several hyper-capable shuttles still in space, hanging around with nothing to do.

But to do any of that, he needed Obi-Wan's approval. And he couldn't get Obi-Wan's approval until the man had enough time to call up to the Valiant and report the status of his part of the invasion. This left Vader…frustrated.

I could without asking, he thought. Immediately he tried to kill the idea. He was just in trouble for his stunt with the creepy evil bitch. He really didn't need to get into trouble again so soon. But that thought refused to leave him alone. It nagged at him, wormed through his brain, and hummed in his ears. He couldn't forget it.

He sighed, aw hell… Fishing a piece of paper and a writing stylus out of the desk. Scribbling a quick, barely legible, note out for Obi-Wan, he set out to make the necessary arrangements.

Malaar isn't all that far away. If I get lucky, it won't take too long to find the lost Jedi and pick them up. Then it's a quick hop back here where I can redirect them wherever they need to go. Obi-Wan may not even miss me…

But just to make sure that Obi-Wan didn't miss him, he blocked off his end of the bond. That way his Master wouldn't sense anything amiss, even if all hell was breaking loose around him. General Kenobi was busy right now, he didn't need his Commander's escapades to distract him when victory was drawing near.

Malaar: A tropical world located on the border between the Mid Rim and the Outer Rim. It is devoid of intelligent native species and there are no known colonies of alien species present. Malaar possesses three main types of habitat: tropical rainforest, swamp, and ocean. There are no major exports from Malaar. The jungles contain many dangerous and aggressive predators, the most dangerous of which is the venomous Rasp Wyrm. Visitors are also cautioned against the wide range of indigenous diseases native to Malaar's jungles and swamps…

Vader sighed and glanced up from his datapad as he reviewed the information on Malaar again. What a lovely little world they managed to crash-land on, he groaned. I wonder, am I all caught up on my vaccinations?

"We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in a minute Commander." The clone pilot informed him.

"Good," Vader nodded, setting the datapad aside. He wandered into the shuttle cockpit and slipped into the only empty chair. "As soon as we transition back into normal space lock onto the fallen shuttle's homing beacon."

"Yes sir," the pilot replied, pushing the lever that turned the twisty blue mists back into white pin dots of stars. "Scanning now."

Vader leaned back in his seat and waited. Let's see. We have to find one Master, three Knights, and two Padawans… He stared out the viewport at the slowing growing green orb of Malaar. Piece of cake. …So long as we avoid the Trandoshan mercenaries, that is.

Trandoshans weren't warriors so much as they were hunters. They evolved on the second habitable planet in the Kashyyyk System, the home system of Kashyyyk the Wookiee planet. And ever since they developed space travel, the reptilian Trandoshans locked themselves in conflict with their nearest neighbors, the hairy Wookiees. Their religion came to center around the hunting and skinning of Wookiees. The older and more experienced the Wookiee they killed, or the rarer the pelt color, the greater the score given to the hunter when the bloody fur is placed at the altar before the stature of their deity, the Scorekeeper.

With the outbreak of the war, the Trandoshans, many of whom made a good living as bounty hunters, sided with the Separatists and their Confederation of Independent Systems. The Wookiees remained loyal to the Galactic Republic, furthering the conflict between the two species. Soon, Vader felt, the tensions between the two would really erupt, leading to an invasion of Kashyyyk or Trandosha, the Trandoshan home-world.

"We have something sir." The co-pilot muttered, staring intently at his plot. "Two signals. The homing beacon from the Republic shuttle and a ship transponder reading as…The Bloody Claw."

Sounds like a Trandoshan ship to me. "Bring up a map and put both locations on screen." Vader ordered.

"Yes sir."

A very green, almost featureless map came up on the main screen. Then two dots appeared, one blue friendly and one red hostile. They were rather close together. Vader started mentally reciting his vocabulary of profanity.

"Here," Vader indicated an area where the jungle was less dense, near a lake. "Let us off there." He scanned the map. "And here," he tapped a small but mostly clear plateau several miles away. "When you get the signal go there to pick us up."

"Yes sir," the clone pilot nodded, locking the appropriate coordinates into the computer. "We'll make our landing in a few minutes."

"Great," Vader nodded and left the cockpit.

Back in the passenger compartment sat his back-up. One full squad of clones, twelve members of the battle-hardened 501st battalion, left back as reserve for the Muunilinst campaign. One of them was a trained field medic, with a pack full of medical supplies, just in case. The other eleven were well-versed in moving quickly without being seen, exactly what he needed. Now if only their armor wasn't so…white.

"Well boys, we're almost there." Vader sighed, taking a seat in the middle of them. "It's going to be a miserable swampy jungle out there, filled with lots of nasty critters and viruses, but hopefully we won't have to stay too long. Our targets are three Humans, a Twi'lek, a Zabrak, and an Ithorian. There are an unknown number of Trandoshans out there that we want to avoid. We'll be landing by a lake and our exit vector is the plateau. Any questions?"

"No sir," twelve identical voiced chorused.

It's so weird when they do that. "Good." Vader smiled with slightly forced cheerfulness.

The shuttle shuddered around them, signaling the entry into the atmosphere. Natural gravity started to interfere with the artificial gravity of the shuttle, putting some stress on their bodies, but not nearly enough to be dangerous. Soon, after several minutes of swerving and dipping, the shuttle locked into hover and the doors opened.

Vader took a deep breath and launched himself out of the shuttle and down onto the muddy lake shore. A few heartbeats later his squad of clones joined him there. The shuttle hovered overhead for a moment or two before lifting off again, taking a high orbit above Malaar's atmosphere while the pilots waited for the 'pick-up' signal.

"Let's go," Vader muttered, darting into the jungle, leaving the exposed lake shore behind. When he felt he'd gone far enough to find sufficient cover, he stopped to crouch by a fallen tree. The clone squad moved with surprising stealth despite their constricting white armor and the crappy field of vision their stupid helmets gave them.

Taking a deep breath, Vader immersed himself in the vibrant currents of the Force in search of the crash-landed Jedi. It wasn't easy. There was simply so much life around him, the trees, the vines, the flowers, the insects, the birds, the reptiles, the mammals, it all got in his way. Even a bright shiny presence of a powerful Jedi could get swallowed up in all the other lights of living things.

But he kept looking, probing, seeking them. Who knew, maybe they would find him. He wouldn't stop looking until he found them or he was interrupted. Then…

"Ah hah," he muttered. Eyes sliding half-open, he rose up and struck off in a direction. The clones didn't make any comment. They had grown used to their Jedi commanders' odd behaviors and habits. All they worried about was keeping him safe while he tracked his Jedi colleagues down like a Corellian Bloodhound.

Vader skittered through the thick undergrowth and over fallen tree trunks and thick ropy vines, his blue eyes clouded over, seeing something that wasn't really there. Time ceased to hold significant meaning for him. He was half in the real world, half out of it. All the while his focus was solely on following the directions of the Force.

For miles he hiked like this. His squad circling around him as he went, making sure he didn't miss anything that was dangerous close by while his mind was miles away. Already they had shoed away several large reptiles that were probably venomous that he could've stepped on.

Then he abruptly snapped out of his trance and jogged ahead to the top of a nearby rise. He paused at the top and looked down into a valley of sorts that had a shallow creek running right through the middle of it. On the banks of the little creek slumped the limps forms of several Jedi.

Instead of the six that Vader had hoped to find, there were only four of them there. The Ithorian and Twi'lek were no where in sight, leaving a Zabrak and three Humans. Two of the Humans were clearly the two Padawans the information had listed. The Zabrak had been classified as a Knight, and the third Human was the Master. Unfortunately there hadn't been time for them to send off any personal information, like their names, before they'd had to flee their crashed vessel to escape the Trandoshans.

Worried, Vader skidded down the shallow slope to check their condition, broadcasting his presence through the Force so thathe and his clone squad wouldn't take the other Jedi by surprise. They didn't so much as twitch as he approached them. They were simplytoo tired and hurt from the crash and being hunted by bloodthirsty Trandoshans to really do much at the moment.

"Um, hey." Vader greeted uncertainly, not sure how he was supposed to start a conversation with such wiped-out people.

The young Padawan, a dark-haired boy of about fifteen, sat up immediately and stared at him in confusion. "Huh?" He croaked.

The Zabrak Knight was a little more on top of things. "Rescue, I assume?" He rumbled in a deep voice that only added to his imposing, horned features.

"You are correct," Vader bowed in greeting.

Now the Master, a middle-aged Human male, picked up his head to observe their Padawan savior. Vader stared back at him for a moment before he suddenly recognized the man. And then it was a battle to not slide into a panic.

Argh, it-it's Master Halcyon! His brain screamed. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…

Master Nejaa Halcyon was a native of the Corellian branch of the Jedi Temple. He'd been with Obi-Wan when they tracked him down after his panicked flight from the hospital in Coronet. His few memories of the man centered around the fact that Master Halcyon hadn't liked him at all.

Calm down Anakin, calm down. He whispered to himself. It's been a long time. Even if he does remember me, I look different now than I did then. My presence in the Force is different. Just don't ask me my name, don't ask for a name… Vader prayed.

"Where is your Master?" Master Halcyon inquired.

"He's busy." Vader shrugged.

"I see," Master Halcyon replied in a tone that said a great deal more than that. What Vader heard was: oh great, a rescue mission led by an idiot Padawan. We're all going to die.

"Well, let's get walking, we'll be picked up on the plateau." Vader shrugged again, glancing upward through the tiny gaps in the dense jungle canopy in an effort to get his bearings.

"The plateau?" The young Padawan all but whined.

The other, older Padawan remained silent. In fact, the girl had yet to even react to his presence. Vader could tell she wasn't dead but the steady rise and fall of her chest. Her vacant hazel eyes hinted at what was ailing her.

"Yes, the plateau. It's a good distance away from where the Trandoshan ship landed and it's clear enough for a quick easy landing and take-off." Vader explained.

Master Halcyon seemed to cheer up at bit at hearing this. Perhaps the 'idiot Padawan' wasn't such an idiot after all. Vader struggled not to feel insulted at this.

I'm twenty years old, Vader grumbled. Almost twenty-one, actually, he realized when he recalled the current date. Yeah, I'll be twenty-one in a couple of days, I know what I'm doing!

"Are there any injuries?" The clone medic asked politely.

"Just a few scrapes and bruises, nothing serious." The Zabrak replied. "Not physically anyway." He added, glancing over at the limp Padawan, confirming Vader's suspicion.

"Take turns carrying her," Vader sighed to the nearest clone. Carrying her would be a heck of a lot quicker and easier than trying to coax her to walk the way on her own. He oriented himself in a direction that felt right. "Let's get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave this steam bath."

One of the soldiers scooped up the near catatonic Padawan while a few others helped the stranded Jedi to their feet. Then they began hiking towards the plateau and escape. And while they marched, they remained wary for the unseen Trandoshan hunters.

It was likely that if the Twi'lek Jedi and the Ithorian Jedi hadn't died in the crash, that the Trandoshans had taken them. The Ithorian's oddly shaped head and the Twi'lek's lekku had to be interesting prizes for the reptilian hunters. And if Vader had to guess, the Zabrak Knight and his crown of short curved horns were next on the red-eyed lizards' list.

You want your trophies lizard boys? Vader growled to the as-yet-unseen Trandoshans. Well, you'll have to catch us first!

The sun was starting to set now. In another hour it would be night. It was best if they left before then. The Trandoshan mercenaries would have the advantage then, for their eyes could see into the infrared part of the spectrum, allowing them to see better in the dark than in the bright of day. And then there the native wildlife on top of that.

Hours of hard hiking had brought them to the base of the plateau. Another hour brought them to the gentlest sloping side of the flat-topped mound of earth and rock. And now they had to start climbing.

The Trandoshans were still back there somewhere. Vader could feel them, though he couldn't pinpoint their exact locations. They had probably guessed what the Jedi's goal was at this point. And now they were waiting for their prey to start walking their way up the bare rocky slope so they could take clear shots at them.

Damned if we do, damned if we don't. Vader sighed, staring at the bare yellowish rocky slope ahead. If we stay here for the night, they'll get us in the dark. If we climb now, they'll shot us like…like…what was that term Sabé mentioned? …Fish in a barrel.

Around him, he could feel how tired his own group was. The clones, as goodof condition as they were in, were reaching the end of their endurance. They were good for this last leg of the journey, but not for any further. The stranded Jedi were in much worse shape. They'd already been running all day yesterday from the hunters and lost two of their number. Vader was surprised that they were still standing.

"We should make a run for it, we can't make it another night here." Master Halcyon declared, coming over to stand beside Vader.

"Right," Vader agreed reluctantly. By some miracle of the Force, none of the stranded Jedi had asked for his name. Hopefully the Force would stay on his side and he could get them to safety without them finding out his identity. "We'll go in a few minutes."

Master Halcyon merely nodded in response and headed over to his Jedi companions to get them ready. Vader rolled his shoulders in circles to ease the tension that had built up in them and studied the faint trail they would take one last time. Then he went over to his troops and gave them their last instructions.

"Okay boys, we're almost done, just one short leg left to go." He told them, clasping his hands behind his back. "Break down into three-man groups, one for each survivor. Each group makes sure that their Jedi makes it to the top in as good a condition as possible. I'll bring up the rear and see if I can't draw some enemy fire away from the rest of you. Medic, you still have the signal beacon?" He asked.

"Yes sir," the clone medic replied, briefly removing the signal beacon from his pack for his inspection.

"Good, once you and all the other Jedi to the top, turn it on. If I don't catch up in fifteen minutes, I won't be coming back so leave without me." Vader ordered. Upon sensing their shock, he explained himself. "Our mission is to rescue them, and if sacrifice is necessary to do that, then we will make those sacrifices. If I fall, the mission must continue and they must be brought to safety. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" All twelve of them chorused with the same voice.

"Good," Vader nodded, "now get to it!"

The clones got up and did as he told them, breaking into threes and herding the four survivors closer to the base of the plateau. At Vader's nod, they started to hike up the steep barely-there trail. The half-catatonic female Padawan went first, carried by her protectors. The other Padawan came next, his Master the Zabrak following just behind. And then came Master Halcyon. Vader brought up the rear, several paces behind everyone else.

It was a tricky climb. There were sections of the path that were little more than loose gravelly stone. If you stepped on that wrong, you could lose your footing and fall. The whole way was steep, though not as steep as the other sides of the plateau. And the setting sun glared in from the west, half-blinding them on one side.

Vader didn't like this one bit, but there was no other choice. The thick muggy air made breathing difficult which in turn made climbing harder. But he kept going. He had to. The hunters were still back there, waiting.

It felt like the hike took forever. It felt like the setting sun was moving faster than they were. But eventually the lip of the plateau's flat top began to appear nearer.

And then the first little group made it up and over. After depositing their human cargo a safe distance from the edge, those clones returned to help their comrades reach the summit. Vader came to a stop and waited, watching as the second Padawan and then the Zabrak Knight made it too. Then just as Master Halcyon was making the flat summit, Vader started to climb again.

An icy chill of warning stabbed through his spine. A distant high-pitched whistle-scream rapidly rose in volume. Vader lunged forward, struggling to put on a burst of speed. It wasn't enough.

The ground exploded under his feet. There was heat all around him. Sharp stabbing shrapnel whizzed around him, slicing through cloth and flesh. And then he was falling.

He tried to stop, but gravity wouldn't let him. Hard, sharp rocks cut and bruised him as he tumbled end over end. He tucked his head, legs, and left arm in to try and protect them. His right arm he used to try and slow down. It was half metal; it could take the tearing forces better than mere flesh and bone.

Golden-hued metal scraped against dull yellow sandstone. Horrid screeching scrapes assaulted his ears. Pain lanced up through his arm and shoulder, flaring in his bruised back. He regretted sticking out his hand; it felt like it was being torn off at the joint where metal and flesh met.

And still he fell. Down and down, end over end, he fell. He fell all the way down into the jungle as the sun set and darkness of night descended…

Obi-Wan scrubbed a weary hand over his face as his shuttle rose from the surface of Muunilinst back towards the Star Destroyer Valiant. The battle to take Muunilinst's capital had been a success. Costly and difficult, but a success. Well, mostly a success, the bounty hunter, Durge, had managed to spirit away the Banking Clan's chairman, San Hill. But other than that, all the goals they'd had for taking the capital had been met.

Now, with the occupied capital being watched over by hundreds of clones and a few other Jedi, he was returning to the Valiant to check on his Padawan. Hopefully Vader would recover himself quickly. Trying to take over a city without his Padawan at his side had been difficult. He really didn't want to have to do it again.

As soon as the shuttle touched down in the hanger bay, Obi-Wan hopped off and looked around for Vader. He frowned when he didn't see the young man waiting there. Considering how bored Vader had claimed to be the last time they'd spoken, Obi-Wan had expected to be greeted by one of the young man's infamous scowls.

Disappointed, but not particularly alarmed, he set off in search of his younger friend. He checked the bridge, the mess hall, the engine room, the gym, the hanger again, and their cabin. Coming up empty everywhere, he tried an alternate form of locating Vader. Specifically, he examined the bond to see just where the man was hiding. He didn't find anything. And that alarmed him.

Taking a second look around the cabin in search of clues, he spied a scrap of paper lying on his bed. Obi-Wan sat down on the edge of his bed and examined the paper, finding a barely legible note from Vader scrawled on it. As he slowly deciphered it, his heart sank.

According to the note, Vader had undertaken an emergency rescue mission to a planet called Malaar. He didn't expect to be gone long. But if for some reason he didn't return, there was a disk hidden in his sock drawer that he wanted Obi-Wan to have.

Obi-Wan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Not good. Not good at all. But…at least this time he told me where he went…