Chapter V

An hour and a half had passed and the clones had located Kavak. He was in a heavily guarded lab on the far side of the facility. Droid patrols passed every minute, with three Super Battle droids per group. It would be a miracle to get in undetected, and an even greater one to get out with a prisoner. Due to this, Zero had called all the clones searching in to the area just before the lab.

"On my signal, we cross the hall," Zero said over the comm. "3…2…" He waited until the last pair trio of droids turned, "1…Mark! Move yourselves." The clones poured out of several corridors in the main hallway. Zero keyed for a door to open and they all scurried inside. The room they were in appeared to be an antechamber for the lab complex. Zero keyed the inner door. It was locked. "Look for something we can over ride the lock with," he said. "And also see if we can find which lab Kavak is in."

After several intensive and thorough seconds over searching Valdar offered, "I can cut through with my lightsaber."

"Yes, do that the next patrol will be here shortly."

"Sir, three SBDs coming around now!" Slash shouted.

"Clones, take defensive positions, Boom get on that door with Valdar, I don't care how we get in just get us in!"

The droids rounded the corner. The lead one sighted them and immediately opened fire. The clones returned fire and Ghost blew its optic sensor out with his sniper rifle, leaving firing blindly until it floundered to the ground under heavy automatic fire. The second and third rounded the corner followed quickly by a fourth and fifth. The fifth one was modified to fire small rocket-propelled grenades, and launched one right into the midst of the clones.

"Down!" barked Zero. The grenade erupted sending a wave of heat and bits of micro-shrapnel cascading down the clone's armor. Someone shouted in pain. When the daze from the grenade wore off. They saw that it was Peewee that had screamed. He lay clutching at his left arm, half of which had been incinerated leaving only a raw bloody stump at just beneath his elbow.

"Get him inside," Zero ordered. Mouth and Slash immediately dropped to their fallen comrade and dragged him out of the line of fire and into the protection of the antechamber. At the same instant, a muffled explosion and the sizzle of energy slashing through durasteel informed Zero that they could enter the lab complex. He tossed two farewell grenades at the droids and leapt for the newly formed passage way followed shortly by the rest of his squad. They paused when the entire team was inside the labs.

"How is he?" he asked Mouth.

"I'll be fine just give me a minute," Peewee said defiantly from the floor. He propped himself up on his good arm and tried to get to his feet but found that he was unable to balance.

"He'll need serious medical attention when we get home but I don't think he's going to do to much good for the rest of the mission," Mouth said grimly. "He is in a world of pain now, we've just loaded him up on pain killers. Which will make it hard to balance for a while. I think we should have someone stay here with him and the rest go ahead, he'll be a hindrance."

"No I won't," Peewee said now having made his feet. He drew his pistol. "Lets go I can take them with only one hand."

"Fine," Zero said. "Let's go everyone. Did anyone get Kavak's lab number?"

"Yes sir, 12A," Six said.

The clones began to move silently around the complex until they found their target. He was a middle aged humanoid with lacy brown hair, human ears eyes and mouth. He was about a quarter of a meter shorter then the average human and his nose was upturned reveling his nostrils. He was sitting at his desk performing calculation on the console in front of him. Boom planted a lock breaker explosive on the door. The beeping seemed to have caught Kavak's attention, because he looked up from his work, by the time he realized what was going on though, it was too late. The clones had him surrounded.

"I guess I'll surrender then," he said in a gravely yet wispy voice.

"Get up scum," Ghost ordered grabbing his arm and sticking his rifle into his back.

Before the clones could turn to leave, Peewee, who had been guarding the door, shouted, "Take cover!" As another rocket propelled grenade smashed through the window, by the door. The clones ducted and rolled; their intended targets out of the way, the grenade hit Kavak square in the chest. His specie's ridged skeleton and was the only thing that kept him together.

The droid neutralized, the clones turned to check the state of their prisoner, only to find him talking to himself, "He did this, he sent you!" he spat. "Damn you Sidious, damn you Palpatine!"

"You are under arrest, for treason," Zero stated.

"Save your breath. I'm minutes away from death, that thankfully your murderous Chancellor will not get the gratification of watching."

Mouth made to hit him, but Zero caught his blow, "Wait," was all he said.

"That traitorous slime thinks he will have the last laugh," Kavak continued to rant. "But he will see. Can you hear me you mindless killing machines?" Ghost mocked getting shot in the heart.

"Yes," Zero replied.

"And what about you, Jedi?"

"I hear you," Valdar answered.

"Good, now tell me clones, do you know what Order 66 is?" they nodded warily. "Good. Jedi, that order spell out your kind's doom. It calls for the extermination of the Jedi as a threat to the Republic. Every one of their soldiers has been spoon fed it since birth."

"Why would the Republic need such an order?" Valdar asked bewildered.

"Because the Chancellor, and soon to be Emperor, is a Sith!" Kavak spat. "He engineered this whole war as a way for him to get power. He started with Naboo but he underestimated the locales. He…" Valdar interrupted him.

"What would you know of this?"

"Have not you kind been experiencing a lack of vision, a fogginess of mind?" Valdar nodded seeming to begin to grasp the truth. "Who but a Sith could do this? Order 66 will come and soon." And with those words life drained from his body.