Rex forced himself to stifle a groan as a cold mist rolled in. If he wouldn't take complaining from his men, then he wasn't going to be doing it himself. The rain had stopped over night, but the ground was still cold and wet. The mist only added to the chill that cut through their armor.
"They're late," Rex finally grumbled as he looked over at the Lieutenant.
"To be fair, sir, this is an old piece of equipment they're trying to use," he replied as he shifted positions.
"How old is this thing anyways," Rex asked curiously.
"They're heyday was over sixty years ago," Lieutenant Pierce replied with a thoughtful frown.
Rex grunted, "That's comforting."
Now Pierce grinned.
"I think you'll appreciate her," he replied, "Warfare was a lot less restrained back then."
Rex went to reply, but was stopped short as Lieutenant Pierce's radio came to life.
"This the USS Iowa. We are on station and ready for orders," cracked a disproportionately quiet voice.
"Roger that," he replied before feeding the grid numbers.
"Copy that. Stand by," the Captain replied.
For the next few seconds Rex strained his eyes but saw neither the ship or any explosions in the town. He was about to say something when the first explosion ripped through city center. The large tower of debris hadn't settled when the next one fell, scattering the remains of several droids and armored vehicles. As each shell fell, from five miles away Rex could hear the muted explosions. Soon so many shells were falling at once, that it was impossible to tell where one explosion ended and the other began. The ground shook as a round tore through an ordnance stockpile. Fire spewed out in every direction from the main fireball, as secondary explosions soon followed.
"Adjust five degrees left, and two degrees down," Lieutenant Pierce ordered.
Soon the torrent of shells jumped to the south side of the town with equally devastating results. Unlike man, shells do not discriminate. They destroyed buildings and droids alike. Fire shot up as hundred pound chunks of earth, concrete, and metal came down like rain.
For the Vulture droids, the USS Iowa was not hard to find. With all four 16-inch gun firing, she was lit up on thermal imaging like a Christmas tree. As they approached, internal alarms started going off in the brains of several droids. Even before the SAM missiles had been fired, the droids had scattered into evasive maneuvers. For the majority this worked. However, two were too slow and thus gave the sailors on deck as chance to get a solid lock. The first lost a wing and went tumbling into the stormy waters below. While, the second one was hit head on, leaving nothing but the wings to fall into the water. However, this was not all of the ship's defenses. As the droids got closer, black shell burst dotted the sky in what was soon an impenetrable wall of flak. For all of their artificial intelligence, and maneuverability, many struggled to avoid both the older AA guns and the newly installed, automated 30 millimeter cannons on the deck. Several had wings torn off, were perforated, or were forced to fly so low that a stray wave ended up eating them. Between those and the surface-to-air missiles, the ship proved to be almost untouchable… Keyword: "almost".
Inside the ship it was controlled chaos as the ship struggled to fight off its attackers and continue its attack on the town. Captain Nolan decided that now was a good time to jump off the bandwagon and produced a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. God knew he needed one… two… hell he was probably going to need the entire thing by the time he was done here. Right now there wasn't much he could do besides let the crew do its job and he didn't like it. Suddenly the entire ship quaked as a droid zipped across the forward deck, tracing a line of fire.
"What's the damage?" he demanded as he produced the first cigarette.
"There's a hull breach on deck 5. Automated fire control for the the front two 30 millimeters are down," reported a crewman, "Crews are working to seal the area."
"Good keep me-"
He was interrupted as a second, much larger explosion rocked the ship.
"Battery 3 and four AA turrets are down. We have flooding on deck six," another officer called.
"Ground assets are reporting twenty-plus more enemy craft inbound," added another person.
"Adjust our course fifteen degrees. Take us further into this storm," Captain Nolan ordered as he smashed the cigarette butt into an ashtray and produced another.
"This is USS Iowa to Over watch. We're going to have to break off. These droids pack one hell of a punch," Captain Nolan announced over the comm.
"Understood…" Lieutenant Pierce paused as several more Vulture Droids raced overhead, and out to sea, "You've got a third wave of at least fifteen-"
"Twenty" corrected Ahsoka.
"Twenty enemy craft getting ready to clear the coastline," he informed the Captain.
A muffled "damn" was heard over the radio before the Captain replied, "Understood. Iowa out."
"So, did it work, sir?" asked one of the Arch troopers.
"Have a look," Pierce answered as he offered his set of binoculars.
Looking through the Binoculars didn't work with the helmet, so the clone removed his helmet then held them up. He had seen what the town had looked like before the shelling. As he looked through again, he was rendered speechless. For about three miles in either direction from the center of town, there was absolutely nothing left. Whole chunks of the town no longer existed. Most of it had been reduced to an enormous, charred crater when the ammo dump had been hit. Tanks and droids alike were blown apart and / or crushed and perforated by the shrapnel that had rained down. There were absolutely no structures left. The only thing worth seeing was the large fire that was still burning where they stored the extra fuel for the tanks. After passing the binoculars back, he put back on his helmet, and grabbed his gear in preparation to leave.
"Let's go. This area will be flooded with droids soon enough," Ahsoka ordered as she turned to leave.
Taking the lead again, Lieutenant Pierce lead the group down a different route to the vehicles that avoided the roads even more. It was widely regarded as a good idea leave along a different route than the one used to come in. It tended to reduce the risk of traps. Despite the precaution, everyone was even more alert as they hiked down the mountain.
"This is Recon 1 to Command, over," Lieutenant Pierce stated over the radio.
"This is Command. Recon 1, go," answered Anakin's voice.
"Mission was a success. There's nothing left of the town. All hostiles KIA," Pierce answered with a hint of pride.
"Understood. Get home. Things are starting to move quickly," Anakin ordered.
"Yes sir."
The rest of the trip back to the Humvees was done in relative silence as the group worked their way across the slippery slopes. As they did, Ahsoka couldn't help but look at the Rangers differently. At the time, she had been caught in the moment and didn't truly think about what she was seeing. Yet, now she couldn't avoid it. First it was the planet's impressive militaries. Then it was their unshakeable resolve. Next it was the nuclear warheads that seemed to be materializing out of nowhere. Now it was ocean-going gun platforms that rivaled just about anything the Republic fielded on the ground. She noted that it wasn't just this nation either. Every country she had heard reports on seemed to be pulling rather powerful rabbits out of their hats. Most planets she had seen in her life would've self-destructed if they had these kinds of weapons. Her mind tangled itself into knots trying to figure out this puzzle. She had seen some of the report on the planet's history, yet it had been brief and answered none of her questions.
It wasn't until they were in the Humvees and driving back for friendly lines that she finally asked, "So how did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Well not you per-say… This world. How did you guys keep from wiping out your world. The military capacity on this planet has, honestly, started to scare me," she elaborated.
"It's scared a lot of people," Pierce replied, "To make a long and complicated story short, we got a lot of harsh wakeup calls during the last century. Earth took a really hard look in the mirror and didn't like what it saw. While we still make mistakes, most people on Earth- with a few notable exceptions- have learned to pick their battles carefully."
"So why keep these weapons at all?" she quizzed with a frown.
The humvee fell silent as Lieutenant Pierce rolled the question around in his head.
"We may not like it, but a worldwide history of warfare has taught humanity that it is better to have weapons and not need them, than have need weapons and not have them." the Lieutenant finally answered, "It's the same reason a 'peacekeeper' like yourself carries a lightsaber."
(Cheyenne Air Force Station)
The lone Humvee rumbled down the moonlit road at a steady clip. Inside were three Marines and a man in black body armor. They didn't know who he was, nor did they care. Their orders had been simple. Pick the man known as "Shadow" up and spirit him off to the Air Force Station. Nothing about those directions required a name. As they approached the north entrance, a large, steel door slid open and permitted them to enter the militarized mountain. For what seemed like forever, the truck descended into the heart of the mountain. As the vehicle pulled into the lowest most vehicle bay, everyone noted a couple men in suits waiting for them.
"You the shadow?" demanded one of the men as he stepped toward the man in black body armor.
The man nodded.
"Come with us," the suited man ordered.
The "shadow" nodded and followed them out. As they walked, Agent Garner resisted the urge to limp as he followed the suited men through the halls of the building. The landing had been hard due to his lack of experience in piloting such craft. Coupled with the bruises from his time in Canada, and he decided that it was safe to admit that he hurt all over. His head was killing him. He had bruises poke-a-doting his body, while he was certain that at least one ankle was twisted. As if to top it off, he had been forced to reset his own shoulder after his crash landing in the desert.
As they wove their way through the base, Garner noticed with some apprehension that they seemed to be approaching the operations portion of the base. Taking a glance at his beat-up and worn equipment, he knew that he wasn't ready for an operation with no turnaround time. However, he didn't have a choice in the matter.
Much to his surprise, Agent Garner soon found out that he wasn't due for another mission yet. Instead, he simply met with the National Security Director for a report. Once he was finished, he was sent off to the medical center with orders to get himself patched up and cleaned up.
(Jedi Temple: 1 day later)
Padme's eyes drifted from statue to statue in awe as she was lead through the halls of the massive building. Large tapestries, statues, warm colored walls, and high ceilings gave the entire place a grand, yet peaceful feeling that seemed unshakable despite the fires of war. However, they did little to distract her from the reason that she and Senator Organa had been summoned. Two hours ago, Earth had made contact with the Temple directly. On the grounds of extremely sensitive information, the Jedi had been asked to gain an audience of two officials that they trusted. Then the message had been terminated with a promise to contact again within the next three hours.
After an awe inspiring trip through the temple, they were both lead to a sealed door. Standing on either side were two masked Sentinels with lightsabers unlit but in hand.
"Padawan Nadar reporting with Senators Padme Amidala and Bail Organa as requested," the guide stated crisply.
Both of them nodded once as they stepped to the side. In a nearly unseen gesture, the right hand guard unsealed the door. In response, the Padawan stepped aside and motioned them inside.
As they entered, both people were met with Master Yoda and Master Windu.
"Welcome Senators. Contact with Skywalker and Kenobi, we have made," Yoda stated immediately.
Senator Amidala tried and visibly succeeded at hiding her elation at the statement.
"I am glad to hear that. How are they holding out?" she asked with an even tone, instead.
Master Windu went to answer but was cut off as the deep space comm began to chime. The Jedi pressed a button on the holoboard and gestured to a screen along the back wall as he opened the channel. Both Organa and Amidala looked over in time to see two faces materialize. The first was President Damian's and the second was general Kenobi's.
"Gentlemen, it is good to see you both alive and well," Senator Organa declared as his face drew into a frown.
"Where's General Skywalker?" Senator Amidala asked in a clipped tone.
"Middle of a firefight. Something has happened. We just lost contact with forces all across the Western side of the continent. I am taking his place at the meeting," the President answered.
"What's the situation?" Master Windu quizzed.
"Not good," Master Kenobi replied as a map appeared between the two leaders, "The CIS has secured large portions of the planet,"- large blobs of red suddenly appeared on the map, "Unfortunately, With seven more warships in system, that area of red is expected to increase."
For the next few minutes, the both leaders took turns explaining the situation. In essence it was simple. The planet was falling. Europe and Africa were both taken. All that was left were isolated pockets of insurgency. South America was expected to fall within the next couple days as 750, 000 droids and an equal amount of arm forced their way down the rugged Western coastline. With the impending evacuation of the Willamette Valley and New Orleans, the U.S. had lost control of its entire coastline, while forces out of the East crawled ever closer to the midwest. In Asia, the droids were starting to break stalemates in the Urals and Southeast Asia, while other forces finished securing the most threatening portions of the Pacific Islands. So far, Russia's west coast and the Alaskan coast were the only places left where ships could drop anchor. All in all, it was not a matter of if the planet would fall, but when.
Senator Organa shook his head.
"This isn't good," he needlessly stated.
"No. However, there are other problems as well," Obi Wan declared.
"What kind of problems?" Padme asked, dreading the answer.
"Tell me, do you remember the Blue Shadow Virus?" Kenobi asked.
"Yes, why?" the Senator demanded as she viable bristled.
"It seems that Grievous has gotten a hold of a weaponized version of it," he answered grimly.
"That's impossible. We destroyed the factory. The head scientist is doing a life sentence here at Cor-Max," she blurtted.
She remembered the incident well. That blue mist had etched itself into her memory for eternity. Being electrocuted had been bad enough. However, it wasn't that that readily came to mind. It was the people dying around her. It was the choking and the gasping. It was the acceptance of death mixed with the will to keep fighting that she remembered. Everyone with her had cleared portions of the base, expecting to die. It as an experience that she had no wish to repeat.
"These images beg to differ, Senator," the President snapped.
As if all on cue, several pictures appeared on screen. Senator Amidala suppressed a gasp as she stared at them. In one, over a dozen lifeless bodies were laid out in a line with crossed arms and closed eyes. Behind them a mix of clones and local soldiers were wielding shovels as they dug a large grave in which to lay the bodies. In the next one a steel faced soldier walked forward with a glassy-eyed child in his arms. The face held the tell-tale blue tint of the virus. In the next one, a group of local fighters guided a group of sick adults toward a medical tent. It was clear that all of them were struggling to breath as one was midway through dropping to the ground. In the next one, an expressionless clone struggled to hold a horrified woman back as a soldier in hazmat gear carried the dead body a young adult out from a surprisingly intact building.
The images left the room in horrified silence as they appeared. No one wanted to believe what was being seen but it could not be denied. This was really happening.
"How?" she demanded as the pictures disappeared from the screen.
"That's what we want to know," Damian answered.
"Hmm… A leak there is, if passed along this information was," Yoda reasoned with a thoughtful frown.
"How many people knew about what happened on Naboo?" Senator Organa quizzed.
"Myself, Skywalker, all of Torrent Company, all of Ghost Company, Senator Amidala, Representative Binks, the rogue scientist, and the head of Internal Security on Naboo," Obi Wan answered slowly as he thoughtfully stroked his beard.
"Narrow that down, and by now, all you really have is Domino Squad, a few out of Cody's first platoon, plus the others," Senator Amidala added.
"I'd be surprised if there was a leak in the clones," Obi Wan stated as his voice dropped.
"Yes, but unheard of, treachery is not," Yoda countered.
"Unfortunately, it is not," Obi Wan agreed, "That is something we can start checking down here."
"Yes. We'll keep our ears open around the Senate. If any politicians are helping, I'm sure word will travel through certain circles," Senator Organa added.
"I can start looking into Cor-Max. There is a chance that the Doctor himself is the leak," Master Windu agreed.
Next to him, Yoda remained silent as a vision hit him like a ton of bricks. The world went to black. Suddenly he was on a catwalk in Coruscant's abandoned industrial section. He had been here before… At least he thought he had… The rundown building… The half destroyed catwalk… The dark presence… The sense of danger… Everything felt so familiar yet so foreign. Suddenly a maniacal laugh tore through the air. The insanity was impossible to miss, and Yoda reflexively snatched up his lightsaber. Standing across from him, a figure hidden in black and red robes laughed hysterically. This carried for a few seconds before the figure fell silent.
"You think you can win, Jedi," the man snarled, "I will win. Your plans are dust. Your people are dead. Your republic shall burn."
Yoda did not answer, but instead activated his lightsaber in preparation of an attack.
"Do you think you can stop me? I am everywhere. I see everything. I am the truth in lies. I- I am the monster that you created," the man declared with a voice dripping in pure insanity, "And now, my time has come."
Yoda was surprised when the man did not attack, but instead vaporized into a dense, black mist. Suddenly, the mist shot at him. Unable to block the attack, Yoda was thrown back off his feet and over the railing. Much to Yoda's surprise, his feet failed to hit the cold durasteel of the catwalk, and his mind went into overdrive. However, before he could reach out to slow his fall, the world went black. Then as suddenly as Yoda had left, he was back as his eyes snapped open, revealing the briefing room.
"Master Yoda… Master Yoda," Windu was calling.
"Yes?" Yoda answered quickly as he finished orientating himself.
"Your thoughts on the investigation for this virus?" the Master quizzed.
"Keep it quiet, we need to," Yoda declared before he even knew what he was saying, "Suspect that our traitor is a man of great importance, I do."
"What of supplies?" President Damian pursued.
"I will see what I can do," Senator Amidala stated, "I might have more ability to do so, now that we know the planet's situation."
"Understood. Just please remember that the clock is ticking quite quickly."