Fleet Support
Ord Mantell
Maze had to move fast to catch up with his General, he needed to report in. He rounded the corner to see a tall man, with long brown hair whose robes flapped behind him as he strode purposefully to the makeshift Caf point. The Jedi stopped and looked at it; Maze half expected him to start moving things with the force but he didn't, instead he just stared at the grubby cupboard of a space full of canisters of instant caf, various teas, creamers, sweeteners and unclean counters.
Maze stopped behind him and decided the Caf point was a breeding ground for all types of bacteria but that didn't stop the General from grabbing a spoon, heaping it up with 'Instajava'. Then dumping it into a caf stained mug, at least Maze hoped it was caf, before pouring hot water on it, adding two spoons of sweetener and some dubious looking dried creamer.
"Would you like a mug of caf Captain, or something else?" The General asked, not looking around.
Of course he knows I'm here, he's a Jedi.
Against his better judgement he said, "Caf, Sir. Thank you." He half saluted but the Jedi had not turned around yet.
"Strong black, three sweeteners at a guess." General Zey said, as he picked up another mug, scrutinising the inside carefully before he dropped two spoons of the notorious 'Instajava' and then his hand headed to the sweetener packets.
"Yes sir. How?"
"Just a guess. It's a game I play. I haven't read your mind, I promise." He poured the hot water in and turned around with the mug in his hand, offering it to Maze.
Maze automatically saluted, "Alpha 26, Captain Maze reporting for duty."
His General nodded, he couldn't salute he was holding two mugs of caf. Maze took his.
"Should we adjourn to what passes for our secure briefing room and I'll bring you up to date with the latest mission."
They reached the Ex-store room, Maze was unsure if he would call it secure but it was the best they had and the caf wasn't bad considering. He would just be extra vigilant on his body check.
"Just sent Omega to Qiilura. This is their objective." He projected several images on to the makeshift screen.
"Yes, sir. I can catch them up and read this on the transport."
"No. It's just Omega. We don't have the manpower to be able to send you as well, I need you to get me up to speed on everything else." He paused for drink, he hated cold caf, especially with creamer, "I'm told you are the expert on fleet movements, personnel, as well as who can work with who, on what terrain etc. I need you to examine all the squads we've got, highlight their areas of expertise and the types of missions they're best suited for. We've got squads that have been amalgamated, chilled down and just been revived like yourself. I'd rather not lose too many."
"Yes, sir."
I'm a pen pusher. The pilot equivalent of flying a desk.
Maze's heart sank
The General handed him a datapad, "Everything you need should be on there. Including where the squads are currently located."
"Sir, didn't your predecessor leave you all this?"
"General Camas has been moved up upstairs. I think that is the correct euphemism." A flash of anger passed over his face, Maze knew enough to notice that, although it did surprise him, "A better fit for that role, I'm told. I report direct to the Jedi Council, Master Windu, now."
"Yes sir." The General hadn't given him a direct answer which means everything was in a mess. "I'll get on it immediately."
"Thank you Captain, now the situation on Qiilura." He sat down and took another drink of his Caf. "I know you would rather be out there, in the thick of it, so would I, but until we can get this branch organised and working smoothly, I'd rather not lose you. I'm rather new to the GAR, as you well know."
"But you have a wealth of experience of undercover operations for the Jedi Council."
"Ah! You've been doing your research."
Maze nodded, "Just being prepared."
"I suspect, Captain, my previous experience is one of the reasons I'm sitting with you now." He took another drink of his caf, "Now Qiilura."
Maze took a drink of his caf too, he was interested in how his General would communicate this with him; interested in his method of communications because it would give him insight into the man, the Jedi, although so far he had not been as Jedi-like as he imagined they were. Neither had the other one but he was a lot younger.
"Qiilura is technically neutral but that's likely to end soon. We only have these high altitude reconnaissance pictures." They flashed on the screen. "Farming communities located here," he zoomed in on a part of the planet. "They produce barq, kushayan and fifty percent of the luxury food stuffs in the galaxy. But the farmers are not rich. Neimoidian traders practically own the productive part of the planet…"
"The government?" Maze realised he had interrupted his General.
"There is none —it's the neimoidians. They govern with the use of a Militia, run by a Mandalorian called Ghez Hokan. The planet by its very nature is useful for hiding things and people and that's what the Commandos have been sent in for."
"An extraction should be no problem."
"Not just an extraction. They also need to destroy a facility."
"They are fully trained to do both." Maze realised that although he was using this to observe his General. The General was also observing him.
"The neimoidians monitor everything but the native population live at subsistence level, with little or no amenities. Pre-industrial in some places. The Commandos won't be able use long range com links. We also had two Jedi on planet but have lost contact with them."
"I still think I should go with them.
"Not at the moment Captain."
"Is there something else?"
"The scientist and research facility are working on a nanovirus specifically aimed at clone personnel."
Zey waited for a reply, watching his reaction.
Maze wanted to say, that makes it personal and it does but instead, "They'll do their job, sir. It's what they were born and trained to do."
Zey opened his mouth, then closed it again, deciding not to say what he actually thought.
"I'll leave you to get on Captain, I have to report to the Council on our progress so far."
Maze sat down with all the information in front of him. This was not what he expected his war to be like.
.
Change of plans. They had the details for the extraction, Zey and himself were going to the planet and Omega squad would return to Coruscant with Jusik. Maze, Zey and a female Padawan now had a mission planet side; this was more like it.
The LAATi was waiting for them in the hangar, engines warmed up, together with medics, Valaqil and a squad of troopers; the extraction request had indicated that they had severely injured personnel together with the asset. She needed to survive; the Chancellor had specified that. Maze blinked several times activating the various channels he needed to follow, as he ran towards the LAATi.
The CIS ships were getting awfully close.
"General Zey. We need to leave now."
The General did not mind being prompted, in fact Maze thought he probably liked it, as it was something else he did not have to think about. That and some of the flimzi work that Maze had taken on board. Maze blinked to check more channels on his HUD, the Intel updating in real time for him.
"Captain, how much longer?"
The pilot was getting twitchy, Maze didn't blame him. LAATi's were great craft but could be vulnerable targets at times.
"General we need to be going if we want to get in and get them out in one piece."
Maze saw the raised hand acknowledge him but Zey was still talking to Jusik.
He jumped back down and headed over to the two Jedi. "Sir, it's imp…"
"Yes Captain, let's go."
"May the Force be with you Bardan."
They ran to the waiting LAATi, the Jedi moving faster than Maze expected, although he had never seen one in action apart from the few holovids of battles he had viewed as his background research. Even so they only just jumped on before it lifted off, the side panels closing around them as it moved along the hanger, preparing to exit. The pilot was in a hurry.
"The Separatist fleet are on their way sir, so we only have a limited time frame to extract them safely. The Seppies are currently in hyperspace."
.
Maze hung onto one of the hand holds but still braced himself, bouncing with his knees bent; it was more turbulent than he expected, as they hit the atmosphere. There was an art to staying upright in a LAATi and you needed to learn it quickly. He watched the General who seemed to be taking it in his stride. Then the pilot looped around and finally they touched down.
"Sorry about the bumpy ride, Sirs."
"Thank you for getting us down safely." The General replied before Maze could even comment. He noticed he was doing that more and more. The side panels opened and the troops jumped out followed close behind by the medics and Valaqil, who once more appeared in a semi liquid state, disconcerting to human eyes, before reverting to its normal state. Maze wasn't sure if it sniffed as it landed on the ground, it definitely paused a few seconds, as it coalesced, then looked into the distance. Maze dropped down behind it and scanned the same area; there was a number of indistinct shapes on the hill, even his HUD couldn't identify them.
"The Republic would do well to bear in mind that we are more than a few, and may be hiding in plain sight, still. Your Republic should be advised not to cross us." With that it loped off into the surrounding country, within seconds it could not be seen.
Maze looked at the Commandos, he had to deal with the present. They had the asset, now being treated, as was one of the squad, verp projectile injury by the looks of it, very nasty, but they were missing two men and had gained a Jedi.
"One injured, one fit, two MIA. Not good results." He wondered what had happened on this mission. But that could wait.
He pulled off his helmet and watched the Commando; he seemed perturbed. From his body language he appeared desperate to wait for his squad mates, which indicated they had gelled as a squad and worked together. He turned to one of the medics.
"Sitrep."
"The Commando will be fine," the Gran replied, "but the Human female, we need to work on her asap. And not here."
He turned back to Zey, he and the female Jedi seemed to be having some kind of disagreement with the Commando looking on; the way he looked at the female Jedi triggered something in Maze. There was something going on there. He knew it. The new Jedi was definitely arguing with Zey and it was obvious he was angry. Maze felt his eyebrows raise, he pulled them back down. He observed the conversation closely, as the General's expression changed inexplicably from anger to one of pride.
Maze jammed his helmet back on to listen to the Com traffic as the Jedi left, deciding it was irrelevant. He paced, one, two, three, four, turn. It helped him concentrate. He blinked back to the HUD to get updates on the Separatists.
Finally the others returned. Fierfek! He saw how near the fleet was now. "General, we absolutely must go now!"
Zey beckoned to him and he followed the General to the back of the ship unsure why they had to move here but he could see the Jedi and the Commandos talking. He accessed their personnel files to check who trained them.
Skirata. Mandalorian. Cuy'val Dar. Nulls.
He involuntarily closed his eyes.
"Are you alright Captain, I know we won't have time for a mission debriefing? "
"I'm fine sir, just itching to get on with the mission here before all hell breaks loose. Perhaps we should move away from the landing area."
"Well said Captain." They walked to a clearing in the woodland well away from the LAATi, eventually being joined by the female Jedi, seconds before the LAATi lifted off.
.
The Captain was making good time when the female Jedi moved up and walked along side him.
"Etain Tur-Mukan." She introduced herself.
"Alpha-26, Ma'am."
"Er yes." She changed her pace, skipping a few steps to catch up with him; he wasn't adjusting his stride to suit her.
"What do I call you?"
"Alpha-26, or A-26."
"No. I meant your name." She persisted, "You do have a name. The commandos all had names."
"Why do you want to know my name?" He slashed viciously at an overhanging branch, just in front of his face, with his vibroblade. It flew to one side and he continued walking, barely breaking from his pace by the interruption.
"Because I would prefer to call you by your name, rather than…a designation. Darman…..."
"If you wish, Ma'am. It's Maze."
"Thank you…Maze."
They continued to trudge through the farmland and now even the filters on his helmet could not remove the stench of the burnt fields. It offended his olfactory sense and somehow the young Jedi sensed that.
"The separatists, the droids looking for Dar….RC-1136, burnt all the Barq fields in their search. I understand there aren't many cultivatable fields left now."
"Thank you …Commander."
She dropped back and Maze, almost, sighed in relief; she was not what he expected. He caught up with Zey who had slowed his pace slightly, looking around at the endless acres of scorched land.
"I can never understand or forgive the wanton destruction of land, especially on a planet like this where the inhabitants are subsistence farmers and rely on it totally."
Maze had not thought of it as wanton; had he been in their shoes, he may have done the same.
"I thought sir, that the agreement was that the Gurlanin were going to be spies for the Republic, while we relocated the entire human colony of Farmers."
"Captain, there are currently two hundred thousand farmers, mainly Humans, spread around the planet's cultivatable areas. I think it will take more than us few to remove them all, if they don't want to go."
"Sir, if we renege on that agreement, the Gurlanin will not be happy."
The Padawan watched the interaction between the two, fascinated that the Clone Captain was arguing with Zey.
"With their skills, they could become a very irritating thorn in our side. They are expecting to be able to return to the planet, with an increase in the Merlie population, as they won't be exploited by the Farmers."
Maze could not understand the reasoning behind this change in orders.
"I entirely agree with you Captain, and have argued against it myself. Jinart and Valaqil have been useful allies so far and I agree that to turn them into enemies would be counterproductive. But…..the orders have come direct from the Chancellor."
Maze had no answer to that; he was an Alpha clone, trained to obey his orders. He could only point out any folly in them. Their new objective was to train the Human colonists in guerilla warfare in the event of another Separatist attack. The folly here was to spend time establishing a Garrison and training the locals, when after the Omega mission, the Separatists interest in the system had been destroyed and an attack was unlikely but that remained to be seen.
"Where is this barn sir!"
"Two more klicks. On the edge of this wooded area."
They pushed on.
.
Maze kicked the double doors open with one foot, his DC17 blasters raised. He was always prepared. This could be a trap, although the Commander of the Militia had been eliminated, there were still a few heavily armed survivors hanging around, causing trouble.
Zey and Tur-Mukan followed him in, presenting a calmer front. He looked around the wooden barn. It was full of humans of both sexes and a variety of ages; he kept his blasters raised. These were people he had not met and had no expectation of how they would behave. An older man stepped forward.
"I'm Birhan. I understand you're going to teach us how to fight."
The General stepped forward in front of him.
Maze wished he wouldn't do that.
"I'm General Zey, and yes that's why we're here."
.
The humans in the barn were only a fraction of the numbers wanting to be trained; in each village they visited more and more joined. They all wanted to protect their own interests. It made Maze uneasy, after reneging on the agreement with the Gurlanin's; he still had to obey orders, however, he could make his feelings known and he had already done that, several times. He still felt the Republic would pay for this later but only hindsight would confirm that and was no good to anyone.
Birhan, who had emerged as the human's leader, led them to a clearing several miles away where they could meet and train in safety. They confirmed there were still small pockets of the Militia taking revenge on some of the farmers and looting what they could. Maze surveyed the area, it was good, easily defended, away from settlements.
They used the barn to stay in the first night and after eating Maze stood up, checked his blasters and announced, "I'll take first watch."
The General gave him a peculiar look then said, "I am perfectly capable of taking a watch myself Captain, you sleep. I'll take first watch."
"Sir…"
"Are you disobeying an order, Captain?"
"Sir, no sir." He stood straighter. It was the same tone that Jango used to his trainees.
"Then I'll take the first watch. Rest well Captain."