Chapter 48: Battle of Manaan
"… no, no! What are you doing, Captain? That is my motor core! Stop! Ahhh!"
Equally as frustrated as her patient, Sledge released her grip on the red assassin droid's innards.
"Supplication: Perhaps it would be best if you desisted your efforts for the moment meatb—I mean Captain. This seems to be going nowhere."
"Very well. We'll do this later," Sledge conceded. "I'm not giving up though." She was no more successful than Katen had been in trying to restore some of HK-47's functionality and memories.
"As you desire, Captain. I cannot help but claim a small amount of relief. Signing off."
Sledge removed herself from the ancient assassin droid and plopped down next to Katen, who was idly stroking Meeka.
"Not so easy, is it?" Katen asked as she looked up from the baybomber kitten.
"He's a rotting piece of junk. I don't know how anyone could possibly work with that." Sledge moved to help Katen in petting the little kitten, who was purring contently.
"Warning: I heard that, meatbag."
"Shove it up your exhaust pipe, you senile scrap pile," Sledge grumbled.
"Statement: That you would make such a suggestion implies why you were unable to repair any of my circuitry."
"Can we dump him off at the next planet?" Sledge asked SSA-719.
"I doubt HK-47 will do so well on a water world," the security battle droid replied.
"Protest: I am more than capable of butchering the Selkath."
"The Selkath have remained neutral in this war. They are not our enemies. I meant it is highly doubtful that you could swim," SSA-719 clarified.
"Query: Can you, Captain SSA-719?"
"We're not going to swim to the star map," SSA-719 said.
"Aren't we?" Sledge asked. "Manaan is a water world. I doubt we'd be so lucky to find the star map on land."
"Dropping out of hyperspace now," KJZ-8267 informed the others and sent a wireless signal that awoken OOM-9 from his sleep mode.
"What is our status?" the droid general asked as he uncurled from the storage configuration back to a standing position.
"We've reached Manaan, sir," KJZ-8267 said as OOM-9 moved towards the cockpit's viewport. Manaan was a beautiful blue orb but that was hardly something either OOM-9 or KJZ-8267 appreciated.
"Dr. Destroyer, can you sense the star map?" OOM-9 asked.
"It's down there. Somewhere. I can't pinpoint its position. I need more time."
"Intriguing these devices have such an odd connection with the Force," Dr. Quartz commented. "It would be fortuitous if I were able to explore this correlation in the future."
"We can always get the one on Dantooine easily enough, if you want one so badly," Sledge said.
"I've been to Manaan before," Dr. Destroyer told the others. "It is a miserable water world. Millennia ago, Manaan was economically powerful due to a natural resource known as kolto."
"Kolto?" Sledge asked.
"A natural healing liquid," Destroyer explained. "As an export, it made the Selkath immensely wealthy. But kolto was replaced by bacta eons ago. Ever since, Manaan had fallen into a deep depression and has never recovered. It is a miserable planet full of miserable people. Poverty and violence have been steadily rising for thousands of years. Ahto City is the capital of Manaan, and the only city that is above water."
"And of course the star map won't be in the capital city," Sledge offered. "Nothing is that easy. Especially for us. It's down under the water. I guarantee it."
"It will not be easy to obtain on our own," OOM-9 said as the blue planet grew larger and larger through the viewport. "We will need reinforcements."
Gliding through the upper atmosphere, KJZ-8267 was contacted by Ahto City's air traffic control and was easily granted access to one of the city's public docking bays.
"This is going to be an expensive trip for those of us that cannot use the Force to control the minds of others," Dr. Destroyer warned the group as they were about to disembark from the Shekelesh freighter. "It was easy to gain clearance to land because the Selkath want us here because they want our money. Ahto City runs on tourism and tourism has been down for centuries. The docking fee will be reasonable, because they don't want to instantly drive away business, but little else will be reasonably priced."
"I don't care, I'm starving," Vex said.
"We'll do the bulk of the talking, General," Quartz looked at OOM-9. "You droids will stand out acutely enough as it is."
"Agreed. We don't want this to look like a military excursion."
"I believe it is too late for that," G0-T0 stated. "It is my understanding that Separatist battle droids are infamous around the galaxy, even to worlds that have never interacted with them."
"We can't just hide on the ship the whole time," SSA-719 said.
"That actually is an option," Katen said aloud.
"Do you want to do everything yourself?" KJZ-8267 asked her.
"Err, I see your point. I'm too lazy for that. You guys are definitely coming."
The group departed from the cargo hold to be greeted by a trio of Selkath, the centermost of which immediately started speaking in Selkatha.
"Ah crap," Vex muttered. "I don't speak in gargles and burps."
"I do," Destroyer mumbled back to her.
After only a few minutes, Dr. Destroyer was able to get them a good price for the landing fee, which he paid for with his own credits. However, not everything went so smoothly. The Selkath port authority refused to allow Meeka to leave the Shekelesh freighter, citing that she was a foreign animal. After a short debate and assistance through the Force, Destroyer was able to persuade the Selkath to allow to baybomber cat off the freighter.
The floors were the most pristine form of chlorine white that Vex could tolerate. The city was too bright for her tastes. "I thought this place was supposed to be a dump."
"It is," Destroyer said. "Your eyes may fool you in this place. Don't trust them. Just because the cleaning droids are able to wipe off the blood doesn't mean the murders don't take place."
They passed by a vender stall. The Selkath beckoned them to come closer.
"Don't feed the locals," Destroyer warned as Sledge went over to look at the aquatic alien's wares.
"I'm trying to feed myself," Sledge said to the Ithorian before turning to the Selkath. "You got any food I can buy?"
The Selkath garbled a response in his alien tongue.
"Uhhh… you speak Basic?" she asked.
The Selkath's continued garbling provided Sledge with the answer.
"HK-47, mind helping me out here? I could use your special skills here."
"Response: Of course, Captain. How would you like the aquatic meatbag eliminated?"
"Not those skills, you stupid rust bucket. I need your translations skills. C'mon, you had to have known that."
With help from HK-47 Sledge was disappointed to learn that the vendor had no edible wares to offer. Though they were able to get a free tourist layout of the city. Vex ended up buying a necklace with Quartz's credits.
"Doesn't it make me look pretty?" Vex asked as they continued past the stall.
"I'm sure you are considered physically attracted by heterosexual human male standards. Provided they perceive extensive body scars as attractive or an issue that does not figure into their equation of physical beauty," SSA-719 said.
Vex nearly tripped over herself when she heard the security battle droid's response. "You… just called me pretty. Didn't you, Red?"
"I did not."
"Yes you did." Vex was positively beaming.
"That's not what I said."
"What you say and what she hears are going to be two different things," KJZ-8267 added.
"Jealous from the lack of attention, Blue? You can call me pretty too, you know, if you want to…"
OOM-9 turned to SSA-719. "Captain, I want to you contact the 8th Fleet. I've grown tired of playing with such limited resources." A theoretical scenario where OOM-9 overwhelmed General Jakoby with superior numbers while they were back on Kashyyyk danced through OOM-9's thoughts for the briefest of moments.
"I will request reinforcements immediately," SSA-719 nodded.
"Try and get the Hollow Shell here, if at all possible," OOM-9 instructed.
"Roger roger." The battle droid with the maroon markings nodded.
"I'll go with ya, Red," Vex chirped.
"Of course you will, Vex. What else would you do, beyond annoy me ceaselessly?"
"You love it."
"You'd love to think that I do," SSA-719 countered.
"C'mon, Other Red." Vex grabbed HK-47 and tugged on him. "You're coming with us. Our colors all match."
"Correction: Your colors hardly match ours. Your armor color scheme looks like you gutted a dozen different sentient species and bathed in their blood. I am a proper rusty red while Captain SSA-719's markings are actually maroon."
"That's what I've been telling her!" SSA-719 radiated. "But she never listens."
"My hair is red enough for all of us, now shush you two," Vex demanded.
The trio headed off, Vex tugging on both of the droids.
"Katen, you look like you need to recharge." OOM-9 looked over his companion. "We should find a hotel to stay for the time being."
"I could use some rest myself," Dr. Destroyer admitted. "I could use the time to meditate and focus my energies on this world's star map."
"Fuck sleep. I could use a drink," Sledge stated. "I'm going to find a bar."
"Best idea I've heard all cycle," Dr. Quartz started to follow her.
"G0-T0, go with them," OOM-9 ordered.
"As you wish, General." The large, spherical droid followed after the female human and the male Skakoan.
That left OOM-9, Katen (holding Meeka), KJZ-8267, and Dr. Destroyer to head off to find a hotel.
OOM-9 looked over as they passed by a CIS propaganda poster neatly plastered to the wall. On the left side of the poster a pristine visage of a B1 battle droid was presented. The droid was dutiful, E-5 blaster rifle at the ready and on the lookout for any trouble. On the right side of the poster was a clone trooper without his helmet. The clone's dirty armor, ragged face and posture portrayed him as a violent sub-human monster. The text at the bottom of the poster read: Who Do You Want on Your Planet? The poster (and many others like it) was part of a larger propaganda campaign designed to paint the Republic's clone troopers as rapists, murderers and thieves. OOM-9 was aware the campaign was the pet project of CIS Senator Zok Zuuk. The Neimoidian's efforts had been largely successful as far as OOM-9 had been aware. Hatred of the Republic clone troopers was already high on Separatist worlds occupied by the Republic… but they were also becoming increasing reviled on neutral planets and even on some Republic worlds as well. Planned and unplanned sneak attacks and assassinations of clone troopers by civilians had increased several times over since Zuuk first started the propaganda campaign, or at least that's what statistics had told Confederate leaders. Though OOM-9 had doubts on the accuracy of statistics compiled from planets where the Confederacy had no control. At any rate, OOM-9 had no idea how effective the propaganda campaign was on Manaan. Since the Republic had no presence here, attacks on clone patrols were a non-issue and it was doubtful the propaganda program alone was going to spur the population of Manaan to align with the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
They reached a hotel and settled for it. It was hardly a luxury affair but they weren't planning on staying or spending a lot of credits. Dr. Destroyer paid for two rooms, one for himself and another for everyone else.
As soon as they were in their room, Katen released Meeka, and jumped on top of the bed as she switched on the large viewscreen affixed to the wall with the remote.
"This bed feels like I'm laying on a pile of nova crystals," Katen complained as she writhed on the firm bed.
"You get what you pay for," OOM-9 said as he settled on a corner of the bed.
"Tell that to the cheap ass Neimoidians," Katen grumbled.
"Despite that being a vast generalization of an entire species, you are not exactly inaccurate either. If I had the freedom to speak my mind, I'd have quite a few things to say to them," KJZ-8267 admitted. The pilot droid of course had the free will to voice such a concern but actually doing so would have negative political implications. The pilot droid scooped Meeka off the floor and gently placed the baybomber kitten on the bed near Katen.
"As the war progresses, the Neimoidian leadership will find that opening their coffers would be in their best interest," OOM-9 said, uninterested in the channels Katen was flipping through on the net—a historical documentary, a locally made drama, a local newscast spoken entirely in the Selkatha language.
"Nah," Katen moaned. "I get the feeling only the Zalost and Eos systems are going to be funding the 8th Fleet during the course of this war. Even I can see that."
"There's always our neighbors in the Black Spiral sector," KJZ-8267 said as he started to dangle his metal fingers for Meeka's amusement.
"The Gothic Pentarchy is dealing with their own issues at the moment. We cannot look to others for support," OOM-9 said. "If anything, others in the Confederacy are going to look to us for assistance. Most of the Republic does not consider the 8th Fleet to be any special threat; they are too focused on the brutality and showmanship of General Grievous. But there are elements within the Confederacy that are started to take notice of us, especially since it is becoming apparent to other leaders that we have the best droids the Confederate military has to offer."
"Which are expensive," Katen lazily added. "Which is why the Neimoidians need to start paying their fair share."
Katen had stopped her channel flipping when she came across a galactic news channel. And while nothing in particular interested her, she stuck with it because they spoke Basic. But a change to a new news report suddenly caught Katen's ear.
"Reports of rape of Separatist civilians by Republic clone occupiers has skyrocketed in the past month of the war," a human newscaster stated.
Katen's muscles tensed slightly and her heart rate accelerated. There was a quiet rumbling in her stomach and she felt like she was going to start sweating. She grabbed the remote and changed the channel. She flipped through several more channels before clicking off the vidscreen and tossing the remote.
"Stupid news anyway," she grumbled.
"You need to confront your problems, not hide from them," OOM-9 said.
"I don't need to do anything. I'm fine."
"You are not fine," OOM-9 said. "Your recent attitude of self-sabotaging after your multiple errors is not helping yourself or anyone else around you. If anything, it's going to end up helping the Republic. Get over yourself, Ashley."
"Are you kidding me? I don't want to hear it from you, OOM-9! Especially after what you said back at Kashyyyk. Does everything mean so little to you? Or has it always been that way? Which is it? I know you were built for combat. It's all you were meant for. But, that's not how I see you. You know that. After all this time with us… has nothing really changed at all?"
"Ashley, you need to stop being so melodramatic. Have you completely lost the ability to think clearly? I'm disappointed in you." OOM-9 got off the bed and stood up, shaking his elongated head.
"Huh?" Katen wasn't sure what to think of that. Her features froze. What was OOM-9 talking about?
"What makes you believe what I told the interface back on Kashyyyk was true?"
"Uhh…" Katen knew she was in trouble now as the gears in her mind started to turn.
"Use your head." OOM-9 poked Katen in the skull twice with a metal finger.
"Ow."
"A skilled leader and tactician can take any option in that scenario and turn it to their advantage if they think it through. Based on my judgment, I gave the answer I thought the interface wanted, and in that instance I turned out to be correct."
"Ahh, oh." Katen felt stupid.
"You could just as easily evacuate the civilians from the city and set a trap for the enemy," OOM-9 explained. "You can galvanize the populace in the same way, by showing them what could have happened. You will have a pool of loyal and dedicated workers and soldiers. Protecting our civilians is always a priority; there will always be opportunities to hurt the enemy. But it's always about adapting to meet the needs of the current situation. The ability to think creatively and turn any situation to your advantage. Why do you think we keep winning our battles?"
"Sheer numbers?" Katen asked sheepishly.
OOM-9 flicked her forehead. "Because the Jedi are not practiced in thinking creatively. Their Order has long grown complacent in their own power and their critical warfare skills have gone stagnant long ago. They rely on the brute force of their own power and the skills of the clones under their command. But that will not save them in the long run. They are dying out. This is a war of attrition and they are starting to break."
Katen couldn't help but chuckle. "Leave it to you to turn any conversation to warfare."
"A better habit than moping around when things don't work out your way," OOM-9 fired back.
"Give me a break, OOM-9," Katen said.
"No, Ashley."
"What, why? Why are you being so mean?"
"I'm not being mean. This is war. We're not fighting skirmishes against the Dark Seed or the Ravagers anymore. The Jedi aren't going to give you a break and neither are the clones. You keep going on like this on you're going to get someone you care about killed."
"I'm sorry."
"Now go to sleep and stop being stupid," OOM-9 told her.
"Okay." Katen wrapped herself in the bed's white sheets. Meeka nestled in on top of the human while OOM-9 and KJZ-8267 folded up on the floor and went into recharge mode.
"Hey, Red?"
"Yes, Vex?"
"What's with the Hollow Shell? Why does the General want that specific ship? Is it the one that houses most of the aquatic units?"
"Good guess, but no," SSA-719 said as he continually scanned his surroundings, ever watchful of any passersby possibly listening to them. Luckily it seemed they were not attracting all that much attention. "The Hollow Shell is one of our newer ships and houses the most diverse organic troops. Manaan is a neutral entity and we don't want this to look like an invasion."
"And you guys think that throwing a diversity parade will soften the image?" Vex asked.
"Better than a force composed primarily out of droids. That may come across as too… hostile. The bigotry of organics knows no bounds." Vex could tell there was a slight hint of resentment in SSA-719's voice. The security battle droid was well aware of the pro-Confederate propaganda that tried to soften the image of the droid army, but he doubted it was working.
"I don't think it will make much difference," Vex said. "Soldiers are soldiers, especially in the eyes of civilians."
"We will find out soon enough."
"It won't matter," Vex put her hands behind her head. "We're not here to fight the Selkath. And Obi-wan Jakoby is long gone. Though if that Jedi bastard did show up here, it would be an interesting opportunity to drown him."
"Advisement: Many Jedi are able to hold their breaths for extended periods of time. General Jakoby seems more capable than a standard Jedi. Drowning Jakoby would likely not be the best option unless you were to force him to the bottom of the ocean and he has little means to—."
"Doesn't matter," Vex interrupted the old assassin droid. "I was talking in terms purely theoretical. No need to over-examine every damn thing. That smug Jedi is not our problem right now."
"If someone would just land a straight shot on him, he would never be our problem again," SSA-719 muttered indignantly.
"Yeah, he's a slippery bastard," Vex said. "But really, what are the chances that we would run into him on a regular basis? The galaxy is a big place; it's possible we may never see him again. He'll perish in a battle on some planet we've never even heard of, possibly to the blasters of a squad of B1 battle droids, or maybe he'll get caught in a barrage of artillery fire from a group of bio cannons, or maybe even meet his end at the sabers of General Grievous."
"The odds of that occurring are highly improbable," SSA-719 said.
"Which one?" Vex asked.
"That he'll perish on some obscure planet, far from us. He has been a major irritant thus far, there's no reason to think he won't continue to be. Plus, I have doubts that Grievous could take him in a fight. Jakoby is threatening on his own, but the clones under his command are more dangerous than what we're used to dealing with."
"Swell. Sounds like we've got ourselves a recurring antagonist," Vex easily slipped into pessimism. Hunger tended to do that to humans, even those that were cyborgs.
"And he would probably say the same of us," SSA-719 said.
"Correction: A rivalry with General Jakoby will not last. I will execute him next time," HK-47 stated.
"Get in line," Vex said. "I'd love to gut that Jedi myself."
"Actions speak louder than words," SSA-719 retorted.
"Not if you slip the dagger in very quietly." Vex smiled. SSA-719 was so far beyond what typical droids were allowed to grow into. Usually in conversations it was the droid that was literal and the organic speaking in over-used metaphors. But in this case it was reversed. There were many in the galaxy that would consider this dangerous and would have had the droid's memory wiped a decade ago, but luckily they weren't in charge here.
They made it to a communications kiosk. SSA-719 placed a call and charged it to Katen's personal account, rather than an official Confederate one. The fewer connections the better and Katen would easily be compensated later. It wasn't as if she was hurting for credits anyway. After giving several temporary passcodes to a human crewman, an image of the tactical droid TH-1066 came through on the vidscreen.
"It was been some time. We've been unable to track you," TH-1066 said. "We calculated you'd be all the way to Coruscant by now. What is your status?"
"We have all escaped Republic custody and are functional. We're currently on the planet Manaan," SSA-719 reported.
"A neutral world. How fortuitous."
"How goes the battle at Dantooine?" SSA-719 asked as Vex draped herself on his left shoulder.
"The open plains of this agricultural world secured our victory at Dantooine from the start. The clone armies did not have the numbers to challenge our power on so many open battlefields. The highest peak of combat has ceased a local rotation ago. It is merely a mopping up operation at this point. But the clones are stubborn and have proven not to be prone to surrender in this particular circumstance." TH-1066 was careful not to give away any critical information on a non-secure channel and merely stated the painfully obvious.
"What is the status of the Hollow Shell?"
"Limited deployment of ground resources, most of which were used to secure civilian population centers. The Hollow Shell's compliment has suffered no casualties during the course of this operation."
"Redeploy the Hollow Shell to Manaan. We need assistance."
"It will be done."
The connection cut. Commander TH-1066 implicitly trusted the judgment of Captain SSA-719 and did not question why a Lucrehulk battleship with a full complement was requested.
The cantina was as clean and pristine as every other part of Ahto they had seen. Sledge took a moment at the entrance to the cantina and noticed how many non-Selkath patrons there were. She found it rather odd, considering how few non-Selkath she had seen up until this point. Perhaps the entire planet was so dull that the only place worth staying for visitors was where the intoxicants were distributed.
The Selkath bartender looked at them as Sledge and Quartz walked through the entrance to the cantina with G0-T0 in tow behind them. He warbled something at them.
"What was that?" Sledge asked. "I don't speak that. Somebody's gotta help me out here."
The bartender warbled again in his native tongue while a female Rattataki sitting at the counter turned and addressed them. "He says he doesn't serve droids here."
"And precisely what would he serve a droid anyway?" Dr. Quartz was angry, tired, thirty, and bitter. "The droid clearly isn't here to drink. And I am not looking for judgments on any personal retainers I keep."
Sledge sighed. "I don't know about you, Doc, but I'd need a few drinks in me before I'm ready for a bar brawl. And I'm pretty sure that the General, or anyone ranked higher than him, would not want us creating an unnecessary incidents between the Confederacy and Manaan."
Dr. Quartz grumbled something intelligible in his pressure suit. Sledge just rolled her eyes and huffed. She couldn't believe that she had to be the responsible one all of a sudden.
"G0-T0, just go," Sledge said to the droid. "We don't need a babysitter."
"As you wish." The hovering droid turned and left, activating his cloaking device after too long.
Quartz and Sledge sat down at a booth but were accosted by a female Keshiri before a Selkath waiter could attend to them.
"Dr. Gatling Quartz, fancy meeting you here," the Keshiri said.
"Who the fuck are you? And how do you know the Doc?" Sledge snapped at the purple-skinned near-human before turning to the Skakoan. "She one of your whores or something?"
"So… aggressive, I like it," the Keshiri smirked and made herself comfortable. She had short black hair and was very well endowed.
"I don't give a flying fuck what you like. You don't have anything I like. I need a few drinks over here."
"Calm yourself, Sledge," Quartz told his companion before addressing the newcomer.
"Fuck off with that noise, Doc. I'm the one that had to calm you down a second ago? Why are you so friendly with her?" Dr. Quartz starting a fight in the cantina with the bartender would be one thing, but as far as Sledge was concerned the Keshiri sitting in front of her was not representative of Manaan as a whole, nor would knocking her out cause any permanent political problems for the CIS.
Doctor Quartz ignored addressing Sledge and instead looked to the newcomer. "Blair Raize. What a pleasure. I would not have guessed you would be on a world such as Manaan."
"I can say the same for you, Doctor. Small galaxy, is it not?"
"What, exactly, brings you to this miserable water planet?" Dr. Quartz inquired.
"You're a smart guy, Quartz. How many doctorates do you hold? I never really could keep track. Not that I care. You should be able to figure it out. I always follow the credits."
"Precisely," Quartz answered as he fiddled with his pressure suit for a moment. "What money is there to make on a planet as poor as Manaan?"
"More than you would think."
The pair ceased their conversation as a waiter came and took their orders. Quartz prevented Sledge from ordering one too many intoxicants. Once their server was out of earshot and their conversation private again, they started back up.
"If it involves you operating in such a place as this, it must pay handsomely," Quartz guessed.
"Uh-huh," was the Keshiri's simple reply.
"On Manaan," Quartz's razor sharp mind put the pieces together. "Whatever it is must be highly illegal. There isn't much this planet has to offer…"
"Who cares?" Sledge groaned. "I just want my damn drinks."
"Your commanding officer, for one," the Skakoan retorted to the human.
"Let's just cut to the chase, Doctor," Blair said. "You know me. My loyalty can be bought and I know you have deep pockets."
"To the highest bidder, huh?" Sledge sneered. "I was right, you are his whore."
"I make more money than you do, babe," Blair shot back.
"Money is pointless," Dr. Quartz stated.
"Which is why I love you, you have what I want and aren't shy about giving it up," Blair said. "So, what will it be, Doctor? You pay me more than my current employer and I'll let you in on everything. And then we can do whatever you want…"
"Deal."
"Excellent."
"Wait… what?" Sledge was confused. "That easy? No discussing payment? You two must go way back. Nothing is ever this simple."
"Dr. Quartz knows better than to cross me," Blair said.
"And Miss Raize knows the same," Dr. Quartz nodded. "So, what is it?"
"Drinks first, then I'll take you to my ship and show you. You'll love it, Doctor."
Sledge gave up and settled in. The two clearly knew each other quite well. And given the doctor's propensity for instigating violence and suffering after the murder of his wife, Sledge figured Blair Raize was not to be taken lightly. Her most prominent guess was that Quartz sent Raize on several murder missions to punish the family of his wife's killer. That certainly sounded like the Skakoan's style.
The sun was blurred by the cloudy blue sky. A large section of the Ahto City podrace track was set over water. Large decorative monoliths and elaborate arches lifted out of the water to provide obstacles to the racers.
The podracers streaked past, engines booming with an unending thirst for victory. The heat given off from the podracers' engines seemed to evaporate the water molecules over path of the racers.
Jinn Reeso sharply took the curve. His gray fingers gripped the controls tightly as he eased the thruster bar forward, giving his podracer more speed. He was drastically lagging behind the others, only barely ahead of Knire Dark. But Jinn Reeso was not planning in coming second to last in the race, not that anyone would ever plan such a thing anyway.
Jinn Reeso had always been overlooked compared to the other podracers. The Kandrid had been racing for well over a decade but hadn't seemed to accumulate any substantial fan base. Nor had he been able to secure any lucrative endorsements. It was just as amazing that he was able to keep his pod in working order to continue the unending cycle of races.
His black podracer shuddered with power as Reeso masterfully took the curve and managed to bypass Cy Yunga in the process. Reeso swiftly adjusted his steering to straighten out and applied more acceleration as he passed under a series of twelve arches. His hands steady on the controls, he focused on catching up to the Ghishi podracer, Kraid Nemmeso, well aware that Cy Yunga was still hot on his pod and furious. Kraid Nemmeso constructed his own Vesper Dux Ultra-3, which was particularly large and bulky. Kraid's pod was perfect for getting into smashing contests, but that wasn't what Jinn Reeso had in mind.
Jinn Reeso pressured his pod enough that he was able to drive alongside Kraid Nemmeso. He hung next to the other podracer but didn't try to pull away. Reeso spared a quick look back and saw Cy Yunga coming up on his right. Judging from the speed of Yunga's pod, Jinn counted down mentally and suddenly hit the brakes. Cy Yunga's red podracer slashed right across where Jinn Reeso's pod had been seconds before and the red racer smashed into the side of Nemmeo's Vesper Dux Ultra-3. Reeso accelerated sharply again and shot past the two podracers, yelling a taunt at the both of them as he went.
A pair of J930 Dash-8 podracer engines was in Jinn's sight now. The light blue engines belonged to none other than the thrill-seeker Ebe Endocott. Like everyone else in the race, Jinn Reeso had gone up against Ebe Endocott several times. The Triffian was brash and arrogant but lacked the master skills to back up his overconfidence. Endocott's pod blocked Reeso from advancing any further as the pair drove under a series of increasingly narrow arches. It was the third and final lap and Reeso didn't have time for this nonsense. He slammed his pod's black engines against Endocott's cockpit. Reeso lost some speed but accelerated and hit Endocott a second time. As soon as they had cleared the arches and were back of a wider track of water, Reeso jetted right by the Ebe Endocott.
Up next was a heavy hitter on par with Reeso's own pod. It was none other than Mars Guo. Mars Guo had his Plug-2 Behemoth wrecked on Tatooine over a decade ago and it had taken the Phuii a lot of time and money to get it put back together. Guo had been racing hard for years to pay off the loans on his pod's repairs and had become debt free. Now the Phuii was looking to put some credits in the bank for himself. Ahead, there was a set of rock formations jutting out of the water, just another set of racing hazards left on the track to make things more interesting for the audience. Mars Guo cut off Jinn Reeso, not letting him pass before they had to navigate the outcroppings. The two large pods twisted and turned well, expertly avoiding the obstructions. Jinn Reeso was just a little bit tighter on the turns with the final two rocks and was able to slink right by Mars Guo's massive podracer the moment they over clear water again.
Up ahead was the trio of Tzidik Wrantojo, Toy Dampner and Fud Sang. Jinn Reeso was familiar with these three more than the others he had passed in the race so far, and for good reason, they were pros of the highest caliber.
The trio of racers jockeyed for dominance, smashing each others' pods into each other, allowing Reeso to easily catch up.
Fud Sang purposefully drove over a group of Selkath youth that was swimming on the track. While blown back by the podracer's engines, the Selkath hadn't been harmed. It was completely expected behavior for Fud Sang, who used to hold four consecutive life sentences at the maximum-security prison Desolation Alley on the fourth moon of Oovo. Fud Sang was originally considered an amateur by the other podracers but he had memorized the racetrack at Oovo IV and started to win. Fud Sang won enough times that he was granted permission to race offworld beyond Oovo IV, gaining more experience and better parts for his BRE Block6 Tri-Ram podracer. After several years Sang finally won the prison warden enough money that he commuted all of Sang's life sentences. Fud Sang kept on podracing even after winning his freedom, utilizing it as a legal outlet for his violent urges.
Toy Dampner smashed into Tzidik Wrantojo, allowing Reeso to boost past.
Aldar Beedo, Occo Ninebar and Gasgano fought for the lead. Aldar Beedo took a sharp turn left, intent on smashing into Occo Ninebar. But the little Neelabi saw the attack coming and turned left as well. But this abrupt change in course sent Ninebar's Enser Flay 254 right in the path of some debris poking out from the oceanic track. But rather than smashing right into it, Occo Ninebar was able to angle his pod so that it ramped the debris, sending his podracer flying high into the air and way off course.
Beedo, Reeso and Gasgano rounded a corner marked by buoys. Fud Sang and Toy Dampner were closing in fast behind them.
All that was left was the straightaway to the finish line. Jinn Reeso pushed his engines as far as they would go. Gasgano and Aldar Beedo did the same.
The podracer lobbies erupted in cheers and groans as the race finished. SSA-719, Vex and HK-47 had gone to the races at Vex's urging. They checked the leaderboard on a large vidscreen for the final results of the podrace.
1. Jinn Reeso
2. Gasgano
3. Aldar Beedo
4. Fud Sang
5. Toy Dampner
6. Tzidik Wrantojo
7. Mars Guo
8. Ebe Endocott
9. Kraid Nemmeso
10. Cy Yunga
11. Occo Ninebar
12. Knire Dark
"Fuck yeah!" Vex exclaimed. "Pay up, bitches!"
"Impossible! You can't have guessed all twelve! You cheated!" a Mon Calamari complained.
"Hey, I don't have a crystal ball here. I can't predict the future." Vex lifted up her hands in mock innocence.
"This is impossible! You had to have cheated!" the Mon Calamari bellowed.
"You mad that I won because I chose based on the color of their pods?" Vex smirked. That's what she would have done, if not for the fact that she had called up Dr. Destroyer right before she had placed her bets. It turned out that the Ithorian's meditation was the perfect thing to clear his mind from the star maps, because the Force-sensitive had predicted the outcome of the race in its entirety. And Vex had reaped the rewards.
The Mon Calamari took a swing at Vex but the cyborg's reflexes were too fast. She dodged the attack and followed up with a swift kick to the alien's thigh that sent him spiraling backwards.
HK-47 moved in to assist Vex with her opponent but the two were stopped by SSA-719. The Mon Calamari was helped to his feet by a Rodian but was likewise held back.
"Not now. We don't need a scene," SSA-719 said.
"He started it!" Vex protested.
"And I'm finishing it," the security battle droid said. "Let's go."
"This isn't over, fish face," Vex said as SSA-719 ushered her and HK-47 away to pick up their winnings.
"You're damn right it isn't. You piece of shit!" the Mon Calamari yelled back.
"Oh, I'm gonna kill you, fucker," Vex said evilly.
Dr. Quartz, Sledge and Blair walked into a hangar bay containing a beat up YT-1200 medium freighter. The ship was coated in dirt and scorch marks from blaster fire and stood in stark contrast to the immaculate hangar bay.
"What a piece of trash," Dr. Quartz observed.
"You said it," Sledge agreed.
"Fallen on difficult times?" Dr. Quartz asked Blair.
"You have a problem with my ship?"
Quartz and Sledge looked for the owner of the new voice. They looked down to see a long, green snake slithering towards them. It was an Anacondan.
"Not as long as I don't have to take a ride in it," Sledge muttered.
"Blair. Who are these people?" the Anacondan demanded.
"Friends of mine, and you know my friends always have deep pockets."
"I'm Alda, Captain of the Sunrise Glimmer," the Anacondan said.
"And this is Doctor Quartz, our new employer." Blair lazily pointed at the Skakoan with her thumb.
"New employer? He must pay well."
"Of course," Blair smiled.
"And what does this employment entail?"
"Fucking with our old employer."
"We best discuss this in the privacy of my ship," Alda said as she slithered towards the dirty freighter's loading ramp. The others followed.
The interior of the Sunrise Glimmer was not much better than the outside. The floor was littered with various tools and paneling was missing from the walls, exposing the interior circuitry of the ship. The whole ship smelled like broken dreams and bad wiring.
"You'll have to forgive the state of my ship. We've been in quite a few firefights recently," the Anacondan explained.
"So, Alda. My friends here need to know about our assignment," Blair said as the group stopped in the main hold of the ship.
"I understand now," Dr. Quartz said. "Blair, you don't even know what you've been hired to do."
"That's why we've wasted so much time getting to this ship," Sledge said.
"You caught me," Blair admitted.
"It must pay handsomely for you to go in blind," Dr. Quartz said.
"Yeah, this is going to cost you a fortune," Blair said.
"W-who's there?" a slender Geran female walked in from the hall.
"Just some friends of mine, Zali. Nothing to worry about," Blair said.
"This is Zali Tassi, the ship's resident technician," Alda explained.
"N-nice to meet you," Zali Tassi stammered. Even encased in a suit, it was plain to see that the Geran was very nervous. She kept shifting her weight from one leg to the other and fidgeted with a hydrospanner.
"Enough with the pleasantries," Dr. Quartz demanded. "What have you all been hired to do?"
"You may have hired Blair here, but that doesn't mean you've bought me yet," the Anacondan warned.
"Trust me, Alda," Blair said. "That Skakoan is wealthier than you can possibly imagine. The Doc here is in the upper echelons of the economic spectrum—to the point where credits really don't matter to him. The kind of person who might buy a planet and then never even use it as a summer home. He'll pay. Don't worry."
The Anacondan looked at the Keshiri for a moment and then nodded. "To put it short and sweet, we've been hired to smuggle kolto," Alda said as she turned to look at the Skakoan and his human companion.
"Who is your employer?" Dr. Quartz asked the Anacondan.
"A Balinaka named Dalicka Jor. I don't know who she represents though. That didn't come up in conversation but it was clear to me that whoever she represents doesn't want to be known."
"It's the Republic," Dr. Quartz stated blandly. "Due to their reliance on clones as their primary fighting force, they must be facing an unprecedented bacta shortage. They must be trying to use kolto as a substitute. But smuggling it off Manaan would not aid the war effort in a meaningful way. The Republic must be taking what they can in order to research a way to synthesize it in order to help alleviate the bacta shortage."
"You're Separatists," Alda said blandly.
"Does it matter?" Dr. Quartz asked.
"Not to me," Alda answered. "The Republicans and the Separatists can blow each other up for all I care. If someone could find a way to drag the Hutts fully into this war would be entertaining as well. As long as I get paid I don't care."
A large droid carrying a toolbox trudged through the main hold of the Sunrise Glimmer, paying no mind to the organic beings. It was as dirty and dusty and broken down as the ship itself. It had an unusually elongated and large head that ended down in what looked like tusks or sharp jaws. Dr. Quartz looked at the droid for a moment. Mostly black with purple as a secondary color on its arms, legs and body. The droid had such an odd design, yet for some reason Gatling Quartz couldn't help but feel he'd seen it somewhere before.
"T-that's just Tusk," Zali explained. "He came with the ship. Been a crewmember of this ship longer than any of us."
"I'll purchase your droid," Quartz said.
"W-what?" Zali stammered.
"And what do you want with my droid?" Alda asked.
"Loyalty. I can always use another asset." Quartz had little real use for the droid. It was only at this current moment in time when they were so short-handed and away from the 8th Fleet did it even matter.
"B-but, h-he's my friend," Zali managed to protest.
"The droid's not for sale," Alda said firmly.
"Very well," Dr. Quartz said darkly. "I trust my money is enough to buy your loyalty in this matter."
"You don't need to worry about that," Alda assured him.
"Only because I trust Blair," Dr. Quartz said. "Now, take me to your contact."
"You want to take on a Balinaka? Are you crazy?" Alda asked. "It doesn't matter. I don't know where she is. But I do know where I'm supposed to pick up my shipment of kolto. We were scheduled to get it later today."
"Take us there," Sledge said as Dr. Quartz contacted OOM-9 via his suit comm.
Two daggers cut through the clouds of Manaan's atmosphere, their shadows first casting a long gloom over the bright ocean waters, then over Ahto City. Capital ships of military might designed by Kuat Drive Yards—Venator-class star destroyers. But these two particular vessels lacked the red markings seen on typical Republican cruisers; instead one bore purple markings while the other bore black.
In the port hangar bay of the Violet Kinrath, Commander Krane was approached by one of his subordinates while he was casually observing the work of the various technicians and worker droids.
"Manaan is a neutral world. Commander, I advise caution," Captain Eminence said. "Our ships could come across as an invasion force."
In front of the two clones, Mr. Purple was directing droids in loading ordinance. The 187th Legion was bathed in purple; even their Kaminoan worker droids bore the purple markings of their legion.
"Manaan is also saturated with poverty and violence, or that is what the databank tells us," Krane said. "And we are not on a diplomatic mission."
"Any accidental incidents regarding civilians might drive Manaan into the arms of the Separatists. We do not need another unnecessary enemy."
"I am aware of that, Captain. I know you haven't come to see me just to state the obvious. So, speak your mind." Krane valued the judgment of his officers. The fighting men of the 187th Legion were not mindless drones.
"I suggest we move in the city with only infantry and light walkers until we can negotiate with government authorities. I would restrict aquatic deployment to frigates only for the time being. I am aware of the databank's detail into the violent tendencies of Manaan's underwater populace, which is why I believe deploying anything more than frigates into the ocean would initiate a hostile reaction. But we should be able to reason with the fish heads in the capital city."
"If the Selkath will even listen to their leaders," Commander Krane said. "And if we can get the government authorities to cooperate with us."
"I believe they will cooperate," Captain Eminence said. "The Selkath are not stupid. They'll quickly realize they can't resist us in any meaningful way without massive casualties. Light intimidation should suffice."
"That will take time. Time we do not have," Krane mulled it over.
"It will be less time consuming than dealing with a planet of hostile natives."
"Your reasoning is sound. We'll try it your way, Captain. Commander Black won't like it, though."
"I don't like it, sir. But the path of least resistance should work well with the Selkath, especially when we explain to them that we won't be staying on their planet permanently."
Blair and Alda were able to get Dr. Quartz and Sledge into the private submarine hangar bay that Alda's employers operated out of. It had been easy enough. The two guards didn't question Alda's entourage of a Keshiri, a Skakoan and a human. They fit in quite well with the overall hodgepodge of sentient species that were ferrying sealed crates from the submersibles that came up from the water.
Everything seemed like it was going so easily, until they were stopped by a Vurk with a datapad.
"Captain Alda of the Sunrise Glimmer?" she asked.
"That is correct," the Anacondan said.
"You're not scheduled for another two hours."
"The podrace is over. There's nothing left in this miserable city to do," Alda explained.
The Vurk grunted in contempt. "Mercenaries. Terrible at following orders."
"Which is why we're not in the military," Blair chimed in. "But we know how to do a job."
"Yeah, yeah. We actually are ahead of schedule. Wait here and I'll see about you getting your shipment earlier."
It was a stroke of good luck, if one were to believe in such a thing.
What was even more coincidental was the Mon Calamari and Rodian that Vex had followed had led her group right to the command room for the aquatic hangar bay. Vex had sliced through the door only to barge in.
"Hey! Remember me, asshole?" Vex tackled the Mon Calamari from earlier and started to relentlessly bash in his face with her fists.
The Rodian tried to call for help on a computer console but HK-47 grabbed him and snapped his neck before he could alert anyone else to the intruders.
SSA-719 sat down at a computer station and locked the entrances to and from the command station from the rest of the hangar. They didn't need anyone walking in on them.
OOM-9 and Dr. Destroyer arrived through the doorway where Vex and her group had come from. KJZ-8267 had been left behind to watch over Katen and Meeka back at the hotel.
"We have the control center for the hangar locked down," SSA-719 said as OOM-9 moved closer.
"I sense Quartz and the others in the hangar," Dr. Destroyer said.
"Vex, finish what you started already. You're making an unnecessary mess." OOM-9 looked over at the cyborg.
"Okay…" Vex got off the Mon Calamari and put her armored boot to his head. She kept pressing down on his skull until it popped. OOM-9 shook his head in disapproval. Unnecessary mess indeed.
"Let's see what we have here." SSA-719 started opening up files on the computer. "And if this is indeed a Republic operation or not."
There was the unending sound of metal on metal as the trio of walkers made their way through the open streets of Ahto City. The walker design was an older model that predated the Republic's modern clone army by decades. They were small, only three meters tall and meant to operate as anti-infantry walkers. The all terrain personal transports, or AT-PT for short; was the basis for the later Republic walkers such as the AT-XT and AT-RT. Sergeant Rain of the 187th found the AT-PT to be an acceptable enough walker and the enclosed armored cockpit did wonders for his personal safety when compared to the open AT-RT. Like everything of the 187th Legion's, his AT-PT as well as the two walkers flanking his own were painted with purple markings.
The Selkath civilians in the streets were quick to flee from the path of the walkers, though many of the natives watched them from the shadows. Sergeant Rain could only guess at what the locals were feeling. Confusion? Terror? Anger? It wasn't every day your city was suddenly beset by squads of clone troopers and walkers. But it didn't matter how the Selkath felt, so long as they didn't retaliate and so far they hadn't. That was good… for them. The armored walkers ensured that Rain and his wingmen would survive any initiate attack, but any would-be attackers would not live long against the AT-PTs twin blaster canon and grenade launcher.
Though one local did fail to flee from the trio of AT-PTs. It was smaller than the other Selkath and Rain guessed that it must be a youngling, which would certainly explain its lack of thinking skills in simply moving out of the path of the walkers instead of shivering in the middle of the street. They were coming up on the small Selkath quickly.
"Should we stop, Sergeant?" one of Rain's wingmen came in over the comm.
"Stay the course, the stupid little thing has a few steps more before we reach it." Rain began to wonder what sort of situation would arise if he simply ran the youngling over with his walker. The clone sergeant realized he had no idea if Selkath even valued the lives of their young or not. There were brutal, savage, careless cultures all over the galaxy; perhaps Manaan was home to one. It had been made clear enough during the briefing right before deploying that the neutral planet was nothing but a shithole, despite how clean and well-kept Ahto City appeared to be. For a fleeting split-second Rain wondered what color Selkath blood was, wondered what it would look like to see a Selkath crushed under his walker's feet. Not that AT-PTs regularly crushed anything beneath their feet given their three-meter height, but this particular Selkath was small enough. Rain realized he'd be doing the Selkath species a favor as a whole, removing this stupid child from the gene pool, for even at that size if one didn't know when to get out of the way of a military walker, one deserved to die. It was the natural way of things. But Sergeant Rain knew Commander Krane would be pissed if he were to initiate hostilities with the Selkath first.
The situation resolved itself as a larger, adult-sized Selkath came across the street, picked up the child and carried it out of the way of the three AT-PTs.
Up ahead, Sergeant Rain could see a Balinaka heading towards Commander Krane and Commander Black's squad through his walker's viewport as well as a trio of AT-PTs lead by Sergeant Smoke from the 189th Legion heading their way from the opposite direction.
"You're the clones in charge from what I've been told?" Dalicka Jor demanded. "What are your numbers? Where are your Jedi generals?"
"I am CC-90, ma'am," Commander Krane said. "General Windu is on Coruscant at the moment."
Commander Black muttered but didn't give a clear answer.
"You! What's your number?" the enraged Balinaka demanded of the clone commander coated in black markings.
"CC-888, ma'am. And the 189th Legion has no assigned Jedi general."
"What are you doing on Manaan? You've compromised my entire operation!"
"Our mission to Manaan was cleared by General Glaring. If Military Intelligence is hiding things, that's not my fault," Krane told her in a calm voice that belied how exasperated he really was.
"I demand a Jedi here at once! You clones can't be trusted with diplomacy."
"We are not on a diplomatic mission," Commander Krane told her.
"But it's going to take a Jedi ambassador to smooth things over with Manaan's government," the Balinaka growled.
Commander Black received an incoming transmission and put it on loudspeaker for the others to hear, partially to shut up the Intelligence agent.
"Commander, it's Sergeant Soot. We've come under fire from the Selkath!"
"Return fire at once!" Black ordered. He was not about to allow his soldiers to die from a bunch of backward fish people. The Selkath be damned. The safety of his brothers was always his top concern. If that one simple priority were to ever change then it was Black's own belief that he would no longer deserve of the rank of commander.
"Understood, Commander. Retaliating at once," Soot came in over the comm amidst the sounds of blaster fire.
Commander Black then gave orders to all units on Ahto City to assume an aggressive war footing while Krane ordered heavy reinforcements from the Venator star destroyers despite the protests of agent Dalicka Jor.
"You fools! Do you have any idea what you've done—"
"Enough of your complaining, Agent Jor," Black sneered, pointing accusingly. "Intelligence did this to itself. You've been operating in this city for some time now, correct? Get us to a Selkath government official. Now."
Instead of a pair of daggers cutting through Manaan's cloud cover, it was a circular shield. A shield with a large portion cut away save for a large sphere in the center. A shield brimming with cannons and stuffed with thousands of soldiers, vehicles and aircraft. This particular shields was a Lucrehulk battleship. The Hollow Shell had arrived.
"It's just as the scans indicated, Captain," a crewmember on the bridge said.
"Two Venator star destroyers. But visual contact has confirmed something new," Captain Cecily Krull said. Captain Krull scuttled around the bridge on eight armored legs. Krull was a daunting figure. She had the head and torso of a human proportions but this very human torso was mounted atop an armored black carapace of a scorpion. She was an Imperial Scorpanid, a sentient being usually only found in the Black Spiral sector.
She was much different than the command crew on the bridge, which was composed entirely of Arhans. Arhans were a species of near-humans who differed from the base species in that they were thinned and frailer and typically had longer facial features. It was a stark contract between the commanding officer and her crew. No one would mistake Krull for anything but the leader of the group. And it wasn't just the fact that she was the lone Scorpanid amidst a group of Arhans. Her sleek, black uniform and officer's hat was not the standard Separatist fare, but the military outfit of her Gothic heritage. She also oozed an excessive amount of crude confidence. As if she was certain she could board either one of the enemy Venators and personally slaughter her way to the command bridge without so much as a blaster rifle.
"Those are the colors of the 187th and 189th Legions," Krull said drearily. Her six eyes scanned through multiple readouts. "Dangerous enemies. Send a message to the 8th Fleet demanding immediate reinforcements. And deploy all fighters, bombers and gunships. All combat air units!" Krull thought about the XQ-2 air bikes and hunter-seeker droids as she added that last bit to the order considering they didn't fit well under the general 'fighter' classification.
"Copy that, Captain. No reserves."
The crew followed her orders without question or hesitation. She loved that. They may not have been the ideal group to run into battle with in a ground firefight, but the Arhans that made up her command team were the best navy command crew she had ever worked with.
The Hollow Shell kept moving in on the two Venators hanging around Ahto City, intent on forcing them away from hovering directly over the area. Even when they had first exited hyperspace in front of Manaan and detected the ships at the surface, they had already determined that they could not fire upon the ships without risking the metropolis. It was one thing to bombard a Republican population center, but this was a neutral one and even then they still couldn't risk the attack because General OOM-9 and several other members of the 8th Fleet were down in the city below. The General and the others were definitely unacceptable casualties. So, they had no choice but to forgo the element of imminent surprise.
Both the Violet Kinrath and the Onyx Rancor had accommodated the Hollow Shell's advancing position and were moving away from the city. Both the captains of the Venators knew not to risk a physical collision with a Lucrehulk battleship. The Lucrehulk would have sustained massive damage, but they would have lost their cruisers entirely.
From far away it looked like a cloud of soot was bellowing from the Hollow Shell's hangar bays. Of course the ship was not bellowing smoke but all the aircraft at its disposal: Stag Beetle fighters, Scarab fighters, Vulture droids, Mankvim light interceptors, hunter-seeker droids, MAFs, E-STAP droid starbombers, A-STAP droid starfighters, Trade Federation droid bombers, Geonosian fighters, SY-8 Scythe starfighters, and even a squadron of ancient RH-II Zero starfighters operated by some human pilots.
The two Venator star destroyers responded with their own swarms of starfighters, bombers and gunships. They had matched the Separatists' move exactly; they had no other choice really. They had to either respond in kind or be instantly overwhelmed.
The A-STAP droid starfighters were automated droid fighters that looked extremely similar to the E-STAP starbomber series. The A-STAP line was an old model first introduced into Trade Federation service at about the same time as the Scarab starfighters. But they were horribly expensive and therefore very rare for several reasons. They had hyperdrives, strong armor and shields, and had the ability to operate underwater if needed. Each A-STAP also had two large firing tubes located under their main body. The top tube fired proton torpedoes while the bottom tube fired cluster seeker missiles. And it was the bottom tube that several of the A-STAPs instantly made use of. They fired off several rounds of cluster seeker missiles as the two starfighter hordes, the missiles streaking and colliding into several gunship fighters, Y-wings and Cord-class starfighters. Several of the Republic flyers had either veered considerably off course or had been destroyed, giving the Confederates the advantage in the initial head-on clash of the swarms.
Captain Krull watched as the two clouds of starfighters and bombers collided into a mottled mist of chaos. She tapped a few things on her datapad with armored fingers and pulled up some information on Republic Venator star destroyers. Judging from the 8th Fleet's previous engagements with both the 187th and the 189th Legions, she was able to make the educated guess that the Violet Kinrath and Onyx Rancor carried standard compliments for vehicles and ground forces given how well rounded the two legions had been in previous combat engagements. Based on what intelligence the Confederacy had gathered this far in the war meant that each cruiser likely carried 460 combat aircraft for a total of 920 between the two capital ships. The Hollow Shell carried 1,800 combat aircraft. This gave her forces a 2 to 1 lead but it was not a perfect advantage. Several of her craft were hunter-seeker droids or XQ-2 air bikes that couldn't be counted on to take out starfighters one-to-one. She didn't have supreme swarming numbers and that was bad going up against her current enemy.
"Their fighters are busy. Begin placement of ground troops to the city. Deploy all rocket droids to protect the transports."
"Yes, Captain."
A Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptor exited out of hyperspace in front of Manaan. The slender ship was lime-green in color with black as a secondary color. The ship belonged to the Jedi Padawan Barriss Offee. A call had gone out from Republic Intelligence that a Jedi was needed to mediate a situation on Manaan involving the locals and two legions of clone troopers. Barriss had been the closest and responded as fast as she could in her own personal starfighter.
Though she had been through much of her Jedi training at the start of the Clone Wars, Barriss had not yet graduated to full knighthood. The outbreak of war had set things on hold. But despite her not completing her formal training yet, Barriss had found herself assigned to missions independently of her master, Luminara Unduli, more and more often. The war had taught her many things, almost as many things as her master had. Though upon introspection, Offee was sure the war was teaching the whole of the Jedi Order a lot of new things. It remained to be seen if any of them would learn from what they had experienced.
One of the things Barriss Offee had learned early on was not to be judgmental of other species, especially when it came to physical appearance or stereotypes. She had few interactions with the Selkath. Manaan was a neutral world and one rarely found Selkath in the greater galaxy unless they were bounty hunters, mercenaries, or pirates. Barriss knew better to prejudge an entire sentient species based on the actions of so few individuals. But she was also aware that Manaan had been mired in poverty and violence for a long time now.
When she dropped out of hyperspace she learned that the comms were a mess of new information. The Onyx Rancor and Violet Kinrath were now under attack from a Confederate battleship and fighting had already started in the city. The Mirialan Jedi could only guess how it all happened and wished she hadn't come alone. A single Jedi Padawan was not going to tip the tide of this battle, but she would have to do what she could. Her Delta-7 interceptor detached from its hyperspace docking ring and she started down towards Manaan's atmosphere.
She probed a bit with the Force, and got back nothing but chaotic violence and the pained echoes of death. So much for diplomacy. She patched into the comm channel to get in touch with the Republican forces.
The soldiers deployed from the Hollow Shell were indeed a diverse group. A notable percentage of the Confederate troops were compromised of humans. The standard black and gray camouflage of their uniforms did nothing to conceal them amid Ahto City's walls. There were many Wroonians as well, a blue-skinned species of near-humans. The two species were so similar that they shared the same standard weapons and armor. It wasn't always easy to get the same weapons and equipment that all species could wear or use. Such was the difficulty of such a diverse military force. There were many insectoid soldiers, including Wasbo, Skegs, Zelt, Kandrids, Gadons, and Ghishi. The insectoids wore the armor of their individual species, if they wore any at all but most of them carried common weaponry of the Confederacy—namely E-5 blaster rifles and SE-14 blaster pistols.
Amid all this diversity that was a Saurian by the name of Zephie Slyderloss. Saurians were a reptomammalian species with snake-like heads and a humanoid torso that ended in a long tail. Zephie certainly stood out in the crowd, being one of the few Saurians the Hollow Shell had and the only one assigned to her combat group. But it was her appearance against so many Kandrids and Ghishi that made her stand out from the others. Zephie did not amount to much, even in her own opinion. Her combat experience had been limited. Before being assigned to the 8th Fleet and the Hollow Shell, she had been in planetary defense and nothing much happened in planetary defense unless the Republic attacked. She had graduated from boot camp with standard marks. Nothing remarkable. Which was problematic in the war she now found herself in. The Clone Wars was quickly becoming the worst conflict the galaxy had seen in over a thousand years, and that did not bode well for her chances of survival. She was no great solider or war hero; Zephie knew this, such titles like that were reserved for individuals like the commander that had recently been given control of her group for this mission.
Zephie was accustomed to taking orders from the Skeg named Sleg Shalk. The Skegs were a tough species. Their bodies were coated in natural armor and male Skegs like Sleg Shalk had large, claw-like jaws reminiscent of stag beetles. Sleg Shalk had been a commander, but had been demoted after a disaster during the Battle of Ziost. Zephie of course didn't blame Shalk. No one who had been under his command did. If anything they blamed the 189th Legion of the Republic. Still, the Skeg had been reduced to a sergeant and had ended up in charge of nothing more than Zephie's squad.
Since Shalk's demotion, they usually took direction from a Zelt drone, Lieutenant Krunch. But this new commander was pushing them harder than the Zelt ever did.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Zephie lamented.
"It's the damn 187th and 189th Legions. We all have a bad feeling about this," Private Bix, a male Kandrid and Zephie's friend, said.
"Bad feeling?" Sergeant Shalk laughed out loud. "The clones don't stand a chance! If there's any 'bad feelings' it will be because there's not enough clones to go around!"
Zephie knew soldiers spoke such words all across the galaxy. It was chest thumping, military bravado to cover their fear. The kind of bold courage soldiers needed in order to fight. But Zephie knew Sergeant Shalk. None of what he said was a ruse to bolster the troops' morale. The Skeg genuinely meant every single word he said, even in spite of such dangerous opponents as the 187th and 189th Legions. She just wished she felt the same level of confidence, or any at all, for that matter.
The Separatist soldiers came across the clone troopers as they reached a large open-air market. Squads of trooper units from both the 187th and the 189th moved swiftly across the labyrinth of stubby metal-white stalls. Blue blaster beams lanced out at the Confederate forces, paying no mind to the huddles of Selkath civilians that were still in the area. Most of the locals tried to get as close to the ground as they could. The venders hid behind the metal barriers of their stalls.
Large numbers of Wroonians and Ghishi soldiers out in front fell quickly, searing black and smoking. The clone separated in groups of four and started moving to envelop the numerically superior Separatists in a crescent attack formation. But the Separatist commander immediately recognized that the clones were trying to envelop them and was barking a string of profanity-laden directives to position certain squads to block the clones' maneuvering.
Fear had taken Zephie's heart as two Wroonian soldiers right next to her fell to the attackers. The feeling trickled all the way to her spine and down her snake-like tail all the way to the rattle at the end. She had already almost been hit twice in the head. She hid behind a stall, forcing as much of her snake-like body against it as she could. Acrid vapors rose up from blaster bolts that had hit her cover.
"I told you!" Bix complained as he took up a position next to her. "We're all gonna die."
The armored assault tank leading the Separatists was dark blue and gray in color and had a certain bio-linked cyborg poking out from the top hatch…
Commander Karl Zako surveyed the fighting in the open market through a pair of electrobinoculars. The Separatist officer had survived his crash landing on Dantooine. It hadn't really been all that bad; the human had been through worse. After his shielded E-STAP starbomber had collided into an infantry formation of clones, Zako found that the bomber had (mostly) stayed intact and that he was very much alive. Besides a few minor cuts and bruises, medical droids had determined that Commander Zako was still fit to fight. He had even been lively enough to that he had gotten out of his wrecked bomber and even continued to fight alongside droid infantry for the rest of the battle. Later, he learned one of his fingers had been dislocated (the middle one on his right hand, to be precise) but that was easily fixed. Zako's spine was also out of alignment, but that could be addressed with chiropractor appointments. He'd likely need to see a chiropractor on a regular basis for the rest of his life if he wanted to stay in fighting shape but that was certainly better than being dead. His survival wasn't extraordinary, people often walked away from starfighter/shuttle crashes all the time, sometimes with no injuries whatsoever. Zako wasn't quite that lucky, he would suffer from back problems the rest of his life. Still, it was a small complaint considering he had walked away with his life.
Senior Commander EEK-176 had chewed Zako out for his stupidity and recklessness and the human was grounded from operating aircraft for the time being, which was the reason he was in his tank. It was also the reason why he was sent with the Hollow Shell to Manaan, because there wasn't supposed to be a Republican presence here at all. This whole assignment was supposed to keep him from doing anything foolish during the mopping up operations on Dantooine but now he found himself in a much more dangerous situation.
Zako found Ahto City to be too brightly colored. The reflection of light on the bright surfaces hurt his eyes… well, his natural one. His cybernetic eye didn't have a problem, it could adjust to tune out glare in the same way that the photoreceptors of the battle droids could. Still, he had to admit that Ahto was a beautiful city. It was too bad the clones were soiling its exotic beauty with their presence. He would have to fix that.
"Lieutenant Krunch, hold those clones on the right!" he yelled over the roar of his tank's firepower.
The Zelt officer tried to get his troops moving, but the clones had them pinned down.
Things were going south quickly. Zako put away his electrobinoculars and pulled out his E-5. A few blue blaster bolts flew his way but missed. He had to give credit where credit was due. The clones wasted no time trying to destroy his tank and focused entirely where they could do the most damage to his troops. The rear clones focused on the aerial Geonosians and Wasbo while the clones up front focused on the ground-based Confederate infantry. Sticking out of the top of his tank, Zako himself only warranted a few wayward blaster bolts. He knew he had to be careful though, the more troops he lost the more likely he would become a primary target.
The Wroonian and Ghishi soldiers in the front and center were being slaughtered. The smell of burning meat and chitin wafted in the air. The Ghishi continued on in the fight regardless, as might be expected of an insectoid species. What kept most of the Wroonians fighting was the endless slew of orders from Commander Zako. They could still hear him even over the sounds of battle as blaster fire danced across the area. He certainly gave off the impression that he would gun them down himself if they did not fight and press onward.
Skeg, Wasbo and Geonosians attacked from the air. The Geonosians were armed with the traditional sonic weaponry of their species. Despite their homeworld constantly under seize from the Republic many Geonosians had signed up with the 8th Fleet. The Wasbo in the group were all exclusively male, and the males of the species were about the same height as the Geonosians. Just a casual glance and most in the galaxy would likely stereotype the two species as allies based on their appearance alone. Though in this case they were allies. What stood out were the Skegs. They were much larger than their other aerial associates.
"There, hit the walker!" Zako commanded his tank crew when he saw a clone scout walker moving into range. The last thing he needed were the clones bolstered by armored units.
The information absorbed from the battlefield by Zako's cybernetic eye and the precious few battle droids scattered about the area was shared through the network. It was calculated at this battle in the market the CIS outnumbered the clones eight to one. Yet the best Zako could do was to get his troops to hold the line. They were not advancing and the numerical odds were slowly falling away from their favor.
The one bright point for the Separatists was a single Scorpanid soldier. She had managed to skitter near the front and was tearing into the clones' ranks with her ZMG-8 blaster rifle. Zako had to guess that more than half of his team's kills could be attributed to her.
A clone tossed a thermal detonator at the Scorpanid soldier but she was able to skittered to the side with astounding speed. The explosion didn't even touch her.
In the middle of the fighting a young Selkath child was crying. The diminutive being was utterly paralyzed by the carnage of the battle. The clones and Confederates paid no mind to the civilians in the area; at least until the Scorpanid soldier noticed the ugly cries of the little Selkath. She bolted out of the cover she had taken and rushed for the child. Zako yelled at her to stop, nearly coughing up his lungs he roared so loudly. But it meant nothing to the arachnoid alien.
Zako tried to cover her as best he could. Two clones wielding PLX rocket launchers rushed to the front. The Republic fighters had taken notice of the Separatists' best fighter in the area. One clone from the 187th and one from the 189th. Both clones ground to a halt, took aim and fired all in a single fluid motion. The Scorpanid grabbed the child and jerked herself around, just as the two rockets hit her.
The blue rockets had stuck the armored portion of her scorpion body, but the blast had sheared her in half. Her upper, humanoid torso had been ripped from her lower, multi-legged half. Purple blood stained the white, metal floor.
"Damn it!" Zako cursed. He had just lost his best fighter.
An entire squad of DSD2 dwarf spider droids flooded the area. The DSD2s were much the same as the standard DSD1 spider droid with the exception that they sported larger cannons. They were much more powerful but needed a larger energy supply and thus were more expensive.
At the same time a 187th AT-XT was approaching from the clones' side. Zako's AAT and all the spider droids concentrated fire and destroyed the walker before it could even bring up it's temporary shield bubble.
The clone rocketeers had targeted Zako's armored assault tank. Blue explosives hit the gray and blue armor again and again, wearing it down. A few other clones tossed thermal detonators. The AAT fired back with all its weapons in retaliation.
It was a quick and decisive move on the clones to suddenly focus on Zako's tank in response to losing their AT-XT. But the move had worked, the tank dropped to the ground, dead. Not obliterated, but an inoperable husk.
Zako and his three pilot battle droids exited from the tank's rear hatch to join the fighting on foot.
A mortally wounded Ghishi activated a thermal detonator in each hand and with a battle cry in his native language, rushed at the Republic's side of the market. A 189th trooper blasted the dying insectoid soldier, but the momentum propelled the body and the detonators close enough that the ensuing explosion was able to catch a few clones.
Several other clones rushed to the aid of the wounded and started carrying them away to safety with others laid down an impressive screen of blaster fire and thermal detonators.
"Fall back! Fall back!" one of the clones shouted as the dwarf spider droids led the slow Separatist advance.
Commander Zako rushed to the downed Scorpanid. There was purple blood everywhere and her internal organs were strewn about the floor.
"I… I can't f-feel my legs, Commander…" she managed to cough out.
"Medic! I need a medical droid over here!" Zako yelled aloud and through the Separatist Droid Network.
Coated in blood, the Selkath child was still nearby and crying.
"Why did you do that?" Zako asked the dying soldier.
"I-it was the right thing to d-do."
"You broke combat protocol! You got yourself killed!"
A blue blaster bolt rang out and hit Zako in the chest. He flipped back and landing on the slick ground, groaning. He was mildly annoyed, but alive. His officer's chest armor had saved him. This particular piece of black metal had been manufactured in the Gothic Pentarchy and bore an emblem of a human skull in the upper right corner.
Zako got back up to his feet. The Goths sure made stuff that lasted. He looked around and yelled for some nearby huddled Selkath to come over and take care of the crying child. After a few seconds the civilians finally complied and hurried the child away from the fighting.
A MED-47 and an ADK-25-MED medical droid had both arrived and were tending to the near-dead Scorpanid.
"You organics are so fragile," one of the medical droids said. Zako couldn't quite tell which droid had said it since both models tended the use the exact same vocabulator settings. The human officer holstered his E-5 and grabbed the ZMG-8 blaster rifle on the floor. He tried to shake some of the blood off of it but it was no use. A weapon developed and used by the Imperial Scorpanids of the Gothic Pentarchy. It was odd in that the weapon's large, circular cartage sat atop the deadly weapon. They were costly to produce, but were able to cut down infantry in a way that few other weapons could. It would certainly be better than his old E-5.
Zako looked back at the dying soldier tended by the two medics. Why had she done that? It was the right thing to do? Zako couldn't understand such a selfish action. Her duty was to her fellow soldier first and foremost, not to some random civilian child from a neutral planet. One mistake was all it took to end it all on the battlefield; Zako recalled his foolishness on Dantooine that had almost ended him. And of course, stopping in the middle of the fight to address the Scorpanid had earned him a shot in the chest armor. He had to stop making mistakes or it would cost him everything. But the Scorpanid's actions bothered him to no end.
Why, why, why? Zako wondered.
"Because organics are often irrational," the pilot droid ZJK-978 responded to the commander. Zako realized he had been thinking a little too hard and what should have been personal thoughts had been shared in the network. "Few are as agreeable as you are."
In addition to the standard blue markings, ZJK-978 sported black and gray camouflage over the rest of his body. Typical of droids manufactured on Zakkudos.
"Agreeable? I've been making a lot of mistakes, ZJK-978." Zako turned and looked to see that the other two members of his tank crew were still operational. JKZ-451's armor was slate gray while KJZ-823 had the standard beige plating.
"No organic is perfect," the pilot droid responded. "But you have your priorities in line."
"Right. So let's get back in this battle."
Sergeant Stacker of the 187th Legion was used to retreating. Though usually a retreat was called in to lure enemies into a trap. It was not the case this time. The clones of the 187th were used to fighting against overwhelming odds. It was not out of the ordinary to find themselves in a battle outnumbered twenty to one. But they could often predict the responses of droids, and even organic enemy commanders. But it simply hadn't worked out in their favor in the market. The enemy officers on the ground were just effective enough to compensate enough for the disparity in skill between the clones and Separatist troops.
Stacker blasted one more Geonosian with his DC-15A blaster rifle before turning and breaking into a sprint. Above all else they couldn't allow themselves to be surrounded. Keep moving. Keep changing the field of battle. That was their best course of action given their current situation and the obscene numbers of the enemy.
"What, did that Lucrehulk puke up all its reserves?" a trooper asked. Stacker didn't see whom.
"They're trying to!" Stacker yelled back. It was a clear as the skies on Manaan that the enemy commander planned to flood with out with endless troops.
Suddenly half of the clone infantry burst into flames. A flame battle droid accompanied by several marine battle droids had flanked them from a side street. Sergeant Stacker cursed in his helmet. Of all the things that could have happened, it had to be this. The only way it could get any worse was if Count Dooku himself had joined the battlefield.
Burning clones twisted and reeled gracelessly in their armor. Some troopers tried to stop, drop and roll the flames out, but few had a stable enough state of mind to partake in such action. Most screamed in agony as their skin fused to armor under the turbo-charged blaze.
Stacker kept moving as he fired, managed to take down the first three droid marines. The Separatists kept coming, and the clone sergeant could hear the flame battle droid laughing. It was such an odd and ugly thing. One didn't hear droids laugh all that often. Such comportment from a droid was usually a prompt that it was time for a memory wipe. But Stacker knew who they were fighting; he doubted any of these droids ever received memory wipes considering their leader was one himself.
"Really, FU-2, how do you find burning things so entertaining after all this time?" a Kandrid solider asked the flame battle droid. "I would have thought after a while it would grow dull."
"It's certainly better than freezing them, Private Bix," the flame battle droid replied. "Those cryo battle droid really have it bad. It's much more fun to melt faces."
Stacker threw a few blaster bolts their way but hit a Geonosian that was unlucky enough to get in the way, rather than the flame battle droid he intended for. A kill was a kill, even if it wasn't whom you were aiming for and Stacker had found that this wasn't an uncommon occurrence given how many troops the Confederacy typically deployed.
Several of the clones tossed thermal detonators or flash grenades to cover their retreat.
"Go, go, GO!" The clones broke into a full sprint. The 187th and 189th Legions had skill on their side but the Separatists had numbers. Stacker couldn't let them get surrounding or it would be the end of them.
They made it all the way to what Sergeant Stacker could only assume was the edge of the business district, but there was no relief to be found. The area was littered with enemy humans; their black and gray camouflage battle fatigues standing in stark contrast to the pearly white city. There were several Wasbo flittering about in the sky but the greatest threat came from a squad of crab droids that were sticking close together.
"Split off in pairs! Take it to 'em!" Stacker found himself the odd man out and without a partner.
Shouts of panicked orders could be heard from the enemy, but Stacker quickly realized they weren't in relation to his troops. A tightknit trio of humans exploded in a flash of blood and bone.
"ON THE LEFT!"
"WHERE?"
Several death screams followed.
The source of the carnage was a heavy trooper belonging to the 189th Legion.
The lone LR-57 combat droid in the area turned to address the hard-hitting attacker. The clone expertly aimed his DC-15A blaster while on the run, hitting the combat droid several times in his visual sensor array. The clone ran six steps to the droid's right side and dropped to a kneeling position. The LR-57 fired several bolts where he had been just a split-second before. The DC-15A rifle scored seven hits where the droid's right leg connected with the body. The metal leg detached and the top-heavy droid toppled over to the ground.
The heavy trooper rushed to the downed body, using it as cover.
"Yeah! I got something for all of y'all!" He threw two thermal detonators.
A trio of Wasbo swooped in overhead, using their power of flight to negate the clone's impromptu cover. Steaks of red fury rained down from the barrels of their E-5 blaster rifles. The heavy trooper shot the three aliens down expertly, jumped up and ran as several human soldiers tried to flank his position.
"Yeah! Whoo!" Dodging left, then right, Confederate energy bolts falling too far one way or another, the clone kept firing. The humans fell one after another with fatal strikes to their heads or chests.
A super battle droid and two more human soldiers charged the heavy trooper, only to be caught in the crossfire with Stacker's troopers. The heavy trooper used this chance to rush the cluster of crab droids, dodging their blaster fire. He leapt right on top of the nearest one and turned to blast it while riding atop it. He repeated with blinding speed until all the crab droids were scrapped.
He jumped off the body of the last crab droid, looking around to see that all remaining Separatists were either dead or had retreated. "No one plays this game better than me, baby! Nobody!"
"Private Coal?"
"In the flesh, baby."
"I recognized that shooting back during the First Battle of Thule," Stacker said.
"Hell yeah, things are only getting better! Looks like you guys were in the shit."
"Thanks for the assist, Coal. Where's your squad?" Stacker asked.
"We got separated, but they were heading for the town hall. The damn fish heads started shooting at us before the Seppies even showed up," Coal explained as he walked up to Stacker.
"Captain Eminence, this is Sergeant Stacker of Gamma Platoon," Stacker radioed in. "We've regrouped in…" he read off their coordinates.
"Regrouped?" Coal asked. "Is that when you guys call it when I save your ass?"
"We've got AT-PTs coming in for us," Stacker told the others.
Coal laughed. "Regroup? That's a good one! Good thing we've got our star player here."
"Yeah, don't worry. I'll take it from here," Sergeant Rain said over the comm.
"Oh, you got jokes," Coal laughed. "You ain't gonna bench your star player. Not with those seat warmers that hide in the walkers." Sergeant Rain ignored the jab.
AT-PTs from both the 187th and 198th Legions stomped into the area.
The Separatists that had driven Gamma Platoon from the market were finally starting to catch up.
"Up for a wager, Sergeant Smoke?" Rain asked the leader of the AT-PTs clad in black markings.
"There's never enough for the two of us," Smoke replied. "Unless you're planning on giving up any death sticks, I'm out."
The CIS infantry was in range. "Sergeant Rain, bring the pain!" Stacker ordered.
The AT-PTs cut down the enemy infantry in less than four seconds, prompting the second line fall back instantly. Some bodies lied mangled in several bloody pieces while others had been nearly vaporized. A stench of overcooked meat wafted on the salty air of a gentle breeze that managed to pass through the city.
"Hold here," Sergeant Smoke instructed the walkers. "I'm sure they'll be dropping those HX2 mines they're so fond of as they're running away."
A sniper shot rang out from where the Separatists had disappeared. It was clear they were poor losers. The clones scattered without a word between them, only a fool would stay out in the open with a sniper lurking about. To deter the sniper, the AT-PTs opened up a hateful volley once again. They couldn't see the attacker, but hopefully the barrage was enough to convince the sniper to leave.
The town hall of Ahto City stood in flames. Blood and bodies of Selkath police officers lay everywhere. Captain Ash of the 189th Legion had to admit, the defense put up by the local Selkath police force had been absolutely stunning. He expected the non-military police force to break and run at some point, as his training on Kamino as well as personal experiences had dictated to him in the past, but the Selkath never did. They put up a respective and competent defense, yet still the clones suffered no causalities in the altercation while the police fought until the very last man. The entire setting was a sickening spectacle that would make a person question what the carnage and death was all for.
When Commander Black and Commander Krane reached the town hall they learned that the mayor and his entire staff had been evacuated as the police clashed with Ash's troopers. There wasn't so much as a single clerk left by the time the clones secured the structure. There was no telling where the Selkath municipal staff could have gone in all the chaos of the larger battle. But it did not matter. The clones finally had their hands on the schematics to the city, no thanks to the Balinaka intelligence agent.
"Let's get these plans out to the battle net," Krane said as he typed at the computer. "Get some good kill zones going." They were relying heavily upon individual initiative, as they often did. But that was not the sole reason for them wanting the schematics to the city; they ultimately had something else in mind that addressed the larger picture of the imbalance in the battle they were currently facing.
"Captain Ash." Commander Black looked over to his very capable subordinate.
"Sir?"
"I'll have Major Morose start up the final operation. But I'll need your squads to go out there and make a mess to draw the Seppies' attention."
"That won't be a problem, Commander." Ash hefted his PLX rocker launcher.
Black nodded. The Separatists were in trouble now that Ash had his focus shifted from the Selkath to them.
"Something is wrong," OOM-9 stated as he took in information from the Hollow Shell. "The Republic is predicting our movements too accurately."
"How could they know what's up?" Vex asked. "We don't even know what we're doing."
The droid general turned to the Ithorian. "Destroyer, our forces are sustaining massive damage and the Hollow Shell is in trouble. Would you kindly take care of our Venator problem?"
"With pleasure, General." Dr. Destroyer pointed to the aquatic vehicle parked in the hangar. "Get that submarine ready, the star map is in the ocean."
"This entire planet is an ocean," Sledge complained but got to work.
Dr. Destroyer focused with the Force. Not being an adherent to the beliefs of the Jedi or the Sith enabled the Ithorian to see the Force very differently. The Force revealed unknown information to Dr. Destroyer, such as the locations of the star maps, but because the Ithorian demanded it. It was he that was the catalyst of that power, a power that would be inert otherwise, for very few could command the Force and thus affect this plane of reality. Just like at this very moment, Dr. Destroyer was the catalyst for the possession of the crew of the Violet Kinrath.
It only took a few moments, but Destroyer was able to possess the bridge crew without incident. Dominating of their weak minds, he guided their hands over their control stations, turning the Violet Kinrath towards the Onyx Rancor.
From the bridge of the Hollow Shell, Captain Krull observed that the purple Venator had drastically changed course. Before, the cruiser clad in purple markings had been doing it's best to keep right behind the Hollow Shell's engines, leaving only the Onyx Rancor in the line of fire. The Hollow Shell had been rotating endlessly in an effort to get the cruiser back in the line of fire but now that was no longer necessary.
Krull grinned; she of course knew what had happened. That Force-sensitive Ithorian the general employed had finally worked his magic. "Forget the Violet Kinrath. Focus all fire on the Onyx Rancor. Soften it up before the two ships collide with one another."
It did not take long for the crew onboard the Violet Kinrath to understand that something had gone very wrong. Captain Eminence tried to comm the bridge and was met with silence. Just as he was about to make another call, his commander contacted him.
"Yes, Commander Krane?"
"Eminence, what is going on with the Violet Kinrath? I can't reach the bridge. What are you guys doing up there?"
"The bridge is not answering. A droch boarding ship may have directly hit. I'm sending a security team."
"No! It's not boarders. It's that damn Ithorian! He'll just possess anyone that gets sent up to the bridge. You know what to do, Captain. Send the droids."
"Copy that, Commander," Eminence replied grimly. He knew what had to be done and he didn't like it one bit.
Captain Eminence called up the specialists—a squad of purple-plated L8-L9 combat droids. The L8-L9 had been a prototype battle droid built by TaggeCo as an attempt by Baron Orman Tagge to gain favor with Chancellor Palpatine. The endeavor had been a flop and any chance of mass production of the droid for use against the Separatists had been cancelled. But Krane had heard of the project and ordered a squad for his own unit. Despite fighting against them during the whole of the war, Krane was aware there were some advantages to using droids and his prediction had now come to fruition. The Ithorian would not be able to possess the L8-L9s.
"The Violet Kinrath is on a collision course with the Onyx Rancor," Eminence told the lead droid. "The bridge crew has been possessed by an enemy Force-sensitive. You are to storm the bridge and kill the command crew. They are no longer classified as friendly units. Once they have been defeated, a team of worker droids will come in to take their place. Once you are in control, all organic allies are banned from the bridge for the duration of the battle. Understood?"
"Acknowledged," the combat droid replied with a dull inflection in its voice.
As the squad of droids took off for their task, Captain Eminence made his way to a security station and was able to patch in to the security cameras for the bridge. The crew was indeed possessed. They looked dead already, like puppets pulled on strings. There was no life or purpose to their movements. Eminence could only stand and wonder if the crewmen were attempting to fight off the Ithorian's invisible power or if their minds were already gone. The power has horrifying and Eminence was glad the Jedi were on his side. It made sense why the Confederacy used droids as the mainstay of their military forces; you couldn't control droids in such a manner.
Eminence watched the screen as the L8-L9 combat droids stormed their way onto the bridge and began torching the crew with their built-in flamethrowers. The few of the crew that were armed drew their hand blasters and counterattacked. Eminence was disgusted by the whole sickening display. He stood up straight and tall at attention and saluted, watching as men who had served the Republic loyally had been rewarded with a painful, fiery death. All the while their minds were no longer their own. Eminence's stomach was queasy as his heart burned with righteous anger.
The battle was over. Charred, black bodies burned as flesh melt away to expose bones. The L8-L9s hadn't taken a single casualty. Worker droids rolled in to take control of the ship and set it away from the Onyx Rancor. And Eminence vowed that the Ithorian—no, the whole of the 8th Fleet would pay for what they had done.
The constant stream of updates kept OOM-9 informed of the situation in the sky. "Doctor, what went wrong?"
"They killed the bridge crew with combat droids. I could try possessing more soldiers to retake the bridge, but I'm sure they've locked it down. I can control many troops over a long distance, but they don't always fight as effectively as they could. Their droids are likely to win. I'm sure I'd get the same result if I tried to take over the other cruiser. They've figured out our little trick."
"Poor Hollow Shell," Vex said sarcastically. "They'll have to win the regular way."
"Captain Krull will have to hold out until reinforcements arrive," OOM-9 said as he ushered them onto the submarine. "It's time to get what we came for. Blair, Alda, you stay here and hold the hangar until we get back."
"Trying to hide something from us?" Alda asked.
"Do what he says," Quartz told them.
"Don't try and skip out on me," Alda threatened.
"We do not operate that way," Quartz said, annoyed. "Blair and I do not cross each other. Nothing to worry about."
"I don't care as long as I get paid." Blair shrugged.
"Such a compelling character," Vex rolled her eyes as she boarded the vehicle.
The submarine dove down into the depths without the two mercenaries, the waters of Manaan were currently no safer than the city.
"What do you think they're really doing?" Alda asked Blair.
Blair shrugged. "Knowing Dr. Quartz? Whatever it is, it's going to lead to violence against the Republic, especially since he's consorting with Separatist battle droids now. Trust me, Alda. When it comes to Dr. Quartz, don't worry about the finer details and just enjoy the money."
Katen held Meeka close as KJZ-8267 ushered them towards the pickup point. The pilot droid had determined that his human companion's physical and mental state was not up to par for what was needed against the current enemy. And there was no way they could fight and look after the little baybomber kitten at the same time. It was time for them to go. He had also called in a special ops squad to escort them, but they had yet to rendezvous.
There was no doubt in KJZ-8267's mind that the special operations troopers were having to fight their way to his location and that he and Katen might very well reach the shuttle before they even arrived. If only things could ever go that smoothly.
But it certainly seemed to. After rounding another corner, they ran into the elite squad. It was a lead by a Kemlan and consisted of two Z1 battle droids, two human shock troopers, and a single Gadon.
"Sergeant Klost."
"Yes, sir," the Kemlan answered. Sergeant Zarl Klost was typical of his species: a squad arthropodal vertebroid with stubby legs and oversized forearms that stood 1.7 meters tall. Kemlans were known for their powerful sense of smell; it was so powerful that they could recognize a close relative just by their scent. This hyper-heightened sense made them effective hunters, but was also a hindrance as much as it was a boon. When off of their homeworld of Kemla, Kemlans were often overwhelmed by the various foreign scents. They were known to have horrible allergies when offworld and thus almost always wore breather mask hooked up to a combat harness that was filled with various aromatic items to aid in unending struggle against smells that would have otherwise overpowered them. The water world of Manaan and the fish-like Selkath were particularly challenging for a Kemlan like Zarl Klost.
"Have you encountered heavy resistance?" the pilot droid asked.
"Nothing we couldn't handle, sir." Sergeant Klost motioned for the Gadon to scout ahead. "But then, we weren't exactly looking for trouble."
Just then, a smoking Delta-7 interceptor bolted overhead. The slender starfighter turned about around and landed nearby in the same direction they needed to go to reach the shuttle rendezvous point. The timing of the event was unreal.
"It seems trouble has found us," one the of the human shock troopers said.
"Shall we kill the Jedi?" Klost asked the pilot droid.
"No. I want Major Katen out of here."
"As you command." Klost was fine with this decision. He trusted in himself and his squad to take on a Jedi, but that didn't mean they wouldn't take a casualty or two. And given the current state of the Battle of Manaan, his little elite squad couldn't afford the losses. He was certain they would be put to work as soon as the Major was away in the shuttle.
They hurried along at a brisk past, box formation around Katen. They could see the Sheathipede-class shuttle touch down in the distance. They were almost there… so close.
But then a robed figure walked into view from around a building. They all knew who it was. It was the pilot of the Delta-7. So close, yet so far away. The Gadon instantly took off with his jetpack and rained down blaster fire. The Jedi began deflecting it proficiently.
"Barriss Offee. The little Jedi whelp we fought back on Ockramoma," Katen hissed.
KJZ-8267 took Katen's electrostaff. Klost raised his UH-2 blaster rifle to fire on the Jedi.
"Klost, get Katen to the shuttle! Go!"
"We're gone!" Klost agreed. "Come on!" he tugged at Katen.
"I'll handle this." The droids wrist started rotating, swinging around the electrostaff as he headed toward Barriss Offee while the rest of the special ops squad kept her pinned with blaster fire.
Two AT-RTs and three clone troopers, all belonging to the 189th Legion, lumbered into their view on the left as Katen and Klost ran. "Dammit, not now." Klost fired off several shots while priming a plasma grenade and chucking it in their direction. The troopers moved away from the explosion in time, but at least the Kemlan had managed to break up their formation.
The electrostaff twirled and cackled against the Barriss' blue lightsaber. Between the pilot droid's unusually skilled staff abilities and the special ops soldiers shooting at her, Barriss was slowly losing her footing. Just one shot would end it. KJZ-8267 didn't count on making the killing blow, but he was certainly a big enough distraction. But then he heard and saw the AT-RT walkers. He heard the clone troopers. Of course help would arrive for the Jedi. Anything that could go wrong often did. Only moments before it looked as if they were going to reach the shuttle with no incident at all.
"Get the clones!" KJZ-8267 told the Gadon, two humans and two Z1 battle droids. "I will deal with this Jedi slime myself!" The special ops soldiers took off for the clones and the AT-RTs without a word.
"Bold claim for a pilot droid," Offee said.
"A pilot droid that has been able to match you in melee combat." KJZ-8267 twirled around the electrostaff viciously.
"Fancy dance choreography does not win duels." Offee positioned her feet expertly ready for the droid's next strike.
"You wish you could pull this off." The electrostaff kept twirling. "Your move. Unless you're too scared."
"No one is afraid of you, droid." Barriss held up her hand as if to command the Force. A second later and KJZ-8267 was starting to lift off the ground.
The pilot droid's feet magnetized and he promptly landed back on the floor with a nice, neat little click. It was all too easy for the droid to counter.
"Your Jedi tricks aren't going to work on me." KJZ-8267 struck hard and fast, forcing Barriss to block. "You're going to have to use that saber. But judging the quality of the Jedi these days, I'd say you're more likely to cut yourself than you are me!"
KJZ-8267 struck again and again and again in an endless flurry. He remembered SSA-719's long held belief that the best defense was a good offense, and that axiom was certainly proving truth against the Jedi Barriss Offee.
"The clones cannot save you," the droid taunted.
"I wasn't aware I was in any danger," Offee replied.
"You got shot out of the sky battle. And now you're about to beat beaten by a pilot on the ground. Ironic." KJZ-8267 struck at her again. Intimidation wasn't working, the pilot droid was aware he wasn't going to break the Jedi's spirit, but underestimating him could be just as dangerous.
The shuttle pilot was proactive enough that he moved his ship in closer. Katen managed to board amid the blaster fire and the small ship took off for the Hollow Shell. One less thing for KJZ-8267 to worry about, he had done his job in keeping Katen safe, it was up to the shuttle now.
The fighting in and above the city was intense. By comparison, the ocean looked tame. The clone scuba troopers and light frigates had submerged long ago to avoid attack from the air. Neimoidian transports flew down unopposed, carrying marine units.
The aqua droids were the first to drop. They were a dedicated water unit, as evidenced when their feet folded into propellers for advance propulsion. Hundreds of aqua droids swam into formation and started to descend downward when they got the green light from their organic commander. The Karkarodon, Sulituan, Quarren soldiers were the next to drop, followed by light frigates, submarines and aquatic destroyers deployed from VACs.
The clones were down below, already engaged with the planet's native sea creatures. Firaxan sharks were aggressive underwater creatures that were pervasive throughout Manaan and would violently attack anyone who dared to swim in their territory. The 187th and 189th Legions' scuba troopers had unknowingly dropped right into a huge school of them.
The Separatists didn't even manage to pull off a surprise attack while the clones were preoccupied. Over half the Republic forces turned and drove into a fluid formation to counter the new threat dropping down from above. The operated so effectively it looked as if they were native water warriors. And while they did hail from the oceanic world of Kamino, underwater combat was not their specialty. All the troops of the 187th and 189th had training in a variety of fields, from hand-to-hand fighting to emergency medical training. Individual troopers were chosen for more specialized roles based on their performances, but all were ready and able to perform subsurface duties.
Using the schematics of the city, Captain Knuckles and Lieutenant Lavender of the 187th Legion directed the energy pummels of both legions. The Republic's pummels were little more than blocky, heavily armored vehicles with short-range cutting lasers used for demolishing buildings and defensive fortifications. They had done everything they could do cause blocks that would instigate kill zones favorable for the clone troopers. But the pummels couldn't keep up, there were simply too many Confederate troops flooding into every nook and cranny of the city. Knuckles finally made the call for the energy pummels to be recalled back to the cruisers. There was simply no more good they could do. Knuckles received the call about the Jedi, Barriss Offee. He was stuck with a new assignment: locate and protect the Jedi.
A pair of grapple droidekas soon accosted knuckles and his squad as they left to search for the Jedi. Grapple droidekas, there was a droid model you didn't see every day. The Separatists really were throwing everything at them. The two melee droids were able to tear apart three troopers before a jet trooper with an EMP launcher put them down.
A trio of AT-RTs bolted past and Knuckles ordered his group to follow. They were headed in the right direction. Smoke was rising all around, coating the once white city in a dark gray. Blood and oil formed in slick pools around the endless corpses of Separatist soldiers and Selkath civilians. The loss of the Selkath was regrettable from a diplomatic perspective and little else. Knuckles found it hard to have any sympathy for them when they should have taken shelter when the Republic first arrived, let alone when the battle broke out. For the clone captain, they had no one but themselves to blame. What disturbed him were the bodies of his brothers, but thankfully there had been mercifully few of them lying in the streets. The battle overhead still raged loudly, with the Separatists doing much better than they were on the ground. Directly overhead he could see hunter-seeker droids fight with Republic attack dropships.
After rushing from cover to cover and sprinting through shattered areas of the city, Knuckles' squad was fast approaching the Jedi, Barriss Offee. From what Knuckles could tell, she appeared to be in combat with a droid wielding an electrostaff. It wasn't a MagnaGuard, which made Knuckles wonder why Offee hadn't manage to destroy it yet.
A small squad of Separatist soldiers cut them off. An accurate blaster bolt found its way into the jet trooper's chest. The other troopers were forced to take cover or risk the same fate.
Damn! So close to the goal! Knuckles fumed to himself. It was embarrassing that a pair of those special forces battle droids, a pair of armored humans, and a Kemlan was able to force them back. There were other allied troops in the area, 189th forces.
Knuckles called in over the comm.
"Captain Night? This is Captain Knuckles. We're on your eight, but we're cut off. Can you reach the Jedi?"
"We've got a stream of Seppies comin' in. Just enough to stop us from reaching her. I've already lost two AT-RTs. Are we sure this Jedi is worth it?"
"Orders are orders," Knuckles said. Mace Windu was rarely available to personally lead the 187th Legion and that gave its troopers a type of elevated camaraderie with the Jedi-less troops of the 189th. The Jedi could do amazing things to be sure, but the clones of the 187th and 189th had already learned not to rely on them to win their battles for them.
"I'm sending my best to get her," Night relayed. "Just keep those special forces locked on you. They seemed hell-bent on disrupting reinforcements. We should be able to keep these normal soldiers at bay just fine. Just watch out for that Gadon that's flying around."
Knuckles acknowledged. "Copy that."
It was Lieutenant Shade that bolted from the 189th's defensive formation the second he saw his chance. He fired with pinpoint accuracy as he ran, taking out any CIS soldier that tried to target him. That he was using a valken-38X rifle with such accuracy while on the move spoke to his individual skill with ranged weaponry. Within seconds he was upon the Jedi and her droid opponent.
Shade was surprised to say the least; it was a pilot droid wielding a melee weapon that had managed to stand against Barriss Offee for so long. But the clone lieutenant had no time for nonsense. He fired his valken and the droid took the hit square in the chest. The droid staggered for a moment but did not fall.
"Nice trick," KJZ-8267 said. "Now try hitting an enemy that's paying attention to you, you coward."
The droid's wrist started spinning, creating a whirling shield out of the electrostaff. Shade knew exactly what to do. Without wasting any time he aimed and fired at the droid's hand in the center of the swirling metal vortex. KJZ-8267's fingers were blasted off and the electrostaff went violently flying off to the side.
Without a second's hesitation, KJZ-8267 extended his buzzsaw and lashed for Offee's neck. Acting as a living conduit of the Force, Barriss was able to react to the strike instantaneously. A few millimeters to the left and the droid would have taken her head off. She followed up with her own slash that cut the droid's buzzsaw arm off.
Even missing one hand entirely and his other hand reduced to only a thumb, KJZ-8256 attacked. He lunged for the Jedi's neck, intending to puncture her throat with his metal thumb. Barriss Offee put the battle droid down with a final downward strike that cut him in two.
KJZ-8267 fell to the floor and lay silent. The power to his brain was draining rapidly. He did not speak or taunt the Jedi even though it was still in his ability to do so. Now was the time to play dead. Hopefully the Jedi and the clones would move on to the rest of the battle and ignore his remains. So long as his brain remained intact he would be rebuilt after the battle. So long as Offee didn't disintegrate it with her saber and take his head for data mining later.
His silence had been rewarded as the Jedi and the clones forgot about him completely.
"We don't have time to babysit a Jedi." Shade made no effort to mask the contempt in his voice.
"I need no escort," Barriss said. "I am able to handle myself."
Shade didn't believe that for an instant. She was going to be protected and the best option that came to mind to Shade was to get Offee out of the battle. The 189th didn't need another dead Jedi on their record. But her evacuation would have to wait for the moment.
"Come, Jedi. We must assist the others."
Offee merely nodded.
Amid all the carnage and destruction that plagued Ahto City, Separatist probe droids hovered about the streets and alleys, trying to expose enemy troop movements while avoiding direct combat. The probe droids were met with limited to no success, for the clones were quick to destroy them the moment they were spotted. The two experienced legions were very aware that the random nature of their movements was keeping them alive and categorization by enemy surveillance could lead to kill zones being established. But in one particular instance, a probe droid came across a group of clones and Kaminoan worker droids engaged in operations seemingly not directly related to combat. This caught the probe droid's attention and it routed the information to the network.
The apparent leader of the group was a clone possessively holding a BT X-42 flamethrower. Corporal Cinders was his name; he had earned his name through the excessive and successful use of his weapon of choice. Cinders hated fighting droids, they didn't burn. But organic soldiers did, and he had been having a field day until he and had received a new batch of orders. The clone corporal was well aware of the extent of the destruction they were soon to unleash, and that didn't sober him in the slightest. They would do what had to be done; it was and would always be that way.
"Hurry up already!" Cinders snapped at the Kaminoan worker droids as they affixed a large device to one of the city's power cables. The droids bore the same black markings as Cinders and the rest of his squad. He would have preferred the company of some L8-L9 combat droids, now those were some droids that knew how to have fun.
Corporal Cinders got a transmission from Major Morose, who was leading one of the other groups. After a moment he turned to address the other troopers in his group. "Stay here, I'm going to check on the other surge inducers. Radio in when the droids have this one ready."
"Yes sir." One of the clones nodded. Cinders took off at a healthy trot, there was no need to sprint but they needed to move. The battle couldn't go on forever.
The Confederate group that responded to the probe droid's call was Commander Zako and his trio of pilot battle droids. With an added black and gray camouflage B1, 3BZ-83; that they had picked up along the way.
3BZ-83 was sent in first to scout ahead. Commander Zako deemed to prudent to try and see what the clones were up to rather than rushing in guns blazing. The B1 slipped into an alley, examining the 189th Legion clones and their Kaminoan worker droids from the side. The probe droid had long slipped away in order to avoid detection.
"They've planted something on the power line," 3BZ-83 relayed to Zako and the three pilot droids. His E-5C heavy blaster rifle was casually pointed towards the clones, but the B1 battle droid had no intention of attacking yet. "I am unable to determine what it is at this range."
He updated the others with the precise positioning of the clone troopers and the squad wirelessly communicated a plan of attack. Within a few short seconds they were ready.
The gray pilot droid JKZ-451 came up and lobbed a grenade from his RD-4 radiation launcher right into the biggest cluster of clones. Zako and ZJK-978 fired on the clones on the far right with their blasters while 3BZ-83 came out of his hiding place in the alley to hit the clones on the left. The clones had reacted instantly but couldn't recuperate after the initial grenade lob. KJZ-823 finished up the last enemy soldier with his dangerous precision SE-14 blaster pistol.
One of the worker droids continued to interact with the device with the others rolled in to attack. The Separatists quickly slaughtered them.
"What have we got here?" Zako asked, approaching the device with his squad.
KJZ-823 bent down to examine the device, seeking answers from the network as to what it was.
"This is a EA-1070 surge inducer," the beige pilot droid answered after a few moments.
"The clones are trying to sabotage the power plant to destroy the city because they know they don't have the numbers to win the fight," Zako sputtered in realization. "This whole battle has been nothing but a delaying action! That's why they never stand and fight! Did they manage to active it?"
"Affirmative," KJZ-823 replied. "I'm working on shutting it down now."
Zako called up Captain Cecily Krull and General OOM-9 on the comm while the pilot droid worked. They needed to be informed was what has taking place. "Krull, OOM-9, this is Zako. We have an emergency."
"What is it, Commander?" Zako could hear Krull respond.
"I've caught a squad of clones planting a surge inducer on one of the city's main power lines. We're disabling it now, but we have no idea how many the clones have planted. This entire battle is a diversion. They plan to blow up the city."
"I'm sending more troops down now," Krull responded.
"No! No. If this whole place goes up in flames, we'll only lose more soldiers!"
"General OOM-9?" Krull asked.
"Can I trust you to handle this, Zako?" OOM-9 asked.
"Yes, sir! I'll take care of it. Leave it to me!"
"Then we have no reservations about deploying more troops," OOM-9 replied. "Crush the 187th and 189th Legions. Kill them all."
This was not the response Commander Zako was expecting.
"I am directing all probe droids to the power plant. We have to find all of the devices," Krull added. "I'll send a squad to try and shut down the power plant. I doubt the Selkath are organized to do it themselves at this point."
"Surge inducer deactivated," KJZ-823 stated. The pilot droid called in for the nearest squad to assist in removing the device completely to stop the clones from returning and reactivating the weapon.
Already Zako's squad was pinged by a probe droid regarding another nearby surge inducer being planted by the clones.
"C'mon! The next one isn't far off!" Zako pointed and his squad was off the moment another squad of mixed humans and battle droids arrived to ferry away the inert surge inducer.
Both the Confederate and Republic battle nets were a frenzied fury as the two groups raced to either save or doom the city.
Commander Zako was running at full kilter, firing away with his newly acquired ZMG-8 blaster rifle. He was cutting down clones faster than he ever could with his usual E-5.
"Hostile enemy forces." 3BZ-83 would have been more proficient with his own weapon had Zako not been killing the vast majority of the clones as they appeared.
Within a few short minutes of fighting they were able to reach the next surge inducer and repel the clone defenders. With the next batch of Kaminoan worker droid shot to pieces, KJZ-823 set up deactivating the second surge inducer while JKZ-451 called in for backup.
"Enemy jet troopers incoming!" 3BZ-83 warned. The others took up defensive positions. Zako, 3BZ-83 and ZJK-978 spraying the area with their rifles turned out to be wildly effective. When KJZ-823 turned to fight with his precision pistol it was all over.
The team quickly started moving towards the next reported surge inducer. Their luck had changed when a 189th Kappa-class shuttle flew in low in front of them. A couple of hunter-seeker droids in the sky took potshots at the shuttle but weren't able to deter it from unloading its payload of L8-L9 combat droids and two AT-PTs.
"Enemy droids!" KJZ-823 warned.
"Ah, I see the Republic is trying to copy our success," 3BZ-83 said.
The Republic droids split off into two groups: one to attack Zako's squad and the other to address the flanking Separatist units under the direction of Lieutenant Krunch and Sergeant Shalk.
The AT-PTs were moving in for their kill shots when an overhead E-STAP droid starbomber hit one with a plasma bomb. The green blast destroyed the small anti-infantry walker and took several of the L8-L9 combat droids with it. The bomber tried to swing around for the other walker but was forced to break off after being chased by a 187th Cord-class starfighter. The incomplete gesture was still immensely helpful to the troops below. The second walker fell to the combined fire from Krunch's dwarf spider droids.
"Hurry, the next surge inducer!" Zako sprinted forward as the last of the L8-L9 droids in their path were swept away by blaster bolts. The probe droids had been exploring in force and all other power lines from the plant were undisturbed by the clones' diabolical plan. For all the probe droids were able to ascertain, there was a single surge inducer left.
A clone let his flamethrower roar to life.
"Damson, Cutlass!" Corporal Cinders yelled at the two troopers from the 187th. "How about some backup?"
Major Morose looked on at the advancing Separatists. He turned to the Kaminoan worker droids. "Set the surge inducer's timer now!"
As the droids did as they were told the clones pulled away from the surge inducer.
"Allied units are pinned down at 3 o'clock!" 3BZ-83 warned.
"We can't help them! We need to get that surge inducer!" Zako hollered. They blasted the worker droids. The clones rained down blue bolts of death at them. Zako and 3BZ-83 took up kneeling positions in front as they kept up suppressive fire while KJZ-823 attended to the surge inducer.
"Kill them!" Morose ordered. "If they take it out then this whole operation is finished!"
Zako was in the zone, relying entirely on instinct and reflex. There was no time for thought, just action. He was very good at what he did. In a few frantic moments the final surge inducer was deactivated. The clones pulled further back as the Confederates pushed further forward. Sergeant Shalk was particularly dangerous. The clones had no desire to go toe-to-toe with a large armored, beetle-like Skeg.
Then the clones stopped firing, taking cover where they could. Commander Krane approached, one arm around Zephie Slyderloss. His pistol was pointed at her head.
Shalk motioned for his troops to cease firing.
The poor Saurian had been part of the small group that Zako opted to ignore in favor of addressing the surge inducer, and she had been captured. She was covered in cuts and bruises and her eyes were swollen shut. She was drenched in her own blood. It was clear she had been beaten to a bloody pulp. Her breathing with light and ragged. It was amazing she was still alive at all.
"Back off, or the serpent dies," Krane warned. Zephie made a small, pained noise as the clone's armored forearm pushed roughly against her neck.
"Taking a hostage only works if your enemy cares if the hostage lives," Zako informed the clone commander.
"And you don't?"
"I do. The droids don't. You could be holding Count Dooku himself hostage and you're not going to stop them."
The Hollow Shell's lone scorpion droid had made its way to the area. Krane, Morose and the others had no hope of victory now and they knew it.
"Dammit! Where are those fucking AT-PTs?" Krane spared a glance around.
"It's over, give up!" Zako yelled. "Let the Saurian go and I won't do to you what you did to her. Don't make this any more painful than it has to be."
"How did it come to this?" Morose asked. They had been doing so well, until one of OOM-9's favored puppets showed up to personally screw them over.
Just then a pair of LAAT gunships swooped down and started firing on the Separatist troops, who responded in kind. A Kappa-class shuttle came followed down after the two gunships.
Krane shoved the Saurian into the line of fire as he and the other clones bolted for the shuttle. As soon as they had made it inside Krane was yelling at the pilot to take off. The Kappa-class shuttle took off with scores of blaster bolts impacting on its hull, but it managed to pull away. With the troopers extracted, the two LAAT gunships took back off for the aerial battle once again.
Dr. Destroyer was able to guide down the submersible without drawing unwanted attacks. OOM-9 and SSA-719 were able to wirelessly transmit to their allies, marking the submarine as friendly for the underwater Confederate forces. The clone scuba troopers and frigates were far too busy with their enemies to bother with a seemingly unaligned submarine that was passing by.
Separatist S-DSTs and Republic aquatic destroyers chased each other around underwater, each trying to split the other in half with their cutting lasers.
Aqua droids and clone scuba troopers tried to blast each other to pieces while at the same time avoiding and killing the firaxan sharks that had come to feast. A few of the Karkarodons even flipped the natural order and bit a few chunks out of the firaxan sharks.
Veronica Vex was pacing about the innards of the submarine. She was completely out of her element. Stuck and unable to do anything as others fought and died. She felt like a coward. She looked over at HK-47, who simply stood there, moving his head back and forth every so often as if searching for any hidden enemies on the vessel. Utter nonsense of course, if anyone were hiding the ship, Vex's pacing would have driven them crazy by now.
"Over there," Quartz pointed at the scanner. "An artificial structure is below."
The docking bay for the underwater structure was automated, as they soon learned upon entering. The entire facility was empty.
"I was expecting a fight," SSA-719 said as they started to explore. Half-packed crates and even uneaten food was strewn about.
Dr. Quartz tapped away at an old computer console. "This place is Hrakert Station." He pulled up the security footage. "Ah, see? The smuggling operation here left in a hurry once the underwater fighting started."
"Check the power systems, make sure they didn't rig this place to blow up," OOM-9 said. Vex became even more antsy after hearing that possibility. Dr. Destroyer kept aimlessly wandering around as if in a trance.
It took a few minutes but Quartz was able to ensure that Hrakert Station was indeed safe.
"Observation: This is indeed sloppy work of inexperienced smugglers if they were so ready to retreat and leave behind evidence of their operations."
"Either that or they realized the fighting with the clones up above destroyed any chance of the Republic having cordial relations with Manaan already. I calculate they decided to leave with their own lives intact while they could. Organics can be cowards, and can often be trusted to value their own lives over the good of their faction," SSA-719 said.
"So, what? The Selkath are going to join the Confederacy after this mess is over?" Vex asked. Sledge shrugged.
"Possibly," OOM-9 said. "All these intact shipping orders and the very base of operations are going to work wonders against the Republic."
There was always the chance that Manaan would turn hostile to both the Confederacy and the Republic, as currently both their armies were wrecking Ahto City. The Selkath might turn to one of the neutral systems, like Mandalore. But OOM-9 didn't think this to be a likely outcome. If OOM-9 was careful, he could turn this whole situation into a huge boon for the Confederacy.
Dr. Destroyer returned to the others. "I know where the star map is. It's on the ocean floor. Close. We can walk from Hrakert Station."
"I guess I'm out," Vex said. "I can't breathe underwater."
"That will not be necessary," Destroyer said. They made their way to another bay port. As the hanger flooded with water, the Ithorian created a bubble of Force energy around them.
They left Hrakert Station encased in the Force bubble and slowly made their way across the bottom of the Hrakert Rift until they reached the star map.
Right as they made it to the map, a gigantic firaxan shark loomed above them or what looked to be a firaxan shark. It was different, but enough similarities were there.
"What the fuck is that?" Vex demanded.
"Likely the Progenitor," Destroyer answered. The Ithorian was not impressed, unlike his human compatriots.
"There's always a bigger fish," Sledge murmured. "And this one seems to be the bigger fish."
The Progenitor seemed to consider them for a moment before swimming in closer.
"Okay, uh, I don't have a big enough gun for that," Vex said.
Steaks of bright blue scorched across the large shark, and the Progenitor changed course to go after some trigger-happy clone scuba troopers.
The star map opened to them as they reached it.
"What secrets are you trying to tell me?" Destroyer quietly demanded of the star map. "Tell me."
Sledge thought the Ithorian was starting to lose it. Talking to a map as if it was going to answer. That did not bode well. The attitudes and abilities of the mysterious Ithorian were worrisome enough. This was the most Sledge had ever spent around the Force-sensitive scientist and she was more than ready to be away and back on the Karajor now. This whole ordeal had been more than enough excitement for her.
OOM-9 took in and processed the new information from the map, adding more pieces to the puzzle. "Our next destination is Korriban."
They wasted no time in getting back to Hrakert Station. There was only so much air in the bubble for the oxygen-breathers of the group to use. They were able to take the submarine and get back up to the city without getting blasted.
Blair and Alda reported being under attack in the hangar bay. OOM-9 directed troops to go and assist them while they took their submarine and docked in an empty hangar bay. The whole scenario was the perfect excuse to avoid Blair for the moment, for Quartz informed OOM-9 that Blair wouldn't shut up until she was paid. OOM-9 would rather avoid that at the moment. OOM-9 did however, insist that Quartz pay Blair later, he had no desire to add another potential enemy to his list. Not at the moment.
The group went searching for clones to fight when G0-T0 dropped his cloaking field in front of them. Apparently the spheroid droid had been hiding for the duration of the conflict.
"General, I advise we travel to Korriban immediately," G0-T0 said after being updated. "The appearance of the 187th and 189th Legions on Manaan is most disturbing. It is possible that the Republic has been able to plot our undertaking. Speed is our best chance for success now."
"Did they get a tracker on that old freighter we used?" SSA-719 theorized.
"We shall change our transportation to be sure." OOM-9 called in an automated Sheathipede shuttle. This time they would use their own ship rather than the rust bucket they pilfered from Tatooine.
"We're going? Now?" Sledge asked worriedly.
"Suggestion: You could always stay behind and engage in the battle."
Melissa Sledge was too tired to fight, let alone battle foes such as the 187th and 189th. "Eh… I'll come with you guys."
"We should stick together," Vex agreed. "Those of us that are still here, anyway."
A brown Sheathipede shuttle landed and OOM-9, SSA-719, Vex, Sledge, Destroyer, Quartz, HK-47, and G0-T0 boarded. The shuttle took off with the new destination set, easily able to slip past the whirlwind of starfighters chasing each other across the skies. OOM-9 was not happy about leaving an incomplete battle, but G0-T0 had a point. The Republic was up to something and speed was their best option if they were to beat them to whatever the star maps were directing them towards.
Author's Note: Manaan, Ahto City, Selkath, and firaxan sharks appeared in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
The podracer pilots appeared either in Episode I, Episode I: Racer or Racer Revenge. Jinn Reeso and Cy Yunga are notable as only ever being secret characters in Episode I: Racer that you have to unlock by inputting a code.
Jinn Reeso's species has never been named and only appeared in Episode I: Racer. I've taken to calling them Kandrids. The name was coined by corshy1.
Keshiri appeared in the Lost Tribe of the Sith series and the Fate of the Jedi series.
YT-1200 medium freighters appeared in the novel The Cestus Deception.
Anacondans appeared in the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Arhans appeared in Cracken's Rebel Operatives, a roleplaying supplement for the Star Wars: Roleplaying Game.
Saurians appeared in Limping Lady, an adventure for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.
Wasbo appeared in the novel Dark Nest III: The Swarm War.
Wroonians appeared in the novels Darth Plagueis and The Cestus Deception as well as in other sources.
Gadons are mentioned on page 141 of The Cestus Deception. Almost nothing is known about them beyond them being screwed over in a ruling by the Republic courts about fifty years before the Clone Wars. Considering the event was recent enough, they seemed like a ripe candidate for me to include them on the side of the Confederacy.
AT-PTs have made numerous appearances such as the Rogue Squadron series, Force Commander, Galactic Battlegrounds and the novel Dark Force Rising. They are commonly associated with the Galactic Empire despite starting off as an old Republic walker before the Clone Wars even broke out.
The Kappa-class shuttle first appeared in Mist Encounter in Star Wars Adventure Journal 7.