Chapter 11: The Day After
When they had arrived at The Roar they had found a message from Commander Jay. In it he sheepishly asked for General Mag Liano's pardon, but he had left orbit in response to a Red Zero from a Jedi Apprentice-Commander Zachary Amir who was currently in command of The Arden. Beto had felt his old apprentice's relief even though her attitude had been as efficient and brisk as ever. She only ever relaxed when everyone was back safely.
Jolly and Zar had hesitated when they got back to the fighter, teetering between going to fly the ship as their training demanded and giving their squad mates medical attention.
"Take care of each other," Beto had ordered. "We can fly."
Zar had given him a grateful look as Jolly ran off to get the med-kit. Beto and Isa slid into the pilot and copilot seat and a strong feeling of déjà vu plagued Beto. But of course, they had done this hundreds of times before.
"You finally get to meet Zach," Isa said quietly as they finally left Surius 5 behind them.
Beto half-chuckled. "That I do. He seems to have saved your crew."
"He's a good kid," said Isa proudly. "But..."
"But what?" Beto prompted gently.
"I'm training him how to lead troops," she began, glancing back at Jolly speaking softly to Edge and Zar spraying Nicko with bacta spray, "How to lead men into battle. And I'm trying to teach him about peace and forgiveness and justice but how can I do that when he never gets to see it?"
Beto nodded slowly. "I was thinking the same thing," he whispered. "At least Blake became my Padawan before we got the clone army, but even then...the world has changed."
"The Feeling is still there, isn't it?" Isa asked very quietly, so that the commandos couldn't hear.
Beto nodded. "It lessens sometimes. Like now. But it's never gone away since the blockade started around Naboo."
They were greeted at the landing dock by Commander Jay, a very relieved padawan Zach, and a couple of medical droids that insisted that both Edge and Nicko sit down on hover-stretchers and whisked them away to the medical bay. Beto half-ordered Jolly and Zar to also get checked out before he allowed Jay to take him aside and fill him in on everything he had missed. Which was a surprisingly large number of things.
The Arden had been deemed un-salvageable and Beto now had almost triple the number of troops on his ship. Most of them with injuries ranging from bad bruises to men who were on life-support in the med-bay. Zach had made the call to destroy the ship rather than let it fall into Separatist hands and, after scraping everything off the computers, Jay had agreed. That was when they has returned to the Surius system and realized that Beto had been attempting to contact them.
Still marveling at everything that could happen in a day, Beto stood in his ready room with Isa, Zach, and an embarrassed Commander Jay trying to hide in the corner. They were due to call the Jedi Council. Or part of it, anyway. The small holo-projector flickered to life revealing the venerable Master Yoda, Master Windu with Blake standing half-behind him, and – to Beto's slight surprise – Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin.
"Greetings, Beto. Picked up your old apprentice, you have. Hmmm," said Yoda in that gravelly voice of his.
"Something like that," Beto agreed. "Isa? Perhaps you should explain."
And then, the entire story again. The Nova. The Arden. Surius 5. The Commandos. The mystery weapon. And Count Dooku. At this point, Beto was rather pleased to show that he had managed to get Dooku's lightsaber. But Count Dooku had escaped. Again.
Beto saw Anakin grind his teeth together when they admitted that. "That slimy, slippery..."
"Anakin," Obi-Wan warned, although Beto got the feeling that he agreed whole-heartedly with his apprentice's assessment of their enemy.
"Some things are worth more than hunting down an enemy," Windu said. "Destroying this weapon will undoubtedly damage the Separatist's plans."
"Masters," Blake volunteered. "I don't understand. What was the weapon?"
Isa and Beto exchanged glances. Isa tapped out a quick message on her leg. Morse code. One word. Beto sent her a Feeling of agreement.
"I don't know for sure," Beto admitted. "But I have a pretty good guess."
"Well?" Said Windu.
"I think it was some sort of large, weaponized satellite," Beto said. "The limited scans we made suggest that it had a propulsion system to remain in orbit."
Zach shuddered. "I wouldn't want one of those things in orbit over any planet."
On that somber note, the meeting concluded with the order for everyone to rendezvous with Blake and Windu at Calamaria. Isa and her troops would board a new ship and become part of Kenobi's fleet in the Outer Rim. And Beto would finally get his apprentice back.
It had been a long day, but Beto wasn't finished yet. He walked down the dim halls and waited for a moment as the doors of the Med Bay slid open. Inside, the light had been lowered to a soft blue. Most of the patients were sleeping. But the four men that he was seeking were still awake, talking in muffled tones in the far corner. Nicko, Edge and Jolly seemed to be patients – they were in medical beds. Zar was leaning back in a chair between two of the beds, obviously tired. They all made as if to stand and salute as he drew near, but he motioned for them to sit.
"At ease," he said with a smile. "It was a grueling and unexpected mission. I don't expect you to be jumping up and saluting for no reason."
"We would, though, sir," said Nicko. "You have...well...thank you, sir."
"Especially for saving my life," Edge added. "Thank you." He was reclining on a large stack of pillows, an IV in his arm. But a quick scan with the Force told Beto that the soldier would be fine. He'd gotten to him in time.
"Yes," Jolly added. "Thank you, General."
Zar looked from one clone to the other and stood. He snapped to attention and gave Beto a perfect salute.