Author's Note: Had to get this posted now cause my new house doesn't have wifi just yet. Getting all moved in now, so y'all are guaranteed some more chapters real soon! For now, enjoy this one!


-Chapter 125: Seek and Destroy-

Location: Coruscant/Akiva/Xagobah

"Better to be atop a mountain of work than under one."

Word of the Devastation's defeat had reached both Serenno and Coruscant, while Count Dooku was absolutely furious at the loss of another super warship, the Republic and its denizens couldn't be happier. Scattered celebrations took place across the planet, everyone breathing a sigh of relief knowing the Separtists were slightly less of a threat. The mood was jovial, spirits were up, things were gonna be great...

And then they weren't.

Suddenly, without any warning, a group of five BX commando droids burst out of a warehouse and went on a rampage through the city streets of Coruscant, gunning down pedestrians left and right while simultaneously cutting down those who did not fall to their blasterfire. Panic swiftly engulfed the streets as civilians of all species ran to avoid getting cut down by the indiscriminate blaster rounds, word quickly reaching the nearest Clone patrol. The street-level troopers quickly made to engage, but they were severely outnumbered and soon overwhelmed, both of them beheaded to the horror of onlookers by a commando's sickle-like blade.

However, it was not long before a squad of Coruscant Guard Clones arrived. The red-painted Clones quickly took control of the situation with proper military-grade equipment, using a pair of ion grenades to short-circuit the droids before they unleashed the power of their DC-15A's to shoot the droids to pieces with quick, precise rounds. The threat had soon been eliminated, but not before word had spread across Coruscant with genuinely severe ramifications; the once impenetrable capitol of the Republic had been attacked, from within no less.

A patrolling Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee arrived on the scene as Commander Fox and his men finished securing the area, having to section off several streets in order to properly investigate the commando droids' rampage. Barriss was quick to attend to the wounded and the civilians still in shock while Luminara made to speak with Fox.

"Commander, what's our status here?" She inquired.

"A small group of five Separatist commando droids started attacking civilians, General." Fox reported, gesturing to the five bodies neatly piled together in an alley.

"How did they make it to Coruscant? Surely a ship could not have slipped past our defences." Luminara wondered aloud.

"Tough to say, General." The Clone replied with a shrug. "All we know now is which warehouse they came from." Fox explained, pointing down a street which led back to the building of origin. Luminara nodded in understanding.

"Have your men, cleared it?"

"Not yet. We've been busy securing the area." Fox responded.

"Let's go then, and make sure there are no surprises waiting to be unleashed." Luminara decided. She turned towards her apprentice, who was busy healing a man's bruised shoulder. "Barriss, come with us." She tasked. Her Padawan rose and joined her and Fox.

"These people are desperately shaken, Master. They have trouble speaking and require assistance." Barriss implored.

"They will receive such in due time. Let us make certain there's no more threats to their lives." Luminara responded, Barriss subconsciously noting her master's grave concern for the political aspect of things while ignoring the people in immediate need.

They followed Fox to the warehouse, where a pair of Coruscant Guard Clones guarded a blown-out door. Torn off its hinges and mechanisms from a force from within, Luminara and Barriss could barely see the rows upon rows of stacked crates filling it from floor to ceiling. The lighting was poor, at least the shattered one over the door was.

"I'd advise caution, General." Fox quietly told Luminara.

"I agree, Commander." The Mirialan Master concurred. Drawing her lightsaber and igniting it, Luminara carefully entered the warehouse, her emerald blade lighting the way. Barriss and Fox followed close behind, the Clone priming his rifle as he checked each shadowy corner. Testing the Force, the Jedi's danger sense did not prickle, nor could they identify any threats hidden around them. It appears that batch of commando droids was one of a kind. Lowering her blade, Luminara paused as she checked out the nearest tower of crates. It seemed like the average shipping containers seen everyday at the docks. Branded on the side was the name of a company. Given how it was emblazoned on every one, Luminara could only assume they were the owners of this warehouse.

"Kronensieg." She said aloud.

"Familiar with the name, General?" Fox wondered.

"Not particularly. But it is a start for some further research." Luminara determined as she straightened up. The name would be an angle for her to cover once she returned to the Temple. If she could find some information on this company, she might be able to determine how and why commando droids had been planted on Coruscant. "See to it every crate in this warehouse has been confiscated and taken to a secure government warehouse." She ordered Fox, who nodded briskly. It was then that Barriss had a thought and acted on it,

"With your permission, Master, I'll oversee the transfer. Something tells me you had better start investigating Kronensieg. They may have more warehouses with more droids ready to spring forth." She suggested. Pondering that for a moment, Luminara nodded in agreement and deactivated her lightsaber.

"Your foresight is commendable, my apprentice." The elder Mirialan complimented. "I'm leaving Barriss in charge, Commander. Continue as ordered." She instructed Fox.

"Yes, General." The Clone affirmed with another nod. With that, Luminara departed, allowing Barriss to take stock of everything Kronensieg had left in this warehouse. She paid attention to every single crate as the Clones catalogued them and began relocating them to a secure Republic facility, including parts of the Separatist-made Vulture and droid tri-fighters, Confederate issue E-5 blasters, and one that was filled to the brim with explosive nano-droids...


Later...

Luminara stood before several members of the Jedi Council as she presented her most recent findings. Not only did she have an account concerning the damage dealt by the droids, but she had some far more interesting intel on Kronensieg.

"The warehouse from which the droids came was being rented by a company called Kronensieg, a former member of the Retail Caucus." She explained, raising a few eyebrows.

"A founding member of the Confederacy." Mace observed.

"You say 'former', Master Unduli," Obi-Wan pried, "how so?"

"According to filed reports, Kronensieg bought this warehouse from the Republic on the grounds that the war was making the situation for their Outer Rim ventures unsafe and wished to store goods until the war's end." The Mirialan stated.

"Which many other companies have also done. Seemingly straightforward." Mace mused.

"Until now." Luminara grimly stated, Mace nodding in agreement. "However, we have grounds only against Kronensieg, as far as this investigation is concerned the others are all spotless until proven otherwise."

"Then the Republic will have to launch an investigation into Kronensieg's planetside holdings." Mace determined. "What bothers me more is what is they're not telling us..." He added, trialing off.

"The path to knowledge, dark it may be. A deep secret this Kronensieg hides." Yoda said with a hum. "Back to the trunk, trace the root of evil we must."

"If Kronensieg originates in Separatist territory, then we will need to find out where these goods were shipped from." Mace determined with a slow nod.

"An investigative angle easier said than done, I presume." Obi-Wan observed, stroking his beard.

"It would be easier to gain access to shipping manifests than it would be access to the world in which Kronensieg had these droids shipped. The current Outer Rim situation makes this nearly impossible." Luminara added. It was a fact they all knew, but this recent escalation spurned them to protect the denizens of Coruscant.

"If more there are, stopped they must be. Spilled, much innocent blood has been. No more can there be." Yoda sagely decided.

"I agree." Mace affirmed.

"But who could we send so deep into Separatist territory? It would be a suicide mission." Obi-Wan inquired, leaning forward in his chair. "Surely the world in question would be locked down tight."

"Locks can be picked." Mace responded. "And I think I know of a team that could do the job."

"To Redemption Company your thoughts go." Yoda observed and Mace confirmed as much.

"If they can get a small team past the Separatist defences, they could destroy the shipping facility and ensure no more droids are smuggled onto Coruscant. Besides, based on Master Fisto's report, they live for such ventures." Yoda nodded as the plan came together.

"Speak with the Chancellor, we will."


Days later...

Using his executive powers, Chancellor Palpatine was able to force all necessary information from Kronensieg and acquire the shipping details of the Confederate haul. It had come from the world of Akiva, which was located in the Outer Rim, a hot and stormy world. The rather intense environmental conditions alone were enough to raise doubts within Redemption Company once they received their orders, not to mention the fact that there would be no assistance should they come under fire. This was literally a suicide mission.

"We might have to start telling them we're just joking when we say we're a suicide squad." Tango remarked as he looked over the information projected before them all.

"Never mind that, Tango. We've got our objective, now we're gonna prove we were the right team for the job." Dokker instructed.

"I don't get why we gotta take a bunch of shinies with us." Hellcat grumbled, referring to the accompaniment of regular Clones a compartment behind them.

"They ain't shinies, Hellcat, they're veterans just like us." Packit remarked reassuringly.

"Ain't nobody like us." Hellcat snarled. "An you just watch 'em drop like flies the moment a droid starts shooting."

"They're just tagging along, Hellcat." Dokker promised. "They've got their own mission and they won't interfere with ours." Receiving a grumbling sigh in response, Dokker knew that he and his team liked working alone with only themselves to depend upon. This group of Clones were technicians; good with blasters but even better when it came to working with machinery. Their job was to hack into any database that might be found on Akiva, as Chancellor Palpatine wanted to know if any other companies were receiving shipments along with Kronensieg.

They were the data collectors. Redemption Company were the saboteurs.

Powering down the projector, Dokker made for the cockpit as his men leaned back to relax. They were travelling through hyperspace aboard the same stealth corvette they'd been granted for their run to Toola, and Dokker for one was grateful to have been given the same ship. It was a reliable craft, perfect for Redemption Company's style of stealthy arrival. And he knew there was at least one other Clone who could agree with him. "How's it handling, Madcap?" His pilot turned and flashed him a grin.

"Handle's like a dream, Sarge!" He stated. "All it needs is some flaming skulls on the side and it'll be right up our alley!"

"It's a loaner, remember? No customization." Dokker told him with crossed arms. The pilot's shoulders slumped.

"Aw, man..." A dejected Madcap sighed.

"Just take it nice and easy, no hard bumps or scuffs." Dokker tasked as he returned to the central compartment, Madcap muttering something about killjoys as he did.

The trip in was a quiet one, the corvette's stealth capabilities ensuring any searching scanners were blind to its presence as it journeyed deep into Separatist territory.

But while this was going on, the Titan Conglomerate had also been dispatched to deal with another Separatist location, one their own spies had recently uncovered.

Theris stood with her team captains, Cager and Arro, as she discussed their plan of action. While leading was truly Corsair's thing, Theris had been through enough operations to know how to run a Titan mission.

"Alright, I'll bite, we're goin' to some tropical paradise this time." Cager snickered. "Lemme guess, Mon Cala? Somewhere in the Mid Rim?"

"Wrong on both accounts." Theris flatly replied, triggering a holorender on the table between them. "Xagobah. Word is the Separatists have a hidden facility here, churning out good stuff."

"What kind of 'good stuff'?" Arro asked. "Weapons? Technology?"

"Super-soldiers." Her answer caused both men to go silent for a moment. "We suspect this is where all those new ones came from. We take this out and that should keep the Separatists from mass-producing them." Theris explained.

"Uh... right." Cager slowly affirmed. The Mando's brown eyes turned to him.

"You have a problem?" She wondered.

"Well... what if there's more? Like a lot more than just the ten we know about?" Cager nervously wondered. Theris offered him a simple smirk.

"Then today's gonna be a big payday for us all." She responded.


On Akiva...

The stealth corvette emerged from hyperspace over the jungle world of Akiva without issue. Dokker, Tango and Madcap breathed a sigh of relief as they realized there were no Separatist ships guarding the planet.

"Take us in, Madcap. Nice and quiet like." Dokker calmly instructed.

"They won't even know we're here." Madcap promised as he dove low and triggered the ship's cloaking field. A flicker rolled across the hull as the corvette disappeared from view, vanishing from visible sight as it made for the planet below. From a distance, Akiva was a very green world. But as the corvette drew closer, the Clones soon learned just how green the planet really was. Passing through the atmosphere and exiting the cloud layer, they were met with a seemingly endless swath of jungle canopy that spread for miles in every direction. And yet the Clones knew there was more to this planet than met the eye.

"Tango, scan for large electrical anomalies." Dokker ordered, his scout adjusting the sweeping long-range scanners as Madcap guided the corvette low and slowly over the jungle. It was only a few minutes into their cruise when Tango had some news.

"Got a hit, sir." He reported to Dokker. "Bearing oh-oh-three. Dead ahead."

"How far?" The scout trooper shrugged his shoulders.

"Range... a couple miles, give or take." He guessed. Dokker nodded and assumed the anomaly was close by.

"Madcap, raise up a little. We'll sweep the area first." He instructed.

"Righto, Sargo." The pilot responded, pulling the stick back and raising the corvette high into the air as Tango changed out his sensors for imaging scanners. What was soon revealed to them all was a small square-shaped clearing in the middle of the jungle, where a series of interconnected buildings had been established."Would ya look at that." Madcap whistled as he banked in a circle around the complex. "Bit small for a complex, ain't it? I was expecting a high-rise or something. Like Geonosis." He wondered aloud.

"Maybe, but I'm getting some hollow pings here. I bet ten creds the rest is underground." Tango theorized. Dokker liked that idea very much.

"Good call, Tango." He affirmed. "Madcap, find a spot where we can set down... and use the landing gear this time."

"Now where's the fun in that?" Madcap complained, but did as ordered and found a small flat rock not too far from the Separatist base. As the corvette's engines cooled, Dokker went to the rear and donned his helmet, finding Edge, Hellcat and Packit equally helmeted and ready to move alongside the technicians who'd tagged along.

"We move in quickly but quietly." Dokker instructed as he picked up his DC-15A and flicking the cell charge to full. The Clones collectively nodded as Dokker led the way out, Redemption Company following right behind him as they were followed by the technicians in rank and file.

"Whatcha figure, sir?" Packit wondered.

"I figure we'll see what we're dealing with before we decided to be pests and ruin their day." Dokker remarked. At the rear, Madcap overheard him.

"Here's hoping they don't have an exterminator on call." He remarked as he closed up the gantry.


Elsewhere in the galaxy...

Stolen Horizon exited hyperspace over the bustling world of Xagobah, an Outer Rim world controlled by the Techno Union. A special bioengineering facility had been set up here by Wat Tambor, the Emir experimenting on local life forms to advance the Union's genetic studies. It had since then been converted into a series of laboratories where super-soldiers were created and produced, not unlike Scipio's former lab on Utapau. From here, the Separatists had trained Banshee and produced Reaper, Spectre, Ghost, Phantom, Scourge, Aivela, Esne, and Ravage.

It was up to the Titans to ensure they would produce no more.

Aboard the modified GR-47, Theris stood before the active members of the Titans as she briefed them on their tasks. Before her was a projected holorender of the Techno Union building they were going to raid.

"Stats on this facility are minimal, so we'll need to find a hardpoint to access the local database. Once we're inside, we take note of anything the Republic might want then sabotage the rest. The goal is the destruction of this facility and we'll do just that." She stated, several of the crew nodded while others grinned at the prospect of destruction. "Team one is with me, we'll clear the joint and then light it up like a Life Day tree." She stated before turning to her team captains. "Cager, team two is on data duty. You snag anything and everything of value they're hiding on their servers." The former prison guard nodded.

"Seek and find, got it." He affirmed, Theris moving on.

"Arro, team three is on perimeter watch. Turn them back or turn them to ash." She instructed the other human. He nodded briskly.

"Can do, boss." Looking to the rest of the black-armored crew, Theris posed a find query.

"Any questions?" A few murmurs flew back and forth as the Titan crew settled in for their mission. "Form up into your teams and suit up. We're going in hot." Theris commanded, shutting down the holoprojector and making for her personal locker.

The Titans were geared up and ready for deployment the moment Seraj Liner brought the ship down to Xagobah's surface. Guiding the craft towards the uninhabited plains, the veteran pilot knew exactly what she was looking for as she followed the due course her scanners provided. With the thrusters fairly high, it was going to be tricky to come to a full stop and her hand hovered over the repulsorlift controls. The tall, angular complex soon came into view, as did the massive spire reaching high into the sky, and the Corellian timed her moves just right. Cutting the thrusters, Stolen Horizon glided for a moment before Seraj activated the repulsorlifts and helped the ship glide on its own inertia before slowing to a halt only a few hundred feet before the facility's perimeter wall.

"You want me to knock, boss?" She wondered of Theris over her comms.

"We'll do the knocking. Just keep things warm for us." Came the reply, with a shrug accompanied by some minor disappointment at being unable to use the ships' forward guns, Seraj popped the docking ramp and sat back, idly adjusting some subsystem readings as she began to wait.

The teams of black-clad Titans surged out of the craft's exit and barreled across the ground, the Houk brothers and SpeedFreak being the last ones out. The racing duo quickly unloaded a series of rockets from their mounted turret, destroying a portion of the wall with several explosions. The Houks led the charge inside as Arro tasked his team with looping around the perimeter to secure it, while Cager and Theris took their teams inside.


Dokker and Packit made quick work of the final droid in the control room as the Clone technicians went to work. Tango approached them with a scanner in hand,

"This place runs a few miles underground, Sarge. There's a turbolift we can use in the next room." He reported.

"The foundations would be a prime place to start some sabotaging." Edge mused.

"Good thinking, Edge." Dokker agreed. He turned to the technicians, "Trooper, how much time you need?"

"Depending on the size of their databanks, sir. Can't be too much, though." The senior technician promised.

"Better not be. We'll stash some explosives and need to leave ASAP." Dokker replied. "Company, to the basement." He ordered, Redemption Company falling in behind him.

Little did the Clones realize that they were about to encounter some serious trouble.

Below them, in the droid factory built into the cavernous tunnels of Akiva, Banshee and General Grievous observed the Clones entering the turbolift.

"If they drop down here, our entire operation is compromised!" A battle droid worriedly noted.

"Unlikely." Banshee crisply responded. "We will deal with them before they can even trigger a detonator."

"You have a plan, soldier?" The cyborg general rasped.

"A simple one, sir," Banshee stated, "if you handle the Clones topside, I will deal with the ones down here."


The Titans stormed through the halls of the complex, powering through the many built-in defences that got in their way. Everything from roof and wall turrets to entire corridors dedicated to channeling electrical currents and frying them alive attempted to waylay them. But Cager's knowhow of building defences and how to disable them came in handy as he shorted out fuse after fuse on their way to the main lab: a biomedical chamber dedicated to housing the nurturing super-soldiers.

Their progress was good, but slowed by the constant defences.

"Cager! Get those turrets offline now!" Theris shouted over the din of the defence cannons shelling the hall they were waiting to attack.

"I'm trying! These are a different system, it's not a double-tap!" He shouted back, feverishly working the wires to try and short out the electronics. Rolling her eyes, Theris popped around her cover to fire off a few rounds, quickly ducking back behind her cover as multiple rounds slammed into the wall she'd once been in front of. The sudden crackling of electricity drew her attention to a wall of ionized current slowly moving towards them and filling the hall. A second ignited down the opposite hall, the two purple walls closing in and threatening to either electrocute the Titans or force them into a position where they would be shot.

"Cager! While we're alive!" Theris shouted again.


Redemption Company moved cautiously into the open hall, their blasters sweeping left and right as they sought out any potential threats.

"Packit, got enough for everyone?" Dokker asked.

"Sure thing, Sarge." The team's scrounger dropped his pack and quickly pulled out a series of explosives, enough for each member of the team.

"Everyone find a support beam, set for maximum countdown." Dokker ordered. Each Clone grabbed an explosive and took off in separate directions, splitting up in an effort to plant their explosives quickly and efficiently. One by one the Clones spread out across the underground level of the facility... but they did not realize that Banshee was watching their progress from a central monitoring station. Seeing their division, she moved to intercept the Clone closest to her...


Block blew open the door with his shoulder, charging ahead as his brother barreled into the room right behind him. Stock promptly hit a Skakoan scientist with a powerful backhand that sent him flying into a wall while Theris, Cager, and their teams poured in and began blasting all the other scientists. The room was cleared in a matter of minutes, the bodies of Skakoans and other sentients strewn across the floor. Theris looked the place over for a brief moment, spying all types of machinery spanning from simple data processors to larger chemistry tables and manufacturing devices. But what caught her eye the most were the series of bacta tanks lined up along one wall, each one branded with a name listed on a holodisplay.

"Looks like we found the nest." Cager noted as his team scrambled to hack the local data files.

"And something else too." Theris thoughtfully noted as she walked over to the tanks. Looking down at the display's, she read off each name, "Scourge. Spectre. Aivela. Esne. Phantom..." It was then that the Mando released something. There were eight empty tanks, each one specifically marked for one of the new super-soldiers seen out in the field.

But there was also a ninth one... and there was a body in it.

She stopped, briefly reading the listed alias. "Warpath." Looking up, she saw a young man, no older than a teenager, suspended from many wires and tubes attached to his body. "Talk about priorities. An alias but no name." She mused. Thinking this could be a big win for the Republic, and therefore a big haul for the Titans, Theris was determined to know more. "Cager, slice this terminal." Her fellow Titan got to work with his own slicing hardware, plugging into the terminal and downloading the available data stored in it. "Any luck?" Theris wondered.

"I'm sure there's a name here somewhere, mixed up with all the techno-babble I can't understand." Cager remarked.

"We'll sort it out later. Block!" The Houk ambled on over, every footstep causing the floor to shudder. "Smash that glass, but don't hurt the kid." Theris ordered.

"Got it boss." He replied, a simple punch from his armored fist enough to blow the casing to pieces, bacta flowing out like a river as 'Warpath' sagged in a tangle of wires. Theris quickly climbed up and into the tube, helping him out. His dark brown hair was soaking wet and he was weak in her arms, likely drugged. He could only manage a few barely-audible groans. "Who's he?" Block wondered.

"Our ticket to a big payday." Theris responded, hoisting the admittedly muscular teen over her shoulder. "Cager, status report."

"I'm all done. Rest of the team should be almost done, too." He told her.

"We need to be tail-lights in two. Block, Stock, start breaking anything we're done using." Theris then ordered the Houks. Grinning, the Smash Brothers went to town...


The Clone technicians were close to wrapping up their hacking work, nearly every piece of available shipment and transfer data logged onto one datapad.

"ETA five minutes, sir." One techie told his senior.

"Good work." The Clone affirmed with a nod. "The rest of you take up defensive positions near the door. If the droids show up, we'll have to hold them off unt-" He was cut off as a blue lightsaber pierced his chest, killing him instantly. The Clones backed away as General Grievous emerged from the hall behind the senior technician, crushing his body beneath one clawed foot as he brandished his second green-bladed lightsaber.

With a cackle, the General attacked the rest of the Clones, surging into the room with superior mechanized speed and maneuverability as he stabbed both blades through another Clone. One of them had enough forward thinking to quickly unplug their valuable datapad and make a run for it, as Grievous scampered across the ground while sprouting his third and fourth arms. Somersaulting ahead, Greivous used his feet to grab and dig into another Clone, pinning him under his body. The trooper thrashed around for a moment before a sweep of Grievous' lightsabers beheaded him, the cyborg continuing his rampage.

Down below, Dokker planted his charged and primed the detonator, the whine of a charge-up sequence indicating the bomb was ready to blow. Doubling back, the Clone sergeant checked in with his team.

"Company, sound off. Charge is set." He said.

"Charge planted, Sarge." Packit stated.

"Mine's ready to blow." Hellcat added.

"Mine's good! Can't wait for the fireworks!" Madcap eagerly responded.

"Explosive is in position, sir." Edge reported.

"So is mine, sir. I think we can safely get-" Tango was suddenly cut off mid-sentence, causing Dokker to come to a sudden stop.

"Tango? Tango, do you copy?" His comms stayed silent and Dokker began to worry. "Company, rendezvous at the lift on the double!" He ordered, breaking into a run. He wasn't too far, he could make it after a hard sprint. Dokker rounded one corner, then another, running into Packit as he did.

"Sir, where's Tango?" The scrounger asked.

"I don't know. His comms went quiet." Dokker told him.

"Then we gotta find him!" Hellcat rumbled as he arrived along with Edge. "Ain't no slaggin' Seppie clanker about to do him in!" His opinion was fierce and the others shared it. But a new voice rang out that caused their blood to run cold.

"It will not be a 'clanker' that is your end." Metal footsteps resounded throughout the halls as the Clones turned to see Banshee appear between them and the lift, Tango's throat in her grip. The scout was helmetless, his forehead sporting a bloody wound as he writhed about in the super-soldier's hand.

"Sorry... sir..." He rasped, "got... sloppy..."

"Calm down trooper!" Dokker swiftly told him, arming his DeeCee. "Company, arms up!" Each one of the Clones aimed their weapons at Banshee, who went unphased by their attempt.

"Your little ragtag band will not be leaving here alive." She threatened. "I myself will see to that."

"Hellcat! Drop 'er!" Dokker ordered. The burly Clone unleashed the power of his reciprocating quad cannon, multiple rounds striking Banshee and scorching her armor. The Umbaran super-soldier simply snapped up her arm and unleashed a sonic wave from her Shriekburst emitter that flattened all four Clones across the ground. With their ears left ringing, Redemption Compnay struggled to get up, Hellcat having the worst of time with his quad cannon fully extended. Dokker looked up in time to see Banshee draw a knife with her free hand. Without any hesitation, she promptly slit Tango's throat. "Tango!" Dokker cried, helplessly reaching for his brother. The scout coughed as blood flowed freely down and covered Banshee's hand, the super-soldier suddenly crushing his neck in her grip and tearing out his throat with one hand, dropping the Clone's lifeless body moments later.

Shaking the excess blood off her hand and dropping the fleshy bundle between her fingers, Banshee advanced towards the rest of the Clones with a fiery look in her optics. She plainly intended to kill them all. Edge was on his feet first and attacked her with a series of throwing knives, each one aiming at her optics. But a quick swipe of her arm knocked each aside, the blades making no more than a few sparks as each collided with her armor. Drawing two of his knives, Edge charged her and came down hard into her raised gauntlet. But her strength was far superior to his and Banshee rebuffed him with a firm push. She then laid into the staggered Edge with several heavy punches that chipped away at his armor until she suddenly ignited her lightsaber and, with a sweep, cut off his left hand. Edge screamed in sudden pain and fell back, dropping a knife and falling onto his rear. Banshee stalked menacingly towards him as the Clone desperately backpeddled.

"You shall join your pathetic friend." Banshee promised. But Dokker, having gathered his senses, quickly opened fire with his blaster. The super-soldier turned on him as the first few bolts ricocheted off her armor and deftly deflected each successive one with her lightsabers. She then turned her emitter on him and blasted the sergeant with a full sonic attack. "Or maybe you will be second. Let's fill your helmet with blood from your ears!" She threatened, her barrage unrelenting. Dokker tried in vain to cover his ears, crying out in pain as piercing sound waves battered his senses.

Banshee's focus was suddenly ruined as Madcap appeared and attacked her from behind, leaping onto her back and blasting her point blank in the helmet with his pistol. He clung on with his legs and arms, whooping as Banshee struggled to remove him. "Release me you cretin!" She snarled, stumbling about as Madcap held on like a nerf tamer.

"Giddy-up, super-soldier! Yeehaw!" He howled, clearly loving this. Packit helped up Dokker as the sergeant fought off the white noise his ears were drowning in.

"Lift. Now." He managed to say, stumbling ahead alongside Edge as Packit lifted Hellcat to his feet. The remaining Clones fit themselves into the lift as Madcap suddenly hopped off Banshee, leaving a thermal detonator behind.

"See ya later alloygator!" He cackled as he too made a beeline for the lift. The explosive detonated and pitched Banshee into a nearby wall, her senses rattled for a moment while her HUD recalibrated. But it was long enough for Madcap to enter the lift and shut the doors behind him, the rest of Redemption Company busy catching their breaths as the lift ascended higher. For a moment the panic and stress abated as their collective adrenaline rushes died down, but then came the terrible reality.

"Tango... oh kriff, Tango!" Hellcat realized.

"Kriff..." Packit gasped. "Stars above, what was one of those things doing here?"

"Ain't nothing in the... intel package about that." Edge quietly said, hissing as the pain of his missing limb suddenly set in.

"She... She just tore his throat out. Like it was nothing." Hellcat said, staring blankly into space. Dokker shook his head sadly, his senses having finally returned to him.

"We'll... grieve on the ship." He promised. "But if there's a super-soldier here, we gotta grab the techies and get the hell off this rock."

"Yeah... then maybe have some fireworks..." A somber Madcap added.

The lift slowed to a halt and the door slid open, revealing a destroyed lab with bits and pieces of Clones lying about. A stunned Redemption Company shook their heads in bewilderment. "Kriffin' hell, what the frak happened here?!" Edge wondered, clutching the remains of his limb. None of his teammates had an answer and they cautiously entered the room.

"Maybe that she-freak's already been up here." Madcap said aloud. Those who could draw their weapons did, Edge sticking close to the group as they suddenly heard a pitched shriek and a sizzling, followed by the the thump of a falling body. Dokker dashed over to the Clone technician, his armor scorched and burnt by a lightsaber as he was missing his torso. But he was stopped by another Clone who bolted around the corner in a frantic panic.

"Sergeant! Go go go!" He cried, running into Dokker and trying to pull him along with him.

"What's going on, trooper?" Dokker asked. The thump of another body hitting the floor brought their attention to a helmeted Clone head rolling across the ground and the sight of General Grievous emerging with all four lightsabers ablaze.

"Out of the frying pan," Packit mused with a sigh.

"And into the fire." Dokker finished, well in agreement with him. "Run!" Redemption Company and the technician bolted for the exit, Grievous hot on their heels with a cackle.

"Yes! Run cowards! You only prolong the inevitable!" The cyborg roared, the clang of his mechanical feet a menacing noise as he pursued them. Having an idea, Madcap suddenly reached for Dokker's belt and triggered the detonator. It took Dokker a split second to realize what he'd done.

"Madcap! What the hell-!"

"Begging your pardon, oh sergeantness, but argue later! We got a flight to catch!" The pilot responded. "Better try and take down spider-bot while we're on our way out!" Dokker couldn't argue with that logic and kept running. The sound of several dull rumbles filled the air as their planted explosives detonated, the building quaking as the support struts began to collapse.

"Packit! Got something to deal with freakazoid back there?" Dokker wondered as Grievous' lightsabers hacked through walls in his hounding pursuit.

"I've got just the thing!" Reaching for his belt, Packit primed an ion grenade and tossed it behind him, the short countdown triggering a sudden burst of ionized-electrostatic energy that shorted out Grievous' mechanical systems. With a rumbling growl, the cyborg was forced to take a knee as he found himself unable to continue. The shuddering quaking grew worse as the Clones bounded out of the facility, Grievous only able to look on through narrowed eyes at his escaping quarry.

Dokker led the Clones on a mad sprint through the jungle underbrush as multiple fiery explosions erupted across the outside of the collapsing complex. They arrived at the cloaked corvette as Madcap extended the docking ramp remotely.

"Go! Go! Go!" He ordered, hurrying Edge, Packit, Hellcat and the Clone technician into the ship. He brought up the rear and closed the ramp himself, sprinting up into the main hold and shouting into the cockpit. "Madcap! Get us outta here!" The pilot said nothing more and floored the ship's thrusters, the craft taking off with much speed and enthusiasm as Madcap guided them into the air, giving the Clones a nice view of the collapsing facility.

But none of them were feeling particularly celebratory.

Redemption Company slumped in their seats as their helmets collectively hit the ground. Hellcat held his head in his hands and did not move any further. Packit checked over Edge's severed hand, but both of them were equally despondent and sorrowfully quiet. Dokker arrived and removed his helmet, having no words to comfort them. He knew there was no point in doing so, at least, not right now. They needed time to grieve and come to terms with Tango's loss. He needed to do the same, but took a moment to check on the sole technician that joined them. The Clone in question sat by himself, clutching a datapad to his chest as he stared off into space. Dokker paused before him, the Clone not moving for many moments.

"He... H-He came out of nowhere." He mumbled, slowly looking up to the sergeant. Dokker understood how shaken he was.

"You're the only one left?" He wondered, receiving a brief nod in response. "Is that the data?" Dokker wondered, glancing down at the datapad. Again, another brief nod. "What's your name, trooper?" He wondered. The Clone paused for a moment, as if trying to remember his own name in the haze of everything that had happened.

"Jaqs, sir." He quietly responded. Dokker nodded and then patted him on the shoulder.

"You did good, Jaqs." He softly assured him.


The Titans returned to Coruscant with good news; the Xagobah facility had been destroyed and its data retrieved, along with a young man who was undoubtedly a super-soldier in the making. Redemption Company, depressed by the loss of Tango, also returned to Coruscant with good news. The Separatist shipping complex had been destroyed and with it any future orders Kronensieg might be expecting. The company had effectively ground to a halt and their days of operation were at a definite end. The higher-ups took that as a sign of good fortune and moved ahead with studying the data acquired by both Redemption Company and the Titans during their Xagobah run.

Little did any of them realize that this scheme was far bigger, reaching beyond Kronensieg to dozens upon dozens of other corporations scattered across Coruscant. The Republic might have acted on this instance, but they were already too late...


Author's Note: RANDOM FOLLOWER SHOUTOUT- this one goes to Artorias78, you binge-reading legend. Stay classy!