A/N: Hi everyone! Here's chapter 3, and I hope you enjoy it! I thought I would make a quick note on one of the changes I am making so that this story works for everything I have planned. In canon, the government of Glee Anselm is called the Council of Elders that meets and represents their settlements and cities. That's all well and good for canon, but this is AU. So….instead of a council, we have an absolute monarchy in place on Glee Anselm. You don't need to worry about it too much right now; I just thought I would clear up any confusion before things change even more. But I will explain things in more detail when I have to in the story, so never fear! All will be made clear!
Until next time read, review, and enjoy!
Clone forces rally! As the war escalates in the Outer Rim, the Jedi Knights are spread thinly across the galaxy. Many new clones are rushed into service to support their Jedi generals.
Unfortunately, because of the relentless demands of battle, many young clones must join the struggle before their intensive training has been completed. These clones, manning a vital network of tracking stations, are all that stand between the Republic and invasion….
It had been two months since the woman had been on Coruscant and just as long since the clones of Domino Squad had passed the test and been sent out into the galaxy, stationed on the Rishi moon. Unfortunately for the rookie clones, there wasn't much to do at a tracking station, and they were bored. That was never more clear than the deck officer there giving the all-clear to those inside the base, knowing there was nothing to see, as usual. Inside the base, the rookie clones were keeping themselves entertained as best as they could with the holonet and, in the case of Echo, reg manuals. Hevy was more than ready for some action, though, winning his arm wrestle and bored, he asked around him if anyone else wanted to arm wrestle. Echo couldn't help but ask him, "Uh….shouldn't you be watching your scope, Hevy?"
"Yeah, let's take a look," Hevy said as he turned to the monitor he was supposed to be watching, "Hmm, what do you know? All clear….just like the last hundred times I looked at it," as he turned back to Echo.
Echo, clearly not as bored as Hevy, said, "Personally, I like that it's so quiet out here. I can catch up on the reg manuals," tapping the datapad he was carrying.
"Echo, what is wrong with you? We should be out on the front lines, blasting droids," Hevy exclaimed, clearly fed up with the lack of action at the station.
"Leave him alone. They kept him in his growth chart too long," another of the rookies said, clearly bored but more than willing to mess with Echo if it meant some entertainment.
"Yeah," Hevy said as he laughed, causing Echo to scowl slightly and go back to his datapad, leaving Hevy to say, "You may not realize it yet, Fives, but you landed on the most boring post in the Outer Rim," not seeing their sergeant coming up behind him.
"And one of the most important," Sergeant O'Niner said. The holonet and music were immediately shut off as everyone turned around, with one of the rookies saying quickly, "Attention! Sergeant on deck!" making them all stand at attention.
"At ease!" O'Niner said as he walked down the steps around the central command hub and walked among the rookies under his leadership, "Even though you're all new here, I shouldn't have to remind you that this quadrant is key to the Outer Rim. If the droids get past this station, they can surprise attack the facilities where we were born on our homeworld of Kamino. There are some officers on the way, so I want everything squared away for inspection. Understood?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" the rookies responded immediately, and O'Niner left, convinced they would get everything ready, and Hevy turned back to his scope once more. Only this time, when he turned it on and took a look around, he saw something that wasn't supposed to be there, turning to Fives next to him and saying, "Hey, Fives, is that what I think it is?"
Fives turned to him and looked at the scope, saying, "If you think that's a Jedi starfighter, then yes, it is what you think it is. What are they doing all the way out here?"
"A better question is why didn't they land on the platform?" Echo asked as he came up behind them and looked at the scope as well before turning to his comlink and saying, "Sarge, you better get back here; something's come up on the scope."
"What is it?" O'Niner asked, to which Echo replied, "It looks like a Jedi starfighter, sir. Is there supposed to be one out this far?"
There was silence on the other end before O'Niner said, "No, not that I'm aware of. You're sure it's a Jedi?"
"We think so, sir, but it's too dark, and they're too far away to make out who they are. They didn't land on the platform," Echo said, turning back to the scope. As they watched, the ship took off slowly and disappeared out of range of the scope, and Echo said, "They just left, sir, and didn't reach out to us at all. Should we let command know?"
"No," O'Niner's reply was short and to the point, "We can let the officers know when they arrive about it, and they can let the Jedi know. Focus on getting everything ready for inspection. There's the possibility the pilot was a Jedi who set down for a moment for an instrument re-calibration and didn't want to bother us. Keep an eye out in case they do come back, but be ready for inspection."
"Sir, yes sir," Echo said as the sergeant ended the transmission, and Hevy said, "Looks like our one hope of action or excitement just left the system. Time to get ready for another inspection."
"Hey, look on the bright side, Hevy," Fives said, "If the officers coming are impressed by how we're doing here, then maybe we can get transferred to somewhere less boring. Like Coruscant, maybe? I'm sure there's even more excitement there."
Hevy scowled as the others laughed at him, not knowing that in a matter of hours, the base would be attacked and they would have to destroy it, Hevy sacrificing his life for them to do so. It wasn't until that happened and they were safely on board the Resolute, Fives and Echo officially part of the 501st that they remembered the starfighter that had temporarily landed on the moon. They mentioned it to Rex, giving him a full report, and he relayed the information to the generals. A few days later, after he was briefed on their next assignment, Anakin Skywalker said, "Rex, that starfighter Echo and Fives remembered landing on the Rishi moon?"
"Yes, General," Rex answered, "Anything come of that?"
Skywalker shrugged, "No, not really, we asked for an inventory across the fleet, and no one has reported a fighter stolen. It could be it was taken from the manufacturer before it could be delivered to the fleet, so we have sent out an alert to everyone to beware of a rogue starfighter. Other than that, there isn't much we can do."
"Yes, sir," Rex replied, "I'll let Fives and Echo know."
Skywalker smiled then, "Think they'll be alright in the 501st?"
Rex nodded, "Yes, sir, I think so. Just need to break them in a little more. They'll do alright."
"Good to hear," Skywalker said, "Well….no point delaying any longer. We've got a mission to complete."
"Yes, sir," Rex said, "I'll go get the men ready."
Skywalker nodded, and Rex stood at attention for a brief moment before leaving the bridge as Skywalker turned back to the holotable to plan his strategy for his next mission. Out on the bridge itself, Obi-Wan Kenobi stared out at the stars and space before him, wondering. For the briefest of moments when the fleet had first arrived in the system in response to the Rishi station being destroyed, he thought he had sensed something he had felt before, but it was taking him a while to figure out where or when.
He stroked his beard, trying to remember, but the memory eluded him. Finally deciding he was getting nowhere, he took a deep breath and let it out, closing his eyes and waiting. Master Qui-Gon had, long ago, taught him never to try and force a memory to return to him since it would always elude him if he did. Better to let the memories flow and then look for the one he wanted.
And sure enough, after a few minutes of meditation and deep concentration, the memory returned to him. It was when the Malevolence had been destroyed, and they were flying the Twilight back to the Resolute. He had thought he had sensed something strange in the Force then but hadn't been able to pin down what it was, and there hadn't been any time to think about it afterward because of the reports and debriefings and everything that had come in the wake of the Malevolence's destruction. After that, he had utterly forgotten it, and the next mission had quickly grabbed his attention. He then had completely forgotten what he had sensed when the Malevolence was destroyed.
But now….
He shook his head slightly as he continued to stare out the windows in front of him. He could have sworn, when they had first entered the system, that the presence he had felt when the Malevolence was destroyed was there, but that couldn't be possible. There was no way that was possible. And just what was he sensing?
It wasn't a person, not exactly; at least he didn't think so. But it also wasn't a creature since that would have been picked up on scanners. So what was it? What was it he sensed that continued to elude him and disappeared so quickly no one had been able to find it on scanners?
What was out there? And why were older memories, from when he was a Padawan, leaping into his mind and asking for attention?
Why would they, when there was no reason for them to?
After suffering a series of disastrous defeats at the hands of General Grievous, the Republic's foothold in the Outer Rim is in jeopardy.
Commissioned to protect the strategic world of Bothawui, Anakin Skywalker and his weary battle group are all that stands between the system and domination by the droid army….
Arriving on the junk dealers ship simultaneously as Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, the woman was surprised to hear the conversation between them, especially when she considered what she knew about the Jedi Order and the rule against forming emotional attachments to anyone or anything. It sounded as though Skywalker was taking the loss of his astromech more personally than he rightfully should. But when she tapped into the Republic network from her back door and accessed what the most recent scan of R2 and his memory was, she could understand.
Why he hadn't bothered to erase the droid's memory when he had the chance was beyond her, though.
"Help yourself, but be careful. There are many unique items down here," she heard the Trandoshan say as he let the two Jedi into the hold. She smiled at that; she knew what he meant. She followed them quietly down another part of the hold, listening to their conversation carefully and watching them between the crates of junk and parts.
"Master?" she heard Ahsoka ask as she saw something that clearly made her uneasy. Hearing the unease in her voice, Skywalker turned around and walked back to her, saying, "These must be the unique items we were warned about. These assassin droids can be very unpredictable," looking at the two droids on the ground with power cables in them.
"They're switched off. They don't look so tough to me," Ahsoka said, clearly not understanding the danger of the droids. Skywalker only sounded slightly amused as he said, "Nothing looks tough to you. Take my word for it, they're deadly," before leaving the droids and walking down the way a bit more before turning to the droid they had brought along and saying, "R3, access the computer and find the inventory manifest. Artoo's got to be around here somewhere."
After only a few seconds of R3 looking through the inventory, Skywalker heard something he clearly recognized because he asked suddenly, "Did you hear that?"
Ahsoka clearly hadn't heard it because she asked, "Hear what?"
"That sounded like Artoo!" Skywalker said as he ran off, leaving Ahsoka and R3 to catch up, Ahsoka asking to empty air, "How can you tell the difference?"
"It came from down here!" Skywalker said as he stopped at a door, turning to R3 and saying, "R3, get this open!"
R3 beeped in agreement, but instead of opening the door, he turned the lights on, causing Skywalker to say, "We don't need the lights on!"
"No, Goldie, the hatch," Ahsoka said, pointing in that direction and clearly hoping that R3 would prove himself to be a competent droid for her Master. Listening to all this, the woman couldn't help but wonder if the rumors she had heard from her spy were true, but there was no time to think about that as she turned back to the action in time to hear Skywalker say, "Never mind. I'll do it myself," igniting his lightsaber and starting to cut through the door of the hatch.
R3, clearly still wanting to "help," turned back to the computer and tried again. But this time, his attempt was a bit more deadly, and the woman heard Ahsoka exclaim, "Master!" at the same time an assassin droid grabbed her, making Skywalker run over and cut her free. Ahsoka, on the ground, called to R3, "Goldie, shut these droids down!"
The droids were quick to arm themselves and start firing, with Skywalker saying, "I'm afraid R3 is a little slow on the uptake," as Ahsoka also ignited her lightsaber and started deflecting blaster bolts, having to think fast as the droids began climbing the shelves and firing from above. But she was skilled, forcing the droids back down to the ground while saying, "Back at you, piston head!" while Skywalker also dealt with the other droid. The droids were soon destroyed, Ahsoka saying, "You were right about the hands-on experience, gramps. Much better than the Archives."
"Good job, but you missed one," Skywalker said as he quickly decapitated the last droid, the droid's severed head landing at R3's feet. Skywalker then said to the droid, "As for you, stubby, you'd make a poor excuse for a light switch."
"I'm sure he did his best," Ahsoka was quick to defend R3, but Skywalker clearly wasn't impressed by her attempt or R3's, if his following words were any indication, "His best to get us killed? Artoo would have never made that mistake! R3 can't even get the door open," heading for the door they had been trying to open, only this time R3 was able to get the door open, earning himself more of an insult than a compliment from Skywalker, "A little late, stubby."
The door opened slowly, revealing the Trandoshan and surprising Skywalker, who ignited his lightsaber. The Trandoshan did his best to not be afraid, saying, "If you didn't have a lightsaber, you'd be a dead man."
Skywalker looked around for a few seconds before turning to the Trandoshan and saying, "Where's my droid?"
"Master! What are you doing? Artoo's not here," Ahsoka said, running over and grabbing Skywalker's arm. Skywalker stared at her a moment before looking at the Trandoshan. A few seconds later, the lightsaber was back on his belt, and he said, "Let's get out of here," walking away and followed by Ahsoka and R3.
The Trandoshan, no longer being threatened by a Jedi with a lightsaber, called after them, "I told you there were no R2 droids down here!" before turning to look at what had happened to the assassin droids, "Look at this mess you made! You owe me, Jedi!" raising a fist in anger. The Jedi ignored him and kept walking, leaving the salvage ship in the Twilight, the Trandoshan watching from the bridge.
As they left, the woman, who had followed him silently up to the bridge and was listening closely, could hear him say, "You'll be sorry you ever came aboard my ship, Jedi. I'm about to make your life miserable."
Hearing him activate his transmitter, the woman was surprised to hear a voice that she recognized almost immediately, "What is it?" revealing that the alien was indeed working for Grievous and likely knew where he was. The woman smiled inwardly; this day had just gotten a lot better.
Enough to make up for the fact that the ship absolutely reeked from things she didn't want to know about.
But she would have to ignore the smell as best she could because she was here for a reason, and she knew the Trandoshan was her ticket to that reason. It would take a while for him to get there, though, listening to him and Grievous from her hiding place as the Trandoshan replied, "I'm en route to the rendezvous point, General. I've got the merchandise you were looking for," Grievous laughed at the sight of R2, and the Trandoshan continued, turning back to the hologram of Grievous, "It must be valuable. A Jedi came looking for it. Maybe it is worth more than we negotiated."
"Don't push me, slime. You bring that R2 unit to me as fast as you can get here, or else!" the threat was more than clear for the woman to hear, and the Trandoshan clearly heard it too because he was quick to reply, "Ah. Yes, of course, General. Just kidding."
Hearing the conversation, the woman realized that the Trandoshan knew where Grievous was. Better yet, he knew where the defective droids were coming from. She had long suspected the Separatists were infiltrating the Republic with droids since not many would look twice at a droid, but to have the suspicion confirmed would make it easier for her allies to get rid of them, as well as check the current droids in the fleet for the programming that would allow for spying. She just needed proof.
And she was about to get some.
In the meantime, she might as well settle in for the ride. Her ship was following her courtesy of R1 and the cloaked binary beacon she was using, so she had a ride out whenever she needed it. While they were en route, she might as well do some shopping. She needed spare parts for her fighter, and there weren't many places where she could get them that wouldn't draw unwanted attention. Junk ships were a great place to look for parts and get them for a highly discounted rate.
Namely, free.
Looking at what remained of the assassin droids, an idea started forming in her mind as she looked down at her stomach. She was almost at the point where she couldn't see her feet but could still tie her boots on every morning. What she would do when she couldn't, considering how independent she was, she wasn't so sure about. But right now, she didn't need help tying her boots on; she needed help protecting and caring for her own. She needed a nanny droid, but considering the danger that was her life, she needed a droid that could defend as well as care. Looking at what remained of the assassin droids, she wondered if it was possible for a bit of reprogramming to make them more compatible with what she had in mind.
And if nothing else, resting a hand on her rather swollen stomach, it would give her something to do while she waited for the little one to make their presence known to her. She might not be doing as much, fighting-wise, as she usually would be doing right now, but she still needed something to help her protect herself and her unborn child until she was able to fight again. And figuring out how to program an assassin to become a caretaker was just the thing to do while she was waiting, digging through the hold and looking for another assassin droid. She knew junk dealers like the Trandoshan; they always had more than what they said they did.
Which was why R2 was indeed on this ship, on his way to whatever Grievous had planned for him.
But it wasn't on her to find him; that was on Skywalker if he was desperate enough and attached enough to his droid to come looking.
And considering what she knew about Skywalker, she was inclined to think he wouldn't be too far behind her once he realized he had just missed his droid by a few minutes.
A few hours later, she was laughing silently in amusement as R2 successfully evaded an assassin droid, pushing it out of an airlock before being found by the Trandoshan, but that distraction was just what she needed to find another assassin droid and disable it. The Trandoshan was never the wiser and never noticed that one of his droids had been taken and would be re-purposed for another cause. He also didn't notice that there had been a stowaway on his ship the entire time.
Missing in action! Anakin Skywalker's heroic droid navigator R2-D2 was lost in battle. When a desperate search fails to locate Artoo, Anakin is forced to take on a new navigator, R3-S6.
Now the Jedi embark on a dangerous new mission, to find a secret enemy listening post. Meanwhile, R2-D2 has fallen into the hands of a vile droid smuggler and is on his way to General Grievous who will surely plunder the Republic's secrets hidden within him….
The woman smiled as she watched Skywalker easily defeat the Magna Guards trying to get Artoo to Grievous' ship before the station was destroyed. She was hiding in the air vent above and had to stop herself from laughing when Artoo used one of his tools to give the last guard the shock of a lifetime. She shook her head then; that little droid was more resourceful than most people she knew and was clearly used to using his tools to get out of unpleasant situations. She could actually understand why Skywalker was so attached to him; Artoo was more than just a helpful droid, he was clearly a friend, and she found herself enjoying watching his personality.
He kind of reminded her of R1 in that regard, but R1 was a lot less motivated to get the job done than Artoo could ever hope to be.
Skywalker and Artoo moved on after that, and so did she. She was here for intel and had gotten it, and now it was time to get off this station before it was destroyed. She resumed her crawl through the vent, having to be extra careful with her stomach. It didn't really appreciate all this crawling, and it was getting to the point where she wouldn't be able to do it all anymore, but hopefully, she could finish this mission and earn herself a bit of a rest. And she still had that droid to reprogram.
That would definitely keep her busy for a while.
After quite a while, she finally made it to the hanger where R1 said he would be waiting with her ship. She wasn't using her starfighter today, mainly because there wasn't enough space for her and the assassin droid in it, as well as all the spare parts she had….liberated….from the junk dealer before Grievous had killed him. Today she was using a ship she had borrowed from a friend, and he expected it back sooner rather than later, as well as in the same condition he had lent it to her in. R1 was a skilled pilot and had easily gotten the ship into the hanger. However, doing so had attracted some droids, and now she had to get past them to get to her ship and leave.
She just wasn't sure how. She didn't want to fight them right now because she was nowhere near as fast as she used to be, and she didn't want the droids alerting Grievous to her presence.
But it seemed like she was out of options.
No sooner had that thought crossed her mind, along with the thought that she would have to fight the droids, the comlink on her wrist beeped. Looking down at it, she saw that it was the link for her spy and that they were aware of her predicament. Moments later, she heard movement from the droids, and looking up, she saw that they were in the process of leaving her ship and heading for another part of the station. Where they were going, she didn't know and didn't care. All she knew was that she was getting out of there and needed to thank her spy the next time they met.
She quickly left the air vent and ran on board her ship, R1 beeping in relief when he saw her. He beeped again, wanting to know if they could go home now, and she nodded. She was ready to go home too. Her time was approaching more quickly than she thought, and she needed to be prepared, looking at the assassin droid powered down and propped up in the corner of the bridge. She nodded to herself; it was time for her to go.
R1 powered up the engines then, and she took up the controls, quickly flying the ship out of the hanger and away from the station as it started to slowly fall to the ground far below. She watched as the Twilight also left the station a few moments later, able to just barely see a starfighter leave the ship and race back to the spy station. A few minutes later, the starfighter was back in the Twilight, and she knew that Skywalker had successfully retrieved his droid and Artoo was safely back where he belonged. She smiled inwardly then; it was time for her to get back where she belonged, resting a gentle hand on her stomach and feeling the little one give her a tiny kick.
And time to deliver her news to her friends scattered throughout the fleet via the one friend she trusted more than anyone.
Days after the spy station was destroyed, Kit was in his quarters in his ship as it and his fleet orbited the planet of Bothawui, going over his daily reports and everything else that required his attention. Skywalker had destroyed Grievous' fleet here and there were bits and pieces still scattered about, but now he was here holding the system until it was time to meet their next rendezvous with the rest of the fleet. This left him with little to do except administrative tasks like organizing troop schedules and ensuring they had enough supplies. It was mundane, monotonous work that needed to be done, but he truly wished he was doing anything else right now. Anything beat having to study and write reports or deal with an inventory. He would even take a few hundred droids to destroy, or a fight with Count Dooku.
He grinned to himself; he really needed something else to do if he was fantasizing about fighting Dooku.
Just then, Commander Monnk's voice came through the transmitter on his desk, "General, there's a high-priority message coming through for you."
Kit raised an eye ridge, "From who?"
Monnk seemed to hesitate a moment before saying, "Frequency zero."
That caught Kit's attention, and he said, "I'll take it immediately. Please make sure the connection is secure."
"Yes, sir," Monnk said, and a few seconds later, a symbol appeared from the holo-transmitter. It was only two diamond-shaped symbols floating in midair, but it was enough for Kit to know who it was. A few seconds later, a voice came through, heavily distorted and impossible to distinguish, but Kit knew who it was, "The Separatists have infiltrated the Republic with droids that have been reprogrammed to spy on and sabotage Republic missions and battles. They are scattered throughout the fleet and are causing you quite a few problems, not to mention failed missions. If you would like to know more about the location of the droids and who is programming them to serve the Separatists, meet me. You know where."
With that, the communication ended, leaving Kit with a dilemma. He needed that intel to stop the Separatists from causing damage from the inside, but he also needed to stay and command his fleet. He could leave the fleet, he knew that, and Commander Monnk and Captain Tarkin would lead it well in his absence. Especially since he only planned on being gone for a day or two at the most. But there was the problem of his lightsaber. He knew it would be safe to leave it here, but it would be suspicious to go meet a spy in an unknown corner of the galaxy without it. And he couldn't take any clones with him. He was trusted by this spy, but their trust did not extend towards the clones, at least not right now.
In the end, he shook his head, knowing there was only a limited window to meet the spy before they decided it wasn't safe to stay where they were and moved on. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, he thought as he stood and left his quarters, heading towards the bridge to let Monnk know what he was planning. Monnk was usually the go-between between him and Tarkin because even though they had only been commanding the same fleet for a few months, he didn't like the captain, and he sensed the feeling was mutual. The captain was a skilled leader and well-versed in leading a fleet, and they had already won a few battles. But Kit was wary of Tarkin even if he couldn't understand why, and that wasn't just because of the darkness he could sense in Tarkin that the captain tried to hide. Monnk was a great mediator between the two and usually stopped arguments before they could start. He also helped hide the fact that the two people in charge of this part of the Republic fleet couldn't seem to see eye to eye on anything and were constantly arguing. Tarkin was able and skilled, but there was a derisive light in his eyes whenever he looked at Kit. He also always seemed to be watching the Jedi in a way that would have been unnerving to someone who wasn't a Jedi.
Kit, on the other hand, just found it annoying.
A few minutes later, he was on the lift heading towards the bridge, deep in thought. A few seconds later, he had entered the bridge and found Monnk, who was in the process of coordinating the unloading of supplies from a supply ship. After a few minutes, he turned away from the monitor where he had been giving the clones down in the hanger directions and stood a little straighter when he saw Kit. Kit smiled inwardly; while he and Tarkin couldn't seem to stand the air the other breathed, he and Monnk had a natural friendship and worked well together and had become easy friends. Not to mention the fact they were both in on the same secret and between the two of them kept that secret very well.
"Commander," Kit said, "That transmission you sent down to my quarters is from an informant behind enemy lines. They have information that would be useful to us but will only deal with me alone. I'm afraid I will need to go and retrieve it."
"Yes sir, General," Monnk said immediately, "Your fighter is already prepped, and R6 is waiting. I will be sure to let Captain Tarkin know as soon as he arrives on the bridge."
"Thank you, Commander; I will be back as soon as I can," Kit said, nodding his head to the commander and leaving the bridge. Monnk nodded as well and turned back to the datapad in his hand, looking over the inventory as Kit headed down to the hanger. Fifteen minutes later, his starfighter had taken off and jumped into hyperspace, leaving Monnk alone on the bridge as Captain Tarkin finally made an appearance.
To keep up appearances, General Fisto and Captain Tarkin seemed to have mutually decided not to be on the bridge at the same time, or at least not in the same tower of the bridge at the same time. The only time they ever were in the same room was when a briefing required both of them there. Monnk didn't think that was the best strategy to handle this problem, but he knew there was no way to fix this.
Sometimes people just didn't like each other, and there was nothing else to do but pretend there was nothing wrong.
Right now, though, Tarkin was looking around in confusion before turning to Monnk and asking, "Commander, where is the General?"
"He received a transmission from an informant, sir," Monnk answered quickly, "The informant had information but would only meet with General Fisto to deliver it. He has gone to meet them and will be back as soon as possible."
"I see," Tarkin said, "Did he say where he was going?"
"No sir," Monnk said, "I think the informant and he had already agreed on a location before, and this is just confirmation the informant got the intel General Fisto was asking for."
Tarkin only nodded before saying, "Well….I'm sure he will return quickly. In the meantime, the supplies are being loaded on schedule?"
"Yes, sir," Monnk said, "We will be underway again soon. The other ships have reported that their loading of supplies is proceeding on schedule as well."
"Good," Tarkin said, "Hopefully, the general will have returned before we need to make our next rendezvous."
Monnk only nodded as the captain headed out onto the bridge to watch the supplies being loaded, leaving Monnk behind to sigh slightly. Captain Tarkin was smart, but hopefully, he and General Fisto were smarter and quicker on their feet regarding what was going on around here.
It wouldn't do for the captain to learn who the spy was right now or the fact the majority of the ship knew who it was but wouldn't say.
Two days later, the supplies were loaded on the ship, and they were only waiting for General Fisto to return. Tarkin had attempted to contact the Jedi, but either he was ignoring the transmission, or there was too much interference from solar events wherever he was. Either way, they couldn't wait much longer to get to the rendezvous. Other fleets expected them to reinforce the Republic's next significant engagement with the Separatists, and Tarkin absolutely refused to be late.
Even if that meant leaving his general behind.
Monnk had tried to convince him to wait a bit longer, but Tarkin knew that the time for his general to return was running short. To say nothing of the fact that General Fisto hadn't informed the Council or Republic Command about what he was doing or where he was going, and he and Monnk had been lying to and stalling both in regards to his location and why he wasn't speaking with anyone.
There was only so much Tarkin was willing to do for his general, and lying to his immediate superiors wasn't one of them.
Especially when one of those superiors had told him not to let Fisto out of his sight if he could help it.
"Sir," Commander Monnk's voice interrupted his internal musings, and with an inward sigh, he turned to the clone, "We should wait for General Fisto. If we leave and he comes back here and we're gone, his fighter likely won't have enough fuel to make it to the rendezvous."
"I understand your concern, Commander," Tarkin said, "But there remains the issue that we can't wait much longer. And we can't lie to the Jedi Council much longer either. Especially since General Windu made it clear he wanted to speak to General Fisto as soon as possible. It's a bit hard for him to do that when our general isn't even here, isn't it?"
"But sir –," Monnk started to say, but at that moment, there was an alert on the sensors and one of the technicians said, "Sir! Ship entering the system."
Tarkin immediately turned to the technician, "Separatist or Republic?"
"Republic, sir," the technician said, "It's the general. He's back."
Monnk breathed a sigh of relief, while Tarkin only said, "Let's go see what took him so long that we almost missed our rendezvous. As soon as he is inside the hanger, set coordinates for the rendezvous. We have a schedule to keep."
"Yes, sir," the senior deck officer said, turning to relay the command to the rest of the fleet while Tarkin and Monnk left to get down to the hanger. They arrived just as General Fisto's fighter was landing in the bay, the distinctive green and brown markings undeniable. Tarkin clenched his jaw slightly; he would have preferred it if Fisto had just met with a tragic end in meeting this spy. That way, he would have something to report to Sidious that he would have actually wanted to know. But he hadn't, and so he had no choice but to say, "General, it's good to see you returned. We were getting concerned."
"Apologies, Captain," Kit said smoothly as he climbed out of his fighter, "I was on time to the meeting place, but my informant was a bit delayed. Apparently, getting away from the Separatist post where they are stationed was more challenging than expected, so they were late. But I did get the information they had for us, and I think it will be useful."
"If you say so, General," Tarkin said, "But perhaps next time you could tell someone where you are going and when you will be back, just so that we can alter plans if need be?"
Kit looked up then, eyes hard, "I wasn't aware I reported to you, Captain. As for telling someone, I believe I told Commander Monnk before I left. I'm sure he told you."
"Yes, he did," Tarkin replied, not liking the general's tone at all, "But he didn't say where you were going or when you would be back, mostly because you didn't say when you left. You can understand the issue I have with that."
Kit frowned deeply, "I would remind you, Captain, that I command this fleet. My reasons are my own for meeting this informant alone, and I think it says much that I felt comfortable leaving my fleet in your hands while I was away. Please do me the favor of trusting my word in this regard."
Tarkin couldn't help but narrow his eyes, "That's a bit of a challenge when you say nothing and expect me to fill in the blanks by myself without any help. You do realize we have been lying to the Council and Republic Command about your whereabouts for the last two days? I don't appreciate lying to my superiors, Master Jedi," the mockery clear to hear for any that had ears.
Looking around, Monnk could see that even though everyone in the hanger was going about their responsibilities quietly and quickly, they were also listening to what was happening. This needed to end now, before it became even more evident that there was tension between the Jedi and his captain.
Kit's eyes narrowed until they were nearly slits, not a pleasant sight at all, and Monnk was quick to intervene, deciding his bad news was way better than whatever the Jedi was about to say, "General, the Council is standing by to speak with you. They have been waiting for some time."
Kit didn't move for several long moments, but finally he nodded and his eyes became less narrow, saying, "Very well, I wouldn't want to keep them waiting any longer. The fleet is already underway?"
Tarkin opened his mouth to answer, but Kit cut him off before he could try, "I was speaking to the Commander, Captain. Not to you," turning to Monnk and effectively silencing Tarkin, who had no choice but to stomach it as best he could.
By the stars, he couldn't stand that Jedi!
"Yes, sir," Monnk answered, "We jumped as soon as you entered the hanger and are on our way to the rendezvous. The supplies have been loaded…." giving the general a quick report of everything that had been done in his absence while Tarkin had no choice but to trail along silently behind. A few minutes later, they were in the bridge, Kit and Monnk stopping at the holotable as a technician put through the transmission from the Council. Moments later, Masters Windu, Yoda, and Plo Koon were there, and Monnk did his best not to fidget.
He was used to General Fisto's rather laid-back leadership style and therefore had a hard time staying serious and squared away whenever the Jedi Council spoke with his general.
Right now, though, their collective attention was on Kit, who didn't look the least bit bothered by them being there or the fact that none of them seemed particularly pleased that they had been deceived for the last couple days.
After a few minutes of silence that any lesser being would have been intimidated by but that Kit just endured with silence and calm of his own, Master Windu finally said, "Master Fisto, we were expecting to speak with you a couple days ago, but your captain kept saying that you were unavailable. I am wondering what you were doing that you couldn't make time for us?"
"My apologies, Masters," Kit said, "I was away from my fleet for a couple days and out of communication range."
Master Windu raised an eyebrow, "And why was that? What were you doing that you left your fleet without its general? Especially when we will be launching another engagement against the Separatists soon and need all generals across the fleet to be ready."
Kit only said, "I was meeting an informant that works in a Separatist listening post. It took them longer than they expected to get away from the post, so I had to wait longer than I planned for them to come. But I am glad I did wait because the information they had was worth the wait. And I knew that Commander Monnk and Captain Tarkin would lead my fleet well in my absence. I have faith in them."
Hearing this, Monnk was glad his helmet was on because he was definitely blushing slightly at the compliment. True, General Fisto was a bit more laid-back than other Jedi he had met, but even he didn't just give compliments unless they were well-earned. Making the one he had just gotten from the general all the more worth it.
"Information you may have, but saying nothing to anyone, unwise it is," Yoda was speaking now, and Kit ducked his head at the reproach he heard in his old master's voice. Even though they were no longer Master and Padawan, he still felt some shame for falling back into old habits and not telling anyone where he was going.
"I am sorry about that, Master," Kit said, "But the spy's information detailed infiltrators throughout the fleet. I felt that the information needed to be gathered quickly before it became obsolete."
That caught the attention of the three Jedi, Master Plo saying, "Infiltrators? Of what kind?"
Kit looked up then, "Droids, Master Plo. My informant told me that Separatist spies, working out of the Republic base on Milagro, were programming droids to serve as spies and sabotage Republic missions. My informant isn't sure about how long this has been going on, but they were able to not only give me a list of the spies operating out of Milagro, but also the droids and their designations and locations throughout the fleet. I felt that this information was too important to pass by and worth the risk."
Master Plo nodded, while Yoda shook his head, "Taken others, you should have. Dangerous, this was."
Kit nodded, "I wanted to, Master, but my informant has been serving me faithfully for years and is well-versed in getting into places others can't. Sneaking into Separatist listening posts and getting that kind of information is what they are good at. Unfortunately, that also makes them slow to trust. It took me years to build the trust they have in me, and I knew if I showed up with clones or anyone else, they would leave with the information and likely wouldn't trust me again with anything. I felt that I couldn't take the risk."
Yoda only nodded, while Master Windu said, "What's done is done, and those lists will prove useful. Make sure that they are disseminated throughout the fleet as quickly as possible so that the droids can be found and reprogrammed," Kit nodded, and then Mace added, "And Master Fisto, please don't do this again without telling someone where you are going. You can't sneak off as you used to anymore; we need you leading your fleet," but there was the hint of the barest of smiles on his face. He knew, as did many Jedi, that before the war Kit would slip away for a few months of the year to enjoy some solitude and study the Force more deeply but would always come back. At first, the Council hadn't approved, but there was never any harm in it, even if Kit was out of communication for a few months, and he always came back right when he was needed so no one had truly minded.
Kit smiled a bit more brightly than Mace, saying, "I will do so, Master, you have my word," bowing his head as the communication ended. Only once the holograms had disappeared did Kit turn to Monnk and say, "If you assist me, Commander, this shouldn't take long," reaching into one of the pouches on his belt and pulling out two data cards.
Monnk nodded and took one of the cards while Kit took the other before heading over to the technician responsible for coordinating information throughout the fleet. Every ship had one, and their communications were encrypted and sent independent of the main network to keep it secure and guarantee no one saw it without the correct codes.
The infiltrator-droids wouldn't see it coming until it was too late.
As he was walking past, Kit leaned in close to Tarkin, who had stayed silent off to the side during the whole meeting, and said quietly, "I meant what I said, Captain. You are an able leader, and I felt you were more than capable of leading my fleet in my absence. But next time, don't lie to the Council, and don't assume you know the purpose behind everything that I do, or have the right to argue my decisions if they don't coincide with your beliefs of what I should do. When it comes to the Council, I can and will take whatever punishment they decide, and I would appreciate you remembering who is in charge of this fleet."
With that, Kit left and went to where Monnk and the technician were getting ready to send the information, leaving Tarkin to only guess what he meant by that and to only assume the veiled threat he could hear in the Jedi's voice was a warning not to cross him as he had in the hanger ever again.
As he had heard from many sources in and outside of the Jedi Order, Kit Fisto was one of the more dangerous members of the Order, and that had never been more clear than a few minutes ago.
Even though Jedi weren't supposed to threaten anyone, Kit Fisto had just done so, and now Tarkin needed to decide what to do with that threat. And decide what to make of Kit Fisto. It wasn't just that he had been told to watch and spy on the Jedi; there was something he was hiding that Tarkin couldn't discover no matter how much he dug into the Jedi, and no matter what he tried, nothing could break through that shell.
At least, not yet.
From across the room, Monnk smiled to himself. General Fisto was much more dangerous than he ever let on, and that was never more clear than right now. The fact he had just threatened his captain didn't bode well, but Monnk knew the real reason behind everything his general was doing and supported him wholeheartedly, as did the majority of their fleet. When it came down to it, Tarkin didn't have many friends on this ship and made more and more enemies every time he argued with Kit Fisto, even if he didn't know it.
Later that day, Tarkin was back in his quarters and powering up the receiver for the bug he had planted in Kit's lightsaber. He wanted to see where the Jedi had gone and who he had met with. If it was someone important to the Separatists, he would let the chancellor know, who in turn would likely find the information valuable.
But only if Kit Fisto had indeed met with someone like he said he had.
A few minutes later, the information was uploaded from Kit's lightsaber to the receiver, and he was waiting for a few more minutes for it to get ready. Moments later, he watched as the Jedi dropped out of hyperspace and landed on a planet Tarkin didn't recognize. He watched as Fisto jumped out of the fighter and told his droid to wait, putting his cloak and hood up and disappearing into the crowd. The Jedi moved quickly through the crowd, occasionally being bumped by beings of various races until finally, he arrived at what looked like a local pub. He went inside and sat down at one of the tables, waiting for something….or someone. After a few minutes, the barkeep, a four-armed Besalisk with a red cybernetic eye, came over and asked if he wanted a drink. Fisto only shook his head, and the barkeep left, although he did look over his shoulder at the Jedi for a few moments before going back to his bar.
Maybe it was because the Jedi had been there before, and the barkeep recognized him?
Tarkin frowned as he stored that thought away for later and turned back to the Jedi and what he was waiting for; he wasn't seeing anything of interest, and no one was interested in the Jedi or even looking in his direction. If the Jedi had gone out of his way to meet an informant, why weren't they coming along to give him the information they had as soon as possible? Especially when they thought they were in danger for meeting with him in the first place?
That train of thought was quickly interrupted as a young Rodian girl came up to the Jedi and asked, "Excuse me, are you a friend?"
Kit turned to the girl and smiled slightly, "I don't know. Am I?"
The girl nodded, "I was told you are. I was told to give you these, and you would give me twenty credits," handing over two data cards.
Kit raised an eye ridge, "It seems I will give you twenty credits today," the girl beamed, and the Jedi continued, "And another twenty for being such a good messenger," giving the girl the promised credits. Her eyes widened, but then she smiled and took off running after the quickest thank-you Tarkin had ever seen.
Kit smiled as the girl ran off before collecting the data cards and standing up. He left the pub then, went back to his fighter where his droid was still waiting and climbed in. Minutes later, the starfighter took off as Kit reviewed the information he had been given by the Rodian, and by extension, his spy. As he did this, his droid flew the fighter directly to the hyperspace ring and attached it, and they took off into hyperspace back to the fleet.
After that, Tarkin shut down the recording, knowing he wouldn't see anything more interesting. Fisto hadn't told the exact truth of how he came by the information, but that didn't really mean much in the end since they had gotten what they needed, and no one would have minded if it was the exact story or not. Whoever Kit Fisto's spy was, they were way too careful to let themselves be seen by anyone. But at least Tarkin had something to tell Lord Sidious, and that was that there was a spy in the ranks of the Separatists, although Sidious would want to know who it was as soon as possible, and Tarkin was determined to get the answer to that question.
And keeping an eye on Kit Fisto was now a guarantee for getting the answer.
Far away, on the ocean world of Glee Anselm, there was a stir in the throne room of the royal palace. The Nautolan king and queen, the bloodline of the king having ruled for centuries, were seated on their thrones when a messenger and spy came into the room. He bowed low in the water before straightening and saying, "We received confirmation this time, my queen. He found his way to one of our traps and tripped it accidentally but stayed long enough. The barkeep confirmed it this time and even sent a copy of his ocular scan for confirmation, which we just matched. It was him, and he is alive. The son has returned."
The queen nodded and waved her hand. The messenger bowed once more and left, leaving the king and queen to sit in silence for a few minutes more before the king said, "So he is alive. Just as we had thought. It wasn't just rumors, and not another with his name. It is him, and he is alive and well. We will need to do something about that. We can't have the people drawn to him and to hope. We will need to take action, soon, and if it happens during a battle in the war, no one will be the wiser."
"He is a Jedi, my heart," the queen said, "Are you sure you want to go up against the Jedi in this matter? They protect their own, and there won't be much we can do if they decide to protect him as well."
The king smiled cruelly, "They won't, not after they learn he has broken his vows to their oath. They will abandon him, and he will have none of them protecting him. We can strike then, or sooner. It is time to end this, no matter who stands in our way."
The queen raised an eye ridge, "Even the Jedi?"
The king nodded, "Even the Jedi. Let the hunt begin again," turning to the thirty-odd soldiers dressed in black and heavily armed floating in the water before them. Every single one was highly trained and skilled, more than a match for a single Jedi.
The king nodded again as he surveyed them. Their hunters were more than a match for a Jedi, and would finish this soon.
The age-old war was finally going to end, and then Glee Anselm would be theirs.
Forever and unopposed.