Author's Note: Unfortunately, the semester has started up again and I need to get going on my courses once more. This may be my last posting for a little while, but I'll update when I can and I'll be back! This is just to wet your appetite for what's to come...
-Chapter 38: The Big Picture-
Location: Pammant
"With the truth comes fear."
So long as he had the element of surprise, Dooku believed it would be best for him to carry out one more assignment.
Mina Bonteri and Padme Amidala had attempted to broker a peace treaty by urging both the Republic and the Separatist senates to come together in pursuit of the same goal. With the apparent demise of The Wraith, this seemed even more plausible since the Separatists no longer held a trump card. Count Dooku, while outwardly appearing favourable, disagreed and ordered for the project to be halted. Once the talks broke down, he sent The Wraith on a very important mission...
And so, here he was, backing Mina into a corner in her own home.
"The war cannot end unless there is a victor!" He growled. "The Separatists demand nothing less than total victory, something your undermining actions would not provide. You have revealed your true colours. A statement you will pay for... dearly." Drawing a blaster pistol, Wraith calmly armed his weapon as Mina looked on.
"You intend to kill me?" She asked, very much afraid.
"The cause must consist of those who are dedicated." He replied, aiming his weapon at her. "Those who are not... will be purged." At that moment, Lux entered the room, having returned earlier than anticipated. He froze in mid-step upon seeing the Separatist agent holding his mother at gunpoint.
"Mother?" He asked, very concerned.
"Lux!" The senator gasped at the sight of her son, surprised by his sudden presence. Then she grew afraid, desperate for him to not lose another parent. "Please, don't do this." Mina begged Wraith. His gaze remained hard and unflinching. "Not in front of my boy!"
"Then perhaps you should've considered that before you became a traitor." He coldly retorted. "Your husband would be very disappointed." He growled before pulling the trigger.
"Mother!" Lux cried as the shot from the blaster echoed throughout the room and Mina's dead body fell to the floor. Eyeing the politician's body, the super-soldier calmly holstered his pistol before regarding the teen. Horror and sorrow was written across his face as Lux glanced from the dead body of his mother to the soldier. "You monster!" He roared. Acting on impulse, rage clouding his vision, Lux charged forward, murder at the forefront of his mind. Wraith could see the desire for vengeance in Lux's eyes. Anger, pain, base instincts were fuelling him now, driving him to act.
Perfect.
Without a second thought, the soldier quickly delivered a hard punch that knocked Lux back, dazing him. Grabbing the groaning teen by the throat and lifting him up, he stared down at his victim through his red optics. Lux flailed in his grip, his arms desperately trying to release the steely fingers from around his neck. But he was caught, and there was no way out. The soldier began to squeeze, choking the air from the boy's lungs. He had no time to waste, he needed to leave before he was spotted, in order to keep up the ruse that he was dead. Gripping Lux's neck with both hands, he squeezed harder, armoured hands crushing Lux's throat with audible, sickening cracks. At last with a final, vicious twist, Lux's neck was snapped. Twitching for a moment in his iron grip, the boy fell still moments later. Dropping his body on the ground, Wraith dusted off his hands on his jacket and proceeded to leave, acting as though nothing had happened.
After the communication blackout from the Eridicon Three listening post, the Republic Intelligence Bureau had sent a single long-range scout to investigate what had happened. The report that came back was anything but positive.
Now that word of the facility's destruction had finally reached Coruscant, Chancellor Palpatine was faced with the very difficult task of having to tell Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex that their personal unit had been annihilated, killed without any trace of who had done it. This brought with it one reality that needed to be explored, something the Chancellor was determined to deal with before he had to deliver the bad news.
Late that night, in his office, Palpatine summoned Obi-Wan Kenobi via holocomm. The render of the Jedi Master appeared mere moments after Palpatine had toggled the switch.
"Chancellor, how can I assist you?" The bearded Jedi inquired.
"Master Kenobi, I regret to inform anyone of this, but our new listening post on Eridicon Three has been destroyed by Separatist insurgents." The Chancellor relayed. Obi-Wan's shoulders fell.
"Were there any survivors?" He asked.
"None. The entire base was razed to the ground." Palpatine explained. Kenobi sighed.
"Captain Rex won't be too happy." He mused.
"I imagine not. However, that responsibility is mine." The Chancellor answered. "They had that post destroyed for a reason and we need to find out why." Obi-Wan nodded, knowing that there was a far greater task at hand than grieving some lost Clones.
"I agree. What do you need me to do?"
"Eridicon Three is very close to Pammant, a known Separatist world. Perhaps they are attempting something there again and wish to keep us in the dark about it." Palpatine explained. Pammant had been the construction site of the Subjugator-class heavy cruiser, one that had terrorized Republic fleets before Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan had destroyed it. "Take your ship and your men and investigate Pammant. Look for anything of Separatists design... perhaps something similar to what General Skywalker found on Telaris."
"Understood, Chancellor. We'll move out right away." Kenobi replied. The transmission came to an end and Obi-Wan disappeared from view just as Anakin and Rex entered Palpatine's office. Taking a quick breath, the Chancellor readied himself for the heavy task of relaying bad news.
"Master Skywalker, Captain Rex." He greeted, standing up. "Please, have a seat." The men did, reclining before Palpatine's desk as the Chancellor also sat.
"What's going on, Chancellor?" Anakin wondered.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news for the both of you." Palpatine began. "Earlier this week, our new listening post in Eridicon Three ceased broadcasting. After a time, where we waited for a reply, we sent a long-range reconnaissance unit to investigate." Pausing, Palpatine was hesitant in how to phrase this next part. "And they discovered that the post had been destroyed, razed to the ground." He stated, looking back and forth between the Jedi and the Clone. "All of the defending Clone troopers had been killed... including those of Torrent Company." He finally said. Anakin leaned forward, evidently startled. Rex pushed back into his seat, a look of absolute shock on his face.
"Fives... E-Echo... all of them?" He asked with a stammer. He had known those men, been through so much with them. Witnessed Fives and Echo grow from rookies into seasoned ARC troopers. They were his brothers. And now... they were gone. Palpatine shook his head sadly.
"I'm deeply sorry, Captain." He said as Rex's face fell. He had lost nearly all of Torrent Company before during the battle of Teth. Then he had lost those survivors to Wraith on Gandolo Four. And now to have the rest of his men ripped from him as well...
It was almost too much for the poor Clone.
"General Skywalker... it is with a heavy heart that I declare you no longer have a company to command." Palpatine said, regarding Anakin. The Jedi was stunned. Never before had he ever considered the possibility that he might lose all of Torrent Company. Sure, some of the men had been lost from time to time, but to lose them all? Just like that...
"Any idea who was responsible?" He quietly wondered.
"The remains of a few battle droids and commando droids were recovered." Palpatine replied.
"Nasty little buggers..." Rex muttered, knowing how vicious those things could be with a blade. He'd seen what they could do and it wasn't pretty. To think that men like Jesse and Kix would've suffered a similar fate...
"I assumed the two of you ought to know before word spreads or is released in any improper fashion." Palpatine explained.
"Much obliged Chancellor." Anakin responded with a nod, understanding.
"Yeah... Thank you, sir." Rex quietly replied, his tone somber and his demeanor darkened. Anakin took note of how Palpatine avoided discussing a means of replenishing Torrent Company, giving Rex a moment to grieve his fallen brothers. While a considerate display, Anakin wondered what exactly would become of Rex. Would Palpatine send him to another army? Would he still remain with the 501st, only fulfilling a different role? Rex was just a captain, not a commander or even a marshal commander. He could easily be shifted around.
Anakin could only sigh and rub his forehead as he mulled over the devastating news...
Later that day...
Located in the Calamari sector, the world of Pammant was not a place to view from above but, rather, from below. The tunnel-filled world was the home of some of the most impressive underground structures, including a series of dry docks that had built the infamous Malevolence: a Separatist super-cruiser that was capable of destroying entire fleets thanks to its devastating mega-ion cannon. Home of the Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps, local Separatist-aligned Quarren from the nearby world of Dac, had claimed ownership of the world and used it to construct numerous Separatist battle cruisers.
But, after the wreckage of the Malevolence had been examined by a Republic force and determined that Pammant was to blame for its construction, the Republic had kept a very close eye on the world and put a stop to the shipyards there.
However, with the destruction of the nearby Eridicon listening post, which would've easily detected any incoming and outgoing transmissions from Pammant, prompted many military commanders to believe that undercover construction operations had started up again and that the destruction of the listening post was a means to ensure their secrecy. Whether this was true or not remained to be seen.
But it was something Obi-Wan Kenobi was determined to find out.
Hurtling through hyperspace, the Jedi General stood on the bridge of the Negotiator, wondering what would be waiting for him and the 212th attack battalion on Pammant. Alongside him stood Admiral Block, the local fleet officer and naval representative aboard the Negotiator.
"We should be coming out of hyperspace soon enough, General." The Admiral noted.
"Whether that's good news or not remains to be seen." Kenobi joked. "We should take precautions. Who knows what the Separatists might have ready for us."
"Should I have gunnery crews at the ready?" Block inquired.
"Yes, that would be wise." Obi-Wan nodded in reply. "There might be nothing, but better safe than sorry."
"You anticipating something, General?" Block asked him.
"Possibly. The Separatists destroyed the Eridicon post for a reason and we need to find out why." He replied. "We know the local Quarren use Pammant for their shipbuilding efforts." Obi-Wan noted. "And we know that Captain Lock's mission proved instrumental in identifying Pammant as the origin of the Malevolence. Either way, Pammant has generally been a hotspot of Separatist activity." His final annotation, brought another question to Block's mind.
"You don't think they're building another one, do you General?" He asked.
"Hardly. It would take too much time and resources." The Jedi replied. "Besides, we likely would've seen it by now." Such a powerful cruiser would be an incredibly valuable asset to the Separatists and would've seen action by now. But, the one thing Obi-Wan took hope in was the fact that such a massive ship would take so long to build, it would be practically impossible to get it finished so soon after the destruction of the Malevolence.
"Dropping out of hyperspace now, General." One of the deck crew reported. Second later, the blue tunnel of streaking starlight slowed to a halt as Pammant suddenly surged into view. The dusty brown planet seemed to be devoid of activity, no ships or orbital command bases in sight.
"It certainly seems quiet." Block noted.
"Right. Well, let's get this over with. Start a planetary scan while Cody and I head down there. We'll check on the original drydock while you check the rest of the planet." Obi-Wan stated, laying out his plan of action.
"Right away General." Block affirmed with a nod.
A single dropship carrying Obi-Wan, Commander Cody and a host of 212th Clone troopers descended to Pammant moments after Kenobi had left the bridge. Accompanied by R4-P17, the astromech unit assigned to Obi-Wan, the droid's purpose would be to, hopefully, download any files the Separatists might have lying around that might lend a clue as to what they were up to. Arriving on the surface of Pammant, the dropship navigated through one of the many tunnel entrances marring the planet's surface and wound down for many miles before coming to a halt before a colossal steel door.
"The entrance to the Subjugator-class drydock." Obi-Wan mused as he disembarked.
"They certainly did build a big one, didn't they sir?" Cody mused as he stepped out next to the Jedi.
"Such a door would be necessary for the transport of mass materials." Obi-Wan replied as he summoned the Force to open the doors telepathically. Revealed within was a massive, open room with walls lined with catwalks and varying levels of walkways and access bridges. Looking up, a series of mechanical arms, the kind used in assembling machinery in a factory, could be seen dangling from the roof, offline and unpowered. The Clones entered alongside their General, blasters raised and ready to fire.
"Boil, Waxer, watch our left flank. Crys, Longshot, you two are on our right. Trapper, Wooley, Peel, keep your eyes sharp and check all around us. If there are any Seppies here, we'll want to see them before they see us." Cody ordered. The Clones affirmed and kept their heads on a swivel as they moved further into the gigantic space. The first thing Obi-Wan took note of were the scattered tools lying around the walls of the place. They were building tools of all types, welders chief among them. Clearly this place had been in use, but how long ago had it been abandoned.
"R-Four, see if you can find a data terminal or a foreman's office." Kenobi instructed his droid. The droid beeped in affirmation and wheeled over to the far wall, where an astromech port stood unused. Extending an access port, the droid patched into the buildings' systems and triggered a nearby turbolift. Everyone turned as the door slid open. "Let's see where this leads."
"Going up, sir?" Cody wondered. "We'll take point." Obi-Wan motioned as if to say 'be my guest' and Crys, Boil and Wooley entered first, allowing R4 access to the astromech port and for Obi-Wan to be surrounded by Cody, Waxer, Longshot, Trapper and Peel. The doors slid shut and the lift ascended up to a higher level and, when the doors opened, the Republic affiliates were treated to the site of an empty office. The Clones entered first, blasters drawn and helmet lights on.
"Clear." Cody stated, examining the right corner of the room.
"Clear!" Longshot repeated, sweeping the left side. Now it was Obi-Wan's turn to enter.
"Surely a place like this would have been the storage site of some sort of records." He mused, glancing around. "How else would they know what to do...?" Just then, R4 beeped an alert as it rolled over to a data terminal, which looked old due to a layer of dust covering the entire structure. Obi-Wan quickly clued in that R4 was seeking permission to access it. "Dusty." He mused. "Go ahead and try." R4 beeped in affirmation as it extended it's data arm once again and plugged into the terminal.
"All respect General, be prepared for disappointment." Cody mused. "If they were smart, they'd wipe everything and leave no trace."
"And yet we saw tools lying about." Kenobi replied. "They were here alright. But what were they doing?" His question went unanswered, no one knowing how to reply. A few minutes of silence passed before R4 notified its master of a potentially important discovery.
"A large drive? Containing files?" Obi-Wan repeated, surprised. Some of the Clones glanced at each other, equally surprised. "Cody, do we have any slicers back on the Negotiator?" The Jedi wondered.
"Probably so, sir." Cody replied.
"Then let's get this to them. R4, download those files so we can take them back to the ship." Obi-Wan stated. R4 beeped again and began processing the rather large data package...
Back on the Negotiator...
Upon returning to the cruiser, Obi-Wan, Cody and R4 arrived on the bridge of the Negotiator, accompanied by two Clone slicers: expert technicians trained by intelligence officers to crack any kind of secure data file.
"I take it you found something, General?" Block wondered.
"Potentially." The Jedi replied. "Some kind of large data package, one no doubt encrypted for safekeeping. Hence the slicers."
"If that's the case, the holotable's all yours." Block responded.
"You heard the admiral, men. Get to work." Cody ordered the slicers.
"R4, bring up that data on one of our own terminals." Obi-Wan told his astromech. With a beep and a whir, R4 plugged into the terminal and began uploading the files it had collected.
"Right, let's have a look." One of the slicers mused as he cracked his knuckles and bent over the terminal, accompanied by his fellow. They got to work on the data as soon as it popped up. "Whew! This is gonna be a fun one." The slicer mused. "They locked these down tight... might even be the original files." He added.
"But there is something..." Obi-Wan pried.
"Buried beneath a few layers of security. But we'll find it General, might just take some time." The slicer replied.
"Alright then. We wait." Kenobi said as he took a seat.
Time ticked on as the two slicers poured over the data, fingers flying across the terminals in front of them as they sought to decipher the security codes and crack open the files. Obi-Wan lost track of time as minutes turned into a half-hour, then an hour. Block was starting to get anxious, knowing they were still, technically, in Separatist territory and that an attack could come at any minute. Taking his mind off the data being deciphered, Block stared out the viewport, looking this way and that for any sign of a ship coming out of hyperspace.
Finally, after two hours, one of the slicers spoke,
"Sir, we've cracked the encryption and have opened one of the files." He announced. The bridge became alert as Obi-Wan stood.
"Just one?"
"Now that we've got the encryption broken we can decipher the files pretty easily. Don't know exactly how many files are on here but we'll get them to you as soon as we fix 'em." The slicer replied.
"Very well then." Kenobi said, leaning over the holotable. "Let's see what we're dealing with." The slicer returned to the terminal and sent the file over. Moments later, a blueprint appeared in front of them. It was a large, circular device comprised of many intricate components... and connected to a large power source. For a second, none of them weren't sure what to make of this thing. Block leaned in for a closer look, something familiar about the shape and size of the thing that caught his eye.
"Is that...?" He hesitantly wondered. Out of all of them, Obi-Wan was the first to recognize what this was... and the potential danger it's presence posed to all of them.
"The blueprints for a mega ion cannon." He stated grimly. The bridge fell silent. Everyone knew where that weapon had last been seen and, given the large, circular design of the weapon, it hadn't changed a bit since then.
"Maybe they're trying to adapt it for a ground-based weapon." Block theorized.
"As much as I'd like to believe that, look at the dimensions. It's definitely naval grade." Obi-Wan said, pointing to the listed measurements along the side of the display. Block slowly shook his head, not wanting to believe what he was seeing or the fact that it was real. Only the sound of the slicer speaking again broke the ensuing silence.
"General, we've cracked open another file on the drive we recovered." He reported.
"Good work trooper." Obi-Wan applauded him. "Pull it up. Let's see what we're working against." A few taps on the keyboard and the data was sent straight to the holotable.
And what appeared next caused all the men to recoil in shock, before the horrible realization set in.
It was a ship alright. But a very specific and terrifying ship seen only once before in the entire Clone Wars.
"Force help us all..." Block breathed. "I... I-I can't believe it."
"They're building another one." Obi-Wan realized, wishing he could take back those words and that they weren't true. But reality proved otherwise.
For there, before his very eyes, was the work order for a Subjugator-class heavy cruiser. Only one of their kind had ever been built before and the Malevolence had been destroyed, the Republic hoping that they had destroyed the super ship once and for all.
But it seemed the Separatists had been busy building another one. Another Malevolence.
Block was just as fearful as the rest. He had heard the stories, read the reports. He knew what a ship of this scale was capable of. He had known men aboard the Triumphant, who had been killed during the Malevolence's assault on Plo Koon's fleet. He believed their deaths to be avenged with the destruction of that ship.
But it seemed their efforts were for naught. There was another one on the way...
"Trooper, was this a remote file or a direct upload?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Remote, sir. This was sent to the terminal from somewhere else. The first file was a direct upload." The slicer informed him, explaining the characteristics.
"So they were told discreetly to begin working on it." Kenobi mused, stroking his beard. "Is there a date and time stamp?"
"No sir." The slicer replied. "I could try to find one though."
"That's alright, keep working on those files." Obi-Wan said before turning to Block. "Admiral, take us back to Republic territory and send a message to Coruscant, tell them we found something."
"Should I explain what, sir?"
"No, we need to make sure this is for real." Obi-Wan told him. "No sense worrying anybody just yet."
Minutes later, the Negotiator was hurtling through hyperspace back to Coruscant. The Clone slicers continued to work hard on the unlocking the files. As they did, Obi-Wan received an incoming call from Mace Windu. Currently in the Herrik system, Windu had been busy investigating a similar trail to the one Anakin explored in the Telaris system. He had no idea, until now, that Obi-Wan had been sent to Pammant.
"Master Windu." Obi-Wan greeted the dark-skinned Jedi.
"Master Kenobi. I understand your mission to Pammant was a success?" Mace replied, curious about this latest expedition on the trail of these Separatist mysteries.
"Indeed it was Master Windu." Obi-Wan replied. "I just wish the results could've been more... pleasant." The elder Jedi cocked his head.
"How do you mean?" He asked.
"We've recovered a data file including the blueprints for a mega ion cannon." Obi-Wan explained. Mace exhaled and shook his head.
"I have a bad feeling about this." He mused. Obi-Wan nodded, feeling the same way.
"There was also a work order for a heavy cruiser." He continued. "They're building another Malevolence... if it isn't already built."
"This is not good. The first Malevolence was enough of a threat, the last thing we need is another one to deal with." Mace replied, hands on his hips as he digested this new information.
"I couldn't agree more." Obi-Wan responded.
"We'll need to let the Chancellor know. We may have to rethink our strategy concerning the Outer Rim campaigns." Windu continued, attempting to sort out their next plan of action.
But just then, one of the slicers spoke up.
"Uh, General? You might want to take a look at this." He said. There was a level of urgency and worry in his voice that put Obi-Wan on edge as he turned away from Mace.
"What is it, trooper?" He asked.
"It's the file size for this drive. It's too big for just a single work order." The slicer explained. "I've almost finished with it and I'll have the other files up in a moment." He said, fingers tapping away on the terminal. The bridge had fallen silent again as Admiral Block had joined Obi-Wan next to the holotable, waiting for the Clones to finish.
"Here they come, General." The other slicer announced. Nodding, Obi-Wan turned and waited for their finds to arrive, Master Windu's hologram shrinking to accommodate. One by one a series of holographic renders appeared in front of the Jedi, one after another.
And each one was more terrifying than the last.
Obi-Wan lost his thoughtful composure, eyes and mouth slowly widening as the sight before him grew worse with each passing moment. Block took a step back, desperate to refuse what he was seeing but unable to deny the reality of it.
"Master Kenobi?" Mace pried, trying to get a response and unable to see what the others saw. "What have you found?" Obi-Wan was slow to even look away from the images before him, shocked to the core by the terrifying reality that was about to be unleashed upon them.
"The Separatists aren't just building another Malevolence." He slowly replied, still trying to comprehend the horrifying sight in front of him.
"They're building six of them."
Author's Note: *aggressively clicks 'follow' and 'favorite' buttons* :)
