Author's Note: Guess who managed to upload again! I kinda had to do something in order to celebrate 200 FOLLOWERS! Thank y'all so very much for sticking with me and enjoying this tale, it means a lot to me! So Merry Christmas and this one's for you all!


-Chapter 35: Intrigue-

Location: Telaris

"Confuse the enemy so they will not discern your true intentions."

In the Jedi Council meeting room...

Wraith's log - Entry 9

"It has been... some time since that moment on Felucia. That moment where, in the midst of the chaos of battle, I spied someone who gave the monotony of war a breath of fresh air.

"That moment when I first laid eyes on Ahsoka Tano.

"Someone bright and astounding, so much so she made me pause and consider her. No one has ever done that to me before, and upon further inspection, I found myself greatly attracted to her. Her beauty, her intelligence, her fire and her spirit, all of these are just some of the attributes that I find myself hopelessly drawn to.

...

"I know what you're thinking. She's a Jedi. I'm a Separatist. Why? While most, if not all, Jedi are either dull and monotonous, tempered by living a life under such strangling doctrine, or arrogant and full of themselves, brought on by too many legends that call them 'immortal heroes'. Ahsoka is not like that at all. She is young and lively, full of power and promise. Someone eager to prove herself... and yet looking to the wrong people for it. She's tenacious and strong, but for the wrong cause. It pains me to think that she might be dulled to a point where she becomes just like every other boring and pathetic Jedi. They all have nothing, none of them have the same warrior's spirit that compels me. But she... she is a wild and raging inferno, much like the fire that burns within me. I see her not as an opponent but as an equal.

"If only she could understand just how much I feel for her... If only she could understand just how alike we are. If she were by my side... If we were allies and not enemies...

"Maybe that is just wishful thinking. But wishful thinking made me happen. I am designed to do the impossible, so why not give me a chance at bringing a Jedi to the right side of things? Oh, what a thought! If I could bring her to my side and convince her of the nobility of the Separatist cause, it would make this whole damn war worth my time."

...

"I suppose this is what love feels like. How... interesting."

"Boy, am I glad that's over! Just listening to this guy go on and on about her makes my skin crawl." Anakin shuddered as the recording came to an end. The Jedi Council, plus Anakin, had been listening to ten of the audio logs that had been recovered from the bombed out base on Utapau. They turned out to be Wraith's personal logs and, as it turned out, they offered some insight into how the super-solider worked and thought. The rest of the files found on the datapads had yet to be decrypted, but for now the Jedi tried their best to understand their former adversary. However, the final log they had listened to, which contained Wraith's thoughts on Ahsoka, was undoubtedly creepy to all of them. They had purposefully kept Ahsoka and other Jedi out of this, as they wanted to assess the logs for themselves before releasing them back to Republic intelligence.

"Likewise. It's almost as if he were stalking Ahsoka." Obi-Wan agreed. "His thoughts were so personal and rationalized. I believe he was attempting to convince himself that he could possibly do something about a situation beyond his normal means." He mused.

"You sound like you've been hanging around Commander Thrawn, Master Kenobi." Kit Fisto noted with a slight grin.

"I have been taking his analytical point of view to task and applying it to my own thoughts. I guess it might've seeped into my speech a little bit."

"I bet Thrawn would love to hear that." Mace commented dryly. "However, these are the recollections of a dead man. They mean nothing to us any more."

"Perhaps we can finally bring this war to an end, now that the Separatists are missing their biggest player." Shaak said hopefully.

"Indeed, Master Ti. Now that the threat of The Wraith has been eliminated, we can move on to other matters." Mace continued. "Over the past few months we've been noting an increase in Separatist activity in the Telaris System. Only recently did it stop altogether."

"Given how remote a place the Telaris System is, we suspect they've been up to something, using Wraith's actions as a cover-up." Ki-Adi chimed in.

"That would make sense." Anakin mused, crossing his arms.

"Are you up for the task, General Skywalker?" Windu asked, the Council having already selected him for the assignment.

"Well my number one company may have been split in half, but I think we're good for a routine investigation." The Knight replied. "Besides, it'll be nice to stretch our legs and not worry about Wraith being somewhere behind us."


Later that day, in the Telaris System...

Coming out of hyperspace, the Resolute found itself over the planet Telaris. It was a desolate, empty world of no importance in the outer rim.

The perfect place for a top secret Separatist installation.

On the bridge of the Resolute, Anakin, still in a happy mood after their destruction of The Wraith, was planning on completing this mission efficiently and in record time. Turning to Admiral Yularen, Anakin began the first phase of his plan.

"Admiral, begin a planetary scan. Let's see what we're up against." He commanded. Yularen obeyed, the Reolute's long-range scanners kicking in as they sweeped the surface of the planet. Seconds later, a very immediate target had been located, one that wasn't far from their current location over the planet.

"Sir, we've picked up a metal structure, possibly quite large but we won't know the full dimensions until the scan is completed." The admiral reported. "Some of it lies underground, we've acquired a set of coordinates."

"Sounds good to me." Anakin replied. "If it is a top secret project, makes me wonder why they'd leave it so exposed."

"I would suspect a trap, sir." Yularen replied.

"I would too." Anakin responded. "Take us down, I'm gonna go get the men ready."

Down in the Resolute's hangar, Ahsoka waited alongside Captain Rex and Torrent Company. With Ross, Oz, Ringo, Joc, Hardcase and others off protecting the new Eridicon listening post, Rex was left with few members of Torrent Company, but ones who happened to be his best and brightest: Fives, Echo, Tup, Jesse and Kix. Wanting to keep this quick and easy, Anakin had elected to take only a few he could truly count on. "Ready to roll, Rex?" Anakin asked.

"You bet, General. Torrent Company is ready for deployment!" The Clone responded. Ahsoka stood by, not saying anything, something Anakin took note of.

"Then let's mount up." Anakin ordered. The Clones began filing onto the nearby dropship, but Anakin pulled Ahsoka aside before they joined them. "You alright, Ahsoka?" He asked. "You'd been awful quiet the whole trip out here."

"Just been doing some thinking, Master." She replied, doing her best to hide her depressed feelings. "The war's gonna be a lot different, now that Wraith is gone."

"Enjoy it, Snips." Anakin told her with a grin. "At this rate, we'll have it won before next Life Day." He commented, stepping into the ship and convinced there was nothing wrong with his apprentice.

"Yeah. Sure..." Ahsoka muttered, following him into the ship.


An arid and warm temperate greeted the Republicans as they made landfall on Telaris. The surface of said planet was barren and uninviting, tufts of grass dotting the sandy landscape that stretched on for miles. Dunes and hills comprised the majority of the terrain, which stretched on for miles in every direction. Yet in the midst of emptiness stood a single building, small and unassuming. But the branded Separatist emblem on the building's exterior was enough of an indicator for the Republic forces to know that this was their target.

"Bit small for top secret project." Rex mused, cocking his head as he looked the place over.

"Bombs are small." Anakin replied. "You don't need much space to build some of those."

"Nuvo Vindi would beg to differ." Rex responded, referring to the Blue Shadow virus crisis they had put a stop to. "That underground complex on Naboo was huge." With that settled, the group made to enter the facility.

Inside, there was nothing save for a large turbolift. This confused them all, expecting something more along the lines of a workshop or an office. "Well, I don't know about you all, but I'd call this a bit of a letdown." Rex commented.

"Did we just come all this way for nothing?" Jesse wondered.

"This probably leads somewhere." Ahsoka noted, stepping closer to investigate the lift. It looked to be able to carry several people. "Probably down..."

"This might have something to do with the results of the planetary scan." Anakin said. "Yularen noted a lot of the structure was underground."

"Guess there's only one thing left to do." Fives noted.

"What's that? Leave?" Echo joked.

"Pretty sure he meant down." Anakin informed them. "Okay, everyone on to the lift. Defensive formation. We don't know what might be waiting for us down below." The Jedi and Torrent Company stepped on to the turbo lift, Anakin and Ahsoka standing in front of the Clones. Pressing the switch, the lift began to descend down the shaft. At first, all they saw was the solid metal of the lift's shaft.

But it soon gave way to a sight none of them were anticipating.

A massive, empty, high-roofed room, forged completely out of metal, stood before them. Levels of walkways and catwalks extended out from the walls, in addition to cranes and scaffolding being layered across the roof and floor. Easily several stories high and miles wide, the Republicans stared in awe at the structure before them.

"This... This looks like a dry dock." Ahsoka realized as the lift came to a stop at the bottom.

"So they were building something." Anakin determined. They walked out onto the floor, their footsteps echoing in the cavernous space.

"It's pretty big. Maybe they were building a ship of some kind?" Ahsoka wondered.

"Possibly." Anakin replied. "Rex, start looking for a data terminal of some kind. Maybe we can get some clues as to what the Seppies were building here. The rest of you start scanning the area, we'll need to send everything back to Coruscant." He ordered. The Clones moved to obey, fanning out across the floor...


Some time later...

Back on the Resolute, Anakin, Ahsoka and Rex stood around the holotable, in contact with Mace, Obi-Wan, the Chancellor and Thrawn.

"Anakin, have you uncovered anything on Telaris?" The senior master asked.

"Well... we did and we didn't..." Anakin replied, scratching the back of his head.

"This ought to be good." Obi-Wan mused, crossing his arms.

"Don't get me wrong, we did find something." Anakin quickly clarified. "Rex, bring up our data." The Clone nodded and quickly punched in some commands, bringing up a holographic render of the facility they had just been in. "This is what we managed to find. They built it underground, despite Telaris being uninhabited and out of the way. Seriously, nobody comes here." The Knight went on.

"So they purposefully hid this from view." Obi-Wan mused, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Any idea how big it is?" He asked.

"We took measurements. It's nearly two kilometres wide and about a kilometre long." Anakin answered, stunning them all. "And whatever they were doing, they did it a while ago. Rex?"

"The general's right, sirs." The Clone spoke up. "We inspected the grounds and the various pieces of machinery still in the place. They had been well used and the place was not clean. It's almost as if they finished and then left."

"Do we have any indicators as to what was being constructed?" Palpatine inquired.

"It's too big to be your average starfighter. But the dimensions don't match your average cruiser." Anakin responded. "So, suffice to say, we have no idea what they were building here." He explained with a shrug.

"They did not bother to hide the fact they were building something." Thrawn calmly noted. "This would suggest that the Separatists may have completed whatever project was stationed here."

"The question is: what project?" Palaptine added, speaking the question on everyone's mind.

"Unfortunately, with all previous track records taken into account, the Separatists are very good at hiding their projects. It seems apparent we will only find out what this one is only when it is too late for us." Obi-Wan noted grimly.

"My advice would be to prepare for anything, General. The Separatists will likely be seeking to avenge Wraith's demise. And if the truly cared about their super-soldier, it will be in a way that is anything but subtle." Thrawn suggested, adding a new layer to the mystery. The others nodded.

"I'll be sure to double reconnaissance missions in that sector and in the other uninhabited areas of the Outer Rim that are under our control." Palaptine stated. "We need to learn more about whatever it is the Separatists are planning. And see if they have any other hidden facility like this one."

"On that note, we need you back on Coruscant." Mace informed Anakin. "We've managed to crack the codes and access the rest of those logs we obtained from the ruins of Wraith's base." He explained. Anakin cocked his head, forcing a little.

"Are they more of Wraith's? 'Cause I don't think I can handle another cringe session." He wondered. Obi-Wan shook his head, having already heard the news.

"Actually no. They belong to his doctor." He stated.


Author's Note: a short one, I know. But a little intrigue goes a long way... especially when it's got a big payout...