A/N: Hi everyone! Here's chapter 8, and I hope you like it. I'm including even more familiar faces in this chapter, since they refused to stay away, as well as a ship any Rebels fans should know immediately. I can't guarantee when the next chapter is coming, since it hasn't been written yet, but I will have it up as soon as I can. Until next time, please read, review, and enjoy!
Planet Ryloth invaded! Subjected to a brutal droid occupation, the people of Ryloth are starving under the blockade of a Separatist fleet. Evil Separatist leader Wat Tambor now rules with an iron fist. Answering a plea from theSenate, the Grand Army of the Republic mounts a bold offensive to liberate the system. It is up to Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka to make way for Obi-Wan's ground assault….
Two months after her adventures on Iego, the woman was finally able to make it to one of her allies in the Conspiracy that had promised her a ship. Her starfighter was good for some of the work she was doing, but there came a point where she had to travel for days and days in hyperspace and needed a ship that had a bit more legroom. If it had a galley and a refresher, all the better.
And that was why she was seeing her friend on Ryloth. He had told her he had a ship that would suit her needs; she just needed to come and get it. Unfortunately, the blockade of Ryloth had started just after she had gotten that transmission, which had made it impossible to get to the planet's surface and pick up the new ship. Her starfighter had taken some damage on her first attempt, causing the cloaking device to short out. She had needed to make a hasty retreat before anyone saw her. Now she was back for another attempt after repairing the device.
Parts for her ship and cloaking device were hard to come by, and it had taken those two months to get her ship to the point where it was maneuverable enough to attempt a run at the blockade and get the cloaking device repaired. And so here she was, ready for another attempt at the blockade at the same time the Republic was going to make an attempt at the blockade as well. Watching the cruisers open their hangers, she was surprised to see it wasn't Skywalker's yellow and gray painted starfighter leading a squadron, but rather a starfighter painted red and white. Reaching out with the Force, she didn't sense the emotional turmoil that seemed to follow Skywalker wherever he went, but rather the impulsiveness of a young Padawan that had a lot to learn.
Ahsoka Tano was leading this mission, and the woman found herself actually hoping it went well for the young Padawan. She liked the Togruta and wanted to see her do well and hopefully survive the war.
But with Anakin Skywalker as her Master, anything could happen.
Turning her attention back to the fighting, the woman started her approach while Ahsoka and her squadron attempted the blockade. Following quietly behind the squad, the woman watched as they easily cut a path to the Separatist command ship, but a nagging feeling in the back of her mind suddenly caught her attention, and after a few seconds, she realized why she was feeling this way. This was too easy. Which could only mean one thing:
A trap.
Realizing this, the woman looked over her shoulder for a brief second, looking for a way out, but there was no way that would happen without giving herself away, something she wanted to avoid for the moment if she could help it. Turning back around, she watched as four Separatist frigates jumped out of hyperspace and joined the fight, overpowering Ahsoka and her squad. Listening to the comms she had sliced into, the woman heard Ahsoka's downright refusal to abandon the mission, but after one of her pilots was killed by vulture droids, she finally obeyed orders and turned back to the Republic cruisers. At the same time, the vulture droids started heading straight for the Resolute. They started ramming themselves into it, and the woman watched for a few brief seconds as the Redeemer fell apart.
An alarm blared suddenly, and she whipped her head around, watching as two vulture droids headed straight for her. They couldn't see her because she was cloaked, so they likely were headed for the Resolute as it tried to make its escape. She yanked her controls hard, sending her ship in a spin to the right, and just missed being slammed into by the second vulture droid. Seconds later, they rammed themselves into the Defender as it made its escape, leaving the space above Ryloth still in Separatist control. But the woman was in the clear, navigating the blockade quickly and easily, heading straight down to the planet surface, nothing more than some interference on the scanners of the Separatist ships. The droids on board decided it was only a slight malfunction and continued with their jobs, too stupid to realize an invisible ship had just passed through their defenses.
Finally in the atmosphere, the woman headed straight for the Tann Province, eventually landing outside the courtyard of Cham Syndulla's home. She looked over the estate as she shut the engines down and signaled her droid to stay put. The estate was large and rather grand, a symbol of Ryloth and hope to an oppressed people. Looking around as she climbed out, she saw that near the estate there were the remains of a Republic Y-wing that had crash-landed relatively recently, if she had to guess.
There was still a bit of smoke coming from one of the engines, and nearby was the grave Cham and his people had dug for the pilot.
Turning to the house and movement she had seen out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Cham Syndulla approached, followed by two resistance fighters and a young girl. Something about the girl said she was important to Cham, and so the woman walked forward slowly, keeping her hands where they could be seen and appearing as non-threatening as possible. It was difficult; she was incredibly dangerous and every move was the move of a predator on the hunt, but it was the best she could do at the moment.
The two groups finally stopped a few paces apart from each other. Then Cham said, "It's good to see you again," the woman inclined her head at that. He continued, "When word reached me that you needed a ship, I wasn't sure I wanted to know why. I also didn't want to know if I would get the ship back in one piece if I lent it to you," the woman ducked her head at that; blowing up ships was something she had been doing for a long time, and those that knew her well knew that she never did anything halfway.
Cham was right to be cautious.
The Twi'lek studied her a moment longer before saying finally, "But I understand you need a ship that's a bit more comfortable for long journeys, as well as capable of flying fast and carrying cargo when necessary. I think I have the ship for you, but you need to promise my daughter you will return it in one piece when all is said and done," nodding down at the little girl standing next to him.
The woman smiled slightly and looked at the girl, who stared back at her defiantly and without fear. Definitely Cham Syndulla's daughter, the woman thought before nodding deeply to the girl, promising she would return the ship. The girl looked her over carefully before nodding as well, and Cham smiled slightly before saying, "I'll take you to the ship now. You can stay as long as you like making whatever modifications you need to, but I must leave to get back to the resistance. I don't want the Separatists on my planet any longer. I won't stand them imprisoning my people," the fighters with him nodding, determination easy to see.
The woman nodded slowly and followed Cham and the others, eventually coming around the courtyard fence to what looked like a temporary landing pad. On the pad was a ship that, on first inspection, didn't look all that impressive to the woman. But she knew that many times things were often hidden beneath the surface, and so followed Cham and his daughter around the ship, taking in as much of the outside as she could on the way to the boarding ramp.
From what she knew about cargo ships, the ship was a light freighter that had already had some modifications made to it. Tapping into the vast bank of information regarding ships in her mind, the woman could tell it was made by the Corellian Engineering Corporation and relaxed slightly. The Corporation made reliable ships that were fast and capable, and judging by the armaments, this one was well-armed. A nose turret under the bridge had its own gunner's seat, but she knew the pilot could also operate it. Craning her head, the woman could just make out another gun turret on the top of the ship, and there were docking ports both port and starboard. Reaching the ship's rear, she saw a smaller ship attached to the rear in its own docking port. It also had a set of guns on its front, and the woman could see that it would be just as helpful as its sister ship. Whether or not it had a hyperdrive remained to be seen.
"My daughter has named this ship the Ghost," Cham said, "and the smaller ship is called the Phantom. Let's take a look inside, shall we?" motioning towards the gangplank. The woman nodded and followed Cham and his daughter into the ship, looking over everything as she did so. The two fighters stayed outside, allowing the three of them a chance to explore and speak privately if necessary. The gangplank led into one of the cargo holds, and the woman was impressed. There was enough space in here for her starfighter, as well as room in the next cargo hold for supplies and equipment she would need. Two more main holds completed this level, with more space than she knew what to do with. The floor could be opened and a blue magnetic shield activated to collect supplies or land a starfighter inside of it as well. Following Cham up a ladder led her onto a walkway leading to the nose gun turret. The woman looked this over briefly before following Cham into the bridge. There they were stopped by a droid, and Cham said, "This is Chopper. We rescued him from the Y-wing you likely noticed when you landed, and he has been spending his time getting used to this ship. He knows it well, and we're sending him along with you in case he can help," Cham cocked an eye ridge then, "He does tend to talk a lot and complain, and is a bit slow in the work, but the navicomputer for the Ghost does respond to him, so hopefully, you two can get along."
The woman nodded slowly as she looked over the droid, deciding there wasn't much to him from what she could see. He was a C1-series astromech droid, which was mostly out of circulation now because the newer models were faster and capable of better response times. He had two arms coming out of his head and was painted bright orange and yellow on his head. He spoke then, and the woman was surprised before smiling slightly. Clearly, this droid was old and not getting regular maintenance since his personality was like an old man: argumentative, cantankerous, but also a bit mischievous.
They would get along well.
The woman turned and smiled before nodding at Cham, and he nodded as well, before saying, "A fair bit of warning regarding Chopper and the Ghost: the Ghost's computer finds Chopper a bit pushy and rude, so I'm afraid you'll be spending time being the mediator between the two," Cham looked down suddenly as his daughter tugged at his hand, clearly reminding him of something, and Cham added with a smile, "Hera is quite fond of Chopper and would like you to keep him safe as well if you can. She wants to keep this ship for herself and be a pilot when she grows up. I've promised her this ship to do so, but only if it comes back in one piece."
The woman nodded in agreement before smiling at Hera, and the girl smiled shyly back. The two of them did indeed have a common goal, and the woman would do what she could to keep the Ghost safe for Hera.
They continued the tour then, heading deeper into the bridge, where the woman sat down in the pilot's seat for a few minutes and took a quick look around. From what she could see, the Ghost had had some modifications that made it invisible to scanners and made it seem like something it wasn't, as well as a few other modifications that the woman instantly knew were illegal just from looking at them. She turned to Cham with a raised brow then, and he said, "I'm sure you'll make even more changes to this ship, so don't give me that look. The changes it already has should help you out more than anything else at this point. And if nothing else, it will give you something to do during the lulls between your missions."
The woman smiled slightly at that before standing and following Cham and Hera out the door to check out the crew area of the ship. There were four personal quarters behind the cockpit, and from there, they went into the galley and common room. A hallway led to the port and starboard docking ports, and another gangplank led out the front of the ship.
Once outside the ship, the woman turned to Cham and nodded; the Ghost would serve her well. Cham nodded as well before saying, "You can stay and change things as you see fit until the fighting gets too heavy and you feel the need to leave. Your starfighter should be moved into the cargo hold as soon as possible so that no one sees it and starts asking questions, but after you take the Ghost and leave, it's up to you to take care of it. But between Chopper and R1, I think you'll be alright."
The woman nodded before looking down at Hera a moment before getting down on one knee to be at her eye level. The girl looked at her, and the woman smiled before reaching out and opening her hand. In her hand was a beautiful blue gem, easily taking up the palm of her hand, and Hera's eyes widened at the sight. Looking up at her father, Hera saw that Cham was just as surprised and awed. He reached down then and gently touched the gem before saying, "This is from your home, isn't it? And the only one of its kind?" the woman nodded with a smile. Cham said then, "You can take it, Hera," Hera looked up at her father in confusion, and he added, "This is her way of promising the Ghost will be returned to you as if nothing had happened to it. This is her way of saying she will take care of the Ghost like nothing else matters to her life. This is how her people make and keep their promises, my child. Go ahead."
Hera hesitated before looking at the woman, but the woman's gentle smile convinced her, and she reached out and carefully took the gem. The woman's smile widened a bit as she rested a hand on the girl's shoulder, making Hera look up at her again before the young Twi'lek smiled and gave the woman a quick hug, surprising her. Seconds later, it was over, and Hera was running off with the gem to find a safe place for it. The woman rose to her feet, watching Hera before Cham said, "I need to start organizing the resistance. Feel free to stay as long as you need."
The woman turned to him and bowed her head deeply, Cham doing the same before walking away, leaving her to start getting more familiar with the Ghost and start making the changes so that it would suit her needs, as well as adapting to everything the ship had in store for her. She also needed to figure out how to get her starfighter into the cargo bay while on the ground.
That should be interesting.
A few days later, all the modifications and upgrades the woman wanted to make to the Ghost had been finished. She had also gotten the starfighter into the cargo bay, introducing Chopper and R1 to each other at the same time. That hadn't gone too well, so she had ordered them to stay away from each other for now. Chopper would take care of the Ghost and the Phantom while R1 maintained the starfighter. Hopefully, in time, they would figure out how to work together. Maybe they could even become friends over time.
Other than that, the changes had happened relatively quickly. The cloaking device in the starfighter had been successfully transferred to the Ghost. After a few misfires and a couple shorts, it was working perfectly, even though the woman had her doubts about how long it would last and decided that once away from Ryloth, she would work on it a bit more. She had also added engine bafflers and energy dampeners to hide the sound of the Ghost and included static jammers to make it harder to detect on scanners. Over eighty illegal upgrades by herself and Cham made the ship capable of mimicking solar fluctuations or cosmic radiation, hiding it even more from anyone watching. She had also reinforced the shields with an extra power generator to give them more strength without draining the rest of the ship's power. Chopper had agreed to some additional security protocols to make sure it wasn't stolen while they weren't watching as well, even though he had told her repeatedly he would take care of any intruder, making her actually smile at that.
The little droid had a lot of spunk.
The Phantom was another story entirely. It didn't have a hyperdrive yet, but the woman knew where she could get one and install it, even though that meant it would need a droid to fly it as well. An upgrade to the Phantom's stealth system included a jammer to hide its presence as well. The woman debated with herself keeping the autopilot set up the way it was: programmed to fly back to the Ghost to counter theft, and in the end, decided against changing it. If someone did try to steal the Phantom, she would have a better chance of dealing with the thief on familiar ground. She had also taken the Phantom out for a few test flights, and even though it wasn't as agile as she was used to, it made up for it by being tougher with stronger shields and extra armaments. And when the woman docked it in reverse on the Ghost, she found that the aft-facing gun turrets would actually be quite useful if and when they were needed.
All in all, she was ready to depart Ryloth and head back to her missions. Her next one was coming up soon, and she would need help with it, and it would be the perfect test of the Ghost and its abilities. Hera was sad to see her leave since the little girl had actually helped her make the changes to the ship before her mother took her to hide underground away from the fighting, but the woman's promise still stood.
As soon as she was done with the Ghost, she would return it, that she swore to herself.
And so, finally, it was time to leave. With the ship fully fueled and ready, the woman waved good-bye to Cham and his freedom fighters from the cockpit, fired the engines, and took off, heading for the atmosphere. The Republic had finally beaten the Separatist blockade and gotten through, and now Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu were getting ready to land on the planet surface to start liberating the people of Ryloth.
And the woman didn't want to be here when they did.
Heading for space, the woman signaled Chopper to engage the cloaking device, which he did with quite a bit of grumbling. The droid didn't like all the modifications she had made to the ship but was putting up with it as best he could, which wasn't all that great, in her opinion. But he still did as she asked, especially since she promised him some repairs to himself to maybe look a bit newer and upgrade his systems as well as soon as she could.
R1 was, in her opinion, a bit easier to deal with. However, she had learned a long time ago to never underestimate a droid and was still waiting for whatever surprises Chopper had in store for her. Spending the last few days with him had convinced her there was more to him than meets the eye; she just needed to be patient to find out what it was.
Now cloaked, the Ghost headed straight past the Republic ships now in orbit around Ryloth. The woman watched as the landing ships started heading for the planet's surface, seeing a few of them making for the region where Nabat was located. From there, they could quickly get to the capital of Lessu and liberate the planet. Shaking her head and silently wishing the Jedi and clones what little bit of luck she believed in, the woman turned back around and signaled Chopper to set a course in hyperspace. He acknowledged the request and plugged into the computer, setting the coordinates while the woman navigated around the Republic ships, glad to see that the jammers and cloaking device were working and they weren't being spotted or detected. A few minutes later, they were in the clear, and Chopper said they were ready to make the jump.
The woman nodded and did one last scan to ensure no ships were coming out of hyperspace on the vector she had set. Nothing was coming, and so with a deep breath, she activated the hyperdrive while still cloaked, heading away from Ryloth to continue her missions.
It was time to meet up with a friend after dropping off her starfighter to make space for his.
Invasion! Separatist leader Wat Tambor has taken control of the planet Ryloth and subjugates its people through a brutal droid occupation. In a daring surprise attack, Jedi Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano defeated the space blockade guarding the planet. Now, Jedi Generals Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi lead a massive invasion to liberate the starving people….
As Obi-Wan Kenobi and his clones worked to free the people of Nabat, the woman met up with Kit Fisto in dead space. She had sent a message to him a day before saying she would need his help, and he had agreed to meet her, even though he had hesitated when she had agreed to him bringing his lightsaber. Whoever had bugged it was still watching them, and he didn't want the woman's plans being compromised because of him. But she had insisted, and so he had left his fleet in the care of Monnk.
Or at least who everyone thought was Monnk.
Tarkin still hadn't caught on and was back on Coruscant for some Republic officer's training seminar that Kit was grateful he hadn't needed to attend. It had also given him the excuse to get away without raising suspicion since the clones in his fleet would cover for him while he was away. Tarkin would be none the wiser when he came back.
The woman was waiting in the Ghost when Kit finally dropped out of hyperspace, detaching his hyperspace ring from his fighter before flying over. The woman opened the cargo bay floor, and Kit navigated inside, only landing when the door was closed. Once it was, the woman came down into the bay to join him, and he smiled when he saw her and said, "Cham Syndulla certainly came through with this ship. I imagine it's already doing everything you need it to do, and more?"
The woman nodded, and Kit laughed before turning to R6 and saying, "Mind the starfighter R6 and let me know if you need anything. Hopefully, this won't take too long."
R6 beeped in agreement before getting out of his socket in front of the cockpit to attend to any repairs or maintenance. Kit followed the woman up the ladder into the cockpit of the Ghost, sitting down in the copilot's seat and saying, "I got the mission brief you sent, but I'm still a bit confused by it. Where exactly are we going? And why were you fine with me bringing my lightsaber, knowing it's bugged?"
The woman only smiled slightly before showing him a device she had made. It was a bit haphazard and didn't look like it could do anything at all, but then Kit saw the small signal jammer on it as well as a power cell and holoprojector. He smiled then; now he understood. He looked up at the woman then and saw her smiling as well before he said, "You are too smart for your own good, do you know that?" the woman nodded seriously, still smiling. Kit took the device from her, asking, "I imagine that this device can project another image as well as hide where we are actually going? And has a range of at least twenty meters or so?" the woman nodded. Kit shook his head then; ingenuity like hers was hard to come by, and the fact she had improvised this device together with what were clearly spare parts was likely the most impressive part of it all.
The woman activating the hyperdrive caught his attention, and he watched as the ship leaped into hyperspace and left the hyperspace ring behind. They would come back for it later. Once in hyperspace, they were only flying at lightspeed for a few hours or so before they suddenly dropped out. Looking out the bridge's viewport, Kit was able to see they had exited hyperspace near a planet. This planet was being orbited by several construction spheres, and there was a nearby sun. He cocked an eyeridge; what were they doing here?
Voicing his confusion, he asked, "What are we doing here? And what is happening with those construction spheres?"
The woman only smiled slightly before heading down to the planet's surface, cloaking the Ghost as she did so. A few minutes later, they had landed on the planet's surface, leaving the ship cloaked and hidden. The planet was clearly an ice world, snow falling everywhere and the trees bare of leaves because of the weather. The two of them quickly bundled up, putting on coats and heavier boots and gloves the woman had brought along, Kit putting his head-tentacles under his coat to keep them warm. What happened when they got too cold wasn't worth thinking about. He also took the jamming device the woman had made, tucking it into his belt so that it could stay with him the entire time and keep their mission secret from whoever was watching.
Once they were ready, they left the ship, instructing the droids to stay behind and keep an eye out for any unwanted visitors, the woman taking a rather heavy backpack with her as they did so, signaling Chopper to have the ship ready to go at a moment's notice. They trudged through the snow for a good few hours before finally arriving at a clearing where a few buildings stood. Kit examined them closely before saying quietly, "This looks like a military installation. What's it doing all the way out here? The conflict hasn't even reached this part of the Outer Rim, mostly because the majority of the planets out here are uninhabited and not worth the trouble to fight over."
The woman nodded before taking out a small holoprojector and activating it, revealing plans for the planet that she had copied from the vault of one of Sidious' hidden facilities. She had been careful to leave no evidence that it had been copied, or that she had even been there, and now it was time to see what Kit thought of it all.
She watched him carefully as he reviewed the plans and Sidious' intentions before slowly looking up at her, horror easy to see in his large eyes. He only said, "What do you need me to do?"
The woman only beckoned him to follow closely, leading him into a nearby cave the plans had detailed as important. They entered the cave quietly and carefully, making sure they made no sound that would indicate their presence. Once deeper inside, they started to pick up voices, mostly of droids, as well as the hum of machinery and mining equipment. Following their ears, they continued on, eventually reaching a cleared-out cavern. On the other side of the cavern was another tunnel that led even deeper into the planet.
Hiding behind a few stacked storage containers, the woman again opened the plans for the planet as Kit kept watch, making sure they were heading in the right direction. After a few seconds, she nodded and looked at Kit, who glanced at her before they snuck around the edge of the cavern and headed into the other tunnel, keeping out of sight of the mining droids all the while. The droids were hard at work and not paying them any attention, and they weren't there for the droids anyways. They needed to find the ones in charge of this operation and shut it down.
After getting into the other tunnel, they followed it down even farther until finally, they came upon the actual active mining part of the operation. The cavern behind them was just where the droids had stopped so they could have a place to store their equipment and make repairs, and now they were continuing on into the depths of the planet. Following the sounds of voices, the Jedi and the woman crept forward again, using every trick and bit of training in stealth they had. Moments later, they were close enough for the voices to make sense and were surprised to hear a deep voice say, "How is the project going?"
Another voice answered, "We're preceding on schedule, my lord. In a few more months, we will have reached the planet core and can start using the magma there to power the weapon. The sun will also be a power source, and then with a bit more research, we will be able to store that energy in the planet's core. A few more years, and we can destroy entire systems with this weapon!"
"And Starkiller Base will be exactly as my master planned it," Count Dooku said, "A culmination of the Dark Side of the Force, the Kyber crystals this planet is rich in, and technology the likes of which the Republic has never seen before and has no weapon that can withstand it. Everything my master is planning is coming to fruition. It is a shame we couldn't use Ilum, but the Jedi would have noticed mining and excavation and put a stop to it. I guess this one will just have to do, and it is so far away from anything no one will notice until it's too late to stop it."
Count Dooku said more, but Kit didn't hear it as he looked over at the woman, wondering what her plan was. They had to stop this plot from succeeding; otherwise, the galaxy would never be the same, and millions would perish. The woman signaled him to wait, ducking deeper into the shadows of the cave as Dooku walked past them, Kit having to resist the urge to draw his lightsaber and end this. But the woman had been more than clear: Dooku's time wasn't upon them yet, and there was still much more work that needed to be done. She didn't want anything to happen to him until it was time.
Pushing the desire to end Dooku then and there down, Kit turned to the woman, who was waiting patiently for something. She grinned a crooked grin suddenly, and Kit shut his eyes in resignation, knowing what that meant.
They were waiting for Dooku to leave the system before doing anything. And while Kit was known for his patience, it was a bit thin today.
Hopefully, he would be able to wait as long as necessary.
Meanwhile, Tarkin met up with Lieutenant Thrawn back on Coruscant, now Captain Thrawn. Palpatine had been correct when he said that Thrawn wouldn't stay in the rank of lieutenant for long and had proven his skill and tactical genius already in several decisive battles against the Separatists. Now they were meeting on Coruscant, Tarkin under the guise of attending a Republic officer's seminar, and Thrawn was on leave for a few days to compare notes and anything they had learned.
And so far, Tarkin had learned nothing of interest, and judging from the look on Thrawn's face, his search wasn't yielding too many results either.
"I have done my best to keep eyes on Kit Fisto, but he is crafty. He knows how to lose tails and is quite good at ensuring he isn't being eavesdropped on when he takes calls in his quarters on the ship. And trying to watch him inside the Temple is impossible. I'm glad Lord Sidious isn't asking for that since I don't know how to accomplish it. I doubt any Jedi would willingly turn on their own like that," Tarkin said as they settled into his home on Coruscant, an apartment near the Senate building. Being favored by the chancellor did have some perks, and the apartment was definitely one of the more luxurious ones, even if Tarkin was seldom there to enjoy it. Large bay windows in the living room gave anyone watching an almost panoramic view of the Coruscant skyline, which was as bustling and busy as it always was.
Thrawn nodded slowly before saying, "General Fisto certainly knows how to take precautions and is more than capable of eluding us when he wants to. It makes it difficult to watch him without him knowing he is being watched, and leads me into another dilemma," taking a small sip of wine as he said this. He wasn't fond of wine in general, but he had to admit Captain Tarkin had exquisite taste.
This was one of the Alderaanian white wines, and Thrawn was enjoying every sip.
Tarkin smirked slightly, "So learning everything you can about his culture, history, and people, isn't going so well?"
Thrawn shook his head slowly, "Ordinarily, I would know where to begin my search, usually by researching the family name, but that has proven difficult. There is no record of a Fisto being born on Glee Anselm, period."
Tarkin raised an eyebrow, "He could have been born on a different planet."
Thrawn shook his head slowly, "His accent suggests that he was born on the planet and knows the language spoken there. I have noticed there is something different about the way he speaks; the nuances and accent doesn't lend themselves to the language of Glee Anselm, but I don't know what else it could be. His way of speaking is….different….from those born on Glee Anselm. I think he is from there but is from one of the more disconnected clans that call the planet home. Those clans have very little contact with the rest of the galaxy; it wouldn't surprise me if they speak entirely different languages from Nautila, the recognized language of Nautolans."
Tarkin nodded, knowing that the people of Glee Anselm were ruled by a king and queen but were divided among various clans scattered about the planet. Each clan had strict borders that weren't to be crossed for any reason unless invited to do so. Conflict was sometimes common when the unspoken rules of clan society were ignored or disrespected. And the rumors in the underworld surrounding the king and queen were even more disturbing, but there was never any proof to back up those rumors.
In all honesty, Tarkin thought it all highly uncivilized.
Turning back to Thrawn, he listened as the Chiss added, "Since there is no record of any Fisto being born on the planet, I have had to look elsewhere for information about where he is from. Unfortunately, from what I could gather, Kit Fisto was brought to the Temple when he was about two years old by someone who said he wasn't the general's parent but that he was Force-sensitive and needed a home. The Jedi took him in and got him healthy as he was very sick when he arrived, convincing the Jedi he had been abandoned or given to that person by his parents. As far as I can tell, that is that. There is no family to track down, making Kit Fisto an orphan, although his uncle might have been as powerful in the Force as him; that was something the Jedi were able to uncover, making them more willing to take him. But it's like his birth family never existed in the first place, and I can find no recent records of that uncle," Thrawn finished quietly, trying to make sense of it all.
It defied his expectations and logic, someone seemingly coming from nowhere, and he couldn't stand it.
In the end, he only said, "I will keep looking; perhaps something will come to light in the future. In the meantime, it seems our only options are to wait and watch. I can only wait and see if any family comes forward or to light. I have sent out feelers to Glee Anselm to look around; perhaps they can turn up something an outsider cannot. The government of Glee Anselm has a history of secrecy, so it will be difficult to get them to reveal anything without getting the Senate involved. Something Lord Sidious has stressed cannot happen."
Tarkin nodded slowly, "I will keep watching him and see what I can turn up. Everyone makes mistakes, even someone who seems as careful as Kit Fisto. Something will happen, and he will make a mistake, and then we can know exactly what secrets he is hiding."
"Hopefully before Lord Sidious runs out of patience," Thrawn said nonchalantly, and Tarkin blanched slightly. Thrawn's lips twitched in a bare smile before he said, "Lord Sidious has informed me he is sending his agents to capture Kit Fisto and force the information out of him. But he still wants us to look into Fisto and see what we can learn. Anything we learn can be used as leverage later."
Tarkin nodded before saying almost sourly, "And I have to go back to his fleet and put up with him disrespecting me in front of the entire crew. I don't understand how people can put up with him; his lack of respect for authority and his style of leadership is highly inappropriate."
Thrawn cocked an eyebrow at that but said nothing on the subject, knowing the rigidness of the Republic military academy hadn't helped Tarkin be able to think creatively. Kit Fisto wasn't bound by such restraints, and from what he had learned about the Jedi's personality, the Nautolan enjoyed a more laid-back way of leading that still led to victory in the end.
Clearly, personalities were clashing in that fleet, and Thrawn almost wished he could be there to watch it and enjoy it. But since he couldn't, he would have to make do with listening to Tarkin complain. Even when he was complaining, though, Thrawn was still learning about the Jedi general they had been tasked to learn everything they could about.
So let Tarkin complain; it would only help Thrawn in the end.
Republic victory is at hand! Clone troopers under the command of the Jedi have successfully invaded the Separatist-occupied world of Ryloth. Anakin Skywalker battles the enemy in the skies, while Obi-Wan Kenobi frees villages from the grip of vile Separatist leader, Wat Tambor. Now, Jedi General Mace Windu leads the attack on the enemy lines in the final offensive to liberate the capital city of Lessu….
The woman finally raised her head, which was the signal Kit had been waiting for. Dooku had finally left, and they could continue on this mission. They turned the corner quietly, keeping to the shadows and fanning out along the sides of the small cavern they had just entered. Everything was at a downward angle because the Separatists, or whoever these people were, were mining deeper and deeper into the planet, so there was no genuinely level ground. But they adjusted quickly enough and slipped up behind the two human males standing together and speaking while the droids worked. The woman turned to Kit in the dark, raising a hand and signaling him to take care of the droids.
She would deal with the two humans and make sure they couldn't send out a distress signal. Kit nodded in the darkness, slipping back into the shadows and reaching for his lightsaber, taking it and waiting for the right moment to strike. It came seconds later as the woman exploded out of the darkness quite a distance away from where she had been moments before, moving so quietly and stealthily Kit hadn't even noticed she had moved, launching herself at the two humans with her knives drawn. Seconds later, one was down, clearly dead, and she was rounding on the second one, who was backing away towards what looked like an alarm, but Kit wasn't able to see what happened next as he drew his lightsaber and started cutting down the droids, easily destroying them. He moved throughout the room quickly, dodging torches and welders and boulders thrown at him by the droids, quickly cutting them down and getting out of harm's way before their too-slow processors could figure out where he had gone.
Minutes later, it was finished, and Kit was putting his lightsaber away and looking over at the woman, trying to ignore the shooting pain in his stomach, which had gotten worse with the activity he had just put himself through. She was standing up from where she had been crouched over the body of the second man, whose neck was clearly broken. She looked at him then, the feral light leaving her eyes as she calmed, and Kit nodded inwardly to himself. She was a trained killer and knew her task well, but she also knew when to calm down and suppress that urge.
"Now what?" Kit asked, "You have a way to keep whoever this is, since it's clearly not the Separatists, from turning this planet into a weapon?"
The woman nodded slowly, and Kit asked, "What do you have in mind?"
Again the woman beckoned him to follow her, which he did, them taking a speeder they had found even deeper into the planet's core, the woman stopping every once and a while at what she thought were good points to plant explosives she had been storing in her backpack. Finally, they made it down to the point that was clearly as far as the miners had gotten. It was the end of the tunnel, a dead end. But at the far side, something glowed red and hot, and Kit got off the speeder and walked over to investigate before backing away suddenly.
Like most Nautolans, he didn't like molten magma, especially when there was a river of it blocking the way. Turning back to the woman, he asked, "What do you plan on doing, anyway? Even if we block up this tunnel, the miners will just start from somewhere else and keep going until they are successful, and we can't come back here every time that happens. Tarkin is already suspicious of me, and I could only get away because he is on Coruscant right now. I won't get that kind of a break again anytime soon."
The woman looked up and smiled at him a moment before turning back to what she was doing. Kit shook his head but stopped when he felt the Force. It was pulsing and vibrating in a way he had only experienced a few times before, and he knew what that meant. He backed away from the woman and watched as she slowly expanded her hands away from each other, and something started to materialize. It started out as nothing more than an outline, but after many minutes it became larger and more solid, eventually manifesting itself into a large bomb that the woman lowered down to the ground carefully. It was over a few seconds later, and the Force calmed, and the woman looked over at Kit.
He glanced at her before walking over to the bomb, taking it in as he did so, unable to not marvel at it. The woman had clearly outdone herself this time and had known what she was doing. The outer casing of the bomb was heat-resistant to the point of several thousand degrees, and all the wiring and detonators were on the inside to protect them from the heat of the planet's core. Walking around the bomb, Kit was amazed at how big it was. It was twice the size of a full-grown Hutt, and Kit could only guess it had a yield of at least a few plasma bombs; at least a few thousand Kilotons.
But knowing the woman, that was a very conservative estimate.
Turning back to her, he asked, "This bomb, in the planet's core, will explode and cause a chain reaction that will destroy the entire planet, won't it? From the inside out?" when the woman nodded, he sighed and said, "I hope you got the innocent life on this planet off before you came up with this plan?" again the woman nodded. Kit sighed again, "There are days, just a few, when I honestly wish I'd never known you."
The woman almost looked like she wanted to laugh at that since her lips twitched in the barest hint of a smile, and Kit shook his head again and asked, "What do you want me to do?" and the woman looked behind him at the magma river. A hole had been made above it, but it wasn't big enough to get the bomb through. It needed to be expanded to put the bomb into the river and follow it along to the planet's core. He shook his head with a smile and took out his lightsaber again, watching as the woman turned back to the speeder and got it turned around and ready for a quick escape. After that was done, she looked back at him and nodded, and he turned to the hole and asked, "Is this why you had the droids keep the ship ready and warmed up? So that we can be far enough away when this thing blows?"
There was no response from the woman, and Kit had no intention of looking over his shoulder, and so only ignited his lightsaber and started expanding the hole a bit more. Finally, it was big enough for the bomb, and between the two of them using the Force, it was soon in position on the edge of the magma river. As Kit held it in place, the woman hit a few buttons on her comlink and then a few buttons on the bomb, making sure it was already. Green lights blinked at her, telling her it was all set, and then they were pushing the bomb into the river. They watched it for a few seconds as it floated along slowly, but then it started to go faster and faster. Kit turned to the woman and saw that she was looking at him in a way that clearly said it was time to go. They ran back to the speeder and mounted, taking off as quickly as possible and racing through the tunnels.
As they passed the planted bombs, the woman set them off, caving in the tunnel and making sure the bomb wouldn't follow the easiest path. They raced through the open cavern with all the equipment, setting off more and more bombs the woman had planted without Kit noticing. Soon they were above ground, ignoring the droids that complained and tried to stop them. They raced through the forest and straight to the Ghost, the woman not stopping the speeder until they were up the gangplank. The doors shut behind them and the ship immediately took off, the two of them racing for the cockpit as soon as possible.
Chopper was piloting the ship with skill, pushing it as fast as he could, knowing they were on borrowed time and needed to get as far away from the planet as quickly as possible. Seconds later, the woman was in control of the ship and pushing it even harder, activating the extra power supplies she had installed on the ship and getting more and more speed out of it, signaling Chopper to get the hyperdrive ready as well, which he did with an affirmative beep. They hit the atmosphere, and Kit was able to look down at the planet for one last moment, noticing that crevices were starting to open in the planet's surface, and Kit once again felt the Force.
Even piloting a ship as quickly as she could, the woman was still using the Force to weaken the planet and make it more likely to blow completely, multitasking in a way Kit would never have been able to pull off. Kit could only shake his head at her daring before turning back to watch as they cleared the atmosphere and headed for space. A second later, they had entered hyperspace but were only in it a few seconds before they came out of it again, far away from the planet, and Kit realized they had just lightspeed skipped. Shaking his head, he said, "Lightspeed skipping is something I know you didn't learn from me. Do I want to know who taught it to you?"
The woman froze for a second before finally shaking her head and looking at him shame-faced. He only shook his head again and asked, "Are we at a safe distance?"
Before the woman could even think of answering a shockwave, the likes of which neither of them had ever felt before shook the ship, followed by the loudest explosion Kit had ever heard in his life. He immediately put his hands over his ears, the woman doing the same, while Chopper got the shields going as strongly as he could. Seconds later, a white light was visible out the viewport and they both shielded and closed their eyes. After several long minutes, the light finally faded away, and they tentatively opened their eyes and looked around. The ship had been buffeted by the shockwave and was no longer in the right direction, and so the woman turned it around after running a quick check on its systems.
Nothing was damaged, and they were able to finally look at what had once been a planet. Now it was nothing more than giant rocks and asteroids. The star that had served as its sun was gone as well, destroyed by the force of the blast. The woman quickly navigated around the asteroids and debris, taking in all that was left of the planet, which wasn't much.
Not even the construction spheres orbiting the planet had survived, and Kit looked around in awe and shock at the destruction before saying, "I've never seen anything like this before. How many of those bombs did you make?"
The woman turned to him slowly and raised one finger, and Kit breathed a sigh of relief. Destruction of this scale shouldn't be repeated ever again, especially on a planet that could be full of life, which, thankfully, this one wasn't. He looked over the asteroid field again before turning to her and saying, "Can we go home now? I think I've had enough adventure for one day. Especially your kind of adventure."
The woman actually smiled at that and nodded, turning the ship and leaving the system, heading straight for the dead space coordinates where they had left the hyperspace ring. When they got there, though, the ring was gone, and scanning the area revealed it was nowhere close. Turning to the woman, Kit asked, "Are you sure these are the correct coordinates?"
The woman turned and looked at him with a raised brow, and Kit said, "If these are the correct coordinates, where is the ring? We left it here; it couldn't have gone far."
The woman could only shrug before noticing something that immediately answered the question. She headed for it, and they watched as a Corona-class armed frigate jumped into hyperspace, and Kit put a hand to his head, feeling a headache coming on.
Pirates, it had to be pirates.
Shaking his head, he finally turned to the woman and asked, "Would it be too much trouble to drop me off with my fleet before you go gallivanting off to some unseen corner of the galaxy I'm better off not knowing about?" the pain in his stomach returning with a vengeance and making him a bit snappier than usual. The woman turned to him with a raised brow before reaching out with a hand and resting it gently on his stomach, and Kit instantly relaxed as the pain faded away. She left her hand there for a few minutes before withdrawing it, but the relief stayed, and Kit smiled almost bashfully before saying, "Thank you. I am sorry you have to deal with me being so irritable all the time."
The woman only shrugged before smiling again and turning to Chopper, who grumbled in annoyance and input the coordinates Kit gave him for his fleet. Seconds later, they were in hyperspace and had settled into a comfortable silence. The woman dosed a bit while Kit watched the blues and whites of hyperspace fly past them, thinking over this most recent adventure.
From what he could see, they were making good progress in keeping up the Conspiracy tasks and keeping the galaxy in the dark about what was happening. The events on what had once been Korriban had alerted the Jedi Order that something was going on, but so far, the Council still couldn't understand what had happened or who had done it, and Kit was ever-so-quietly making sure they didn't figure out anything yet. Now Kit was worried that someone might notice the events that had just happened now, but there was nothing to be done about it. All they could do was wait and see and let things fall where they may.
Looking over at the sleeping woman, Kit knew that even harder challenges were in store for her. Eventually, there would come a time when not even he could help her.
What would happen then, he didn't know.
Far away on Coruscant, Yoda woke with a start and sat up with a gasp, breathing heavily. His dream, or vision, or whatever it was, was too disturbing to be true, and for a few seconds, he only sat there and settled his breathing. Once that was calm, he turned to the Force, reaching out for what his dream had shown him. A few seconds later, he shook his head and opened his eyes, realizing the Force would show him nothing that night.
Whatever that dream had been, there was no way he could ever know if it was real or not, especially with the memory of it fading away the more he tried to hold onto it. This dream became one of many over the years that made no sense to him, and all he could do was wait and see what the results of them would be.
A few hours later, Kit and the woman finally arrived at Kit's fleet. Kit had sent a secure message ahead to let them know they were coming, and so when they dropped out of hyperspace, none of the ships alerted to their presence or sounded an alarm. They just waited as Kit said a quick good-bye to the woman before entering his starfighter and leaving the Ghost for his command cruiser. When he got there, the hangar doors opened, and he entered, feeling through the Force as the woman left the system for wherever her adventures sent her next. Landing his ship in the hangar, Kit climbed out as Monnk came over and said, "Welcome back, General. How did things go?"
Kit shrugged, "Well enough, Commander. We blew up a planet, and my hyperspace ring was stolen by pirates, but other than that, it was a rather successful mission."
Monnk's eyebrows looked in danger of disappearing into his hair, and he asked, "Do I want to know how you blew up a planet?"
Kit smiled as they started heading for the bridge, "One massive bomb, courtesy of our friend. How she built it, I have no idea, but I know it is something she is more than capable of. Thankfully, she only built one, along with this," handing the jamming device to Monnk, who took it gingerly, clearly expecting it to explode as well. Kit continued, "It can disrupt frequencies and make it impossible to track anything in its range, as well as project an image of something else. It's been showing me in my quarters ever since I left, meditating. Tarkin won't be the wiser the next time I need to disappear."
Monnk smiled at that, "Speaking of everyone's favorite captain," Kit's mouth curled slightly at that, "he is returning today. I have already made the necessary changes to the manifest regarding the hyperspace rings, so hopefully, he won't be the wiser when he comes," the clone hesitated a moment before asking as they entered the bridge, "General, will we see her ever again? I would like to actually meet her," the sentiment shared by many on the bridge.
It was strange, helping someone but never getting the opportunity to actually meet them, especially when they were relying on the clones in this fleet to get the work done.
Kit smiled at that and said, "I hope so, but like I said in the beginning, she isn't very trusting. It will take a while for her to decide she can trust you, and she can't be anywhere near here while Tarkin is around. It will only end badly for her. But I can promise that you will meet her, eventually. I'm afraid you will have to be a bit patient, though."
Monnk nodded slowly at that, knowing it was the best answer he would get. The rest of the clones who heard the general resigned themselves to waiting for the woman to make the first move. It would likely take a while, but they would still help her as best they could.
Kit smiled slightly at their downcast expressions before saying, "Don't look too glum, my friends, otherwise Tarkin will think you actually like him!" none of the clones could stop themselves from laughing, and Kit smiled and laughed as well before saying, "Alright, Commander, what have I missed while I was away?"
Monnk finally was able to get his laughter under control and started giving his general a briefing, all the while wondering how Kit Fisto could be so laid-back and easygoing and ready with a smile, while the other Jedi he had met always seemed so serious.
Except for General Skywalker, that Jedi could give a clone pilot a run for his money when it came to being reckless.
Far away from Kit Fisto's fleet, the woman brought the Ghost down for a landing on the world of Lothal. The planet was one of her impromptu bases, but she never stayed there longer than a few days. And she rarely landed in Capital City, preferring the mountains far away. But she was here with a purpose in mind, specifically: meeting a contact tapped into the dark underworld of the galaxy.
This underworld was different than most. It spanned the expanse of the galaxy and was only where the most dangerous criminals lurked, the ones the Republic knew nothing about and had no way of stopping even if they wanted to. Not even the likes of Jango Fett had known about this and likely never would have. This underworld had been around longer than the Republic and would be there long after it was gone. Around the criminal groups of the galaxy, it was called the Dark since those that were victims of it were never seen or heard from again.
It was to one of the main gathering points of this underworld that the woman headed to after getting a mechanic to refuel her ship, a building just outside a market square. The building didn't look like much, but it was one of the busiest points of travel for this underworld and the criminals who moved in its circles, as well as a place where goods and services were exchanged, for a price, of course. It was one story but rather large, and the woman was quick to slip her hood over her head before heading inside. Inside was a tavern, and she headed straight past the bar to the back where a few booths were. She looked them over before finding her contact in one of them, who beckoned her over. The contact was a Trandoshan, with green scales and her yellow and orange eyes looked around constantly, assessing for danger. A rather large Trandoshan-style blaster rested against the side of the booth, in easy reach in case there was trouble, which was often a sure thing in Dark gathering places.
Fights were rather common, and being armed was almost a requirement for entering a place like this.
Once the woman was settled, the Trandoshan leaned close and asked, "Were you followed?" the woman only looked at her, and the reptile hissed slightly before saying, "Just checking; you can never be too careful. Wanna drink?" starting to raise a hand towards the bar.
The woman didn't even bother to answer, drumming her fingers on the table between them in the universal gesture of impatience. The Trandoshan put her hand down and sighed before saying, "Fine, I can wait. You'll be gone as soon as I tell you this, and then I can have my drink," the woman cocked an eyebrow at that. The Trandoshan continued, "There's a rumor going around in the Dark that a Jedi has a rather steep price on his head. The kind of price that would make any bounty hunter worth their salt sit up and take notice of. The person paying the price is the same person planning some rather unpleasant things for the galaxy, so the rumor goes. This bounty is only available to the Dark, and a mutual friend heard about it. I'm sure you've met this friend; rumor is you helped him out on Iego. He told me to let you know."
The woman didn't answer in any event, and the Trandoshan continued, "The Jedi this person is looking for is a Nautolan by the name of Kit Fisto. In whatever currency you prefer, five million credits are floating around to catch him and deliver him to this person. The Separatists are also after him, and whoever gets him first gets the reward. The only catch is he must be brought in alive. Kind of a letdown for those of us who were interested in the other bounty from the Glee Anselm monarchy; they want him dead for only two million, so not really worth it in the end for that bounty. A lot of hunters are going to bow out from the get-go; a Jedi's too dangerous for some of our tastes, but a few may take a stab at it."
The Trandoshan stopped speaking then and looked at the woman, who was staring off into the distance for a few moments before focusing back on her. The Trandoshan wasn't surprised to see her eyes and face were carefully blank, giving nothing away, and so the reptile sighed and hissed before saying, "If that's all, I think I'll go get a drink. Don't be here when I get back," standing up and heading for the bar, deciding then and there that was the last time she did anything for anyone. She had only done this because their mutual friend scared her half to death, and she wasn't interested in getting on his bad side.
She would stick to bounty hunting after this; it was a lot safer.
When she got back to her booth, the woman was gone, nothing to indicate she had even been there, and the Trandoshan shook her head before settling at her booth with her glass. She would sit here and enjoy herself, and then take her ship and get as far away as she could from this planet and the Dark as well.
Laying low for the moment probably wasn't the worst idea. At the very least, it would keep all her limbs where they belonged: firmly attached to her body.
The woman was back on her ship within minutes, knowing now she needed to get the word out to her contacts and other members of the Conspiracy as quickly as possible. They needed to be warned to be ready for any contingency and be prepared in case Kit was indeed captured. She didn't think it could happen; Kit was too careful and skilled to get captured, but considering what was wrong with him and the pain could hit out of nowhere, she didn't want to take chances.
Things could end very badly if he wasn't around to help her.
Nodding to herself, she set a course for home, knowing she was running out of time and that things were accelerating at a pace she almost wasn't ready for, but she would catch up soon enough.
It could mean the end of things as the galaxy knew it if she wasn't ready.
Deep in Wild Space, far beyond the reaches of anything, a lone Separatist frigate waited. On that frigate was Count Dooku, waiting for a transmission to come through. But this was no ordinary message, and he was afraid of what could happen to him in the next few minutes.
Especially since he didn't know what it was about.
Which led to Dooku waiting on the bridge, waiting for that transmission to come through and almost afraid of what would happen in the next few minutes. Finally, the droid in charge of communications turned to him and said, "Sir, we have a secure transmission coming through for you."
Dooku nodded and said, "Put it through," and the droid did so; Dooku immediately bowed on one knee when he saw who the cloaked and hooded being was. It was his Master, Darth Sidious, looking none-too-happy. The Sith Lord was silent for a few minutes before saying, "I have felt a great disturbance in the Force, my apprentice. A planet has been destroyed."
Dooku raised his head and said, "How, my lord? And which one? I have felt nothing of that magnitude."
"How could you not?!" Sidious thundered suddenly, and Dooku immediately ducked his head again, "Have I taught you nothing?!" Dooku wisely stayed silent, and a few seconds later, Sidious continued, voice normal, "This planet that was destroyed was the one where Starkiller Base was to be located. I am wondering if there was anything amiss when you visited a few days ago to check on the progress of those there?"
Dooku shook his head, "No, my lord. I saw nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps the miners weren't careful and caused an explosion that caused a chain reaction that destroyed the planet?"
Sidious seemed to consider this for a few moments before saying, "That is a possibility, however slim. I will think about that; in the meantime, is the hunt for Kit Fisto underway?"
"Yes, my lord," Dooku said, raising his head then, "I have sent out word to all admirals in the Separatist fleet to be aware and capture him alive. I am sure one of them will deliver. And if not, I will send Grievous. I'm sure he can deliver."
Sidious nodded slowly before saying, "Perhaps there is a way to lure Kit Fisto away from his fleet. We just need the right incentive or target for him to come after alone. I will think about how to accomplish this. In the meantime, I have sent out word to some of the most ruthless criminals and bounty hunters in the galaxy that there is a bounty on his head. I'm sure either you or they will deliver before too long. These bounty hunters are worse than Cad Bane and will come through. Or you will, and for your sake, it better be you," ending the transmission right then and there and leaving Dooku no other choice but to stand up and look out the view windows of the bridge.
His master was furious, that was clear, and now it was up to him to come up with a way to draw Kit Fisto away from the Republic fleet so that he could be grabbed and interrogated.
Whatever he knew was worth the war, and by the Dark Side, they would do what they had to do to figure out what it was.