Author's Note: this one comes from, once again, my dad! He was looking for some Wile-E-Coyote stuff so I took some inspiration from that episode where Ahsoka and the Younglings fend off Hondo's pirates...
Also, a quick life update: I haven't been able to do much writing due to me starting some advanced summer courses and my job. With the fall semester just around the bend, it'll probably be some time before my next posting. Don't worry, I'm not done yet!
-Chapter 28: Survival of the Smartest-
Location: Republic Listening Post, Anoat's Moon
"Old tactics do not produce new results."
"After some careful examination of the blood found on your new axe, I have discovered that the beings you encountered on Virujansi possess a kind of Force-inhibiting microbe which I am tentatively calling 'antichlorians'." Scipio detailed, pointing to a still holoimage of the microscopic discovery he had made. "They are very similar to midichlorians, save for the fact that they do not conduct the Force but, rather, prevent it from working within or on the individual." Having finished his research and applied it properly, Scipio was giving Wraith a rundown of his discoveries. While much would be saved for a far more thorough report to be sent to his superiors within the Techno Union, it seemed fair that Wraith, having supplied so much of the available material, be let in on his finds as well.
"Interesting. So these people were born Force-immune..." Wraith mused, pondering over the nature of those weird beings from Virujansi.
"In a way, yes. Much in the same way that midichlorians exist within every known species here, in this galaxy, thus tying into the 'ever-present Force' the Jedi claim exists, antichlorians must exist within these people and their related materials. That would be why Kenobi could not sense or feel anything in the rooms." Scipio continued, agreeing with his creation.
That sole revelation opened up a single possibility that Wraith desperately wished to exploit.
"Please tell me you can find a use for this. Rendering me completely immune to the Force would make me invincible!" He asked. Scipio sighed, an indicator that slowed Wraith's hopes.
"I had a feeling you would ask that. I have been researching the possibilities and I have to come to the conclusion that the science and the potential to infuse you with the samples I have is... well... impossible." The Pau'an replied, sounding disappointed. Wraith was incredulous to that answer.
"Impossible?! Come on, Doc! I am technically impossible but you made me happen!" He exclaimed, urging him to try again.
"My boy, you were born with midichlorians in you. If I were to introduce antichlorians into you, the results could be catastrophic. You could be torn apart from the inside out!" Scipio explained. That made Wraith pause, forced to stop and realize the ramifications of equal opposites butting heads.
"I hadn't thought about that."
"So it's a good thing I did." Scipio noted, crossing his arms. He knew Wraith was disappointed about his findings, but that didn't mean the option was ruled out completely. "I'll see if I can't find some use for these antichlorians. May have to do some reverse-engineering, but only time will tell if my efforts will work." He added. Wraith digested the information, nodding in understanding as Scipio moved on. "On to more immediate matters, I believe I've found a suitable replacement for your slugthrowers. Are you familiar with the Point-Forty-Eight Enforcer Pistol?" The doctor wondered as he produced a case from the floor and set it on a nearby table.
"Designed and manufactured by the Morellian Weapons Conglomerate, specifically for Morellian Enforcers during the Old Republic era." Wraith answered, recalling the weapon he had studied once. "They say it packs one helluva wallop for a slug-pistol. Armor-piercing rounds that can demolish a landspeeder, even."
"Correct." Scipio agreed, opening the case. "Several of my associates and I have been working on upgrading the design, building a weapon made especially for you." He explained before holding up a truly massive hand-held weapon. "Behold, the Point-Fifty Enforcer Pistol. Built by the Techno Union, forged from a durasteel-cortosis alloy and able to blow the head off a Clone trooper!" He announced excitedly. Wraith stood up and took the weapon from Scipio, feeling it's hefty weight and eyeing the squarish barrel. It obviously needed to be reconstructed in order to account for the two-point increase in slug power.
"You mean to tell me this thing fires fifty-caliber slugs?!" He wondered in amazement. Scipio nodded.
"Correct. The kickback for those weapons is enormous, so I hear. I would recommend that you spend some time practicing with them so you can understand just how powerful they really are." The Pau'an cautioned him. "Think you can handle it?" He inquired.
"The gun, yes. But I don't think I can handle these levels of excitement!" Wraith quipped with a chuckle, twirling the gun around his hand. "Doc, you're the best."
"Oh, go on." Scipio bashfully replied with a grin. Reaching back into the case, he pulled out a second and a set of ammo clips. "You've got eight rounds per clip. I know it's two less than what you're used to, but some sacrifices had to be made."
"Duly noted." Wraith replied, taking the second pistol and practicing aiming downrange. The iron sights mounted along the barrel were just fine.
"I can possibly work on some mag-extenders for you. Something to grant you a little extra firepower when necessary." Scipio commented, a sudden thought coming to him.
"Sure thing. I just can't wait to try these out." Wraith replied, gazing at the weapons in his hands.
"An opportunity may come sooner than you think." Scipio responded, suddenly moving over to the holotable to bring up a new dossier. "You've got another assignment ahead of you. High-command has discovered a Republic listening post on the planet Anoat's moon. They seem to be checking out possible Separatist traffic in the Anoat Belt." While he was not completely familiar with the area, Wraith believed the idea of using the nearby asteroid belt as cover. They would make for perfect cover should a high-priority vehicle be passing through. However, there was no Separatist traffic in that system to his knowledge. Anoat was very much out of the way, a desolate and empty place.
"Isn't that place really out of the way? Why would they be looking for traffic there?" He wondered, joining Scipio over by the table. Scipio leaned closer to him, voice dropping as he conveyed a secret.
"Because, Wraith, there is traffic going through there. Special courier traffic. We cannot let the Republic find out about it." He whispered. "Not to mention the Anoat System is very close to Separatist territory. Should the Republic try broadening their scanners, who knows what chatter they might pick up." The super-soldier nodded slowly, the importance of this seek-and-destroy mission growing in his mind.
"That makes this a whole different game, then." Wraith realized as he made to stand. "When do I leave?"
"The sooner the better, I would say." Scipio informed him. "I've outfitted your shuttle with a cloaking device to make the approach stealthier. It's not great tech, nor is it bad, but it will render them unable to detect you until it's too late." He added, highlighting the recent upgrade to his craft. "Now suit up and get out there!"
Located between the Hoth System and the Bespin System in the Outer Rim, the world of Anoat was one of six in the self-titled Anoat System. A generally habitable planet, it had been discovered shortly before the beginning of the Clone Wars by the Figg Excavations group and swiftly turned into a mining world populated by human colonists. Under normal circumstances, Wraith would've rushed right over at the mention of a Republic presence, as Figg Excavations was a member of the Mining Guild: a founding member of the Separatist Alliance. However, the company had lost respect in recent years when it was discovered they were hiring pirates to attack their own convoys as a means to gain the protection of the Anoat sector police forces and split from the Mining Guild. They were shamed and considered to be of ill-repute.
But with the knowledge that Separatist couriers were using the nearby Anoat asteroid belt as a means of secretive travel, the destruction of the Republic listening post had shot to the top of Wraith's to-do list.
What the Separatists wanted to be a secret would remain a secret.
Exiting hyperspace above the hazy white and blue world, Wraith was quick to perform a routine proximity scan before he triggered his new cloaking mechanisms.
"Scans indicate there's no other ships currently in the system, Republic or otherwise." He reported, reading the results.
"I suppose the reported presence of the Republic might be enough to deter any activities." Scipio replied through his comms. "It's up to you to restore order and clean things up." Wraith grunted in understanding as his now-invisible ship veered away from Anoat and headed towards its moon. A cold, dark and rocky world, it seemed ideal to the Republic. A perfection position from which to spy on the Separatists.
But little did they realize just how much trouble they were about to be in.
Clone Commander CT-6112, or 'Rik' as many called him, stood tall at his post on the main level of Anoat Base. His job as site commander, was to monitor all communications and to report any suspicious activity to the Republic. While some might think that a listening post would be the worst position to take, Rik deemed any means to serve the Republic an honor.
A sentiment that was not necessarily shared by those under his command.
He'd earned the nickname 'Hardhead' from this latest batch of Clones: CT-7899 'Guzzle', CT-3307 'Tac', CT-7831 'Vault', CT-1632 'Singer', CT-4388 'Lash' and CT-2211 'Zeke'. A collection of Privates ordered out here for duty and only half of them were enjoying themselves. With each member sitting at a respective console, everything seemed to be running like normal. Machines were humming, reports being fed into the system...
And Guzzle was making snide remarks that could almost be classified as complaints.
"Well, another hour and a whole lot of nothing has happened." He yawned, stretching his arms. "Force, this has got to be the worst assignment ever."
"Ah, it can't be that bad, Guz." Singer replied, making notes on a holopad. "At least we get to do other things while we're monitoring all this white noise. There are worse jobs to have."
"Can you name one?" Guzzle retorted. Singer said nothing, partially ignoring him. "See? You can't!"
"Simmer down, CT-Seven-Eight-Nine-Nine." Rik commanded him. "This position is not about the immediate but about the future. A future where everything goes horribly wrong because we missed something."
"With all due respect, Commander," Lash piped up, "but Guzzle does have a point. This shift can be pretty boring at times."
"Ever thought about bringing something to read, Private?" Rik responded.
"No sir. I'm on duty, no distractions." The Clone explained.
"Next shift, you have my expressed permission to bring something. That goes for all of you." Rik stated, loud enough for them all to hear.
"Until then," Guzzle muttered, stretching again. "Hey, Zeke, wanna arm-wrestle?" He asked his brother.
"Why? So you can lose again?" The Clone retorted, earning a chuckle from his fellow troopers.
Outside...
With no guards or security measures in place around the single landing pad, Wraith was able to make his approach and landing with relative ease. Either the Republic had some lax practices when it came to securing valuable military intelligence assets or these Clones were not in top condition.
Both options spelled good fortune for Wraith.
Triggering his own cloaking device as he exited his shuttle, Wraith quickly dashed up to the facility's entrance.
"No alarms. So far so good." He mused, crouching against a wall. He took a look at the security access panel which would allow him inside. It was a classic two-way visual communicator. Anyone who wanted access needed to speak with the Clone guards directly via face-to-face communication. Only then, after stating their intent and business on the moon, would they be allowed inside.
Wraith certainly didn't look like a Clone, which meant there was now an obstacle in his way.
"Gonna have to hack it. There's no other way." He mused. Cracking open the computing equipment mounted on his gauntlet, Wraith decided to tap directly into the hardware of the security locks. "The only way to make this look legit is if I hide my break-in." A plan was already forming in his mind. By tapping into the very computation codes that ran this security system, Wraith could manipulate the signals that designated a breach and those that designated an 'all-clear' sign. All he had to do was properly time the reversed signals so that his breach registered as an all-clear.
But first, he had to hack the network.
Sitting by the door, his wires plugged in and a multitude of data flooding his HUD, Wraith used the controls on his gauntlet to bypass their meagre failsafes and safeguards and plug deep into their network. The door would be fairly easy to open. It was a matter of programming a false signal that would be difficult.
Fortunately, he had been studying computer science and programming in-between studying combat and tactics. He had been planned to do everything, after all, and a good solider knew his way around any kind of computing systems.
That's what put him above Clones. While they needed a specialized 'Slicer' to do the job, he had everything he needed to do it himself.
Lines of code passed before his eyes as the network schematics were uploaded into his personal systems. With every piece of programming now at his fingertips, Wraith could successfully hijack their systems without them noticing. He quickly traced through the various codes until he found their alarm systems and picked apart the codes until he found the signalling mechanisms. "Bingo." He whispered. "Now for a little rewiring in the broadcast department..." Wraith began editing the signal feed, altering the output frequencies and switching the triggers. His hope was to be able to manually control the frequency triggers so that they worked according to his timetable. It would take some precise coordination, something he had.
Now it was just a matter of flawless execution.
Readying himself to start moving, Wraith first triggered the all-clear signal before he activated the door and popped out his wires. Quickly sprinting through the open door, Wraith allowed it to close behind him. Successfully inside, Wraith deactivated his cloaking systems and rolled his shoulders, confident he was now inside and that the Clones were unaware of his arrival.
But he was wrong.
A series of monitor cameras had been placed throughout the hall, giving the Clones in the central hub a complete view of Wraith's activities.
It was Lash who spotted him first.
"Commander! You gotta take a look at this!" He cried as the motion detectors came online and the monitors relayed an image of The Wraith standing in the hall.
"Oh Sithspit." Rik cursed as he laid eyes on the feed. "What's he doing here?"
"Sir, what do we do? We can't fight him, we all know what he's capable of! We don't even have any kind of firepower to hold him off with!" Tac exclaimed. Rik thought hard as the men under his command gathered around him. The situation looked bleak and Tac was right, there weren't very many options available for them to run with.
"We may not have the firepower to stop him... but the Republic does." He realized, speaking as he gathered his thoughts. "This facility is capable of transmitting a distress signal. All we have to do is hold him off long enough for it to reach the Republic."
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Zeke wondered.
"Improvise, men. We'll improvise." Rik replied. "What have we got to work with?" He asked. While some of the Clones started scratching their heads, unable to recall anything apart from their blasters, Singer was already working on something.
"Sir, according to manifests this place as a few crates of Marksman-H training remotes for scouting purposes." He announced. "We could re-wire them for combat purposes and have them assault Wraith in waves."
"Good thinking soldier." Rik commended him. He turned his attention back to the other Clones. "Lash, Guzzle, let's go get those crates."
Later...
Wraith was casually making his way through the lower levels of the post. Believing he had still gone undetected, and unaware of the security systems watching his every move, he chose to walk instead of run through the facility... a testament to the Republic's failure, that he could simply walk in and level the place.
While one would assume his electrical scanners would've alerted him to the presence of these security systems, they were too busy registering every other electrical signal in the building, which was a lot considering this listening post was filtering communications from an entire region.
The click of his boots against the metal floor echoed throughout the empty hall as he continued to walk. He half-wondered if there was even anyone here for him to kill.
It would be unfortunate if there wasn't any.
Mere moments after this thought crossed his mind, a series of circular objects rounded the corner before him, coming from the hallway before him. The super-soldier paused to determine what these were. His instincts told him they might be some kind of probe droids. But as the four of them neared his position, he realized these were far simpler machines.
"Marksman-H training remotes. Typically used by the Jedi Order... but I've heard of the Republic using them too." He commented aloud. Just as he was about to wonder why there were four of them here, two of the drones attacked with bursts of laser energy. The rounds struck him in the chest, knocking him back. Then the other two started firing and soon a cacophony of high-intensity stun bolts started blasting Wraith in waves of unrelenting fire. Struck from all angles, Wraith had no choice but to shield himself and try to push through the barrage.
Up on the command deck, Rik and the other Clones were observing the effectiveness of their drones through the observation systems. They collectively chuckled and patted each other on the back as they watched the drones relentlessly pound Wraith with stinging barrages of blaster fire. Singer was busy controlling the drones with a remote link he had established when Rik clapped him on the shoulder.
"Nice work, solider. Now set those drones on automatic, maximum level intensity. They should buy us some time." He ordered.
"Roger that, sir."
Wraith could feel each one of the bolts as they slammed into his armor, as unbelievable as that sounded. Each one carried a slight electrical shock that his armor did not protect against. With each zap, his armor was charred and his body was electrified. Thinking quickly, he reached down and triggered his shield generator. The protective bubble quickly enveloped him, absorbing the barrages.
Why hadn't he thought of this sooner?
Wraith straightened up and eyed his blackened armor. Someone was going to pay for this...
But first, he needed to stop these things.
Reaching for his belt, Wraith drew his new slugthrower.
"Let's see what this can really do..." he muttered. Having not had the time to properly test it yet, Wraith knew that the metal slug would be enough to completely chatter the metal spheres attacking him. Snapping up his arm and taking aim through the iron sights, Wraith squeezed the trigger as soon as he had a drone lined up.
Scipio was right. The kickback was enormous.
His normally steady arm was snapped back to a ninety degree angle and a loud CRACK drowned out the sounds of blaster fire as he fired a single shell. The slug ripped through the air and through the drone, tearing through it and leaving a shower of sparks and broken electronics fizzling in its wake. The drone dropped to the ground offline and in a permanent state of disrepair. "Damn..." Wraith mused with a grin at the power in his hands. He would definitely have to work on mastering and understanding the recoil of this fifty caliber gun. Turning on heel, he blasted two more drones before turning about and downing the last one, all of the drones hitting the ground as empty shells, fizzling and sparking. Shoving his slugthrower into its holster and powering down his shield, Wraith was feeling better about this. But the presence of those remotes heavily suggested somebody was here. "Now that the distractions have been dealt with..." he rumbled, ready to move on.
The Clones were shocked that Wraith had been able to tear through their drones so easily. Any average individual would've been forced to stop or retreat.
"Well that didn't work." Guzzle grumbled.
"We still got a few more remotes. Permission to rig them up, sir?" Singer asked Rik.
"Permission granted. We need to send every one we have after him, we need more time to get a single off to the Republic." Their commander replied.
"Sir, if I may," Zeke piped up, "maybe we could have some of them explode. You know, bring a little extra fire to our defences."
"Good thinking Zeke." Rik commended him. "Singer, how long to turn one of those remotes into an explosive?"
"Just give me a few minutes, sir!" The Clone replied.
Wraith was on the move, making his way through the facility at a quicker pace. The presence of those drones indicated security and he needed to deal with them before something happened. His scans indicated a turbolift was nearby, one that should take him to the nerve center of this place.
Then he could begin destroying everything.
Suddenly a single training remote flew in from around another corner. Wraith slid to a halt as soon as he saw it.
"Not this time!" He growled, drawing his slugthrower. But instead of opening fire, the drone simply stopped in mid-air and hovered in place. Seeing this, a wary Wraith trained his sights on the remote but didn't fire just yet. The drone slowly started to float closer to him. "Odd." Wraith mused, keeping his watchful eye on the approaching drone and anticipating a sudden move. "Why isn't this one opening fire-" the remote suddenly exploded with enough force to throw Wraith back against the wall and leave a massive scorch mark behind. His blackened armor blended in with the blackened walls around him, his body resting in a sizeable dent he had made on impact. "Oh. That's why." He grumbled. Easing his body out of the wall, stood up and wiped some of the soot from his optics. "Somebody's gonna die tonight!" He vowed. Turning back to the hall, another group of remotes appeared. These ones opened fire as soon as they were close enough. Wraith quickly recalled the obstacle courses of his younger years and started sprinting, leaping, ducking and rolling around the barrages of training bolts, firing when he could and scoring a successful hit each time. Another one of them drew close enough to explode, throwing Wraith forward. But the super-soldier turned it into a combat roll and was back on his feet once again. Jumping and spinning, Wraith fired off four rounds in rapid succession, displaying impressive adaptability to his powerful new weapon. Four of the remotes were quickly gunned down as Wraith landed back on his feet and sprinted around the corner.
And there, at the end of the hall, was the turbolift.
Breaking into a sprint, Wraith was desperate to reach his destination before he had to suffer another barrage from those unpredictable remotes. Sure, he could use his shield generator, but why waste the energy now that he understood what he was up against?
Reaching the closed door and slamming the 'open' key, Wraith turned a squeezed off a few more shots at the oncoming remotes as they fired back. Rounds slammed into his armor, peppering his body with rather precise accuracy. The door slid open behind him and Wraith quickly backed inside, firing a few more shots as the door closed, cutting off the remotes. Breathing a sigh of relief, Wraith ejected his spent ammo clip and loaded a fresh one into the slugthrower. "That was annoying." He grumbled. In the quiet of the turbolift, his commlink suddenly chirped.
"Come in Wraith." It was Scipio. "What's your status, my boy?"
"Whoever's in here decided to wire up some Marksman-H training remotes for their security system. No problem, but a real pain in the keister."
"Those are practice blasters, then. They don't cause any damage but they do leave a nasty shock behind." Scipio noted.
"Tell me about it." Wraith rumbled in reply. "When I get back, my suit needs a layer of anti-shock protection. I can take it, but it still hurts like hell."
"Duly noted. How's the destruction process coming along?"
"Nearly at the command deck now. Once I take out the station crew then all hell can break loose." Wraith explained.
"Keep up the good work, Wraith. Let me know when you're finished. High command is counting on you." Scipio responded before shutting down the connection. Wraith cracked his knuckles as he got ready to storm the deck, knowing he only had a few seconds once he was inside to wipe out the entire staff in one swift assault. Adjusting his sensors to his thermal scanners, Wraith soon pinpointed the locations of the seven Clones on the command deck. He knew that according to Republic protocol, listening posts were not issued a large staff, so these had to be the only Clones here. The lift stopped and the doors slid open, prompting Wraith to switch off his scanners.
Right before him was the entrance to the command deck.
Triggering his arm blade, Wraith stalked over to the door and proceeded to use his brute strength to pry the door open...
"Incoming!"
"Form a defensive line!"
"Look out! Look out!" The Clones were shouting and scurrying about as they tried to muster one last attempt to hold Wraith off as the door was slowly wrenched open. But Wraith was too quick and burst through the entry, blades ready. Lash was the first to be taken down, his body thrown to the floor before Wraith's blade pierced clean through his head. Not wasting a second, Wraith sprinted headlong towards Tac, who opened fire with his blaster. Wraith launched a hook kick to knock the blaster away and spun back to drive his blade through the Clone's helmeted head. Withdrawing his bloody blade and retracting it, Wraith drew his slugthrower and took aim, firing two shots that completely obliterated Guzzle's head in a shower of blood and flesh chunks. Rik dashed in, not caring for his own safety, and tried to wrench the pistol out of his hand. But the super-soldier's superior grip and sheer brute force was too much for Rik and Wraith promptly blew a hole in his gut, chest and head, Clone blood splattering across the floor. Turning his sights on Zeke, Wraith fired two more shots that tore off the Clone's arm before firing one last round that blew off a portion of the Clone's head. Pressing his advantage, Wraith stowed his weapon and leapt forward. His still-extended left arm blade sliced through Singer's neck with a deadly swing and his right fist bashed Vault across the helmet before his drove his blade into the Clone's back and tore upwards, splitting his upper body in half. The corpse hit the ground and Wraith retracted his blade, preferring to be covered with Clone blood instead of scorch marks.
"That felt good." He growled, rolling his shoulders. "Looks pretty good too." He added, surveying the bloody floors and various corpses scattered about. He triggered his comms again. "Scipio, mission success. I'm done here. Time to blow this joint. Literally." He reported, launching some explosive disks into his hands. "Whatever we're moving through this system had better be worth all this trouble."
"Trust me, my boy, it very much is." Scipio replied. Wraith was satisfied with that answer and set to work on destroying this place.
Later...
Walking away from the listening post, Wraith pressed the trigger on his gauntlet and sent the remote signal to his explosives. Each one of them detonated simultaneously, engulfing the entire facility in a massive fireball. Climbing into his shuttle and taking off, the facility collapsed and was consumed by flames, terminating whatever access the Republic had to Separatist communication lines.
However, Wraith's actions had some unintended consequences...
The Republic had originally installed the listening post in the Anoat System in an effort to follow up on some rumors concerning the presence of couriers using the asteroid field. Wth the destruction of this place, those rumors were now confirmed.
The Separatists were up to something...
