Author's Note: Not gonna lie, my work schedule this month's been pretty hectic. I was lucky to get this posted... but I did it, because y'all deserve it! But my upcoming work schedule is looking kinda crazy, so I might go dark for a bit. College doesn't pay for itself!
-Chapter 34: The Republic Strikes Back-
Location: Utapau
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
In the aftermath of Wraith's kidnapping of Senator Amidala, everybody was on edge. Members of the Galactic Senate who supported the Republic grew fearful that they would be next to be captured and tortured. The Jedi grew concerned with their ability to keep the planet secure, especially if someone like Wraith could slip past all defenses.
But Chancellor Palpatine was not worried. While many would suspect that he had good cause for concern as The Wraith may target him next, the Supreme Chancellor had a plan he was going to act upon. As Darth Sidious, the leader of the Separatists, Palpatine had access to many a secret Separatist file.
Among them was the very base in which Wraith was housed, trained and prepped for battle.
He had kept those coordinates safe. But now, it seemed like Wraith was in need of another lesson... and shooting his home out from under his feet seemed like a good idea.
Calling a meeting to which the entire Jedi Council was invited, Palpatine prepared to disclose the location that he and only a handful of others knew about.
Several days after the rescue of Padme, sitting before a dozen individuals of varying species, Palpatine recalled the carefully crafted lie he had devised as he began his report.
"I know many of us are still on edge after Wraith's inhuman treatment of Senator Amidala, but I believe I have a piece of good news that may assuage us once and for all."
"After all of this, any good news is welcome." Plo Koon mused, speaking on behalf of the group. His fellow Jedi nodded in agreement.
"What have you, Chancellor?"
"I have been contacted by forward Republic agents with their latest findings." He lied. "We've discovered The Wraith's base of operations. He's on Utapau." His words sent a shockwave or surprise through the Jedi.
"The Wraith's base?" Ki-Adi repeated, amazed but also incredulous.
"Are they certain, Chancellor?" Mace Windu asked, determined to know for certain.
"They tracked a lone Aka'jor-type shuttle into a sinkhole far from all known points of civilization. There can be no other explanation." Palpatine replied, repeating his rehearsed lie. The Jedi shared looks of excitement, all of them awed by the discovery.
"Utapau..." Aayla slowly repeated, "Of course. It is a neutral world. As long as he doesn't raise suspicion it would be perfect for a base of operations."
"It has been called a 'world of secrets' before. I suppose Wraith is one of them." Shaak agreed with her. "No wonder he can launch so many attacks and strike so deeply within Republic systems, behind our lines. Now we know..." Everything was starting to make sense. But now, after so long and after so many failures, they would finally be able to strike back at The Wraith for all he'd done.
And, maybe they could even put an end to him, stopping him in his tracks once and for all.
"This could be it." Adi realized. "This could be the end of this monster."
"The Republic would finally achieve a permanent edge over the Separatists. And be rid of a very dangerous threat." Obi-Wan agreed.
"I couldn't agree more, General Kenobi. And I'm pleased to see we're all in agreement on this matter." Palpatine added.
"Revenge, not the Jedi way, is it. But a problem The Wraith has been." Master Yoda stated. "For the Republic and the many Clones lost, do this we will."
"Your orders Chancellor?" Luminara inquired. "We can't attack a direct target without permission."
"Then you shall have it, Master Jedi. Send three or more attack groups to find and destroy this base immediately." Palpatine answered. "Perhaps you, Master Kenobi, and General Skywalker should be a part of it. I know I have recently commissioned his Torrent Company to guard our newly constructed Eridicon listening post, so this should give them some cause for celebration before their departure."
"I know Captain Rex has been itching for some overdue recompense. He's lost many good men to The Wraith." Obi-Wan replied. "And I have no doubt Anakin will want to take part in this as well."
"Very good." Palpatine nodded. "Assemble your men and your cruisers and depart for Utapau immediately." He commanded. "Today, we strike back against the Separatists and rid them of their advantage over us."
Later that day, on Utapau...
Doctor Pomel Scipio sat in a desk chair, pouring over some readings displayed on a datapad. They were a mix of biochemical readings and neurological scans, all taken from Wraith. So far, none of them were showing any signs of abnormal activity, which was a welcome change from the near-constant fluctuations he was used to seeing in his brain. As he was reading, said super-solider entered the room, tank top sporting large sweat stains as he had just finished a workout.
"Working hard?" The Pau'an wondered.
"If you want to call it that." Wraith answered, taking a long swig from a container of water. "Did about... two, maybe three marathon's worth of running." Scipio nodded in understanding. Such feats were commonplace for Wraith, able to run a marathon in just under an hour.
"Have you happened to hear that voice in your head recently?" The doctor asked. Wraith shook his head.
"Not since we started that new treatment plan."
"Ah, good. That's very good to hear." Scipio replied, pleased to know this. "Now I know for sure my readings aren't lying to me. You're as fit and healthy as ever, my boy." Chuckling to himself, Wraith moseyed over to a series of monitors that displayed a variety of readings from around the base. Walking up to a nearby panel, Wraith lazily scrolled through the latest perimeter scan.
What he found caused his heart rate to increase dramatically as fear swept through his veins.
"Doc! We've got a problem!" He shouted, urgently drawing his attention.
"What? What is it?" Scipio wondered, bolting up and out of his chair.
"There's four cruisers in orbit..." Wraith informed him, sending the scan data over to the holotable. The projection brought up moments later revealed, in great detail, four Venator-class cruisers, "and they're not Separatist." Scipio's eyes widened at the realization and he started to panic, wringing his hands as all sorts of thoughts passed through his mind.
"Oh no... we've been found out!" He gasped, hands now starting to shake.
"Calm down, Doc. Panicking won't do us any good, we need cool heads." Wraith said, laying a hand on the Pau'an's shoulder. "We have an escape plan, right? A termination sequence so they don't get our data?"
"Yes, but it won't matter! They're not here to capture us, they're likely here to destroy us entirely!"
"Then we need to move, now!" Wraith determined. "We'll take what we can, stow it in the shuttle."
"We can't take all of this with us!" Scipio bemoaned.
"We can take what we need." Wraith calmly replied. "Get to work on securing our data and destroying anything sensitive." He commanded, making to go and suit up in his armor.
Above the planet...
From the bridge of the Resolute, Anakin Skywalker looked on as a map of Utapau's topography was quickly generated. Alongside the Vigilance, the Endurance and the Intrepid, the Resolute was one of the ships selected to form a battle group that would, hopefully, put an end to The Wraith by destroying his base. The coordinates provided by Chancellor Palpatine resulted in a sinkhole appearing first on the map. Then, ever so slowly, a cylindrical column that had been built into the side of the sinkhole began to take shape.
"Impressive." Commander Thrawn mused. "The amount of engineering that would've gone into creating such a structure clearly indicates its importance."
"I'll be damned." Anakin mused. "That spawn of a Hutt was here the whole time." Triggering his communications, holographic renders of Obi-Wan, Mace and Aayla Secura appeared before him. "There it is. Just like the reports said." He stated.
"Indeed. This all seems rather surreal, though. Up until now, we never knew this existed." Obi-Wan commented.
"Exactly how Wraith would've preferred things to be." Mace added. "But now it is time for us to put an end to him."
"I couldn't agree more." Anakin replied. "Let's get planetside and then blow the hell out of this place."
Scipio was in a mad scramble as he hurriedly deleted every file on their main data terminal. It was in such a state that Wraith found him when he returned, dressed in full battle garb.
"Almost done, Doc?" He asked.
"Hardly! This base has so much data on Project Sunstorm that, if the Republic were to get their hands on it, it would surely doom us all." Scipio retorted, sounding very rushed. Wraith knew from past experience that Scipio did not work well under pressure. This was hardly the ideal situation for either of them.
"What else needs to be done?" Wraith queried, wanting to help.
"I've saved all of our data to these drives." Scipio replied, pointing to a case full of electronics. "Load it into the shuttle."
"Got it. What next?" At that, Scipio turned and presented him with two file drivers. One was grey with a blue line running up the middle. The other was completely red.
"Take these to our archive room, where you do all your studying. The blue one will copy every article and entry we have for storage. The red one will upload a virus that will erase it all." The doctor explained. "Afterwards, I'm going to take as many spares of your armor as we can carry. It's a good thing I installed that weapons locker." Without another word, Wraith picked up the case full of electronics and hurried to the shuttle bay.
Breaking through the clouds of Utapau, the four cruisers cast long and ominous shadows across the landscape. But their target lay beneath them, in the form of a single tower built into the wall of a sinkhole, practically non-existent to anyone who wasn't looking.
"It's likely been built into the ground, this being the only visible exterior piece." Obi-Wan was saying as the Jedi analyzed their scan of the structure.
"Likely to avoid arousing suspicions. In order to facilitate a complex super-solider such as himself, there's likely a lot of space required for his various needs." Mace continued.
"Would that mean there are others in there? Other scientists or technicians?" Aayla wondered. "Ahsoka's vision showed us a single handler, but could there be more?" Anakin and the others could already sense where she was going with this.
"We have to think of the greater good, Aayla. We trade a few lives for the sake of thousands, if not millions more." Obi-Wan replied. "I take no pleasure in executing others, especially those caught in a crossfire like this, but we have no choice."
"Such is war, General." Commander Thrawn stated. "While I do not mean to sound callous, these people chose their side, knowing every risk that came with going against the Galactic Republic. If anything, they are already prepared to die for their cause."
"However, we don't know for certain if there is anyone else down there, General Secura." Anakin added. "But this is Wraith's base and we have to destroy it." Aayla nodded, understanding and accepting the outcome.
"We're nearly in position." Mace reported. "We should begin acquiring a target for our gunners."
In the base hangar bay, Wraith was busy stuffing things away into his shuttle. Scipio had provided and incredible amount of crates in the short time they'd had to pack and he was beginning to question as to whether or not the shuttle would be able to take off. Just then, Scipio arrived with a bundle of armor and some spare helmets in hand.
"Is this all of them?" Wraith asked, disembarking the shuttle as Scipio hurried up.
"As many as I could grab." The doctor answered. Wraith grabbed one of the helmets and one of the jackets from him and dropped them on the ground, removing his gauntlet and drawing a knife, Wraith slashed his arm and let his blood drip into the helmet. "What in the universe are you doing?!" Scipio exclaimed.
"I'm giving them a 'corpse' to find." Wraith replied. Just then, the entire area shook as a rumble rippled through the area. Wraith and Scipio paused where they were, looking up and around. Another one followed shortly afterwards. "Dammit... they've started." Wraith realized, cursing their situation. Scipio promptly dumped his load into the locker without care and hurried back into the base. "Doc!" Wraith shouted after him.
"I'm not finished yet!" Scipio called over his shoulder. "There's a few layers of wall and dirt for them to punch through yet, it'll buy us some time!" He added. Wraith stood, strapping his gauntlet back around his arm.
"Does this place have any kind of defensive mechanisms?" He wondered, having never asked that before.
"We weren't expecting them to find us!" Scipio replied.
"Defenses, Doc! Defenses! We gotta work on those next time!" Wraith shot back, knowing there always needed to be a 'Plan B', no matter how secure anything seemed to be.
The four Venators had begun to unleash a heavy barrage of cannon fire upon the base, bolt after bolt of high-caliber laser fire pummeling the sinkhole wall.
"Keep it up." Anakin ordered. "I don't want there to be anything left by the time we're done!"
The rumbling and the vibrations were growing in frequency and intensity with each passing second. Wraith was beginning to worry, they should've left a long time ago, they shouldn't be in here right now! Scipio was busy in his shop, gathering some final piece of tech and equipment. Wraith stood in the hall, anxiously feeling the urge to leave.
Scipio and his damn need to do everything...
"We need to leave Doc! Now! No arguments!" Wraith commanded, maintaining his balance as another rumble caused the lights to flicker on and off.
"My tools... my equipment... oh, this is worse than doomsday itself!" Scipio bemoaned, carrying a briefcase full of unfinished tech.
"It can all be replaced, but the Separatists don't have years to replace me and you. Now let's get the hell out of here!" Wraith reminded him.
"Yes yes..." Scipio begrudgingly agreed, hesitant to leave all of this behind. Suddenly, a fiery blast ripped through the room and the corridor, coming down from above. The shockwave threw Wraith into the adjacent wall, leaving a dent behind.
The Republic barrage had broken through their flimsy defenses. The base was now under direct fire.
Crawling to his feet and shaking his head, Wraith looked back to where Scipio had once been and saw only a sheet of flame.
"DOC!" He shouted, quickly charging into the flaming room without any regard for his own safety. Rubble and smoke filled the room from floor to ceiling, but Wraith's multi-sensor optics quickly identified Scipio's life signature trapped beneath a mound of debris. Wraith dashed over to his pinned doctor, the man who was very much a father to him in many ways, and surveyed the scene. Spying a single metal beam sticking out from above, Wraith promptly grabbed hold of it and forced some of the roof debris off of Scipio. With the pile lessened, Wraith grabbed the solid durasteel panel covering his doctor and lifted, easily moving the entire pile with his impressive might. With a roar, the super-soldier threw it all aside, only then did he get a good look at Scipio. "Oh Force almighty..." He breathed, seeing the two piece of rebar Scipio was impaled on. Wraith acted quickly and used one of his own injectors to give Scipio a shot of bacta. Then he gingerly lifted his doctor up and off of the twin pieces of metal. Scipio gave a groan as Wraith picked him up, blood seeping from his torso. "Hang on Doc... I'm getting you out of here." Opening his jacket, Wraith carefully enveloped Scipio within the protective folds of his duster and moved his doctor out of the fiery room. Completely forgetting Scipio's briefcase, Wraith started to run, dashing back through corridors that were quickly coming undone as the relentless barrage continued. Bits of paneling had fallen off of roofs and walls, creating a very chaotic scene. The situation was much more dire as Wraith passed through what had once been the central control hub. A particularly harsh blast had knocked all the wiring out of the ceiling, creating a tangled mess amidst a single light that flickered on and off as Wraith carefully stepped through the mess to avoid tripping. Forcing open another door, Wraith pushed on with Scipio locked tightly in his grip.
He finally made it to the hangar and boarded his shuttle, more bits of debris raining down around them. Sealing his ship, Wraith carefully put Scipio down in the adjacent seat and powered up the shuttle.
"Use... the emergency route..." Scipio rasped, barely conscious, "under... ground... s-safer..."
"I know Doc. Hang in there." Wraith replied. The emergency hangar exit was the one Plan B that had been installed in this base. It was really just a tunnel, big enough for a shuttle, that led to a distant sinkhole, one that was far enough away from the Republic forces... hopefully.
Pressing a switch on his gauntlet, the floor before the shuttle slid away and opened up, revealing their escape tunnel. Piloting his ship forward, Wraith dove down into the tunnel as another blast violently rocked the hangar. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Wraith shot forward as the doors closed behind him. Having memorized this route, he expertly piloted his shuttle through the winding passage, breathing heavily as he did his best to focus despite the trials this day had brought with it. After a while, a pinpoint of light appeared before him and Wraith soon shot forward and into daylight, finding himself in the middle of sinkhole, reefing the controls back, Wraith raised the nose of his ship high as he triggered one final switch on his gauntlet. Preset demolition charges detonated behind him, collapsing the tunnel and ensuring the Republic would take a very long time to discover their means of escape. "Activating cloaking field. Masking signal transmission." Wraith reported, pressing switches and toggling features on the console before him. The shuttle disappeared from view as it rose up and out of the sinkhole. Off in the distance, Wraith could see a column of smoke rising as four Republic cruisers pounded the landscape with barrage after barrage of cannon fire.
It was the site of his base, now being reduced to smoke and ash.
Leaning back in his seat, Wraith groaned as he took stock of just what had transpired today...
How did they find him? The coordinates of his base were a closely kept secret, known only to a few. Where did they learn of his location...?
Questions for another day, he determined. Right now, he had more pressing concerns. "Doc... you awake?"
"I'm... I-I'm here... m-my boy." Scipio weakly replied. The doctor clasped the wound in his chest. They were flying much higher now, the atmosphere of Utapau giving way to black space and innumerable stars.
"I've got to get you somewhere safe." Wraith said, gripping the controls tightly.
"I... know a place. It's not... not ready yet." Scipio informed him, reaching over to the nav computer and slowly entering a set of coordinates. "But when it's completed... I think you'll... like it very much."
"That's fine," Wraith said, just wanting to get away from here as soon and as fast as possible. "what is it?" He wondered. Scipio didn't reply, groaning and slumping back into his chair. "Doc?" Wraith wondered, glancing over to Scipio. He gravely realized he had passed out, blood loss the likely cause. "Doc!" Wraith cried, quickly giving him another injection of bacta. "Hang on Doc... don't you dare fade on me!" Wraith growled as he jumped to hyperspace. Wherever this was, he hoped it had a suitable medical bay.
Regardless if Scipio survived or not, someone would pay dearly for this...
One hour later...
The cruisers had finally let up. For one hour straight their combined guns rained down an unending stream of cannon fire, blowing the base and the surrounding wall of the sinkhole to absolute smithereens. Now, with only smoke and fire filling the cavity in the rock, a series of gunships flew down to the wreckage, deploying Anakin, Obi-Wan, Aayla, Mace and their men. There was no real place to land, so they were forced to jump out and onto the most stable flooring in sight, which happened to be the corridor whose wall had been blown out.
"What're we looking for General?" Rex asked.
"Anything that tells us that Wraith was here and that he's dead now." Anakin replied.
"Right. Men, you heard the General! Fan out and search for ol' Bucket-head's corpse." The captain ordered, Clones moving to obey. The Jedi also, started searching, looking not only for signs of Wraith's downfall but also of any data they might be able to take. Data that might shed some light on the creation and functionality of Wraith. They split up, picking their way through the rubble. The Clones powered up their helmet lights to better search through the smoke. Anakin split off from the rest of the group, following the blown out corridor to the open room he had spotted upon landing. Stepping over piles of broken panels, clusters of wires and mounds of random debris, Anakin soon found himself in a large room which could only be described as a hangar.
In the distance, through the gloom of dust and smoke, something caught Anakin's eye.
The twisted, burnt-out husk of an Aka'jor shuttle stood off to one side, ripped apart by the cruisers' barrage.
"That's his..." Anakin realized, not knowing Wraith was in possession of two shuttles. Hope soared within him as he quickly assumed Wraith had not escaped. If his ship was here, he had to be here!
But he needed more proof.
Anakin turned his gaze down, deciding to check and see if there were any telltale signs of Wraith attempting to make an escape. Maybe he had tried to make it to his shuttle only to be killed by the bombardment... a macabre thought for sure, but also a possible reality. As he kept searching, his foot kicked a pile of debris and he heard something crack. Curious, he looked down and saw a much more rounded piece of metal amid the mess. Kicking apart the pieces of debris, Anakin stooped down and picked up the piece of metal. Flipping it over, he realized it was Wraith's helmet. Half of the face had been torn off, the rest of the helmet burnt inside and out. The interior was slick with blood, dripping down and onto his hand. "Guess it's not completely invincible." He mused, a smile growing across his face while his thumb cleaned the dirt from the dark red optic. Shaking the blood off his hand and satisfied with his find, Anakin made to return to his allies.
Obi-Wan picked up a datapad, one that happened to be untouched and was still functional.
"Maybe this'll supply something handy." He mused. He was in the remains of some kind of hub, the broken and destroyed remnants of a terminal the indicator.
"Did you find something, Master Kenobi?" Mace called from his position.
"A datapad. Might have something on it." Obi-Wan replied.
"Well, it's something..." the fellow Master muttered, "I'm afraid we've blasted this place so much there's not enough left for evidence."
"We have to find something. Aayla has yet to report in, maybe she's got something for us." Obi-Wan said, hopeful. As he did, Anakin walked in, stepping over a fallen light. "Anything Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked him.
"Oh yeah... something for sure." Anakin replied with a grin. Everyone started walking towards him, eager to hear what he had found.
"What have you General?" Rex asked, sounding a little anxious. "Did we get him?"
"You bet Rex." Anakin smirked as he held up the remains of the helmet. "We got 'im alright!" The Clones started whooping and cheering as Anakin tossed the remains over to Rex, who held it up for all to see. But Obi-Wan was cautiously optimistic.
"Are you sure?"
"The helmet was full of blood, blown to pieces... it has to be." Anakin told him. "Plus, I saw the remains of his shuttle. He didn't make it out."
"I guess that settles it." Obi-Wan mused, crossing his arms and marveling at the reality before them. "We got him. We beat The Wraith once and for all."
"Took us long enough... but, hey, let's forget about the past and bask in a much brighter future."
Later, back on Coruscant...
Returning from their victorious mission, the Republic had managed to collect several datapads that were still operational. They would be analyzed by the Jedi and Republic Intelligence later, now was a time for celebration.
Anakin disembarked the Resolute, wishing Torrent Company luck as most of them were about to be deployed to the Eridicon System to defend a new listening post. As he did, Ahsoka came running up, having been too busy earlier to have joined them.
"Hey Snips!" Anakin greeted her, a broad smile on his face. "Sorry you missed the party but we needed to move and couldn't wait." Ahsoka raised an eye-marking.
"What party?" She wondered.
"We found Wraith's base and blew it sky-high." Anakin replied, crossing his arms and looking smug. Ahsoka was taken aback by his abrupt statement, surprise and shock written across her face. "Here, gotcha a little souvenir." He reached back to a crate behind him and tossed her the charred husk that was once Wraith's helmet. Ahsoka caught it and stared dumbfounded at the torn piece of metal before her. The plating had been blackened, half of the iconic visage blown apart, leaving only a single red visor with a crack running through it and a portion of a mouth guard.
"He's... He's dead then?" She asked, sounding distant and a little lost.
"Looks like it." Anakin replied, still sounding quite cheery. "We found this and a burnt jacket in what was once a hangar bay. Guess he tried to make a run for it." He explained, completely missing Ahsoka's lack of happiness at his report. "Gotta admit, it's pretty impressive how this thing survived. We had four cruisers shelling that place for a good hour." Ahsoka looked up, eyes wide.
"A... A whole hour?" She repeated, her mind struggling to catch up with everything that had happened.
"Yeah. I can't believe the guns didn't overheat." Anakin mused nonchalantly. "Anyways, come on Snips, we're gonna party tonight!" He added, walking past her. He was in a good mood, having finally gotten some payback for all the times Wraith had bested him and wounded his pride.
But what he missed in his joyous mood was how downcast his apprentice looked, a forlorn look in her eyes as she stared at what she believed to be the remains of the man she had tried so hard to save.
But now, he was gone... extinguished...
As far as Ahsoka and anyone else could tell, The Wraith was dead.
Author's Note: Wonder what's next? Might wanna press that FOLLOW button so you'll be updated when I post next... just a suggestion, you don't have to.
In case it takes me a while to post again... Merry Christmas everybody!
