Chapter 76: Delta Squad
Siri paces in front of the Scimitar, hood drawn up, on one of the more private landing platforms of Coruscant that she'll stealth from and leave without anyone the wiser hopefully. She did double check, C'Baoth and Krell were on Onderon, and the initial reports from the first few fights that had actually been fought reported Dark Jedi on the battlefield. Geonosis should be very simple and clean. She doesn't feel anything in particular from the Force, nor the oppression of the Veil hiding anything about the mission. She still can't help her apprehension. She hasn't really been part of a team since... well... she was a Jedi Padawan. Ordering around Black Sun thugs over a decade ago didn't really count. Rain/Zannah was not a follower, but someone she considered an equal, regardless of the soul fragment being stuck in a holocron. Zannah had more than carried her weight during the purge of Krayn's slave organization. But they had mostly worked independently of one another until they came together on the ship, and at no point had what they'd been doing been difficult or dependent on the other to work.
These are supposedly an Elite Commando Squad, but really, these clones haven't actually been on field missions yet to her knowledge. So, excellent training or not, they're still unproven in a real situation. Top that all off with the fact she has no experience leading, no knowledge of what they can do, what their limits are. She is loath to rely on others to begin with, let alone those unproven, let alone those from a very sketchy origin. She has little doubt Sidious had a hand in the creation of the Clone Army, and that implies... several things she would rather not think about.
Her eyes flicker to the sound of a ship on approach. She sizes up the clone drop ship, two lasers up front, then two turrets to the side, what looks like missile pods attached under the wings maybe? For a transport, that thing is impressively armed. Or maybe its simply because she's unused to seeing a military grade transport. The Scimitar has weapons and shielding (and its very sought after cloaking), but... its sad to say the transport has more weaponry. Perhaps at some point she needs to have the ship worked on. Though that's likely to throw off the balance of the ship...
She tunes the thought out as the ship touches down and four clones step off it. They walk into a formation, one at the front, two at his back, one covering their back. They had individual coloring of their armor; white was a given and looked to be the base appearance of their armor. The coloring looked like paint? The front one had orange, to his left was red, right one had a mix of yellow and gray, the one at the back was green. They have individual weapons, different from one another, and from what she could see poking out from behind them, differing attachments to their back. No idea what models their weaponry and gear was.
They approach and then stand at attention, moving to stand side by side.
"Delta Squad I assume," she says, peering out from her hood, sampling them in the Force.
For clones, their presences rather differed from one another. There were similarities of course, they were based off the same base, but... surprisingly different. Then again, its not like she's met a lot of clones in her life to compare with, if knowingly any.
"Yes ma'am," says Orange, "I am RC-1138, head of the squad," he motions to Green, "RC-1140, who serves as our squads slicer, medic, and technology expert," then Red, "This is RC-1207, our sniper and weapons expert, excellent in recon and ambush as well," he motions to Yellow, "RC-1262, our demolitions and explosives expert."
Her thoughts of difference fade away instantly, hers lips peel back in distaste. "Numbers. You introduce yourself with... numbers."
"Is there a problem ma'am?" posed RC-1138, no emotions leaking through his control at her jab.
"I dislike working with those to weak to even claim a name," she said with disdain, "Come up with names for yourselves at some point."
Again, RC-1138 has impeccable control and doesn't even so much as bristle. RC-1140 bristles though, RC-1262 is indignant, RC-1138 is angry, and defensive of the others.
"I have one, its Sev, ma'am," RC-1138 snaps out.
The lead jerks his head in Sev's direction and the man instantly backs down, anger cooling with impressive discipline.
Siri though... is interested. She takes a few steps forward, drawing close to Sev; his body is held loosely, but she can feel the tension in his spine.
"He meant no offense ma'am," offered the lead.
Siri stops in front of Sev. "There is none taken, in fact, I prefer if you have a bit of spine. You all have names then? Tell me."
"My men tend to call me Boss."
"Name's Scorch."
"I'm Fixer."
She takes the names in. She resists the urge to frown. That's... not what she expected at least. Rather simple in naming. Almost... childish. Siri has a bad feeling about it, but pushes it aside to think about later. The names fit at least. Boss as the leader, Fixer as medic and mechanic, Scorch as explosives, Sev...
"I can guess where their names come from, Sev would you care to share?" she posed.
"Last digit of my number," he said flatly.
Partially true. She waits half a minute until one of them adds on.
"He has a habit of taking limbs off the training droids with his sniper, ma'am, thus Sev for severance or severing," offered Scorch dryly, "I think the name fits."
Siri's lips peel back into a grin. "Good shot then?"
Sev's helmet tips up a bit. "All commandos are good shots."
Hmm, she feels a fierce pride from him for his fellow commandos. Here and elsewhere. The Jedi would call him very attached to them in fact. She does not believe he would do well with any of his squad dying. "I'll hold you to that, but there should be very little shooting on this mission."
He tilts his helmet. "We were told we were going to be heading into Geonosis to blow their droid production facilities. We're aware most of their forces have left, but there should still be some resistance."
Siri smiles, and whispers softly under her breath a small chant, her physical form appearing to peel away from existence. She can feel his eyes go wide under his helmet, startlement from the others as well. She moves around behind Sev before negating the small sorcery. "You'll find that doesn't matter much to me."
Sev whirls, hand briefly going for his rifle before he reigns in the instinct. "You have a personal stealth field generator?"
"No," she said as the others turn around, "I have something much better, the Force."
"I wasn't aware Jedi could go invisible," said Sev.
Her tone goes cold. "I am no Jedi."
He glances down briefly at the lightsaber at her belt.
"My name is Siri Tachi," she introduces herself, giving a darkly amused smile, "Renegade Sith Apprentice of Darth Sidious."
"Erm... perhaps my history isn't that good, but weren't the Sith, one, extinct, and two, enemies of the Jedi and the Republic?" posed Fixer cautiously.
"Hmm, I take it you haven't been appraised of recent history then," she mused, "Lets just say I like breaking expectations. I can explain more later, but I do believe we have explosives to load?"
"Right ma'am, lets get them loaded Delta," ordered Boss, thumbing back to the drop ship.
She waits for them to each take an armful before grasping the rest with the Force and levitating them behind her. She gets the feeling Sev thinks she's showing off and resists smiling, he's going to be a fun one. She takes them aboard the Scimitar and shows them the storage, empty of everything but her crate of talismans and food supplies. They stack it full in a minute flat.
"Before we leave," said Siri, "I have a small... test I wish to do."
"Test ma'am?" asked Boss.
She reaches up and lowers her hood. "I will be brutally honest and expect the same from you in turn in private. I usually work solo. I'm not exactly pleased that I've been asked to work with others, let alone be asked to lead them when I have no experience doing so."
The Clone absorbs the information. "I see."
"If you're asking for brutal honesty, are you telling me you're completely shiny?" said Sev.
A small sigh escapes Boss.
"If by shiny you mean new, then in commanding at least, yes," she said.
"Solo operatives have their place," said Boss civilly, "We are expected to work well in a team, and on our own if separated."
"Still, we've been placed under command of a shiny," rebutted Sev.
Scorch snorted. "Technically, we're all shiny, this is our first actual mission."
Sev scoffed. "Vau's training is likely to be harder than our mission will be."
Fixer gives a mock shudder. "I'll agree to that."
Siri makes a mental note to ask who Vau is later.
Boss clears his throat. "Test, ma'am? Of our capabilities? There isn't much time for a training exercise if we want to hit the enemy before any of the battles end and they regroup possibly at Geonosis."
"Not of yours, but mine," she said, "I can maintain invisibility over myself easily, but I'm not quite experienced in maintaining that same invisibility over multiple people, especially if they end up at a distance from me."
"Wait wait wait, us?" said Fixer, "You can make us invisible too?"
"I should, if we're in close proximity I don't particularly think it will be difficult. Problem is, mission will take ages that way if we all just go together," said Siri dryly, "Get in and get out quick tends to work best. Missions that linger...," she thinks bemusedly of not killing the Jedi quickly on Naboo and how things ended up because of it, "...tend to have more chances to mess up."
"I concur with the thought ma'am," agreed Boss, "So long as a mission isn't needlessly rushed, mistakes are made in haste."
"They can be," she conceded, "Less so with the Force to nudge you about things. But I suppose that's cheating."
She gives Sev a brief mocking smile, and she can feel the scowl in response. "Out of my ship."
They stand in a line in front of the ramp, Siri at the bottom of it. She considers that the individuality of their presence might be as much of a boon as a deterrent. If they were all mirrors it might be easier to wrap them all around it, but uniqueness could work as a foundation. She chants softly and anchors her spellwork around their presence, examining her connection to it. By default, the fact that she's maintaining it over someone else rather than her own body makes an immediate difference in her awareness. Not quite like a bond, but with her power wrapped around them she is aware of them in a manner similar. They fade from view and Fixer whistles.
"Nice ma'am."
Siri closes her eyes and feels for herself. Gauging. Its only a tiny drain, a tiny focus now. They are all close and unmoving. "Spread out slowly to the corners of the landing pad."
Technically, distance matters not to the Force. The problem with that is in the foundation of belief, the unconscious notion of difficulty and impossibility. Its also a matter concentration and power. She would require far more focus to cover others than herself. Distraction could prove... difficult. Even the mere sound of Coruscant traffic in the distance is a surprising strain on her focus that normally wouldn't hinder her at all. She doesn't like it. It is also more taxing to spread her power in four separate directions. Not a problem short term, but if she had to maintain this for an extended duration it could become draining enough to weaken her in the event they were found and had to fight their way out.
"Start running around the helipad," she calls out.
Active motion is much worse, her focuses moving fast and in different direction, morso when they suddenly jerk and change direction. She should not be having her first mission with them be the first time she is doing this...
Then there is two loud 'omphs' of startlement when two of them collide. The sound, the surprise in the Force, and the brief flicker of pain from them when two armored beings slam into eachother, breaks her focus. All four flicker back into view, and Siri scowls.
She repeats herself aloud. "Our first mission should not be the first time we try this in an active setting. Ideally, we'd have more time for me to get used to this."
"Ideally," agreed Boss, "But we have a job to do. Why did it fail? Physical contact?"
"No," said Siri, "Me maintaining my cloaking of you requires focus. The sound, the startlement and brief pain echoing in the Force, broke my concentration."
"So if we're more careful...?" posed Fixer.
"Its not just you," said Siri sourly, "A simple mistake from my end like tripping over something, would be enough. If I were only covering myself I'd probably be able to maintain my ability, but of all of us? If I face-planted, then the startlement, and brief burst of pain, could be enough to disrupt my maintaining invisibility over all five of us. I need far, far more practice doing this with others before I'd be anywhere near comfortable doing this on a mission."
"If we're not immediately requested elsewhere, then we can return to Kamino for training exercises after," offered Boss, "But for now, would you only maintaining your focus be enough? Just sit on the ship and focus on keeping us invisible? Takes a large chunk of distraction out of the way, and the four of us will be enough to lay charges, especially if the enemy does not know we are there and we can move about unopposed."
Discomfort rolls over Siri. "Possibly, falling into meditation would allow me deeper focus, greater distance, and would require a bigger distraction from your end to disrupt me."
Boss considers her, then with surprising insight, says, "But, as a solo operative, you do not like entrusting the mission to us without your personal presence there, especially since we are unproven to you."
Siri's jaw clenches briefly before confirming. "Correct."
"With respect ma'am, we have a real chance to do severe damage to the enemy to counter their hard initial push of the Republic," said Boss, "If we take out their facilities there, we set them back, possibly massively depending on how many other droid production facilities they have scattered through their territory. This could provide the desperate breathing room the Republic is going to need to recover. We have a time limit, and we were honestly prepared to go in hot and fight our way through the facilities, blowing them as we go."
He clasps his hands behind his back, he is projecting pure confidence. "Give us stealth that doesn't interfere with or being disrupted by our gear? That wont be disrupted by something on their end? We wont have a problem at all. We were expecting to have to go in fighting, this will be simple in comparison."
She considers him for a long minute. She doesn't like it, but she is also aware that the Force doesn't confirm her dislike. In fact, she's getting the equivalent of a cuff upside the head from the Dark Side for her sullenness. "Very well. Just be aware, if there are Dark Jedi there, they can sense my efforts with proximity."
"How close?" asks Boss.
"Half a room or so?" she said, making a so-so motion.
He nodes slowly, considering it. "Understood."
Siri motions back to the ship, and they board.
"What else do you require on our end?" asked Boss.
"Keep your emotions as stable as possible," she said, "Spikes of emotions from you will likely weaken my focus. Pain usually feeds the Dark Side, but it is distracting when I'm trying to focus."
"Right," said Sev dryly, "No stubbing toes then."
Fixer snickers.
Boss sighs.
Scorch leans against a wall and says, "Can we get going? I really want to blow something up."
What a strange group. "Find a spot and make yourself comfortable then."
She starts for the cockpit, leaving the room and walks down the hallway, enhancing her hearing as she went.
"Fixer, Scorch, get your datapads, I want a quick search done and anything relevant on our commander downloaded before we hit hyperspace to review on the way." ordered Boss quietly, "We need to know more about our commanding officer. I don't know much about the Sith aside from the brief historic overview we all got, but someone who should be our enemy being our commander instead sounds... complicated. I'd rather not be more surprised then necessary."
Sev grunts. "Figure its two-fold sir. She'll be an asset to the Republic if that cloaking is a hint of what she's capable of, especially combined with us, but, we're probably supposed to be keeping an eye on her too."
Siri smiles, amused, and cuts her focus, musing softly to herself. "Very likely Sev, very likely."
She takes them into hyperspace not much later, which assuming they had datapads that weren't ancient, should have been enough to download a few videos and news articles. The thought makes her smile, fishing out not one, but two fancy datapads, one from the Black Sun, one from the Chancellor. Always nice to compare resources. She's not quite a software expert, so comparing the code for them isn't in her knowledge base, but she already knows she's placing nothing critical on the one from the Republic, who knows if anything was planted on it, but...
She did get one mass dump of information from the Chancellor, per their agreement.
Kenobi was assigned to the 212th Attack Battalion. Supernova had been assigned to... well then. The 501st Legion, under the command of Qui-Gon Jinn. Feemor was assigned to the 442nd Siege Battalion. Dooku was put into the command of one of the system armies that coordinated with them, a Jedi named Rael Aveross led the other. A quick look up cites him as one of Dooku's apprentices. Curious, he'd never shown up in the temple during her stay there, likely a story behind that. There were other smaller components, but all together they were titled the Third Systems Army. She leans back in her seat and considers it.
"All of that assigned to one lineage," she mused, "Probably an intentional choice."
The Third System Army was split across the middle, half rushing to defend the shipping yard at Kuat, half to aid Corellia. Two important battles assigned to them. She wonders if its intentional. The should be in combat by now, if not soon to be wrapping up their initial battles. Boss was right in that now is the time to hit Geonosis before all of them end. She doesn't particularly care to look up where other Jedi are assigned or fighting at the moment, as its all going to shift once the initial push is done. But...
She shifts to the hastily listed areas that were hit, most of them were industrial in nature, though there were a few hits on agricultural worlds that weren't apparently a priority to defend. That seemed... foolish. Perhaps people might not think it important, but city heavy worlds, especially Coruscant, would feel the pinch of that. It re-affirms her thoughts that this didn't seem planned by Sidious. The hits on the agricultural worlds... it could be explained by C'Baoth as a tactic to weaken the Republic, but... to her it was the beginning of the shift. The Confederacy had started out lamenting the sins of the Republic, how corrupt and monstrous it was, they would find themselves just as mired before this war was over.
She had warned the Chancellor of the possibility of Orbital Bombardment, and she would be very surprised if the Confederacy didn't cross that and other lines like it at some point. She looks at it objectively from a resource standpoint: all of the damage that would have to be repaired (if ever), all the future citizens and anything they would accomplish wiped away, the public outrage and consequences for it, all of that and so much more. Sith reveled off of chaos and destruction, all of what an OB would do feeds the Dark Side, but... she views it as a short term gain for many long term problems. The absolute extremeness of such acts are what she wants to cut away from the Sith...
Though she doesn't forget that she had once admitted to herself she would blow up a populated planet if it meant killing Sidious.
She smiles bitterly at the hypocrisy she exhibits.
She decides she has given Delta Squad enough time to start digging into what they downloaded, especially when a flicker of shocked outrage hits her. She's curious what triggered it specifically. When she enters the room, Boss addresses her immediately.
"You believe the Confederacy, that their leader had a hand in the creation of the Clone Army," stated Boss, his entire presence had settled from shock into cold fury breaking his discipline.
Ah, so they'd started from the most recent then, her testimony at the Senate for what happened at Geonosis.
"Do I believe you all were created just to die as part of a scheme?" she said, cold and cruel, "Yes."
The ripples from the Force tell her all four feel like they'd just been slapped, ice water poured out of them, and gutted for good measure. "What you don't know, and what I was not given the chance to explain though the Chancellor has been informed, is that C'Baoth is likely my stand in replacement apprentice for Darth Sidious."
Boss regards her. "He is a Sith then?"
She tilted her head in consideration. "I don't fully know how inducted into my Order he has been, as I believe his life is intended by Sidious to be temporary, but its likely he has adopted enough tenants and outlooks to be considered as such. So listen, and listen well as I tell you exactly the true enemy you face."
She slowly walks up to him. "He will feel that death is a mercy rather than a punishment. His empathy is completely shot. He will feel no remorse for anything he has done. He will draw power from any atrocity he commits. The death of every single one of you Clones will feed into the Dark Side smothering the Force and he will find it... delightful. Anyone and anything is expendable to him. The only thing that will matter to him is his own life and his power."
"This applies to Sidious as well?" posed Boss coldly.
"Who do you think I was talking about? C'Baoth?" she said, sneering, "He is a tool and a weapon to be discarded when Sidious is ready. But yes, he will have likely adopted those traits as well."
"...and what about you?" posed Sev across the room.
Siri gives a mirthless smile. "I am not unaware of my own shortcomings. My Sith Training has left me relatively incapable of true empathy to anyone not close to me, I can fake it easily enough, perhaps get a flicker of emotion, but a building full of civilians could be blown away in front of me and I'd be more likely to care about the waste of potential resources than anything else."
She enjoys the disquiet from them. "Make no mistake, I am not a good person. I work with the Republic not because I care for it at all, but to oppose Darth Sidious. The Republic is a blighted cancer as far as I'm concerned, I don't actually care if it falls or not."
"And we're expected to trust you?" posed Sev.
"You would be a fool if you did," said Siri cheerfully, "But you can trust in my hatred of Sidious, and that there are a few I would burn the Galaxy to the ground to preserve. My agreement with the Chancellor is more of an 'enemy of my enemy' thing. We are both using the other."
"You're pretty casual about this," said Fixer, "And upfront."
Siri shrugged. "If we're going to be working together through this conflict, then there are things you need to be made aware of. The truth of the matter, the war within the war, is one of them."
"What do you mean?" asked Boss.
"This war between the Confederacy and the Republic? Its a sham, orchestrated and prodded into existence by my former Master," said Siri, "I'm not saying some of the foundations and reasons of the war aren't real, but it most likely wouldn't have come to a head like this, in war, without his and his own master's manipulation, at least not for a long while yet. A thousand years of orchestration and it all comes down to this."
She stares Boss right in the eye, feeling the place to look through the Force. "The true war is between the Jedi and the Sith. What happens to the Galaxy depends on who wins."
Boss says nothing for a minute, standing there and parsing what she said. "So he intends to conquer the galaxy with the Confederacy and his army of droids and Dark Jedi? Sith?"
She shakes her head. "Only two there are, no more, no less, a master, and an apprentice. One to embody the power, the other to crave it. Sidious intends for every single Jedi, fallen or otherwise, to die in this war. He will likely sweep away other Force Sects as well while he is at it, leaving him and whoever he decides to have as his apprentice the sole trained Force Sensitives in the Galaxy. He could do this with the Confederacy I suppose, but it is more likely he aims to convert the Republic into a Sith Empire."
She takes one final step forward, her face inches from his helmet, and smiles mockingly. "Are you happy to know?"
Boss regards her, pushing down his emotions with impressive discipline. "I'd rather know than not. Sidious is our primary enemy and target then."
Good, it wasn't a question. She is... satisfied. The Clones took everything in, accepted it, and regarded Sidious as the threat he was immediately, even if they don't truly understand his capabilities. She turns and walks over towards the hallway to the cockpit, leaning against the wall. "Correct. The primary reason I accepted this position, is because I am receiving high level intelligence about the Republic forces and what is discovered about the Confederacy. I am hoping to piece things together and try to track down and identify who Darth Sidious is."
"So we eventually find him, we take him down," said Sev, hand running down his sniper rifle in his lap.
Siri laughed bitterly. "Force no. He'd kill all of us easily. If we discover who Darth Sidious is, we gather the entire Jedi Council, especially Yoda and Mace Windu, then confront him."
"That powerful huh?" posed Scorch, "Sure we couldn't plant a kriff-ton of explosives and blow him sky high?"
"It would be amusing to kill him in such a trifle way, but unlikely," said Siri, "He has incredible precognitive abilities, and last I knew of him, spent a good deal of time in meditation probing possible futures through the Force. Surprising him is... unlikely, possible but unlikely."
"How do you intend to find him then, let alone kill him if he is so all knowing?" posed Fixer, "I doubt he'll just let you come at him with the entire Jedi Council unless you surprise him."
That was a kriffing damn good question, there is no realistic scenario where Sidious loses if he is properly prepared. She not overestimating him as the Jedi would think, its just pure kriffing fact. He doesn't get taken down in this war unless... "Sith generally have one true weakness."
"Which is?" posed Boss.
"Their arrogance," she admits with a self-depreciating smile, "They reach for so much that in the end they claim nothing. Our chance to defeat him is likely going to be when he is so assured of his victory that he slips up or leaves himself vulnerable."
"At the last possible moment is what you're saying," said Sev dryly, "After who knows how many tens of thousands of our brothers have died in this 'sham of a war' as you call it."
"Its my honest thought," she admits, "Sidious is most likely not going to be found until he wants to be, unless something really goes sideways for him."
"So you're saying everything up until then is pointless?" demanded Fixer.
"No," she said sharply, "Make no mistake, I intend to try to uncover and destroy him. To weaken his power and strike at his assets. The longer you keep him from executing his endgame the more time you have to brace for it or try to disrupt it. Missions we go on will help to damage the Confederacy will preserve your...," what did they call them? "...brothers, and while I don't care if most of the Jedi live, them too. Every single Jedi that dies is a victory for Sidious, especially any powerful ones who wouldn't die five seconds into a fight with him."
Boss nods slowly. "A long campaign then. With careful consideration of our resources and maintaining our assets. Aside from the Separatists, do you have ideas of his assets within the Republic? If he intends to corrupt the Republic as you say, then he isn't starting from nothing."
Siri's face sours. "I assume you downloaded what you could find as quickly as you could. Start from the Senate's original questioning of me and you'll get an answer."
Its... interesting, years later, to look back on the start of her parole. Seeing herself weak coming out of Force Suppression is still infuriating, but she doesn't care as much about her public appearance then. She considers Palpatine's words on publicity, and recognizes that moment brought her an unexpected and unwanted boon at the time: sympathy, pity, and the like. She had wanted to appear strong and infallible, yet...
"So that's how you got involved with the Republic then," mused Fixer, "Tattled on your boss for parole."
"Thing about traitors though, how do you know they wont betray you in turn?" posed Sev pointedly.
Siri snorted. "Being a traitor implies I was ever loyal to Sidious to begin with. I am loyal to certain tenants of the Sith Code and my Order, yes, but certain long held goals of my line really don't matter to me."
"...that's still not exactly saying you are loyal to the Republic," said Fixer.
"Nope," agreed Siri, popping the P, "Not in the slightest. I did tell you that I was only working with the Republic to oppose Sidious."
"Well, certainly going to make this interesting," mused Fixer.
Scorch reeled the conversation back on topic. "So you told the Republic things... and what happened? I'm not getting a lot out of this."
"Basically nothing worthwhile," Siri informed them, "My questioning was delayed, and over a period of time initially. Sidious had so much time on his hand, that it was likely he could soften the blow, redirect the attempt, or cut his losses on anything that came his way. Sure, a lot of things were shuffled around; the Trade Federation was replaced with a new token corporation, a bunch of criminal groups were taken out, a few senators were sacked or pressured, but ultimately..."
She sours. "Ultimately, I don't think it amounted to anything but a brief delay, minor setbacks. A few things along the way probably disgruntled him or had to be worked around, like pointing out how the Sith were using the senate to cull the Jedi over time, but really, nothing that was lost was irreplaceable. The most likely aggravating thing for Sidious was the loss of an active apprentice for so long. He had Vosa for a bit as a weak stand in, but he didn't actually get a real stand in apprentice until C'Baoth. Believe me, he had me do a shitton of low-visibility leg work that I doubt he has the time for."
"Define low-visibility," asked Boss.
Good perception.
"Not just in keeping my presence to a minimum, but as in low vision to the overall scope of the Grand Plan. I knew what I did was towards an overall goal, but not exactly how. I did not have nearly enough high view of things to know how its orchestrated at the most important levels," she advises.
"So... you weren't exactly that important to them," prodded Sev.
Siri gives a coy smile. "I was an apprentice, a tool. I had not yet earned the right to be a Lord of the Sith. Though... Sidious had mentioned taking me into his confidence if I had succeeded on Naboo. Had I cast away Kenobi and delved into the depths Sidious and those before him have, I suppose I would have."
"So... you're what then? Still a Sith Apprentice?" posed Scorch, "Its been a decade, hasn't it?"
"A decade of stagnation," she said sourly, "In which I barely improved in anything but lightsaber technique, if not weakened in the Force. I let myself get... distracted on Nar Shadaa playing with slavers afterwards, and then I was dragged into all of this. Believe me, I was..."
She paused briefly. "I was stronger on Naboo when I was about to kill Kenobi than I am now. I need to devote time to actually improving myself."
"After the mission then, when we return to Kamino," suggested Boss.
"If we're not demanded right after," she muttered before musing, "Though I did say I would deny or accept missions as I so chose, so I can make the time if I need be."
She shakes her head. "If you have no other questions, I'm going to meditate and center myself for the mission."
Boss nods. "Nothing else that can't wait, if you need to prep, then go prep ma'am."
She gives a mocking salute and walks back to the cockpit.
Siri doesn't like the feel of Geonosis.
Its... different. In the Force, than before. What she did here left a lasting impact. Shadowed whispers in the back of her mind. A current of wind across her face that isn't physical in nature. She kneels at the entrance of the ramp out of the Scimitar, Delta Squad securing an absurd amount of explosives to their bodies in preparation to go out. According to them, if they didn't need to engage in combat, they could carry a lot more, as it would save on mission time and return trips to the Scimitar. The squad walks past her, boots clunking, and waits at the bottom of the ramp.
Siri takes a deep breath, and lets it out, settling into her meditation. She'd already masked them in the Force before they'd touched down, so she pokes around widely...
"One," she murmurs, "From what I can sense, there is only a single Dark Jedi stationed to watch over this place."
They really emptied out.
"Right, our only real issue then," said Boss, "Do you have a general vicinity for that enemy?"
She nods. "Another part of the planet, likely in another facility. If we hit there I can give you a nudge in the Force when you get near. It will be like a cold touch on your shoulder pushing you one way."
"I'll take that when the time comes then, no offense Deltas," said Boss.
"Right boss," said Fixer.
"Can we go lay these already? I'm dying to see this place light up," said Scorch.
"Most of this place is underground," said Sev, "You're not going to see much unless you want to get caught in the explosion."
"Spoil sport," muttered Scorch.
"Alright Deltas," said Boss, "Remember, Commander Tachi needs focus. Exercise discipline, control, and keep distractions to a minimum. We don't know the timetable of the enemy, so in and out, find good and hidden spots near anything that looks important or tough to replace easily. We probably don't have enough to level every inch of every facility on this rock, so spread the explosives out..."
Siri tunes them out, embedding herself into the currents of the Force. She is uncomfortable here, but this isn't using the same method as before, just standard cloaking with her sorcery. Nothing experimental and unknown. Still... even what she considers normal use of Sith Sorcery sends a shiver through the Force, a tone increase in the whispers, the sensation of eyes on her from afar, watching but doing nothing else. She certainly doesn't feel like something is trying to crawl out of the Force and rip her out of her body, not this time thankfully.
She really doesn't ever want to come back to this place again.
She wraps her sorcery around the Clones and anchors herself around the familiar darkness of the Scimitar, Zannah's Holocron a familiar hum as well. She gets the sense Rain doesn't like being here either, but the soul fragment keeps to itself for the time being. She feels her power take, their physical forms seemingly peeling away from existence. She senses a shiver roll down their spines, the sensation of cold drawn upon their shoulders regardless of their suits. They set out at a decent pace considering the heaviness of their gear and the extra explosives. Physical trained to a good degree. They'd probably be physically stronger than her if one didn't factor in the Force.
Oddly enough, the difference in the Force on this planet makes it easier to keep her focus on the Clones as they enter the facility, her focus carried along unseen currents. She gets... impressions. Flashes of hallways. Convery belts of droids. Avoiding Geonosians. A flicker of satisfaction from the first charge placed. There is an... overlay to her sight, she catches the placement, a charge hidden under a panel near a pillar with a conveyer belt spiraling up and along it.
'When it blows, ought to tip the thing over and smash through another few belts as it falls.'
If she wasn't meditating, hearing the thought probably would have startled and slipped her control for a split second. As it, the Dark Side consumes her flicker of surprise like a greedy glutton. She faintly hears trotting, and reaches her hand out to brush along the Dark Hound's fur without opening her eyes.
"Returned have you?" she murmurs.
There is a huff from it before she feels the apparition lay down next to her, watching.
She tunes it out, idly drifting her focus between Delta Squad's members. No close calls yet. She's not quite sure she likes this drifting perspective, its a continual update, lets her feel a little bit more in control, but its a little disorienting. She's not quite sure yet how to control the drift between Clones, the random whispers of thought are also brief startles. Slowly, hour by hour, the Clones planet more and more explosives. By the three hour point, they've finished their first load and return one at a time to fasten their next load to their body.
"Ma'am," said Fixer, "I hacked into the facility's database and got a map of the planet, got the location of other droid production facilities, notated based on production amount. I say we got... how many trips worth of explosives left Scorch?"
"Three," said Scorch, making a so-so motion with his hand.
"So we hit the next three biggest places," said Fixer, "I also got the facility the current head-honcho is at
"We'll hit that one last," said Boss, "Ma'am, airlift to the next cluster?"
Siri slowly pulls herself out of meditation and dismisses the cloaking around them. "Any complications?"
"None so far ma'am," said Boss, briefly scanning his men and getting headshakes from them.
"Its honestly cheating," said Sev.
"Is that a complaint?" she posed.
He scoffs, and she gets the sense he's rolling his eyes at her. She smirks and turns to Fixer. "Coordinates?"
He handed her his datapad, she glanced at it, nodded and returned it, then headed to the cockpit. She flew them a bit across the planet, set down, and re-settled into her mediation after they were set. Another shiver ripples in the Force around her from her Sorcery, whispers briefly flaring before settling to the back of her mind. Eyes resettle looking squarely at her back. She pushes aside the discomfort and focuses on maintaining her focus on the Clones. Its quicker this time, she gets the feeling that the facilities mirror one another and has given them good spots to plant charges at already.
Two and a half hours later, its finished and they return, rinsing and repeating once more before they fly to the last cluster of facilities they have charges for.
"Will you be able to tell when I've finished my portion of it?" posed Boss.
Siri nodded. "Think it loudly, why do you ask?"
"Once its done, do what you said you do and point me towards the Dark Jedi," said Boss.
Siri narrows her eyes. Is he crazy? "You believe you could take them?"
"I'll judge the situation as it comes up, but I'd at least like to identify who they have assigned here for potential future use," he answered.
She nods slowly, but gets the feeling that if he feels he can pull it off he will do so. She settles into meditation one final time, and they're off. Its more tense this time, with the Dark Jedi lazily patrolling the facility...
"Sev," she projects to him, wincing briefly at his startlement, "Turn around and find another path, the Dark Jedi is coming your way."
She keeps her focus on the Dark Jedi, ignoring Sev's wary discomfort. Nothing changes, the Dark Jedi didn't feel her message cloaked by the Dark Side. They're not really focused or paying attention either though. Watching droids make droids can't be very exciting she supposes. She only has to shift their course twice more before they begin to wrap up. There is a sudden blankness from Fixer, then confusion and interest. A brief image of him slicing a panel fills her mind, but nothing about what drew his attention within it.
"Ma'am, I'm ready," comes Boss's loud thought.
She hesitates, before grudgingly nudging Boss towards the Dark Jedi. A ten minute trek later through the facility has Boss approaching his target. She feels his focus, like a held breath. He considers his opponent...
A hooded figure walking steadily on an overpass, fingers tapping the railing as they walked, bored, a frustrated sigh escaping their lips, the desire to have been assigned elsewhere emanates from them, leaning over the railing to peer down at production, their hood drifting back as they did...
Boss bursts forward, though not a sound is made because of her sorcery.
Distracted by their own boredom, the Dark Jedi only start to register something is off with the Force when Boss is right ontop of them.
For a moment, she is looking out of Boss's eyes. She can perceive his cloaked hands as they grasp the target's chin, the top of their head and WRENCH-
Then its done.
Snapped their neck so fast they didn't have time to recognize they were even in danger. Boss clasps a hand over their mouth for good measure and stabs a vibroknife into their chest, slowly taking them to the ground and dragging the body off to hide.
Siri finds herself stunned and disquieted, before she wrestles the emotions back under control.
It really hits her then.
The Clone Army was cloned from a Jedi Killer, and given heavy military training. They really could kill trained Force Sensitives given the opportunity.
So why was this army given to the Republic when it makes sense for them to have been Confederate instead?
One could argue with it being used against the Dark Jedi, but... she knows from Kamino that the Clones were ordered before the Confederacy existed. Boss's kill fills her with unease, but she pushes it away after a second. She'll give it more thought later when continued distraction wouldn't botch the mission. She does note though... Boss killed a Dark Jedi, and there was hardly a flicker of emotion. Ruthlessly efficient that one.
Sev returns first, then Scorch, then Boss, she drops there cloaking as they come back...
"What's taking Fix so long?" mutters Scorch.
"Don't distract the commander," comes Boss's light reprimand.
Siri mutters without opening her eyes. "He's been slicing at one single panel for the past... hour or so. Something's got his attention."
"...is it not distracting to speak when you're doing this?" posed Boss carefully, "Or has it become easier with a little practice?"
"Slightly," she murmurs, "I'm only maintaining it around him now, still in a meditative state. Makes it simpler."
She doesn't mention how the Force feels around Geonosis. She doesn't want that getting out. Especially if it gave people reasons to send her back here for 'efficiency'.
Boss taps his helmet, tilting it slightly. "Fixer, status."
He waits a moment. "Have you deployed all your charges?
Another wait. "Fixer, the mission comes first. Just do a bulk download of as much as you can and we can parse through later... its in orbit around a moon? What is in..."
He listens, glancing briefly at Siri. "Assuming nothing drops in on us, we can do a pass by on our way out and record what we see. You have an hour, get it done commando."
Siri raises an eyebrow. "Share with the class?"
"Fixer said he found blueprints for something behind a firewall the other bases didn't have," answered Boss, "Said 'Geonosis's part' is being built around one of their moons."
"Part?" questioned Siri.
"He didn't know, said the blueprints were for some giant part construction that looked like a puzzle you'd slot together to make something," said Boss, "Not sure what this is all about."
Siri closed her eyes and probing the Force...
...and got absolutely nothing.
A complete blank.
No.
A shroud.
Siri opens and narrows her eyes. "Yeah, we'll take a pass."
"You got something with your Force shit?" posed Sev.
"No," said Siri wryly, "I got absolutely nothing to or for whatever this about. My ability to perceive it is being blocked."
"You can do that with the Force?" asked Scorch.
"Yeah, how do you think you snuck around? My power blocks you from being perceived by most methods including the Force, the proximity problem with the Dark Jedi is a new counter to my ability I don't have a good work around to yet," she answered, "Its largely how the Sith have run circles around the Jedi the last thousand years."
"So in the event we work alongside Jedi, we should keep in mind that their abilities may be hampered?" inquired Boss.
"In regards to visions, perceptions, and intuition, its a possibility," she corrected, "Not generally their combat abilities."
"Noted ma'am," said Boss, moving to sit on the floor against a wall with a soft tired sigh, the others following suite.
Fixer comes in roughly an hour later, and Siri lets out of her meditation and her Sorcery. She wonders if it would have been so easy to maintain for so long on another planet. Because really, she should be exhausted after keeping it up for so long. But honestly... she just barely stopped and it already feels like she has caught a second wind. How strange... it couldn't just be from what happened here before so what...
She stands there for a moment, and slowly tilts her head up, looking up and through the ceiling with the Force. Oh.
She really should have realized this sooner. Hell, she'd mentioned this to the Senate, not considering that she too would be on the receiving end during this war.
The Dark Side is swelling.
There have been several massive battles all throughout the Galaxy filled with death and destruction and suffering, feeding into the Dark Side. She's not even near or in any of those battles and she's getting scraps all the way at Geonosis...
"Ma'am?"
She looks back down to see Fixer holding out a datapad, a hologram of... something floating above it. Siri's eyes crinkle, bewildered. "What am I looking at?"
"Part 03 of the EBP, whatever the hell that stands for," said Fixer, "Its outer part looks like it is part of a ball-structure, and is heavily reinforced. The inside will be capable of being manned, crew quarters, life support systems, energy generators, hyperdrive, all the standard shit you'd see a cruiser type vessel, but it also has a metric kriffton of energy-transference systems built into it. It has only light covering for the other side, enough to resist impact damage and keep everything inside, but otherwise, look at this here, here, here, and here, sticking out like that yeah? Clamps and connecters, four big ones and a bunch of small ones. Its supposed to be put together with these other 'parts'. All together... if I got the scaling right... size of a small moon? Little less?"
"The hell are they building that big?" said Sev.
"Shame we used all the explosives, because I'd like to blow it up whatever it is," said Scorch, and Siri can hear the pout in his tone.
"You got something to record with?" posed Siri.
Boss taps his helmet. "We're automatically recording."
...good to know for future reference.
"Cockpit then boys," she said, sauntering pass, "And someone grab the detonator from storage. Ill hook it up to the Scimitar and broadcast it cross planet."
Siri straps herself in, and plugs in the detonator. "You got the activation code?"
"You want to do the honors ma'am?" posed Boss.
She doesn't particularly care. "Let Scorch have some fun."
"Ha!" said Scorch, "She's trying to challenge you for my favorite Boss."
"Just put in the numbers Scorch," said Boss with a sigh.
Scorch huffs, walks over, taps in a code Boss rattles off, then hits the button with satisfaction rippling off him. "Might not be able to see, hear, or feel it, but I know all across the planet, shit is being blown up."
"Glad someone got to have fun," said Sev dryly, "I didn't get to shoot a single thing this mission."
Siri eyerolls. "Brace, we're leaving."
When they hit the atmosphere, she poses, "Direct me Fixer, which moon am I scoping out?"
Five minutes later, Siri is eying a massive metal soup bowl filled with construction droids, several orbital platforms loaded with turbolasers, and if she sees that flickering around the in-progress '03 Part'... "Shield generator on the moon protecting it maybe? Or built in?"
"Planetside I think," said Fixer, "Sorry Scorch, we really don't have the explosives for this even if we had any leftovers."
"Maybe later," said Scorch.
Then the cockpit gave a warning blare. She reads it briefly. "Multiple hyperspace disturbances."
She turns the Scimitar around and flies back around the moon, sighting a fleet that was still coming out of hyperspace. Multiple ships are damaged. Returning from a battle. "Well, we had good timing."
"Right," agreed Boss, "Lets get out of here ma'am. I don't know what kind of encryption you have on this ship, but we have state of the art back on Kamino. I'd prefer if we contacted the Chancellor from there and passed on this new intel."
"Sure," she said, punching in the coordinates, and entered hyperspace...
It was time to unveil one of his pet projects. A little treat he had been preparing for his wayward apprentice.
Sidious had planned on waiting until later in the war to let them loose, but he'd rather them keep an eye on C'Baoth, and gaining experience wont hurt for their intended roll. His shift is over for the night, so he retires to his room, changes to his Sith robes, pulls up his hood, and then heads for one of his many hideouts on Coruscant. This one though...
He enters and sends out a flicker, a command of 'Attend Me' rippling through the Force.
He walks into a meditation room, two special acolytes, both Zabrak, kneeling in attendance. He walks in front of them and begins to pace slowly. "My apprentices. It is time."
Twin molten eyes flicker up, the younger speaks. "To avenge our brother, master?"
Sidious lets a malicious smile play across his face. "Do you truly believe that you and your brother are ready to face Lord Tyrosus, Feral Oppress? Unproven as you are?"
Feral bows his head. "No master..."
Sidious's eyes flicker. "And you, Savage?"
"No master, not yet," the older Nightbrother agreed.
"Indeed," said Sidious, "You two have come far since your Mother gave you to me as part of our... renewed agreement, and out of a desire for revenge for her son. You have been training in opposing Lord Tyrosus, her powers and style of fighting, but your lack of actual combat experience against Force Sensitives in a live environment will be a detriment. To that end, I will be sending you to C'Baoth. Your purpose there will be twofold: To gain experience outside this facility, and to keep an eye on him, as he has neglected to play to script."
"...do you believe he will betray you master?" asked Feral.
"Oh eventually without a doubt," said Sidious, chuckling darkly, "But not openly, and not yet. Not before he has played his part and is ready to be eliminated. However, I would prefer not to have to waste the time I have put into him yet. Your presence will serve to... keep him in line."
"...and if he does actively betray you?" rumbled Savage, "Kill him?"
Sidious considered it. Considers if they will be alive at that point. "If he tries to get you to join him, play along with it. Act as if you have become disillusioned with me and be my eyes within his forces. If he tries to kill you, then either escape or dispose of him depending on the situation at your discretion."
"As you will, master," said Feral, Savage grunting in agreement.
"Go, prepare yourselves," said Sidious, eyes flickering as they go, waiting until he senses them head down the hallway.
He considers the comlink he pulls out of his robes, before thumbing it on and waiting.
C'Baoth's image appears a minute later. "Master."
Sidious had given it some thought, and decided not to call C'Baoth out on his initial push. He won't show weakness, won't show how irritated he had been, the mere flicker of brief alarm that C'Baoth had potentially sabotaged the war from the start. He takes amused inspiration from Lord Tyrosus's spite and wont even acknowledge C'Baoth's efforts. "Now that we are underway, its time to put several projects in motion. I am sending you the Oppress Brothers, use them at your discretion so long as their efforts are focused against the Jedi, save for the Third Systems Army. I do not want anything to potentially draw Lord Tyrosus's attention to them until it is time for them to meet."
C'Baoth huffed. "Do you honestly think they will actually be able to do anything to a trained Sith? Lacking as she may be she is still one."
Ignoring that Sidious had been overseeing their training on and off when time permitted? C'Baoth was quick to slight them.
"The Oppress brothers are Lord Tyrosus's punishment, a test, and a treat," said Sidious in a darkly amused tone, "Her hatred of Maul will make it a delight for her to kill them, being able to kill them will be a test of her prowess and ability to adapt when I eventually give them leave to confront her, and I doubt she will escape or defeat them unscathed considering their training specifically to fight her. Until then, they will see use eliminating Jedi."
"If they actually do succeed in killing her?" posed C'Baoth.
"Then she proves herself unworthy," was the only answer Sidious need give.
He would be terribly disappointed if she did die, but if she did, then it was her own failing. He would send them after Skywalker next to test him, and if somehow they killed him too, well... he suppose he'd pit them against eachother and take the winner as an actual apprentice.
C'Baoth opens his mouth to speak before a beeping comes from his end. The man turns his head away for a minute, listening to something, before he turns back.
"I've been informed," said C'Baoth is a slow harsh tone, "That our primary facilities on Geonosis was bombed."
Ah Lord Tyrosus, always proving herself amusing.
"Why Jorus," said Sidious with a mocking smile, "Considering you sent almost your entire fleet and forces out, you were asking for someone to come sabotage you."
The man's jaw clenches. "I'll keep that in mind for the future."
"See that you do," said Sidious, calm, in control, and oh so satisfied to see C'Baoth lose his composure, "The Oppress brothers will meet you on Onderon, direct them from there."
"As you will Master."
Sidious's eyes bore into C'Baoth's in warning. "Always as I will."
He cuts the transmission.