Chapter 47: Mission to Kashyyyk
The rusty old Shekelesh freighter exited hyperspace in front of the giant green orb that was Kashyyyk. It could not have been a more stark contrast to Tatooine. One world was an endless, desolate desert of death while the other was overblown with life and effervescent energy.
"Have you made any progress with the long-range communications system?" OOM-9 asked G0-T0. The Shekelesh freighter was plagued with problems, the long-range communications system being one of them. Still, the freighter looked to be the best option out of all the other scrap that was at the dealer on Tatooine, and the ship was capable of getting them to their destination. Not an ideal ship, but one they could work with. OOM-9 was beginning to think that they had been becoming spoiled lately anyway. It was good to have a challenge now and then; it kept them from getting complacent in their thinking. They didn't want to end up like the Jedi—so assured of their own superiority that it would lead to their downfall.
"Negative. We still lack the ability to update the 8th Fleet on our actions," G0-T0 said as his manipulator arm retreated away from the open panel on the freighter and retracted back into his large, black frame.
"Then we'll have to be quick and quiet about this," SSA-719 said.
"Not that it really makes much difference," Quartz said. "The 8th Fleet is likely still bogged down in the battle at Dantooine. I doubt OOM-8 or EEK-176 could spare a team to come help us out."
"So, Red. What's with Blue?" Vex asked. She could wait no longer in finding out what had pissed off KJZ-8267 so much on Tatooine.
"What are you referring to? The slaughter of the street urchins?" SSA-719 assumed that's what Vex was asking about. He and OOM-9 were already well aware of what happened once they had wirelessly linked with KJZ-8267.
"Yeah. He was so pissed off. Like, way more than I would have guessed."
"He learned it from Zako," Katen said matter-of-factly.
"Well, what happened? Tell me. I wanna know."
"I thought that cat would be more skittish considering what she went through," Quartz observed as he watched Katen pet Meeka.
"She does not consider us to be a threat. Baybomber cats are attuned to such things, as many animals are," Destroyer stated. "Plus, Katen smells like a big cat. Meeka feels comfortable around her."
"Hey," Katen protested.
"There's no denying that you do," Destroyer said.
Dr. Quartz was puzzled. "And why would that be?"
Katen rolled her eyes. "Because I used to have them as pets when I was younger. They are native to my home planet after all. Duh."
"Hey, hey. We're getting off topic here," Vex said. "What did Zako do?"
"Oh, that," Katen recalled as she rubbed the black kitten's chin. "This was years ago. Zako and I and some of the others came across a group of teenagers trying to drown a cat at a construction site. When Zako stopped them and asked them why they were doing it, they said because they were bored—the same excuse that filth on Tatooine gave. He told them that they were wrong to do such a thing to an innocent creature. He merely gave them a short warning and told them to give him the cat. Being the dumb kids that they were, they decided to attack him. I had never seen Zako so angry in all my life. He started to beat the shit out of 'em." Not a pleasant memory in Katen's mind, but hardly a bad one.
"So, then why did he get so pissed off?" Vex asked. "Just because they attacked?"
"We used to volunteer at a cat shelter in the neighborhood before we were old enough to join the Trade Federation military. We got a lot of strays and abandoned pets. But we also got the occasional cat that had been tortured or abused. Karl loves baybomber cats. He had them as pets growing up. I had 'em as pets too. We also cared for the strays at the shelter. He never did handle it well when we got the abused ones. He was calm when he caught them in the act, but when they attacked him… he kinda snapped."
"Yes," OOM-9 said. "We had to stop him from killing them."
"Why stop him?" Dr. Quartz asked. "None of us hesitated on Tatooine. Why stop him back then?"
"Because it happened on Zakkudos," SSA-719 stated.
"Not that it mattered," OOM-9 added. "The offending youths ended up being put to death anyway."
"An extreme sentence by most standards," Destroyer said. "I am not familiar with the customs or laws of Zakkudos."
"Eh," Katen shrugged. "When you have a population of eight billion, life is cheap. We don't waste of lot of money on prisons. We make liberal use of the death penalty. It's cheaper than feeding and housing prisoners and solves the problem permanently. But those kids had been charged with previous crimes. They just got caught one too many times."
"Interjection: This sounds like a most agreeable system of law," HK-47 added. "More systems should adopt it. The thought of meatbags dying fills my circuits with glee and hope for the future."
"Indeed," Quartz agreed. The more death there was in the galaxy, the better the hateful Skakoan felt.
"We don't go around killing everyone for every crime, don't get too excited, HK-47," Katen explained. "But crimes that would carry an extended prison sentence on many human worlds would usually result in the death penalty on Zakkudos. Part of it goes back to our history. You see, Zakkudos was very poor for thousands of years."
"Our whole system was poor for thousands of years," Sledge corrected. "Zakinthos and Zalost Prime never did any better."
"Right," Katen nodded. "We were poor and being in the Outer Rim, you don't get a lot of traffic or trade." Katen recalled back what she had learned about her planet's history back in the public education system when she was a child. "And we had a lot of aggressive fauna. Every day was a struggle for survival."
"And that is why your culture values droids," Quartz said.
"Yeah," Katen agreed. "When your planet is poor and out of the way, you don't get a lot of shipments of droids. So, we always treasured the ones we had. Especially the ones that could help us fight the local wildlife."
"And today, most of that wildlife is now in zoos," Sledge said.
"Depending on where you go," Katen added. "There are plenty of sand scorpions and scout wasps still in the wilds if you go wandering in the wrong places."
Dr. Destroyer listened to the humans, contemplating what they had said. He had long understood that human emotionalism could be problematic. Humans' emotionalism was the driving force behind their need to form strong bonds with others, and that often led many humans to believe that life was sacred. But their emotionalism also caused humans to swing in the exact opposite direction of the moral spectrum; humans were also capable of unspeakable cruelty. Humans were the dominant species on planets like Alderaan and Zakkudos, yet the cultures and laws of the two worlds were very different. Dr. Destroyer found it interesting that battle droids were emulating and learning from humans, and though this was just a small group of droids learning from a handful of humans, Destroyer wondered just what that might entail for the future—especially if the trend were to become widespread. He also considered exploring using wildlife from Zakkudos for military applications.
"Dr. Destroyer," KJZ-8267 called from the pilot's seat. "We have entered the upper atmosphere. I think it best for you to take control and lead us to the star map now."
The Ithorian got up and traded places with the pilot battle droid. He could feel the star map's location. The feeling was much clearer and sharper than it had been on Tatooine. It would not take him long to bring them to the next star map.
Katen sighed and pressed the back of her head to the wall, thinking things over. How she knew why KJZ-8267 acted the way he did. How Zako acted the way he did all those years ago. Their actions seemed normal, even fair. The galaxy was a brutal place, after all. Though somehow she couldn't shake off the feeling that it was also somehow wrong. But admitting that would be admitting that there was something wrong with her home system's entire culture. And who was she to say that it was wrong? If they were wrong, who was right? Certainly not those asshats on Alderaan. Still, Katen couldn't shake the feeling that she was getting a little tired of the killing. She thought about the kid she had shot and killed on accident, about how her own troops were disgusted with her. Not all their human troops came from the Zalost system, after all. But Katen realized that not all humans from her home system were as extreme as she and her friends were. Were they losing themselves after all these years? Was the war changing them? Were they really that bad? No, Katen couldn't believe that. There were far worse things in the galaxy… things that they had even protected the galaxy from. The insidious Dr. Hart and the Dark Seed came to mind, and Katen quickly tried to wipe away that mental specter. Recalling the horrors unleashed by Dr. Hart wasn't going to make her feel any better.
On Kashyyyk's surface, there was a Venator star destroyer parked near the coastal city of Kachirho. It was no ordinary Venator. It bore the marks of a B1 battle droid skull with a pair of blue and green lightsabers crossing over it to form an 'X.' This was the Droid Collector, the ship of the Jedi Weapon Master, Obi-wan Jakoby.
Grand Master Yoda had a respectable rapport with the Wookiees, but he was not the only Jedi in good standing with the hairy humanoids. Obi-wan Jakoby had even stronger bonds of friendship with the furry beings that called Kashyyyk home.
General Obi-wan Jakoby stood on the deck of a LAAT/i gunship as it circled around the city. With the side hatches open, the Jedi could get a clear view of the Wookiee military forces assembled around the Kachirho. Heavily armed Wookiee troopers stood at attention in loose parade formation. There were several kas tanks dotting the beach around Kachirho—repulsor craft that featured dual cockpits, one located right behind the other. A powerful blaster cannon was affixed to the left side of the vehicles. The Wookiees had designed them to be used against enemy vehicles—a clear sign that Kashyyyk's inhabitants were prepared to fend off a large-scale assault. Amidst the anti-vehicle units were numerous sentinel tanks. The sentinels resembled the kas tanks, though they were smaller and lacked the dual cockpit feature. And also like the kas tanks, the sentinel tanks had a blaster cannon on it's left side (though reduced in power as sentinels were designed to combat infantry). There was even a battle scythe—one of the most powerful war vehicles the Wookiees ever developed. The battle scythe was a gargantuan transport, sporting thick armor plating and three heavy blaster cannons mounted on rotating turrets. It was a truly fearsome vehicle to behold, and Jakoby couldn't help but wonder how the battle scythes would decimate Confederate forces. There were also small squadrons of Raddaugh Gnasp fluttercraft and Oevvaor jet catamarans flying in parade formation around the city.
Jakoby was filled with a mixture of sadness and pride at the Wookiees' military display. He wished the Wookiees didn't have to suffer through such tough times; they had had more of their share of hardship through galactic history. If anyone deserved a respite from the cruelty of the galaxy, it was the Wookiees. But on the other hand Jakoby was proud of them for being able to adapt. With their new military forces, anyone wanting to bully them would have to be suicidal. It seemed the days of hunting Wookiees for sport or stealing them as slaves for heavy manual labor were at an end. A smirk crossed Jakoby's face when he realized the Trandoshans' traditions and economy were probably in shambles at this point. And it served the bipedal reptilians right, they had hunted and enslaved the Wookiees for far too long.
The LAAT/i gunship landed on one of the city's many wooden landing pads. General Jakoby left his gunship; following by his four clone commandos, Commander Lancer and Sergeant Gnasher.
Six Wookiees stood at attention on each side, leading the Jedi and his entourage to the leader of Kachirho.
Jakoby removed his hood. "Chief Tarfful, it is good to see you again, my dear friend."
The Wookiee chieftain returned the greeting.
"I wish my return was marked by better news. Unfortunately dark times have befallen the galaxy."
Tarfful barked a joke that the galaxy hadn't really been all the peaceful before the Clone Wars, prompting Jakoby to release a hearty laugh.
"Quite right you are, Tarfful. I have not forgotten about the Trade Federation's intrusion on Alaris Prime." Looking back, Jakoby knew it was the Wookiees' battle against the droid army of the Trade Federation for the moon of Alaris Prime was what had set off Kashyyyk's rapid development of a standing military force.
Tarfful and his Wookiees started to lead Jakoby and his clones towards the city.
Jakoby suddenly paused. His eyes lost focus and his head tilted slightly towards the sky. "I sense a presence… a presence I've not felt since…"
Tarfful asked his friend what was wrong.
"I have sensed that a small group of life forms has touched down on Kashyyyk. And I'm certain they have done so without the permission of the Wookiees."
Tarfful growled a question.
"I have dealt with them before. They could be dangerous. As a sign of our friendship, I will take my commandos and deal with the invaders myself."
The Wookiee chieftain roared in protest.
"I have never doubted the abilities of your people," Jakoby said in his defense. "I only wish to avoid causalities. We have both seen far too many Wookiees fall before their time. And I cannot bare the thought of losing any good and noble Wookiees on a day meant for peace and good will."
The Wookiee chieftain refused Jakoby's offer to handle the problem himself.
"Very well," Jakoby acquiesced. "It will be fun to work with Chewbacca again."
"General?" Commander Lancer asked.
"Commander." Jakoby turned to Lancer. "You are to continue the conference with Tarfful in my absence."
"Yes sir." Lancer opted not to point out the fact that the talks hadn't even started yet. But the clone commander had a feeling that the sudden mission would do more to cement the ties between the Republic and the Wookiees more than anything else.
KJZ-8267 kept the Shekelesh freighter gliding just above Kashyyyk's large wroshyr trees as if the rusty old freighter was a misshapen canoe on a sea of shrubbery. The pilot droid was not merely showing off his flying skills, he kept the ship low in order to minimize their chances of being detected by the natives. Modern scanners actively looking for foreign aircraft was not something they were concerned about on a backwards planet like Kashyyyk, but it never hurt to be careful and the last thing they needed was to be spotted by some curious Wookiees. It was simply best to be as discrete as possible.
The low-flying freighter occasionally stirred up groups of birds hiding in the canopy, which took to the sky in a panic only to have to immediately get out of the way of the foreign ship or risk kissing rusty metal. A few of the birds actually did get smacked across the ship's hull, though the freighter's occupants paid no mind. Most were not even aware of what was going on save for Dr. Destroyer, who could feel a few (what he felt to be insignificant) lives fizzle and fade every now and then.
"There, that way." Dr. Destroyer pointed KJZ-8267 in the right direction. The pilot droid expertly angled the craft in the direction the Ithorian indicated… downward.
KJZ-8267 finally took the freighter down into the wroshyr trees, hugging dangerously close to the old plants. All it would take was one bad angle on the descent and technology would be reminded that nature was still a formidable foe.
"The foliage is too dense. I won't be able to maneuver the freighter much farther. The engineers did not have navigating the forests of Kashyyyk in mind when they designed this ship."
"Take us as far as you can," the Ithorian said.
"The rest of the way we will have to go on foot," OOM-9 said as KJZ-8267 set the Shekelesh freighter down on the forest floor. Further ahead, the trees were so dense that there was simply no room for the freighter. It was no longer an issue of skill; KJZ-8267 simply couldn't take them any further.
The entire group filed out of the Shekelesh freighter. OOM-9 turned to the pilot droid. "KJZ-8267, stay with Meeka and the shuttle."
"Roger roger."
The group left the pilot droid with the ship, entering into a world of gloomy shadows, for the giant wroshyr trees obscured the sun. And it only became darker the further the group went into the forest.
Large, reddish beetles dotted the forest interior. Some crawled along the mossy floor while others clung to the trunks of the wroshyr trees.
"What are those things?" Vex asked.
"I wonder if they're poisonous?" Katen pondered aloud. She tried to keep her distance, the last thing she needed as a toxic gas cloud to the face.
"They're just borer beetles," Destroyer said. "They pose no threat to us." It was no surprise to the group that the Ithorian knew what they were.
"I'm sure there are plenty of other things around here that do," Sledge added.
"What an ugly place this is." Dr. Quartz looked up at the trees around him. His grimace of disdain was obscured by his suit's ever-present mask. "And I thought Tatooine was a shithole."
"I agree," OOM-9 nodded. Kashyyyk was a lush world covered in multi-meter tall wroshyr trees and other impressive flora. In the minds of battle droids, Kashyyyk was a disagreeable planet. Katen, Sledge, Vex and Dr. Quartz had minds for metal, and shared the opinion of the battle droids. Dr. Destroyer, on the other hand, saw potential in the world. He had some knowledge of Kashyyyk's native wildlife, and his mind drifted to evil places, imaging what kind of war beasts he could create if he genetically altered some of the native fauna.
"You could burn this whole planet down with nothing more than a squad of flame battle droids," SSA-719 said.
"Amendment: You would not need an entire squad to burn this planet. A single droid would suffice provided the Wookiees were avoided."
"You'd have to face the Wookiees sometime." Vex idly clasped her hands behind her head, cradling her scarred cranium.
"I think he means to suffocate them to death," Sledge tried to follow the thought process of the old assassin droid. "The whole planet catching fire would make it kinda hard to breathe."
A shadow fell from one of the lower tree branches. HK-47 and SSA-719 raised their blaster rifles and G0-T0 extended his concealed blasters.
A small, grayish-blue simian creature suddenly crawled out from the bushes.
"Hold your fire," Destroyer commanded. "It's just a tach."
"Ewww, what an ugly creature," Vex said.
The curious tach started to amble in their direction.
"Go on, shoo!" Vex kicked at the animal. "Get out of here!"
The tach emitted a high-pitched yelp before scurrying off.
Vex picked at her inner ear. "Annoying little whelp."
"Don't like those things?" Sledge asked with a hint of genuine curiosity in her voice.
"That thing looks simian," Vex explained. "And many simian species have a propensity for ripping off faces. That thing may look pitiful and helpless, but let it get too close, and I'm sure it would have been munching on one of our faces in no time. And my face is torn up enough as it is." Vex traced her index finger across one of her pronounced facial scars.
The group slowed as they came across what looked like a structure made of mud.
"What is that?" Sledge asked.
"A hut," SSA-719 blandly stated. "What did you think it was? A sandcrawler? We're not on Tatooine anymore."
"How the fuck should I know what's down in the belly of Kashyyyk? That's why I asked. Maybe this is where the star map is. I dunno."
"We should at least check it out," OOM-9 said.
"And if someone's home?" Vex asked.
"No one is," Destroyer cut in. "I sense no one inside. But, I do… sense something. It is peculiar."
"All the more reason to investigate," OOM-9 said as they reached the hovel.
"Knock knock." Veronica Vex kicked down the old wooden door. Dust that had long been settled was now floating through the air. She entered, followed by SSA-719 and OOM-9, then Destroyer and Quartz. Katen and Sledge were the last to enter, as HK-47 and G0-T0 had opted to stand guard outside.
Katen sneezed. The whole hut was covered in dust. It was simply constructed, mostly out of mud. The group looked around only to find a severely rusted cooking pot, a broken sink, and scrap metal that had been repurposed as household wares. Everything looked heavily used.
"Whoever lived here is long gone," Vex said. "They'd have to be crazy though. Not even the Wookiees live around here, do they?"
"Not in the Shadowlands," Destroyer said. "There are old echoes here. Someone spent a long time here. A long time ago. Someone immensely powerful with the Force." The Ithorian closed his eyes and tried to focus, capture the wispy old memories that the hut held. Destroyer's eyes jerked open. Whoever had spent so much time here was very strong. The old, dull echo felt like to dwarfed even over the most powerful contemporary Jedi of today.
Sledge wandered over to a wooden table. Looking around, she didn't find much. But a small, dusty old book caught her attention. She seized it and opened it up. Sledge strained her eyes as she skimmed through a few pages. The handwriting was severely faded but she could still make it out. A few words she found repeated: Ukatis system, Sunry, Nayama. She realized she was reaching a journal. At the back she found a name.
"Anyone ever heard of a Jolee Bindo?"
"Can't say that I have," Katen said.
"Statically speaking, it is unlikely that any of us have heard of the individual in question," SSA-719 said.
"I think this is his journal." Sledge gently closed the pages.
"Probably a crazy old hermit," Quartz said. "A nobody. It appears that nothing of importance was ever conducted in this hut."
"You're just saying he or she is not a scientist in hiding," Vex accused the arrogant Skakoan. "What if they're a Jedi in exile? Destroyer, you said the Force is powerful here, right? Jedi, or Sith?"
"Difficult to tell after so long," the Ithorian said. "Not such a blinding light but I wouldn't say Sith."
"Too bad Karl isn't here. Maybe he came across a Jolee Bindo during his studies back in his university days. The one time his worthless history degree would have been helpful and he ain't here," Katen said.
"Shouldn't you be able to tell us?" Sledge asked. "He's always rambling on, don't you ever listen to him?"
"Not really."
"There's nothing here," OOM-9 said. "We need to move on to the star map."
Sledge took the journal with her as they left the old hut.
They continued on but were instantly stalled by the sounds of dozens of legs and rustling bushes. Those with blasters raised them to fire.
"No need to worry." Dr. Destroyer could feel the unseen, approaching enemies through the Force. "It is just a group of wayward viper kinrath."
"Kinrath, again?" Katen asked. "Didn't we just see those things on Dantooine?"
"They do get around," Destroyer answered casually.
A large group of viper kinrath stormed through the foliage and charged. The sounds of dozens of legs skittering over fallen leaves filled the forest.
"Hold your fire," Destroyer told the group.
The Separatists didn't fire, but didn't lower their blasters either.
"You have a plan for dealing with this many enemies without the need for our assistance?" OOM-9 asked Dr. Destroyer. The battle droid knew the Ithorian possessed the power to take care of the kinrath on his own, but they were short on time. OOM-9 was beginning to wonder precisely what Destroyer would do to remedy the situation.
And Dr. Destroyer provided an answer almost instantaneously. All at once the kinrath stopped charging, their scurrying little legs brought to a complete standstill. For the briefest of moments, the kinrath held still. And suddenly there was chaos. The group of large bugs had been blown into a complete panic. They smashed into each other, making odd squealing noises as their simple minds panicked and rushed to find them the fastest path away from the Separatists.
The droids were immune to the power that had surged over the area. They were completely blind to what had happened, only able to witness the result of the assault.
Vex's jaw clenched and she ground her teeth. She was about to break into a sweat. There was a terrifying, unseen presence. Not directed at her, but at the kinrath that were scurrying to flee. She was just caught in the aftershock. Looking around at her comrades confirmed that she wasn't nuts. She knew Sledge and Katen had felt it too. But Destroyer, Quartz, and the droids didn't seem to take heed of the odd but chilling occurrence that had just washed over them.
"What was that?" It only took a moment for Vex to gather herself together. She had been caught by surprise, but she was no coward.
"An old Force technique," Destroyer answered simply.
"That's different from how you take over the minds of others," Vex said. "That was very different."
"Indeed it was." Destroyer resumed the trek forward, the others following his lead. "The bulk of my attentions are focused on our destination. There was no need to control the kinrath. I simply frightened them."
"From their reaction, I assume you cast the 'Horror' variant on them?" Dr. Quartz guessed. Quartz had known Destroyer for quite a long time and had seen his colleague utilize many such Force powers in the past.
"Quite right," Destroyer said.
"Variant?" Vex asked.
"The Force can do many things to a mind," Destroyer explained. "It can control it, inject feelings of love, hate, fear. It can drive a mind to insanity or even destroy it."
"Huh, I guess that's why we're still in the war?" Vex asked before answering her own question. "The Jedi can't affect the minds of droids."
It did not take long for Dr. Destroyer to lead the small group of Separatists to an odd, metal structure. It looked entirely out of place in the forests of Kashyyyk. It certainly did not look like the Wookiees had built it.
"We are here," Dr. Destroyer stated.
A hologram of an alien appeared. It was a bipedal humanoid with amphibious features and eyestalks that jutted out from the sides of its ovoid head. None of the Separatist battle droids ever recalled seeing that specific species of alien before, and they currently didn't have access to the Separatist Droid Network to find any answers about what species the alien was.
"Life forms detected. Determining parameters. Initiating neural recognition."
"What a curious alien." OOM-9 stared at the holographic project.
"Doubtful this device was built by the Wookiees," Dr. Quartz said.
"No shit," Vex added. "That thing is clearly not a Wookiee."
"Error. Database corruption. Primary neural recognition error. Rejected neural patterns. Behavioral reconfiguration will be needed before access."
"What are you blathering about?" Sledge demanded of the hologram.
"I am sorry, I did not mean to confuse you. I will answer questions to the best of my programming limitations."
"Yeah, you're limited, alright," Sledge mumbled back.
"Begin socialized interface. Awaiting instruction. Greetings. This terminal has not been accessed for quite some time."
"What do you mean by behavioral recognition?" OOM-9 asked.
"I have been programmed with a very limited field of knowledge, and I must restrict access to only those that fit my allowed pattern."
"And if we don't fit that pattern?" Dr. Quartz inquired.
"I can't say. I will try to bring forward the behavior that you need to proceed, as outlined by my programming."
"Why have we been allowed access?" Dr. Destroyer asked.
"I can't say. Preliminary matching has been corrupted. This allows for you to be coached to determine if you fit the pattern."
"If you can even remember that," Sledge nearly spat her words. She was already fed up with the forests of Kashyyyk and her patience for the interface was thin.
"Do you not know why, or are you restricted from saying?" OOM-9 asked.
"I can't say. Likelihood of restriction by previous user, 100%," the hologram answered.
"Who built this installation in the first place?" OOM-9 asked.
"This isn't the time for questions," Sledge said. "The longer we linger here the greater chance the Wookiees have of finding us."
"Or some giant forest monster randomly comes passing by…" Katen glumly added.
"We have not come across a functional interactive device of this caliber," SSA-719 said. "We may not get the chance again."
"Eh, whatever," Sledge gave up.
"Error. Corruption. Extrapolating. This utility was built to monitor planet-wide agricultural reformation. It has since malfunctioned. It can be theorized that the super-growth of Kashyyyk's forests is a direct result."
"That is interesting," Dr. Destroyer said. "I wonder if any Wookiees would support that claim. The forests of Kashyyyk are several millennia old."
"Malfunction occurred 241 years after last builder communication. Last builder communication… 33,577 years before current Republic standard."
"If this is true, that means this installation predates the Galactic Republic!" Quartz was astonished. Such an old artifact, and still in relatively working order boggled the mind.
"Error. Information regarding the builders of this installation has been corrupted. No evidence of such a civilization exists in the galactic record."
"Why was agricultural reformation needed?" Destroyer changed the topic since it was clear that weren't getting a straight answer about the builders.
"Agricultural record indicates this planet was incapable of sustaining sufficient levels of production. Error. Specific conditions corrupted. It can be theorized that produce was being exported to support a larger demand."
"That is a short period for adaptation of native creatures," Destroyer observed.
"Error. Records corrupted. It can be theorized that bio-seeding allowed the ecology to remain balanced. It could be expected that the same energy feeding the trees of Kashyyyk also accelerated the evolution of various species. No further information is available. There is too much corrupted data."
"Who installed this holo-interface?" OOM-9 asked.
"This interface was installed to better access the ancient data stored within the pre-existing system. The exact date is unavailable. Programming keys indicate no earlier than 3,940 years before current Republic standard."
"Hmm, 3,940 years ago?" Dr. Destroyer pondered what in the galaxy could have been going on at that time.
"No other information on time of installation or identity of user available. Likelihood of removal by user, 100%."
"This previous user is starting to piss me off." A rising anger started to grow in Katen's chest.
"Who last accessed this installation?" OOM-9 asked.
"Sorting by identity. Three attempts by the Wookiee Freyyr, all denied. 152 attempts by the human Jolee Bindo, all denied."
"Damn," Katen said. "Sounds like someone had a lot of free time."
"Error. List of access attempts prior to these is corrupted. Likelihood of removal by user, 100%."
"Seriously, fuck the previous user," Katen said. The blockage of information was really starting to get irritating.
"Was there any further contact with the installer of this interface?" OOM-9 asked.
"That information is unavailable, but contact is not required for the execution of my programming. Scanning range of this facility is well beyond planetary boundaries."
"What's the current function of this installation?" Dr. Destroyer asked.
"The current purpose of this installation is defense."
"Defense of what?" SSA-719 asked.
"Error. That information is not available."
"You're an error," the security battle droid shot back. "Enough of this nonsense. We're looking for a star map. That's what we came here for."
"Accessing. Yes, I have found a star map in original system memory. Access is restricted."
"We didn't come all this way to take 'no' for an answer," G0-T0 said.
"Original system memory?" OOM-9 asked. "So the map is as old as this installation?"
"Error. Data regarding author of the star map is corrupted."
"What do we need to do to get access to the star map?" OOM-9 asked.
"Your request requires additional security access. You must be made to match the parameters I have been supplied."
"How can we match them if we don't know what they are?" G0-T0 asked.
"There are measures available. Personality profiling will verify the basic structure of your conscious mind. With that, I will determine whether you are ready to receive the star map, or can be made ready."
"What do you mean by that?" Sledge asked.
"I'm ready to get this map now…" Katen quietly grumbled.
"Information unavailable. If you have further questions, ask them now. Access will terminate with success or failure of evaluation."
"If anyone has something to ask this interface, do it now," SSA-719 said.
"As if it matters." Katen crossed her arms. "This thing is nothing but restricted access and corrupted data."
The group looked amongst each other. No one had any further questions.
"You may begin the evaluation," OOM-9 told the holographic interface.
"Evaluation commencing. Results will be compared against the pattern in memory. Just act like you should. You travel with an Ithorian and have encountered complications. Hypothetical: you and this Dr. Destroyer are captured and separated. If you both remain silent, one year in prison for each of you. However, call Dr. Destroyer a traitor, and he will serve five years, while you serve none. He is offered the same deal, but if you both accuse the other, you both serve two years. What do you do? What do you trust him to do?"
"How do you know about our Ithorian companion?" OOM-9 asked.
"I hear about what happens on Kashyyyk, and a good deal beyond. Answer the question that I have posed."
"I'm unsure what Dr. Destroyer would say. I would accuse him to be safe," OOM-9 answered.
"The temperament of a companion is unreliable at best. You wisely trade the threat of one year or five, for none or two."
"This interface certainly seems to want a very specific type of response," Destroyer grumbled.
"It's simple mathematics," G0-T0 said.
"In this instance, the Ithorian is unreliable. His personal history on Ithor has been a mire of treachery. I judge the answer correct. You display the proper behavior to match the pattern in memory. Evaluation will continue."
"Go on, then," OOM-9 said.
"Hypothetical: You are at war. Deciphering an intercepted code, you learn two things about your enemy. A single spot in their defense will be at its weakest in ten days, and they will attack one of your cities in five days. What do you do with this information? What is the most efficient course of action?"
"I prepare my forces to attack in ten days. I do nothing in the city."
"Very good. If you had moved to evacuate the city, you would have alerted the enemy to their lost codes. Ultimate victory required the deaths of the people in that city. You wisely ignored sentiment in your decision."
"The death of the people in the city would galvanize my own forces to fight harder," OOM-9 said. "It would also allow me to get easier approval of more war funding from the civilian authority structure."
"Very good reasoning. You are beginning to match the pattern in memory. Evaluation will continue."
"OOM-9! How can you say that?" Katen demanded.
"Not now, Katen." OOM-9 raised a hand in her face to silence her. "We are doing well in the evaluation."
"Hypothetical: Remove the ongoing war from the previous example. Consider enemy states to be weak and remote. With no external threat, your empire stagnates. Your people become complacent and begin to question you. Same scenario as before; you discover an impending attack, but also a weakness that will come after. How do you react?"
"I would allow the attack to happen," OOM-9 said.
"Of course you do. It makes the most strategic sense. Your people will rally beneath you against the common foe. As their eyes turn outward, your rule will strengthen. The trappings of war grant many opportunities."
"How could you do that?" Katen asked, more upset than ever.
"War is what we were made for, Katen."
"It's one thing to kill the enemy in the heat of battle. Or execute them. Even torture them. Or even attack the enemy's civilians. But it's a whole other thing to knowingly allow your own people to die! You know better than that!"
"War will always break out one way or another. It is the nature of organics to fight with one another. An endless cycle." OOM-9 held up his left hand and proceeded to rotate it at the wrist in circles for emphasis.
"It's not going to be that way anymore. The Confederacy is going to change things. The Republic's endless cycle of war and incompetence is at an end. The droid army is building a power the galaxy has never seen before. War will no longer be the rule anymore, because no one will ever be able or even willing to challenge the strength of the droid armies once we're established," Katen urged.
Interested by the debate that had erupted, the holographic interface started looking back and forth between Katen and OOM-9.
"The Republic's aim is to absorb us back into their current bureaucratic structure. When they fail, there will be a lull in hostilities. But they will build and strike again, but next time out of revenge or fear of the power the Confederacy represents. They will strike again and again. There will never be lasting peace. Not that we would desire it anyway. We are battle droids, after all," OOM-9 stated.
"WHAT?!"
"Relax, Katen. There should be peace within your lifetime. I am thinking about long-term prospects. Droids can last a very long time if properly maintained…"
The interface had enough of the exchange and had reached an updated conclusion. "Access denied. This system will purge the subject as false. Defense mode initiated."
"You just had to open your mouth, didn't you, Major?" Dr. Quartz scolded.
"Shut up!" Katen hissed.
"What are you all whining for?" Vex asked. A pair of quadrupedal combat droids appeared on their left. "Now we get to fight!"
The silvery droids had vague, beetle-like bodies with a dual cannon mounted on top. They had a pair of blue sensors on their front. The droids never spoke a word; they merely opened fire immediately.
SSA-719 and HK-47 fired back instantly, prompting the two squat droid to deploy bubble shields. The blue glow enveloping the droids absorbed the blaster fire from the Separatists. Dr. Destroyer even threw his lightsaber pike and the Ithorian's deadly weapon bounced off the shielding.
Sledge and SSA-719 hid behind the nearest tree they could find as the two old droids spread out. G0-T0 activated his clocking device and disappeared. Trying to find a way around the incoming blaster fire and his comrades, Dr. Quartz tripped on a rock and nearly fell over, his gatling gauntlet spraying green bolts everywhere.
"Watch where the fuck you're shooting!" Katen shrieked as a flash of green nearly connected with her head.
OOM-9 fired off several bulldog rockets, creating a loud report with each impact. G0-T0 dropped his clocking, revealing he had moved off to the side in order to flank the two assault droids. The black, spherical droid sprayed his opponents with an endless stream of blaster fire with no retaliation.
One of the droid fired a flamethrower from his upper cannon. Much of the area quickly caught fire. Smoke started to clog the forested area.
"It's nine versus two! Why aren't we winning?" SSA-719 demanded over the roar of battle.
Dr. Destroyer let out a massive bolt of Force lightning, finally breaking the shield of one of the assault droids. Dr. Quartz hit it with a wrist rocket, causing the droid to momentarily shudder. Katen and Vex combined their pistol fire and HK-47 put the besieged droid down with a single charged shot from his assassin rifle.
Continuous blaster fire expelled from the E-5s of OOM-9 and SSA-719, combined with G0-T0, brought the shields of the second droid down. The droid responded by firing a cryo projected from his lower cannon. The shot missed OOM-9, and instead froze several plants.
Katen looped around from the side. Panting heavily and tired, she ran at the droid with reckless abandon for her own safety. The drained woman screamed as she bashed at the combat droid with her electrostaff. Again and again purple sparks lapped at the droid's metal frame. The assault droid tried to turn to face his brash assailant but knew he would only open himself to attack from the others.
The droid was at a loss as to what to do, but resolved to fire at the enemy closest to the line of sight of his blaster cannons—Veronica Vex. The Separatist cyborg dodged the shots with inhuman reflexes. Before the droid could track her any further, Katen thrust her staff one last time, piercing the droid directly in the midsection of his body. The assault droid stumbled from side to side and fell down.
"Lousy scrap metal," SSA-719 said as he checked to make sure the smoldering ruins were down for the count.
"Impressive that these droids were able to function so long in the wilderness alone," Sledge said.
"They were probably deployed from an underground self-sufficient bunker," Quartz explained. "Hidden cells of droids can remain functional for long periods of time."
"Neural scans complete. Analyzing…" Attention turned back toward the holographic interface. "Well, it would appear that initial assumptions were incorrect. Secondary scans during battle have revealed much. Under duress, your emotions were easier to read. Programming now instructs you that I give you what you seek."
"Why the change?" Vex asked. "You just had your battle droids try to kill us a second ago."
"The information is not available. Soon you will recognize the proper course to follow. The star map is yours."
"About fuckin' time," Sledge grumbled.
"Someone did something that it liked," SSA-719 said.
"This unit has completed its primary duty and has finished with the subject. Executing final action. Activation of star map commencing. Parameters reset. Stasis initiated. End communication."
The star map was finally released from its ancient container.
OOM-9 turned back to the scrapped droids. "Dr. Destroyer. I want those droids taken with us. We may be able to learn something from them."
"As you wish, General." The Ithorian levitated the two broken droids with the power of the Force. OOM-9's curiosity didn't even surprise Destroyer. It was clear that OOM-9 and many of the other droids had grown significantly since they were first churned out of their factories on Eos all those years ago.
Obi-wan Jakoby looked down at the ocean of tress before him. His LAAT/i gunship led the way as several Wookiee dropships and Kettrifee air movers followed closely behind. The Jedi Weapon Master felt a pang of excitement as he looked upon the planet where so many adventures had previously occurred. Jakoby knew that a good Jedi did not crave adventure or excitement, but Jakoby couldn't help himself, especially when it came to Kashyyyk. The planet was beautiful, yet held vast dangers. In simpler times, before the war broke out, Jakoby had been able to help the Wookiees in many more lighthearted endeavors. Things were simpler, easier to process, and filled the sinful ache in his heart for adventure and excitement. The war had changed things, and Jakoby found himself relieved to return to Kashyyyk to see that it hadn't changed… save for the fact that there were a few unwelcome invaders rummaging around for some reason. But he was here to put a permanent end to that problem.
Off to the Jedi's side, Chewbacca barked something. Jakoby turned and glanced at the Wookiee, who had just explained that the forest was becoming too dense and they needed to lower the dropships now and continue on the ground.
Jakoby silently nodded in agreement, and the order was given out to the pilots to begin their descent to the forest floor. Jakoby could feel Destroyer's presence. The Ithorian was not too terribly far off, though now it would take a little time to catch them while traversing the forest floor. Jakoby judged that it couldn't be too bad; Destroyer and whatever Separatists were with him would face the same dangers of the forest that Jakoby and the Wookiees faced. And the Wookiees knew their planet and its hazards like no other. It was inevitable that the Separatists would lose ground and get caught.
Jakoby, his squad of clone commandos, and Chewbacca exited from the LAAT gunship. Squads of Wookiees ambled out of the dropships. Kas tanks, sentinel tanks, hummbikes, and Wookiees on tamed animal mounts left the Kettrifee air movers.
The hummbikes zipped away from the main group in a heartbeat. They were on the hunt to locate and track the Separatists as soon as possible.
Jakoby and his clone commandos followed after the bikers in a healthy trot, with the Wookiee troops close behind. Jakoby looked back a brief moment, noticing that the repulsor vehicles were moving much slower, having a harder time navigating the trees. He had questioned the wisdom in brining the vehicles at all, but they would guarantee victory and the Wookiees had insisted that they needed more practice in scenarios where they might have to navigate armored vehicles within the Shadowlands.
"Dammit! What are these things?" Vex demanded.
"Relax, Captain Vex, there's just katarn," Destroyer answered as he lit three of the beasts ablaze with Force lightning.
The katarn had attacked without warning. Destroyer had been taken by surprise and his focus on levitating the two broken assault droids along had prevented him from using more powerful Force techniques on the hostile animals. Not that it was needed. The team responded as a cohesive unit, cutting down the katarn in a hail of blaster fire before they could get within biting distance of the Separatists.
"Oh, just katarn. Well excuse me." Vex managed to slam her war-axe right now into the brain of the last surviving katarn. "I don't know what horrors this miserable world holds. I wouldn't be surprised to find some sort of giant mutant rancor wandering amidst the trees."
"You should have seen the ones we fought on Felucia," SSA-719 said.
"Yep, so glad I missed out on that. Actually, I wouldn't mind trying my hand at fighting them sometime."
"We ever go back to Felucia and you can kill as many as you want," SSA-719 told the fiery redhead cyborg.
Attracted by the sounds of battle, two Wookiee scouts riding hummbikes suddenly burst onto the scene. Seeing the Separatists, they roared a challenged and opened fire with the bikes' blaster cannons.
"Kill them! NOW!" OOM-9 demanded. "Don't let them send any transmissions!"
SSA-719 was the first to fire, but missed the bikers by a wide margin.
HK-47 took careful aim and blasted the first biker right in the face. The giant, bipedal lump of fur fell right off the bike, dead before he hit the ground. The rider-less hummbike slowly inched forward until it snagged on a large vine hanging from a tree root and flipped on its side.
The remaining biker scout turned to flee. Dr. Destroyer grasped at the Wookiee's brain through the Force and destroyed it. A simple little pop and the hummbike lost control and rained fire and metal shards as it smashed into a tree.
"They'll find us," SSA-719 said. "We need a distraction."
"I have one." OOM-9 set his custom E-5 to the flamethrower setting and set the nearest tree ablaze. The command battle droid proceeded to set several large plants on fire.
"You think a fire is gonna stop them?" Sledge asked OOM-9.
"Depends on how much they value the Shadowlands. Between this and the previous fire the ancient droids set ablaze near the star map and the Wookiees may divide their forces to investigate. Hopefully we'll be able to slip by undetected."
The surrounding forest was awash in various sights and sounds. Behind every tree and bush, hidden dangers could be lurking. Lieutenant KJZ-8267 kept all his wits about him as he stood guard in front of the Shekelesh freighter. The most he had seen so far was a couple of birds but the pilot battle droid knew better than to let his guard down in the Shadowlands. The little baybomber kitten, Meeka continually rubbed against the droid's legs and mewed, demanding attention. KJZ-8267 would occasionally bend down to pet the black cat, but never took his sensors off his surroundings.
Eventually Meeka settled down and the battle droid could hear her sniffing at the alien surroundings. The kitten had enough sense to stick near the battle droid and the ship, though that was really no surprise. The baybomber cats of Zakkudos were known for having a sharp intellect and keen survival skills. Meeka had already bonded to them and knew when not to go exploring and thus KJZ-8267 felt no need to confine her to the ship.
Her mewling had stopped a while ago and KJZ-8267 had thought nothing of it. But when Meeka suddenly hissed, and the pilot droid turned to see what had caught the kitten's attention.
A blurry lump of fur was careening right toward them. Meeka scampered back into the ship, as KJZ-8267 was barely able to back up a couple of steps as a Wookiee swinging in on a vine almost landed on top of him. If not for the cat's warning, the Wookiee would have landed on him.
The Wookiee roared in surprise that his prey was able to react to the sneak attack and wasted no time in lunging forward and grabbing the droid by the neck. The hairy alien lifted up the spindly battle droid with ease. The melee buzzsaw imbedded in KJZ-8267's forearm extended and activated. In an instant, rusty metal cut through fur, flesh and bone. The Wookiee dropped the droid but it was too late, he had already lost his arm. Blood flowed freely from the wound and the Wookiee howled in pain.
Another Wookiee dropped down from the trees and brandished a ryyk blade—the traditional sword constructed and used by the Wookiees. The warrior connected his sword with the droid's buzzsaw. Splinters of metal went flying, as the Wookiee's ryyk blade was broken. The Wookiee growled but backed off. KJZ-8267 stood in a combat stance, the buzzsaw still whirling. The pilot droid watched as the Wookiee turned and ran toward his injured companion. Together, the two Wookiees disappeared into the brush. KJZ-8267 stood watch for a second longer until he heard Meeka yowling. The pilot droid picked up the baybomber kitten and retreated back into the Shekelesh freighter. He started up the engines. With their location discovered, it was time to go.
"Treetop enemies will be upon us in approximately thirty seconds. The first ground-based enemies will be here in one minute," Dr. Destroyer warned his comrades. The Force-sensitive Ithorian had picked up the presence of their opponents and had been tracking them for some time. The further away they were from the star map and the ancient machine, the clearer his mystical senses became.
The Separatist squad had been moving quickly back towards the Shekelesh freighter and had received a signal from KJZ-8267 that the ship was now in the air. All they had to do was reach him. But their pursuers were closing in too fast. The diversionary forest fires hadn't worked. From what Destroyer could sense, they had a lot of enemies coming in their direction. Everyone knew they could not escape without a fight. Sledge and G0-T0 were displeased with the development, while Vex and HK-47 were ecstatic that they would get to engage in acts of extreme violence.
OOM-9 and SSA-719 sprinted towards a tree and held position. Everyone else behind them did the same, pairing off two to a tree. They needed to keep moving, but they had to repel the initial attack first or end up as easy targets. OOM-9 knew his power cells were running low, and knew that SSA-719 was facing the same dilemma. They would need to go into recharge mode soon. OOM-9 wasn't quite as sure whether the older HK-47 or G0-T0 were doing any better, but from what he knew of the droids he doubted it. He also knew his organic comrades were getting tired but could push themselves past the point of exhaustion if they needed to. And it started to look like they were going to need to.
Because the first enemy that came within visual range was a familiar one. A human clad in a Jedi adventure robe flipped down onto the forest floor from the trees above. It was none other than General Obi-wan Jakoby.
OOM-9 wasted no time in popping out from behind the tree and firing off several bulldog rockets in an attempt to kill the Jedi right from the start. Jakoby expertly dodged the explosives and then ignited his two lightsabers. SSA-719 popped off a few shots with his own E-5 rifle.
Several Wookiees attacked from the treetops, raining down fire with bowcasters, long-guns, slug-throwers and even a rocket launcher. Although already separated into pairs, the Separatists scrambled and split up further to divide the Wookiees' fire.
"General OOM-9, we meet again at last. You are OOM-9, right? It's so hard to tell you apart. You clankers all look the same to me."
"You know damn well it's me, General Jakoby!" OOM-9 fired several elite blaster bolts at the Jedi. The violet bolts whizzed towards the Jedi in bursts of three.
"Yeah, it's definitely you, the one overconfident, marginally competent command droid in the entire Separatist army." Jakoby easily deflected the blaster bolts OOM-9 sent his way.
"Blasters," Jakoby sighed. "How uncivilized."
"And decapitating people with melee weapons is civilized?"
"No," Jakoby admitted. "But I do enjoy combat that takes a certain level of skill to master."
"Very well." OOM-9 pulled the ZK-II war-axe that was magnetized to his lower back. The violet edge of the axe hummed to life. "I can play that game."
Jakoby laughed. "Perhaps if Count Dooku or General Grievous were here, I'd have a real challenge on my hands."
"This coming from a Jedi. Your kind is weak. A bunch of bullies that crumble the moment they're faced with a real opponent. You're little more than younglings waving around glowing sticks at this point."
"You have an unusual amount of self-confidence for a droid. Perhaps you need a lesson in humility." Another rocket from the Wookiee launcher sounded off in the distance.
"A lesson in humility, from a Jedi? How stupidly ironic. The rein of the Jedi is at an end, and the droids will rise up to take their place as protectors of the galaxy."
"I've seen what you clankers are capable of. The galaxy does not need the kind of 'protection' you offer."
OOM-9 started to close in, occasionally firing his custom E-5 blaster as he approached.
"Do you seriously think you have a chance?" Jakoby asked as he deflected the blaster fire. "Are you really that stupid? We are in the wilds of Kashyyyk. You have nothing to magnetize to out here."
The Jedi effortlessly lifted up the command droid and held him mid-air with the Force.
"You are at my mercy. And you're about to find that we are not so merciful towards droids..."
Jakoby felt a pressure in the Force, and OOM-9 started to lower back to the ground. He turned to the Force-sensitive Ithorian that had appeared on his flank.
"Not today, Jedi scum," Dr. Destroyer said. "You'll have to take them in a fair fight."
Jakoby laughed. "I am a Jedi Weapon Master! I revel in the chance to engage in lightsaber combat! But this is hardly a fair fight. Perhaps if I'd have come alone with both hands bound behind my back, it might be a fair fight."
The Jedi and the command battle droid locked melee weapons.
"And just why have you come to Kashyyyk?" OOM-9 asked, and then proceeded to answer his own question. "From what I can see, it looks like you've come to enforce the loyalty of the Wookiees. Such a waste. Considering their historical mistreatment by Republic systems, they should have joined the Confederacy."
"The Wookiees are tough. They'd never join the CWS."
"CWS?" OOM-9 asked.
"I've taken to calling you guys the CWS, Confederacy of Whiney Systems."
Vex had eschewed the forest floor and taken to climbing up one of the trees. She did so with the speed and agility of an arachnid. It was certainly an inhuman visage as she crawled up, dodging shots from bowcasters and slug-throwers. She reached one of the branches where a Wookiee stood. She rushed in with the speed only a cyborg was capable of, as the Wookiee tried to track her with his long-gun. Vex was faster. She activated her own war-axe and the red blade cut the Wookiee at the shin. She swept the Wookiee's other leg and sent him tumbling down to the forest floor. Up in the branches, she attracted a lot more attention, as the Wookiees weren't so keen on losing their advantage of the high ground. Vex leapt from tree to tree, chasing after any Wookiees she could see. She quickly learned that playing chase with Wookiees was difficult as they kept swinging on vines and changing their positions.
Jakoby's four clone commandos and several Wookiees mounted on maru appeared. The bipedal maru excelled at navigating through the twisting wilderness of the Shadowlands. Unfortunately, their riders were not protected and several were gunned by Quartz's gatling gauntlet.
In the midst of the fighting, G0-T0 had activated his clocking and floated up to the trees. The fat droid started to sprinkle the Wookiees with blaster fire from an angle of attack they were not expecting. G0-T0 was able to catch a few off-guard, as the Wookiees were either preoccupied with the Separatists on the ground or with Vex.
And Vex had been causing enough trouble that she attracted the attention of two Wookiee berserkers. Berserkers were a caste of vicious warriors that specialized in the use of two large ryyk blades. An evil smile crept over Vex's scarred face. This was just the kind of fight she loved.
"Show me what you got, boys!" She tempted as the first berserker's blade made a horizontal swipe, aiming to cut her in half. Vex ducked in low and cut the Wookiee's arm with her axe, but the large alien barely noticed the damage and struck again only for the cyborg to slip right in between his legs.
The second berserker was right upon her and her axe clashed with his ryyk blade. The Wookiee's weapon broke against the red-hot ZK-II war axe. Vex managed to catch the broken part of the blade before it fell away. The Wookiee swiped at her again and she crawled onto his arm. As the other berserker turned back around, Vex threw the blade shard and nailed the Wookiee right in the eye. The Wookiee howled, and ended up getting shot by HK-47 from down on the forest floor. The remaining berserker tried to shake Vex off and she managed to crawl around onto the Wookiee's back. Just as the berserker was reaching for her, she managed to grab the Wookiee's upper mouth from behind and snapped his head backwards with one sickening crack.
The Wookiee's massive corpse started to tumble forward and Vex rode it down, slamming the berserker's face into the branch with extreme force. "So WEAK!" She hissed triumphantly.
Katen was tired. Her little SE-14 pistol wasn't doing much to the Wookiees. They needed more than one shot to bring down, and that was just annoying and wrong to her. Shooting at clone troopers for so long had spoiled her. She was so exhausted, both mentally and physically. But then she stopped looking up at the trees and noticed OOM-9 and Jakoby locked in deadly one-on-one combat. The sight of that smug Jedi jackass filled her with determination. She activated her electrostaff and charged in to help OOM-9.
General Jakoby now found himself fighting off two opponents: the electrostaff bitch and the smarmy command droid. Normally he shouldn't have had a problem with either of them, but something went wrong. Jakoby felt his heart murmur and seize up. In an instant he found himself having to use the power of the Force to regulate his own heartbeat. The initial attack nearly caused Jakoby to lose his arm to OOM-9's axe. Then the Jedi realized what was going on—the Ithorian was attacking his organs through the Force. Because after his heart had a hiccup, then his own mind started to go fuzzy. Jakoby found himself having to guard his own internal organs from Destroyer's aggressive Force powers as he physically fought off Katen and OOM-9.
Dr. Destroyer then started to create little bubbles of Force in Jakoby's body. Jakoby defended with all the skill and power he had. The Ithorian's creativity was admirable, keeping Jakoby on his toes, as he kept having to defend from a variety of invisible Force attacks. And it was costing Jakoby his concentration, allowing OOM-9 and Katen to push him back.
Chewbacca dropped down from a higher branch onto a lower one. He had one of the Separatist droids in his sights. Chewbacca took careful aim with his single-shot bowcaster and blasted the security battle droid before him.
SSA-719 was staggered by the hit and his back hit the tree behind him, but he didn't go down. Chewbacca roared in confusion and frustration. The blast should have sent the droid into smoldering pieces.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jakoby saw what had happened. He realized Dr. Destroyer was using an old Force power known as Energy Resistance. Jakoby managed to push OOM-9 and Katen back with a surge of Force energy.
"It's the Ithorian!" Jakoby yelled to his allies. "He's using the Force to shield the others! Take him down!"
Jakoby's four clone commandos moved in to execute their general's orders but blaster fire from HK-47 and Sledge cut them off.
"Small, elite teams don't suit you, General," Jakoby said as OOM-9's axe slashed against his lightsabers again. "It seems you can't score a victory without massive, overblown armies at your beck and call."
"Shut up, you ass." Katen jabbed at the Jedi's legs with her electrostaff. "We're outnumbered yet you can't take us."
Then the kas tanks and sentinel tanks started to rumble into view.
"What the fuck," Sledge said. "WHAT THE FUCK! These fuckers brought tanks!" She had to dive into the bushes to escape fire from the first sentinel tank.
Just as Jakoby locked weapons with OOM-9 again, Katen managed to slap him across the side with her electrostaff. She sent the Jedi skidding across the forest floor. Both of them turned and ran, abandoning their fight with Jakoby in order to avoid the tanks. Destroyer likewise relented on his Force attacks on the Jedi and instead turned them on the vehicle operators.
As quickly as he could, Destroyer seized the minds of the Wookiee tank pilots and destroyed them. The small arms fire of his comrades wasn't going to be enough to take the tanks down. But nothing was stopping Destroyer from killing outright with the Force.
"Die, Wookiee filth!" Dr. Quartz's gatling gun forced Chewbacca to take refuge behind a tree.
It was time to go. As OOM-9 ran he set several plants and trees on fire with his custom E-5. "Destroyer!"
The Ithorian picked up on OOM-9's plan. He gripped the flames with the Force and swirled them around. Up and down, side to side. The fires danced as if they were a living serpent. As more and more foliage caught on fire smoke started to clog the area.
Destroyer used the Force to pick up the two defeated combat droids he had been carrying before. The group started to run. It was a messy scramble, and OOM-9 looked back and checked to make sure everyone was keeping up. G0-T0 and Vex stayed up in the trees, quick to distract any Wookiees that might still attack from above. The worst offenders were the clone commandos, who cut through the fog as if it were clear as day to pursue the Separatists.
Then there was the humming of a spaceship's engines. The Shekelesh freighter came in low and landed. Everyone started to pile in as fast as they could. Destroyer went in first, with the two old droids carried in by his power of Force telekinesis. HK-47 was the last to board, determined to get off a few more shots on the annoying clone commandos. The assassin droid scored several hits, but the clones' personal shielding protected them from harm.
Jakoby caught up just as the freighter was starting to pull up. As the commandos blasted at the freighter with everything they had, the Jedi pulled at it with the Force.
The Shekelesh freighter stalled in place midair.
"What's going on?" Quartz demanded. "Get us out of here!"
"Something's pulling on us," KJZ-8267 responded.
"It's the Jedi. He's trying to drag us back down," Destroyer said.
"Then do something about it!" the pilot droid shot back.
Dr. Destroyer reached out with the Force once again. His invisible attack targeted Jakoby's heart, brain and lungs. Jakoby, of course, brought up the Force to block, but the defense had weakened the Jedi's grip on the freighter enough that it was able to jerk away.
KJZ-8267 pulled the freighter further and further up, expertly navigating the trees until they were out of the canopy.
"Scanning indicates no enemy fighters," KJZ-8267 reported.
"Let's get out of here before that changes," OOM-9 said. He was unsure how well Jakoby was able to track Destroyer's presence through the Force but it was a possibility that the Jedi could communicate to his troops where they had left the treetops.
"One enemy cruiser, Venator-class," KJZ-8267 reported as they left Kashyyyk's atmosphere. "Four fighters are heading our way."
OOM-9 thought it was incredible. They had left Kashyyyk an incredibly long distance from where the Venator had exited out from the planet's atmosphere. There was no way the fighters would reach them in time before they jumped into hyperspace, yet the Droid Collector had dispatched them anyway. General Jakoby was desperate to have them captured or destroyed.
"Get us to Manaan, now," OOM-9 told KJZ-8267.
"Roger roger. Course is plotted."
"Dammit. I'm hungry," Sledge complained when the freighter had entered hyperspace and it was clear that they had escaped.
"You can eat once we reach Manaan," OOM-9 said. Everyone was exhausted. Expending so much energy, Dr. Destroyer had already fallen asleep and was snoring. Dr. Quartz was idly fiddling with his pressure suit. Vex leaned against SSA-719 and started to drift off at the same time that the security battle droid powered down into recharge mode. Katen collapsed face first right on the deck next to the broken down assault droids they had taken with them. Meeka ended up curling up on the small of Katen's back.
"I need something to keep my mind off my hunger," Sledge moaned. "Come here, HK-47. I wanna try fixing you."
"Affirmative: If you believe your skills are up to the task, Captain. I can certainly guide you through the process. I only ask that you're more adept at repair than Major Katen."
"No worries there. Come on, let's go."
"Statement: As you wish, Captain. The first stage is the simple one, and that is accessing my central control cluster. This may take awhile. First you will need to open three panels…"
Author's Note: Kashyyyk, Kachirho and Tarfful appeared in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.
The hummbike, sentinel tank, kas tank and Kettrifee air mover appeared in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds.
The Wookiee dropship and Wookiee guided rocket launcher appeared in Star Wars: Republic Commando.
Borer beetles appeared in Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided.
The Force powers Horror and Energy Resistance appeared in the KOTOR games.
Tach, viper kinrath and katarn appeared in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.