117Jorn: Hey Everyone, 117Jorn here with the gang, and we've got another chapter of We Dared For you!
Patriot 112: Hell Ya!
Church: The hell took you guys so long?
117Jorn: Well, we have other fanfics to work on Church, we can't pick favorites.
Grif: Who cares? At least I managed to get a nice long break.
Sarge: Shut it lumnuts, we gotta get going!
117Jorn: Right, anyways here is the next chapter! So sit back, Relax and enjoy!
"Talking"
"Radio/Com link"
'Thinking'
"Alien Language"
Chapter 7: The battle of Concordia
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LAAT/i Gunship
en-route to Shangarath City
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A squadron of LAAT/i Gunships moved over the Concordia's mountainous landscape as they approached Shangarath City. In the lead dropship Mark, Zule, Revan and the other members of his team were gathered around the holographic image of the battlefield they were about to enter.
"Shangarath City has a total population of over 75,000 people," Marik said. "9,000 of those said citizens are part of the Mandalorian Militia stationed there. Everyone else who are to old or to young to fight are already being evacuated to the command center to be taken off planet."
"Where will they go when they get out of the system?" Zule asked, and Marik shrugged "No Idea myself,." He admitted "Lady Artemis said Ne'tra Kad has an emergency fall back position they set up many years ago incase something like this were to happen, that's where the civilians are heading."
Revan nodded as he looked at the map "According to command, a few Core Ships landed close to the city, and are deploying troops." He said. "From what they say, their not just sending in Droids. They reported seeing a lot of Trandoshan Slavers and Mercenaries mixed with them as well."
Marik cursed at that, they will be able to hold the Droids off just long enough for the civilians to evacuate easily enough, but Trandoshans mixed in with them will cut it close, considering their reputation. Slavers were quick, vicious, and deadly at close quarters combat, while the Mercs were well armed, and trained.
"Well that's just great, that's just damn perfect," Marik ground out. "What are the city's defenses?"
"They city is surrounded by a large wall, big enough to keep the Droids out until they find a way to open the main gate." Revan answered, "Lined along the walls are several Turbolaser Towers that should help, however their powered by a generator near the back of the City, if they destroy that we loose the Turbolasers."
"Alright then, we'll split up into two groups." Marik said, "Half of us head to the wall to counter Grevious's forces, while the other half will head for the Generators, make sure they stay safe."
Revan and Zule nodded in agreement, "That's means the battalion has to split up," the former said, and Marik nodded.
"Bingo," he said, "Revan, you take half of the guys and head over to the generators, while me and Zule will head over to the wall,"
Revan nodded in acknowledgement, "Gotcha," he said, before looking outside "Here comes the city!" He shouted.
The others looked out as well, and sure enough the city was soon coming into view. It was lined with large skyscrapers near the center and smaller buildings near the out skirts, and surrounded by a large gray wall that was lined with Turbolaser turrets. However what they also noticed was the massive army of Droids marching towards the city as well, from B-1 Battle Droids, B-2 SBD's, Destroyer Droids, and numerous AAT's, Spider Tanks, and Hailfax Droids.
Marik sighed "And I was beginning to hope our Droid problem would be over and done with," he muttered.
Zule and Revan sighed at the same time.
"You're not the only one love," the female Falleen said, clearly tired of fighting droids.
"It seems the only to deal with this problem is to blow them up. The droids, the ships, and the factories," Revan said, "Of course, that will take too long, and we need to focus on these droids before we worry about those."
Marik nodded, as the Gunships approached the out skirts of the city and began to lower to the landing pad near the Command Center Ne'tra Kad had set up not to long ago. "Well, here's our stop!" Marik said as he, Zule and their half of the battalion loaded out of the Gunships "Good luck Revan!"
"You too! Try not to get yourselves killed!" Revan called back as the Dropships took off, and headed into the city towards the Generators.
Marik sighed and then turned to Zule who nodded and then to the rest of the clones.
"Alright Slice Hounds listen up!" Marik said and everyone of the clones stood at attention, "As you may of heard already, General Grievous is still alive and kicking," he said, making some clones have wide eyes behind the visors of their helmets, "How's that possible we don't know yet, but here's the situation: We're facing an old enemy, hell bent on wiping us and everyone else on Concordia out. Ne'tra Kad is preparing to evacuate Concordia and everyone on it to another planet where we will be establishing a new headquarters at, for our fight against Palpatine. Where it is, I don't know, but that doesn't matter right now, what does matter is that we hold this city until the evacuation at the Ne'tra Kad H.Q and the rest of the planet have fully evacuated. Once that's done, we haul our asses out of here to wherever Lady Artemis tells us to go. Understood?"
"Sir, yes sir!" was the response of all the Slice Hounds. With that, Marik ordered the troopers off to take up defensive positions.
"Perfect speech as always, Love," Zule remarked, "You always know how to get them worked up,"
Marik just shrugged as he and Zule went to join their men, "Hey, it's what I do," He said, before grinning as he brought up his blaster "Now less talking and more shooting, we got some Clankers to send to the scrapheap!"
Zule grinned as well, as she drew her Lightsaber.
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Meanwhile
With Jango
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After Jango and his forces, along with the Pathfinders and Mantis Company, landed in the city Necroplos, it turned out Jango's worries were correct. Droid forces were advancing on the city, in large force. Civilians were being evacuated while members of Ne'tra Kad and the Concordia Militia prepared to defend the city.
Necroplos was a city built between two large mountain ranges, the mountains making it impossible for the droids to try and flank them unless they tried to air-lift troops, howevre that would be difficuly since there were many Anti-Air emplacements hidden in the mountains preventing that from happening, so the only way to the command center for these droids was to take Necroplos.
Jango looked through his macrobinoculars on top of a large building, as he looked into the distance at the incoming Droid Army, tanks and infantry were assembling for the first charge. He then looked at his own defenses, as they set up anti-vehicle and infantry turrets in the city, and as artillery units are set up as well.
The former Mand'alor could tell they were seriously outnumbered here...but that was the way he liked it.
He turned to the Jedi and their clone troops and then issued orders to them.
"Alright, here's the situation, the droids will be coming down that pass that leads into the city," he said motioning to the small valley that the droids were marching down from, "This city is the most direct way for them to get to the Ne'tra Kad H.Q, so we need to hold this position for as long as we can. We may be outnumbered here, but we have a key advantage: The enemy has no way to flank us, meaning they have to charge head-on, so their numbers don't count for too much here. If we can keep them at bay long enough for the evacuation to complete, we will then abandon the city. But we're gonna be leaving a little...surprise for the Clankers." He grinned a bit "We've set bombs all across the city, once all of the civilians and troops are out of the area, we'll detonate them as the Droids march through."
The Jedi Commanders nodded at that, and Jango looked at Mak and Kass.
"You two will take Mantis Company on the Left flank and reinforce the militia there," he instructed and turned to Aubrie and Sagan, and Sara, "You take the Pathfinders and the 7th DIS and help with our forces near the outskirts, the Clanker's are sure to get past our first defense line and enter that area eventually, so be prepared!"
The Jedi nodded as they turned to get their forces in the areas specified by Jango.
Jango then turned to look at the area around him. Zar had sent him a few of his Death Watch troops to help out in their defense, just like he did for Marik's boys. The sight of seeing True Mandalorian, Ne'tra Kad, and Death Watch forces working together for the first time in many years was a sight to see.
"A sight for the ages, isn't it?" Arla said as she walked next to Jango, "No more True Mandalorians, New Mandalorians, Death Watch...starting today, we're all just Mando'ade, (Children of Mandalor)."
"Yea..." Jango said, "Just like Jaster would have wanted..."
Arla looked at her little brother sympathetically, he had told her all about Jaster, the man who saved him back on Concord Dawn, and how he helped Jango become who he was today. If the man were alive, Arla would have thanked him for keeping Jango safe where she could not. It made the fact that she use to work for the Death Watch even worse, even though she did it out of revenge to kill Tor Vizsla.
Putting those thoughts aside for now, Arla managed to smile a bit as she placed on her Shock Trooper helmet, and placed a reassuring hand on her brother's shoulder "Then we'd best make him proud, won't we little bro?"
Jango looked back at his sister, and smiled as he nodded "Ya..." he said before he put on his own helmet "We'll make him proud."
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Meanwhile
On Coruscaunt
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After Obi-wan and the others left the Jedi Temple, Jade, Trips and the others returned to the Sundered Heart to await Obi-wan and Yoda's return. Obi-wan went to check Padme, see if she may know anything about Anakin's betrayal, since it was known that they were close. Meanwhile, Yoda would confront Palpatine, and attempt to take down the Sith Lord.
When Obi-Wan came back he began to relay what he learned from his talk with Padme. And to say the others were shocked was an understatement.
"Anakin and the Senator, are lovers?" Kass said in shock, as Obi-Wan nodded.
"Yes, and she's pregnant with his child," he said, which threw the Jedi for a loop.
Mak scratched his head in frustration, "I don't get it! Why didn't he tell anybody this? Especially to me, Kass, or any of the other Padawan Pack?"
"Isn't it obvious?" John asked, "He was afraid. He was afraid that if anyone found out about him and Padme, the Jedi would have tried to get him kicked out of the Order."
"B-But they wouldn't kick him out because of that!" Kass nearly shouted, "Anikin is-was the Chosen one!" It was then Taylor Masao spoke up "Because he knew the Council would be to arrogant." He admitted. "Most of them have it driven into their heads that emotions like love will lead someone to the Dark Side. And admitting it to us would also put pressure on Padme, which would also cause more problems as well."
John sighed as he shook his head "I knew the code would bite us in the ass one of these days." He muttered, "If we could have changed the Order earlier, this whole thing might have been avoided! But Palpatine turned our own Code against us, and used Anakin's fear of loosing Padme against us all."
Kota nodded in agreement with the Jedi Ace, and turned toward Obi-Wan.
"Have you managed to find out where he is?" he asked the Jedi Master who shook his head.
"No, I'm afraid," he said, "Padme loves Anakin too much to tell me where he is,"
Everyone sighed at that until a voice got their attention, "I think I can help you with that," they turned and saw Bail with a look that clearly said bad news.
"I ran into Padme half an hour ago, dressed as if she's going somewhere," he said as the Jedi and Clone Commander perqued at this.
"Any idea where?" Kass asked, but Bail shook his head "I asked, but she said it was personal buisness, and left." He said, "But I bet she knows where Anakin is, and is heading his way."
"I'll follow her then." Obi-wan said, standing up. "I'll store away on her shuttle, and she'll take me right to him."
"I should go with you, Master Kenobi." John said, but Obi-wan shook his head "No, I need to do this myself." He said, "Anakin is my responsibility. I am his master, I must deal with this alone. The rest of you should wait here for Master Yoda. When he arrives, head for Polis Massa, we'll meet back up there, and then head for Hoth to meet up with the rest of the Hades Corps, Kota's Militia, and the Hunter Regiment."
Jade stood up at that, "That maybe true Obi-Wan, but someone has to be there to make sure Padme doesn't do anything that could result in her and the baby being harmed, or worse," Jade said as Trips stood beside her.
"She's right, General Kenobi," The Clone Commander said, agreeing with Jade, "We'll hold her back while you deal with Skywalker,"
Obi-Wan thought about that, and couldn't help but agree with them. Padme will no doubt try to do something, risking her life and that of the child's.
"Alright," he admitted "Jade, Trips, you two will come with me on her shuttle. I'll worry about Anakin, you two keep Padme and the baby safe. The rest of you, wait for Master Yoda to return, and when he does, head for Polis Massa." They all nodded as Jade and Trips got their gear together, and left to follow Obi-wan.
Mak sighed as they left the ship "I hope they'll be alright..." he muttered, as Kass held his hand.
"The best we can do is hope they make it back," the Zabrak said, and the other Jedi nodded.
"You know," John said, with a puzzled look "Before all this happened, I wonder who Anakin and Padme would've choose for their child's godparents, I mean, someone had to take care of them while they were doing their jobs."
The others looked at John for a moment "That's actually a good question, John." Taylor said with a nod, "It would have to be someone they trusted enough not to tell the Jedi Order about it...,"
Kass thought about who Anakin would trust to look after his child, "Well, there is Ahsoka since she's Anakin's Padawan and he trusts her with his life," she said.
"It could have been Obi-wan," Mak said, "He trusted him more than anything since he was his master, and since Obi-wan is like Yoda, and doesn't think love falls to the dark side, he could have kept it a secret."
"Their also Siri Tachi," John added, "She and Padme are good friends, and I'm pretty sure there may be a 'thing' going on between her and Obi-wan, expecially after what happened at Azure where she was almost killed if those Ne'tra Kad Medics hadn't arrived in time."
Mak, Kass, Taylor and Bail looked at John surprised "Seriously?" Kass asked, "Siri and Obi-wan, together? Wow...didn't see that one coming."
"Speaking of Siri, you think she's still alright?" Kass asked, and Taylor smiled a bit "I'm sure she is Kass," he said. "If I know Commander Bolt, he'd never stab Siri in the back. I can't say the same for the men under their command, but I'd trust him."
Kota sighed, "Let's hope so. From what the reports I heard about Bolt, he'll die before he betrays Siri,"
Everyone nodded at that.
"Ain't that the truth," John said.
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Meanwhile
Hyperspace, approaching Concordia
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Moving through Hyperspace was a fleet of seven ships of Republic Origins. The ships were respectivelya Tector-class Star Destroyer, two Victory II-class Star Destroyers, one Victory I-class Star Destroyer, and three Acclamator II-class Assault Ships.
On the bridge of the Tector-class, the Thunder blast, stood a woman looking to be in her mid 30's with wavy shoulder length blond hair, blue eyes, and wearing black and grey Jedi Robes with a lightsaber attached to her side. The woman was staring out through the front window of the Thunder Blast, watching as the void of Hyperspace passed by.
"General Tachi, we have almost arrived to the Mandalore System," A voice to her side said, and Siri Tachi turned to see a Clone wearing white Clone Paratrooper armor that was colored in purple trimming. "We should be arriving at Concordia soon."
Siri nodded "Good," she said with a small sigh "Hopefully we can take a breather there after all of this running..."
When Order 66 when out by the Chancellor, CC-0732 'Bolt' knew that something wasn't right when he was given that order. However even though he knew that the Order couldn't possibly be true, some of the clones under the command of the 187th Legion thought otherwise. Those most of the clones, such as the 442nd Siege Battalion, the 55th Mechanized Brigade, and the 85th Infantry Brigade were with him, some idiots from the 14th Infantry Brigade thought the Order was genuine, and tried to kill their Jedi General. Though she escaped death with just a few Blaster Wounds, the clones of the 14th were not so lucky, as they all got killed to the last.
'That's what happens when you don't train Clones on Kamino the right way,' Bolt thought to himself, since it was well known that the 14th were not trained on Kamino like most other Clones, and because of that they never got any Mando'a influence, and actually resented it. Not to mention their Marksmanship wasn't as good as most Clones either.
Bolt put those thoughts aside as he nodded "I hope so too, General." He said, "Maybe if we're lucky, some other Clones defected like we did. Who knows? Maybe we'll find a few more Jedi there too."
Siri smiled a bit at the Clone Commander, she was glad that she had him by her side, she could see why Mace trusted him so much when he gave her command of his Legion while he was still on Coruscaunt.
"I'm sure glad that Mace had a XO like you Bolt," she said softly, "You're definitely a man worthy of his respect, and mine,"
Bolt's eyes widen slightly in suprise, but then he smiled.
"Thank you, General Tachi," he said.
"Dropping out of Hyperspace in 5...4...3...2...1...now." Said the Navigations Officer, as the fleet of ships dropped out of Hyperspace. "Jump Complete, Setting course to-MA'AM! Multiple Contacts around Concordia! IFF's match Ne'tra Kad and Separatist Vessels exchanging fire!"
This news brought both Bolt and Siri onto alert, while also surprised "Separatist Ships?" Siri asked, with a sigh "You'd think we wouldn't have to worry about them after all of this...Get me Lady Artemis on the line, now! I need to find out what the kiff is going on here!"
The Communications Clone nodded, and not to long after the image of Nasha Artemis appeared on the front screen of the Thunder Blast, and from the screen it appeared she was on the bridge of her Flagship, the Procurator-class Star Battlecruiser 'Talyc Alii'gai'
Lady Artemis blinked in surprised before she chuckled a bit "Siri Tachi," she said, "Good to see your still alive after what's been going on and that your Clones didn't follow 66, but I think you picked a wrong time to come here for a visit."
"Lady Artemis, what's going on here?" Siri asked, "Why are there Separatist ships here?"
The Ne'tra Kad CEO sighed "Its Grevious," She said, to the shock and disbelief of the clones on the bridge "I don't know how, but Palpatine brought him back to life, and he gave him command of the remaining Droid Armies to take us down since we've been taking in Jedi who escaped 66, as well as defecting Clones who refused to follow the order."
Bolt cursed at that, "Osik! I thought we were rid of that mechanical maniac for good!" he said, clearly pissed that Grevious was alive.
"So did I Bolt. After all, it was Obi-Wan who told me himself that he killed him," Siri said, clearly not linking that the Droid General was still alive.
"I know the feeling," Nasha said, "Listen, we can't hold these guys off forever, so we're evacuating Concordia as we speak. Civilians are being loaded up on transports along with the supplies we need to keep fighting the empire, and once their gone we're getting out of here. If you could give some support to the ground forces keeping our base safe, it could help us buy some time to make sure everyone evacuates."
Siri and Bolt nodded "Understood Ma'am," She said, "Just point us in the right direction."
Nasha smiled a that "That's why I always liked you Siri," she said "Have your ground forces land near Necroplos, Clankers are making a hard push there to get a clean shot at our H.Q, so if you could reenforce them, could give us more time."
"Understood," Siri said, "We'll get our transports ready now." And with that Nasha nodded, and the transmission ended. She then turned to Bolt "Well Bolt, you know what to do." She said,
Bolt nodded at that with a grin on his face, "With pleasure, Ma'am," he said and then left the bridge. Siri then turned and looked outside and looked at the battle before them. Her mind though, was on her beloved.
'Obi-Wan, I hope you're alright,' she thought and then turned to one of the Bridge Clones.
"I'm heading out. Order all pilots to man their stations at once!" she ordered, and the Clone nodded.
"At once, Ma'am," he said and complied with the order as Siri turned to leave the bridge, and headed towards the hanger of the Thunder Blast. The Thunder Blast was a very unique variant of the Tector-class Star Destroyer series, since most Tector-classes do not have hanger bays. However the Thunder Blast was a new variant, allowing it the same hanger bays on a Imperator-class Star Destroyer. In fact, the Tector could be considered idential to the Imperator, only it was a hundred meters shorter.
'Out of the frying pan,' Siri thought as she headed for the hanger 'and Into the fire.'
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Meanwhile
On Concordia
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Marik ducked under the cover of the wall, as a series of blaster bolts flew over the stop he once stood at. He growled as he rose from his cover and fired his DL-44 at the approaching Droid Army "Damnit, they just keep coming!" Marik shouted as he ducked again, avoiding another volley of droid blaster fire.
"No shit!" Zule cursed as she blocked the blaster shots with her lightsaber.
It had been 20 minutes since they arrived to help defend the command post, and to say the Sepratists were persistent was an understatement. If droids ever understood persistence.
"This is the reason I hate most droids!" Marik said, as he looked around him. So far during the whole fight, he had to send 30 of the batallion back, due to being seriously wounded, in order to be evacuated.
They were not the only ones, since a lot of Ne'tra Kad and other Clone Soldiers have been either killed, or too wounded to continue fighting and sent back to the H.Q to be evacuated.
"We're not gonna last much longer if this keeps up!" Marik shouted before his commlink began beeping, and he activated it.
"God some good news for you and your boys Marik," Nasha Artemis's voice came through "Your getting some Reinforcements."
Marik blinked "Reinforcements?" He asked, "I thought all Ne'tra Kad forces were engaged with Droids across the planet, who the hell could you send our way?"
"Another fleet of Clone Defectors just arrived in system," Nasha explaiend, "The 187th Legion, under the command of Siri Tachi and Bolt. They'll be reenforcing yours and Jango's positions while also giving our space forces some support."
The Mandalorian smirked a bit at that "Siri Tachi...glad to see she's still around, and that Bolt was as reliable as Mace said." Marik said, "I'll have to give them a thanks after all of this...by the way, how's the evac going?"
"Good, but its still going to take some time." Nasha said, "We've got 30% of the Transports loaded up, and have already sent a few out. But it'll be a few hours until we can get all of the civilians, Jedi and Clones loaded up. Our fleet is holding off the bulk of Grevious's forces, but this won't last for much longer."
"We'll just keep holding them until we get everyone out of here!" Marik as he fired his DL-44, nailing a B-1 Battle Droid in the head, sending it flying, "And make sure the critically injured are loaded first!"
"You don't need to tell me twice Marik," Nasha said, and then cut the link, as Marik continued to fire his blaster at the droids.
'This is gonna be a Looooong day, won't it?' he thought.
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LAAT/i Gunship
En-Route to Necroplos
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Bolt rode in the Gunship with a squad of Clones as they and an additional twelve Larty's flew through the skies of Concordia approaching Necroplos. "According to the information sent, Necroplos and Shangarath are being hit the hardest." One of the Clones inside reported as he looked through a Datapad. "A lot of other locations are being hit, but Grevious seems to be focusing on those two, since their the closest to the Ne'tra Kad H.Q."
Bolt had to aggree with that, those two cities and the Ne'tra Kad HQ are the biggest threat to Grevious' Forces, if that monster managed to take them out, the rest of the moon would fall.
"That's exactly what Metal Face would do," he said, "Take out the three roots, and Concordia would fall, but we're going to stop that from happening."
"The city is in sight sir!" The pilot of the Larty said, "I'm putting her down near the command post! Ne'tra Kad said the man in charge of the defenses will meet you there!"
Bolt nodded "Good," he said before he turned to the others in the Gunship "Get Tactical boys!" He shouted, and the others nodded as they loaded and armed their respective weapons.
As the other Gunships found places to drop their troops off around the city, Bolt's Gunship landed directly next to the Command Post. The side doors opened and Bolt with his team hopped out of the Gunship, which took off after dropping them off. They were soon greeted by a Ne'tra Kad officer in standard black Ne'tra Kad officer armor "You Commander Bolt?" He asked, and Bolt nodded "That's right, who's in charge here?" He asked.
"He's inside the Command Center, Commander. Follow me," the officer said and went toward the Command Center with the Clones following.
When they were inside, Bolt saw Officers and other personnel running around, coordinating the battle being fought, not too far away.
"This way, sir," the Mandalorian said, and led the Clone team to the Tatical Hologram Map, where a group of men in Mandalorian Armor, some of them with green and gold markings thus making them generals, are looking at holographic maps of the two cities, which were colored green, along with their Forces, with the Droid Army, marked red.
It was one of the Mandalorians who Bolt recognized by his armor. and he had to double-check to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him as his eyes widened, and the Mandalorian turned to face him.
"J-Jango?" Bolt asked, as the eyes of the other Clones widened in shock as the thought to be dead 'father' of the Grand Army of the Republic stood before them.
"Hey Bolt, been awhile hasn't it?" Jango asked as he walked towards them "I know you probably have questions right now, so to answer them easily, it wasn't me on Geonisis who Mace killed, it was a Clone of me. I'll explain later, but right now we need to focus on defending the city."
Bolt just looked at Jango in shock before he managed to regain his composure "Of course sir," he said. "Wherever you need us, sir."
Jango grinned behind his helmet as he nodded "Good," he said, "Our forces are spread thin throughout the city, and the whole planet. As you know we're slowly pulling our boys back to the H.Q to be evacuated, but until the last transports leave we need to hold this position. Separatist Forces have been pusing into the city with Trandoshan Mercenary support. We're holding them off, but we're slowly loosing ground, already the fighting is in the city outskirts. I need you to take the men you have with you, and reenforce our defensive lines in the North-East section of the city. Ne'tra Kad is holding it, but their under heavy fire from Trandoshan Mercenaries. If they punch through them, then the Clankers can use it as a way to flank us."
Bolt nodded as he looked at the map, "I'll take care of it sir," he said, and Jango nodded, and that was when Arla came in.
"Jango," she said, "Another 3 companies of Battle droids are moving toward the outskirts. Beskad took a company to hold them off," she said, and Jango cursed.
"Alright, I'll head over and give him a hand," the former Mandalore said, and headed out, but not before turning to Bolt again, "Again, I'm glad you're here Bolt," he said, before taking off.
Bolt smiled a bit and turned to his team, "Alright, you heard him. Let's get going!" he ordered and the team nodded and headed out toward the North East side. Bolt made one final comment before heading out.
"This turning into a interesting day,"
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Meanwhile,
On a hill overlooking the battle
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While the battle was raging in the two cities, three men were watching the whole thing. They were both wearing the armor, that if any veteran of the Mandalorian Civil War years ago saw it, would've been reminded of Jaster's Supercommandos.
They had their helmets removed showing their faces. One was young man in his mid to late twenties, who had messy blonde hair, and blue eyes.
The second man was the same age as the other but he had brown shaven hair where some would mistake it was bald. He also had the same blue eyes as his companion.
The final person, if anyone ever looked at him, would've been reminded of Jango Fett.
"Looks like a real mess down there guys," Said the near-bald headed man as he looked through a pair of Macrobinoculars. "Separatists are pushing hard against them."
The messy blond haired boy nodded "Ya, looks like Nasha isn't giving up without a fight." He said before he looked at the third member of their group "What do you think Spar?" he didn't get a response and looked at the clone "Spar...Spar?"
The clone, former ARC Trooper Alpha-02 Spar, was quiet as he looked at the battlefield before him. His mind remembering everything of his life. From when he was training on Kamino, his friendship with Mij Gilamar, and his days as Mand'alor the Resurrector and leader of the Mandalorian Protectors, to that day everything went wrong. He was ordered to take his Mandalorian Protectors to the Norval II system, to capture the Republic Senator Padme Amidala.
However, the mission almost instantly hit the fan when it turned out to be a Republic Trap, one that got all of the other Protectors aside from himself, Tobbi Dala, and Fenn Shysa. They probably would have been killed as well, however they were rescued from that fate by an unlikley ally.
The Death Watch, commanded by Zar Hellfury. His own forces arrived, and thanks to him he got the three out of there alive. After the battle, Spar blamed himself for what happened to the Protectors, however Zar approached him, and he told him someone in the Separatist set him up. He showed him a recording of a communication between Darth Sideous and Count Dooku about his plans to 'Remove the Mandalorian Protectors from play'. This set up Spar and his group quest for revenge against the Separatists, and the Dark Lord of the Sith.
After a few calls from Fenn, Spar began to speak...
"The healthy human mind doesn't wake up in the morning thinking this is it's last day in the galaxy. But I think that's a luxury, not a curse. Knowing you're close to the end is a kind of freedom. Good time to take," he stopped for a bit as he checked his EE-3 blaster carbine," inventory. Outgunned. Outmanned. Out of our minds. On a suicide mission. But the galaxy's is staine din thousands of years of warfare, they will remember us. For this. Because out of our vast array of nightmares, this is the one we choose for ourselves. We go forward like a breath exhaled from the galaxy. With vigor in our hearts and one goal in sight," he then looked at the battledield with the infamous "1000 yard" stare.
"We. Will. Stop them." He said, before he looked at his two fellow Protectors, and after exchanging a quick nod, they activated their Jet Packs, and headed for the battlefield.
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In the City
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Alpha ARC Trooper Blitz ran from cover to cover, jumping over a barracade before sliding down avoiding blaster fire from his Droid pursuers. He then rolled into an abandoned bombed-out building to take a breather.
'Firefek these guys are persistent.' Blitz thought as he drew out his DC-15S Blaster and got out of his cover to open fire at the droids, taking out a few Super Battle Droids before needing to take cover again.
"Tell me about it," another voice said, and Blitz whirled around in surprise to see another Clone in ARC Trooper armor, only his being colored red, as he fired his duel DC-17 Blaster Pistols. "I've been dealing with these guys for a while now."
Blitz looked at the Clone in surprise before he grinned "Colt," he said, "The hell are you doing here?"
Clone Commander Colt grinned as he took cover "What? Did you think the Rancor Battalion would be stupid enough to follow 66 without a damn good reason?" He said with a mock pout "I thought you knew me better than that, my Vod. So, how are the Pathfinders doing?"
"Good, last time I checked." Blitz said as the two opened fire with their blasters again, taking down a squad of B-1 Battle droids advancing against them. "We're spread out throughout the city, though Sara's doing her best to keep us organized. What about you?"
Colt sighed as he tossed a Thermal Detonator "The same here," he said. "Unless we can push them out of the Outskirts, we're not gonna last much longer here."
"I agree with ya," Blitz said as he fired two shots from his blaster taking down two SBDs, "But that area is swarming with droids like a flock of mynocks,"
"No kidding," Colt said, as he fired a couple shots at a Droideka, nailing it in the head before it could activate it's shield, "But we gotta do something, have you tried calling in reinforcements?"
"Ya, they said they they were sending some men from the 187th." Blitz said, as Colt rose an eyebrow "Bolt's Legion?" He asked, "Well hot damn, good to know he's on our side."
"Same here," Blitz said as the two looked behind their cover, and saw at least a platoon's worth of B-1 Battle Droids with a few B-2 SBD's with them, preparing to charge their position "But enough talking for now," he said as he rose his Blaster "Now, its time for battle!"
Colt grinned with a nod "Couldn't say it better myself," He said. "I'd say 'For the Republic', but I don't think we're really working for the Republic anymore, right?"
Blitz chuckled dryly at that "True," he said, "But I think I got something better." Colt grinned behind his helmet "As do I." He replied, just before the two charged out of their cover, charging at the Droids shouting "FOR MANDALORE!"
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Meanwhile, with Marik
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"Osik!" Marik shouted as he dodged a shot from an AAT, "Great now they brought tanks!"
As he cursed their growing bad luck, one of the Slice Hounds, with blue shoulder and chest armor, with some on his helmet, came beside him.
"We should've brought the AT-RT's, sir!" said CT-1235, aka, Seargent Xi, as he fired his DC-15A blaster rifle, "They could be a big help!"
Marik berated himself for he should've kept half of the batallion's AT-RT squad, aka, Blitzkrieg Squad with them.
"Now ya tell me!" Marik shouted as he fired his blaster at the tank, not expecting it to do much damage.
However, he was surprised as the rank he fired at suddenly exploded in a large fireball. Marik blinked in surprise before an Eta-2 Actis-class Light interceptor colored bright blue flew overhead, followed by a squadron of V-Wing Starfighters who dropped a payload of Photon Bombs on a squad of unsuspecting AAT's.
Marik looked at the Starfighter, and grinned as he instantly recognized the color scheme 'Siri,' he thought before his Commlink began beeping, he activated it, knowing who it was "Well, it looks like I owe you one Siri." He said.
On the other line, Siri Tachi laughed as her fighter flew overhead "Don't mention it," she said, "Just paying you back for what happened at Azure. Just a heads up, but I'm sending you some armor to help you guys out from the 55th Mechanized Brigade. They've got Saber Fighter Tanks, and AT-XT's, so they should brighten things up a bit."
Marik grinned more "We're thankful for the support," he said, "I owe you a drink once all this is over."
If he could, he could've seen the Jedi Knight, he would've saw the smirk on her face, "I'll hold to that. Now, if you excuse me, my fleet is still fighting Metal Face in orbit," she said and her fighter and the V-Wings went back to the battle in space as Lartys, vehicle carriers and Carrier Gunships brought in fresh troops as well as the mentioned armor they needed.
"Got it, and again, thanks," he said, and turned back to the battle a big grin behind his visor, "Ok, now, things are getting good," He said as LAAT/c's carrying the Sabers and AT-XT's arrived, and dropped off their armored forces who began attacking the Separatist's.
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Meanwhile,
In Space
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Lady Artemis stood on the bridge of the Procurator-class Star Battlecruiser 'Talyc Alii'gai', near the holographic display that showed how the space battle was going. Needless to say, it wasn't looking too good. Though they haven't taken to many losses, the Separatist Ships just continue to flow into the system, replacing any ship they destroy. All the while Grevious's own Flagship, the Subjugator-class Heavy Cruiser was on the rear lines, watching.
Nasha was silently greatful that the Ion Cannon of that beast didn't seem to be online, otherwise this battle would have been over a while ago 'He must have rushed its construction, leaving the Ion Cannon out so that he could take us on quicker.' She thought to herself, 'Still that ship is still a deadly monster onto itself,'
Her thoughts were interrupted by one of the Bridge Officers.
"Ma'am, evacuation is now 55% completed, we've evacuated almost all civilians and the transports have headed to the rendevous point," he said, and another officer spoke up.
"Ma'am, Command reports lines have stabilized for now, thanks to arrival of reinforcements, but for how long we can't tell."
Nasha nodded "Good, do what you can to speed up the evacuation, and keep our lines strong." She said, "When the Evacuation reaches near 90%, order our ground forces to withdraw from Shangarath and Necroplos to Head Quarters for evacuation." The officer's nodded, as they left to follow the tasks she set out.
Nasha then looked at the Holo Display again, repeating the same thought in her mind.
'Almost there, just a little bit more,'
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Back on the ground
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"Son of a bitch!" was the simultaneous shout of Church, Griff, and Simmons as they took cover behind a building as a B-1 with a rocket launcher, and three SBDs fired at them.
"Damnit, do these guys ever give up!" Church shouted as he fired his Sniper Rifle at the B-1, but missed "OH WHAT THE FUCK!"
Griff sighed "Give me that!" He said as he grabbed Church's Sniper Rifle, and fired, hitting the droid dead in the head before firing another shot in its torso, finishing it off for good.
Simmons and Church blinked at that "Griff...when did you become a Marksman?" Simmons asked, and Griff just shrugged "I dunno," he said, "I just play video games."
The two, in anime-style, sweat dropped at that.
"O-kay," they both said, and then cursed as the SBDs continued to fire at them.
"Fuck! Now how about taking out those fucking SBDs!" Simmons yelled, but before the three could do anything the three Super Battle Droids were hit by well placed blaster shots.
Simmons and Church looked at Griff, who shrugged, "That wasn't me!" He said, before from the top of a building descended three figures in Dark Green Mandalorian Shock Trooper armor, with their Jet Packs active as they landed on the ground.
"You three alright?" One of the figures asked.
Church and the others just looked at them for a moment "Uhh, ya we're fine," he said. "But...who the hell are you?"
The one who spoke said, "Fenn Shysa is my name," he told the Mandalorians, "And we...are the Mandalorian Protectors...well, what's left of them anyway,"
Simmon's eyes widen a bit at that, "Wait a minute. Mandalorian Protectors?" he said incrediously, "I thought they were all wiped out at Norval-II?"
"We were," Fenn said with a sigh, "We're all that survived, we'd all probably be dead if it wasn't for Zar and the Death Watch, they managed to bail us out of that trap, and he told us Sidious set us up for that Trap."
The three Verpine Team members looked at the three Mandalorian Protectors in surprise "Well...guess we're glad to have you with us!" Simmons said, and just then Kari, Cal and the rest of Verpine team showed up.
"Church, Griff, Simmons, you three alright?" Cal asked, and the three nodded.
"Yeah we're good," Griff said and then pointed his thumb at the three Mandalorian Protectors, "You can thank them for that,"
Cal, Kari, and Verpine looked toward the three Mandalorians, and Kari was able to recognize them due to their armors' custome paint jobs.
"Wait a minute, I know you three!" She said, "Your Spar, Fenn Shysa and Tobbi Dala! Your from the Mandalorian Protectors! I thought you three were on Mandalore!"
"We were," Spar said, "But then we heard about the battle here, so we grabbed some transport and landed here to give you a hand." Then without aiming he rose his EE-3 Carbine and fired a three round burst at a Destroyer Droid before it could even roll out into attack mode. "Now enough talking, we got a battle to win."
The others nodded as they resumed their battle positions, to engage the next company of battle droids heading their way.
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Meanwhile
On Coruscaunt
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"My lady, please let me go with you." Captain Gregar Typho begged Padme and C-3P0 as she approached her personal shuttle.
"The fighting is over, Captain." Padme said, "There is no danger, Besides, this is something personal."
The Captain sighed "As you wish my lady," he said, "But I strongly disagree."
Padme smiled at the Captain's determination "I'll be alright Captain," she said. "This is something I must do myself. Besides, 3P0 can look after me." She added, gesturing to the Protocol Droid, who jerked in surprise at that.
Typho sighed, as he simply nodded and left "Oh Dear..." 3P0 muttered as Padme went up the loading ramp, and he followed.
This was the moment Obi-wan, Jade and Trips used as they came out of their hiding place from underneath the boarding ramp, and entered the skiff.
They reached a corridor and Obi-Wan motioned for the two to hide in one compartment while he hid in another as the engines started.
"Ooff! A little crowded in here," Jade said as she and Trips were in their compartment. But said Jedi was not bothered as she leaned against her lover.
"Sorry love, I didn't know where else to hide," said the Clone Commander, as he held her close "Though I don't see you complaining about it." He chuckled a bit as Jade's face reddened. "Anyways, we're probably gonna be in here for a while, so we've got time to kill, so got any ideas to keep us from dying of boredum?"
At that Jade turned her head and Trips saw the smirk on her face.
"Maybe...," She said, then reached behind her and, with a little help from Trips, removed his helmet, "...How about this?"
With that she pressed her lips to his in a passionate kiss.
When they separated, Trips's grin could have split his face in half "Sounds good to me," he said as they resumed.
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Meanwhile,
On Concordia
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Jango, Arla, Bolt and a platoon of Clones and Mandalorians approached the area where Kal Skirata and the Null ARC's were protecting. When they came up to where their position was, they stopped near the doorway outside the bombed out building "Ka'buir!" Jango called out, "You there?"
"Ya!" Kal shouted back.
"Is it clear?" Jango shouted back, and was greeted by a large explosion that blew a hole in the building they were in, luckly not hitting any of them or the men under their command.
"You tell me!" Kal shouted back.
Jango sighed at that, "Okay, dumb question," he said, "Need a hand?"
It was a few moments until Kal spoke again, "Yeah! Get in here!" he answered and the group moved in.
When they arrived inside, they found Kal firing his blaster Pistol outside a hole, being supported by Mereel firing his DC-15A. A'den and Jaing were on a level above them, with Jaing operating an E-Web heavy repeating blaster at the droids below, and Jaing firing his DC-15S. The other Null's along with Omega Squad, and Etain were scattered throughout the building firing at any droid who approached them, with Etain using her lightsaber to deflect the rounds shot at her, while using a DC-15s side arm blaster when she needed to.
"Nice of you to drop by Jango," Kal said as he and Mereel took cover as Droid blaster fire hit the area they once were. "How are things going?"
Jango sighed "Bad, but it could be worse." He said as the Clones and Mandalorians fanned out to support the others "We're taking losses, but we're managing to hold them off here in the outskirts. I recently got in contact with Marik, he says their holding them off too, but we're not gonna last much longer."
Kal cursed in Mando'a "Great," he said, "How much longer until the Evac's done?"
"I heard they recently finished evacuating the civilians." Jango said, "So that means we're around 70% or something like that. Nasha said once we're at 80% we're gonna fall back to H.Q to be evacuated, along with Marik and his boys. And when we do, we blow this city sky high with every clanker inside."
Kal nodded at that, "Sounds like something me and my boys would do," he said as he blasted another battle droid, "How long till we reach 80%?" he asked the former Mand'alor, who closed his eyes in thought, even though his visor hid it.
"At least 15 minutes tops," he said, "We will evacuate on the Prosecutor and Legacy II,"
Kal sighed as he looked out the hole in the wall, and groaned at the sight of a large number of Battle Droids heading their way "Well Jango," he said as he primed a grenade "I've got a feeling that its gonna be a long 15 Minutes."
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Jango said, as he twirled his WESTAR blasters around his fingers, and prepared for the fight.
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Subjugator-class Heavy Cruiser 'Malevolence III'
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General Grevious growled in anger "Why have our forces not broken through their lines yet!" The Droid General demanded.
"Our forces are meeting heavy resistance sir," the B-1 Battle Droid on the controls said, "Both in space and on the surface. But reports are showing evacuation ships leaving, so they must be preparing to retreat-"
Grevious roared in anger as he drew a lightsaber and sliced the droid in half "I do no want them to retreat!" He shouted, "I do not want them to escape! Order all ships to press the attack! Leave nothing behind!"
As another droid replaced the one destroyed, Grevious's eyes narrowed at the Ne'tra Kad Fleet 'For to long have you pesky Mandalorians been a thorn in my side,' he thought, 'But I will destroy you all, Maybe not today, but I WILL destroy you all...'
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Meanwhile
With Lady Artemis
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"Ma'am! The Droid forces are pressing the attack!" One of the officers onboard the Talyc Alii'gai said. "The Subjugator is moving forward!"
Nasha growled as the holograms of the Separatist ships drew closer 'Not now,' she thought, 'We're almost there, just not now!'
It was then a communications line opened up, and Zar's hologram appeared "Nasha, we've gotten the evacuation at 80%." He reported, "I'm ordering our ground forces to withdraw back to H.Q for the final evacuations. The fleet should begin evacuating as well."
Nasha sighed, and looked at the Overlord, "Then you better tell them to hustle up Zar, because Grevious has pressed the attack! The Subjagator-class is heading towards us!"
She heard Zar cursed in Mando'a at that, "Dammit! That Metal faced freak was always the impatient type! I'll tell our Forces to high-tail it!" he said,"Be careful of that Subjagator, Nasha. It doesn't have an Ion Cannon but it's still deadly as an Sand-Panther's claws,"
"Tell me something I don't know!" Nasha shouted, "See you soon, good luck!"
"Same to you," Zar said as his image disappeared.
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Meanwhile
With Marik
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Marik fired the DC-15A he aquired from a fallen clone at a SBD, tearing it apart as he ducked under the fist of one that came up behind him. He bashed the second Droid with the but of the rife, forcing to the ground as he drew out his heavy pistol and fired it into the droids head destroying it as he fired both of his weapon duel-wield style. "You want some? Bring it!" He shouted, just as his DC ran out of ammo, and he tossed it away, continuing to fire with his pistol as the Battle Droids advanced.
"Marik! Marik!" Zule shouted as she chopped and hacked her way through the droids with her ligthsaber "We just got the order to pull out! All other forces on the planet aside from the defenses have withdrawn!"
Marik turned to Zule, "Get the others out of here then!" he said and then called out to everyone else, "Pull back! Pull back!"
With the Clones and Mandalorians began to retreat back to the HQ.
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Meanwhile
With Jango 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Pull Back!" Jango called out, as Clones and Mandalorians loaded up onto Larty's and other transports to take them back to H.Q "Everyone Pull Back!" He then turned to Bolt "You and your men can hitch a ride on the Legacy till we get out of here." He said, and Bolt nodded.
"Thanks Sir," Bolt said as he and the men he commanded boarded a flight of LAAT/i's.
"Jango! Come on!" Kal shouted as their LAAT/i began to take off, with him and his boys with Arla onboard "Let's go! We ain't got much time!"
Jango nodded as he dashed for the Gunship, and hopped on board. Shortly after the Larty look off, and left the city. Jango and the others watched as Clones and Mandalorians alike evacuated the city as Droids began to overrun the city, using LAAT's, Juggernauts, Walkers, anything.
As the Separatists began to overrun the city, eventually every allied soldier had successfully evacuated from the city. Jango then turned to Kal, who nodded "Do it." He said.
And then, taking a detanator out, Jango pressed the button.
The result was a multitude of explosions going off in every building and every street in the city. Taking the Droid Army inside with it.
They soon arrived at the H.Q, which had largely been evacuated aside from the last batch would would leave with the others. Marik was already there, loading the last of the Slice Hounds and the other groups into the Prosecutor.Jango himself wasted no time as he had his forces and Bolt's board the Jaster's Legacy II.
Soon after, two Acclamator I-class Assault Ships, a CR100, and several GR-75 Medium Transports left the former Ne'tra Kad H.Q. When they got a safe distance away, the whole base detonated in a massive explosion, leaving behind nothing but a black Mushroom Cloud.
As the ships broke through the atmosphere, they soon found the Ne'tra Kad fleet, as it began to withdraw from Concordia. On Lady Artemis's flagship, the sight of the last evacuee's was the sight to call back all fighters unable to use Hyperspace on their own, and turn away from the battle. Grevious tried to stop them by firing at their engines, but it was too late as the Ne'tra Kad fleet, along with the Jedi and Clone survivors, escaped. Leaving behind a seething droid general with nothing more than an abandoned planet.
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Meanwhile,
With Jade, Trips and Obi-wan
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Jade was resting on Trips chest, in their hiding spot on Padme's ship. The two had spent most of the time making out in the small compartment across from Obi-Wan's, as the ship headed to who knows where Anakin is. The Clone Commander held his love in his arms, not daring to let her go.
'I still can't believe so many clones actually didn't follow 66,' He thought to himself before he sighed mentally 'Then again, a lot more still followed the order...but why? I know we were trained to obey any order, but what happened to honor, valor, dignity, and pride? Those were the things Jango and Cuy'val Dar taught us, and before any order is carried out, it has to be verified for legitimacy. So why are so many clones taking the word of a man who's never seen the front lines of battle, against the Jedi who have fought, bled and died by our sides?'
"Something troubling you, Trips?" Jade asked when she opened her eyes, noticing Trips thoughtful expression.
Trips shook his head "Its...I was just wondering how so many people are actually believing Palpatine." He said, "Why do they trust them, over the Jedi? He's never been in any of the fighting, we have. We knew how bad the war was getting, they didn't."
Jade just sighed "That's something that's confused me too," she said, "I can only guess he's somehow using the force to sway the senate into his beliefs, along with bribery, blackmail and anything else he could think of to get their support."
Trips nodded in agreement at that, "Yeah, that's possibly true," he said, "But I still can't understand why so many other clones are obeying 66 like a bunch of unthinking DROIDs?" he said in frustration, and Jade frowned in thought at that as well. She raised her eyebrow a bit as she remembered another certain Clone Commander.
"Trips, do you remember Bacara?" she asked him, and the Clone Commander groaned "I'd rather not..." he muttered, "Theirs no doubt in my mind he did Obey 66...he probably did it with 'extreme Prejudges'" he added sarcastically. "I just hope some of the Galactic Marines aren't as stupid as he was..."
Jade nodded, "I hope so, too. That guy always gave me a bad feeling," she said with obvious dislike, and Trips agreed with her. Bacara was one of the bunch that hated their Jedi Officers with a passion. He believed it had something to do with Jango's past hatred of Jedi, which in theory, passed on to them.
Before they could think anymore, he and Jade felt the ship began to de-accelerate.
"We're slowing down," he said, and Jade nodded as he picked up his DC-15A. "Looks like break time is over."
It took a little bit longer, but soon the J-Type Star Skiff came to a complete halt. After waiting for a moment, Jade and Trips exited their compartment while Obi-wan exited his.
"So, any idea where we're at?" Jade asked, and Obi-Wan shrugged, but she noticed him sniffing.
"Hmmm, sulfur," he said, "and smoke?,"
Jade also smelled the air, "I smell it, too," she said, "The boarding ramp must be down, let's hurry up and see where we're at."
The others nodded as they headed towards the boarding ramp. As they got closer, they could hear two voices just outside, one was Padme's, and the other was Vader's.
"And together you and I can rule the galaxy, make things the way we want them to be." Darth Vader said, and it was then the three stepped out, and saw Padme and Vader outside, and they were also greeted by the hellish surface of Mustafar.
"I don't know believe what I'm hearing." Padme said, "Obi-Wan was right. You've changed."
"I don't want to hear anymore about Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned against me, don't your turn against me."
"I don't know you anymore." She says beginning to tear up. "Anakin, you're breaking my heart, you're going down a path I can't follow."
"Because of Obi-Wan?" Vader asked, angrily.
"Because of what you've done, what you plan to do." Padme said, however just as she continued talking, that Vader noticed Jade, Obi-wan, and Trips, though his attention was more focused on Obi-wan than the others.
"Stop!" Padme cried desperately, "Stop now and come back! I love you!"
The Senator from Naboo then became more frightened when Vader glared at her.
"LIAR!" he yelled, and Padme noticed him looking back at the skiff. She turned her head to where he was looking and to her horror, there was Obi-Wan, along with two others. One she recognized as a Clone due to the Armor, and another wearing a mixture of Clone Armor and Jedi Robes.
"No!"
"You're with them! You brought them here to kill me!"
"NO!"
Then, against everything Obi-wan, Jade, Trips and even Padme knew about Anakin, and in addition to all the heart wrenching and almost sickening things they had seen before hand, Anakin does the unthinkable: he begins to Force Choke his own pregnant wife!
"Let her go, Anakin!" Obi-Wan calls out to him.
"Anakin" Padmé pleads to her husband as he telekinetically strangles her.
"Let. Her. Go!"
He then does as he wishes dropping her to the ground without another movement out of her. Anakin realizes the horrible mistake he made, but then directs his rage towards Obi-Wan.
"YOU TURNED HER AGAINST ME!"
"You have done that yourself!"
"YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER FROM ME!" The Sith Lord yells as he drops his cloak.
"You're anger and your lust for power have already done that." Obi-Wan says also dropping his cloak. "You have allowed this Dark Lord to twist your mind, until now... until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy."
"Don't lecture me, Obi-Wan. I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the Dark Side as you do."
While the Sith is busy with his tirade, Jade and Trips kneeled down to check Padmés vital signs, and Jade sighed a bit in relief that she was still alive.
"I have brought peace, freedom, justice and security to my new Empire!" Anakin continued, as Obi-wan just looked at him in shock and disbelief.
"Your new empire?" He asked, not believing his apprentice had said those words.
"Don't make me kill you." Anakin said, as he looked away, staring at the molting landscape before them.
"Anakin," Obi-wan said, in one last deperate effort to gain Anakin back "my allegiance is to the Republic, TO DEMOCRACY!"
Anakin was silent for a moment, "If you're not with me..." he said, "Then you're my enemy."
The Jedi Master could not believe what his former apprentice was saying. He truly was gone from all kind of help, which left only one option left.
"Only a Sith deals in absolutes." He says drawing his lightsaber hilt. "I will do what I must."
"You will try."
Without another word, the cobalt blade of Obi-Wan's lightsaber ignited, and not a second later, Vader grabbed his and Forced Back-flipped into the air, landing in front of his former mentor and best as they clashed.
"We got to get her out of here!" Trips said, and gentally picked up the pregnant woman with Jade helping, and the two went back aboard the ship. Thankfully, Vader didn't notice as he was too consumed in killing Obi-Wan.
Once they got Padme into the medical bay, they lied her down on one of the beds "I'll see if I can contact the others," Trips said as he moved to leave the room "You take care of Padme, alright?"
Jade nodded "Yes, please hurry." She said as she used the force to monitor the status of the child, and Padme. "We have to-" However she stopped as her eyes widened, instantly causing concern for Trips.
"Jade? What is it, what's wrong?" Trips asked.
"...do you want the bad news, the really bad news?" Jade said, as she looked up at Trips. "The bad news...she's not carrying one child...she's carrying twins." The Clone Commanders eyes widened at that, but what she said next would throw him in for a loop. "And the worse news...I think her water broke...and she's dying."
Trips just looked at Jade, then back to Padme, and he shouted one word...
"SHIT!"
And with that, he bolted out of the med bay towards the communications, in order to contact their allies and get some help, leaving Jade to worry about Padme and the two soon to be born children.
0-0-With Trips-0-0
Trips made it to the cockpit, where a suprised C-3PO was sitting in the co-pilot's chair.
"Oh my!" the protocol droid said, and became more alarmed when the Clone Commander grabbed and brought 3PO's face to his helmeted one.
"Where the hell is the communications on this ship, or I swear by the Force, I will have you melted down for spare parts!" he ordered in a 'Don't give me bullshit' tone.
The poor droid, made a sound like a nervous gulp, and raised a shaking hand toward the chair where the control panel for the communications are.
Trips let the poor droid go as he moved to the Communications as he began to contact the Hades Corps at Hoth. "Come on...connect...connect!" Trips muttered, hoping that he could get to them in time.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Meanwhile
At Hoth
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The vessels of the Hades Corps, Kota's Miltia, the captured CIS vessels and the 200 Dreadnaughts of the Katana Fleet were arranged in orbit around Hoth, as the Praetor-class Star Battlecruiser Defiant, now recently brought back into space, was docked with the shipyard going through the needed repairs to get the ship running again.
Recently, vessels belonging to the evacuees of Concordia had reached Hoth, lead by no one other than Marik, Jango, Siri, Zar and Lady Artemis. They informed them about what happened, and to say that the others were shocked about the droid general's return would be an understatement.
"Son. Of. A. Bitch." Roman moaned as he tried to fight off the migrain coming around in his head as he, the rest of the Blitz team, Satele, the Katana Fleet survivors, and D'Anna stood on the bridge. "What does it take to kill that bastard?"
On the holographic display was Lady Artemis, Marik, Zule, Zar, Jango and Siri, gathered around in the discussion. "I'm beginning to wonder myself," Siri said with a sad sigh, "So, where is Jade and Trips?"
"They went to track down a Jedi Distress beacon." Satele answered, "From the transmition they sent, they found General Kota, Jade's brother and their Master, Master Yoda, and Master Obi-wan, along with Bail Organa." Siri perked up at the mention of Obi-wan's name.
"Obi-wan's still alive?" She asked, and Sasha nodded "It appears so," she said, "They went to Coruscaunt to stop the transmitting signal at the temple to warn any surviving Jedi to stay away. Last I heard, they succeeded."
The Holo Images sighed in relief at that.
"Well that's good news," Marik said and everyone nodded. Before anyone can speak anything else, a comm officer came toward the group.
"Admiral we have just recieved a emergency hail from Commander Trips! Code Red Alert," the Clone said and Satele's and everyone elses eyes widen in alarm.
"Patch him through, now!" she ordered, and the Clone nodded as he pressed a few buttons, and soon Trip's hologram appeared besides them.
Trips sighed in relief "Thank the force I managed to contact you," He said, "We have a huge problem over here!"
"What is it Trips?" Satele asked, "Is it Jade?" The Clone Commander shook his head "No, but its just as bad." he said. "Its Padme Amidala, she's dying, and well...she's pregnant with twins, and a few minutes go...her water broke."
The other's eyes bugged out at that news. And the ones who didn't know she was pregnant were flabbergasted and begin to ask the Commander questions.
"I got no time to answer any questions right now! At the moment we need to get the Senator to Polis Massa. It has a Medical Center and the others are waiting for us there," he said, "If you want answers, meet us there,"
Lady Artemis nodded "Right, we'll be there," she said. "Good luck Trips." The Clone Commander nodded before his image disappeared.
"Alright, we'll have the rest of the fleet stay here, and we'll head to Polis Massa via shuttle!" Satele said, and the others nodded.
"Me and Zule will use the Ge'tal Orar," he said as Zule nodded. "Jango, do you have transport?"
"Ya, we still have a Theta-class shuttle with us." He said, "We'll see you there." And with that the other's holograms went off, as they went for the shuttles of their respective ships to make it to Polis Massa in time.
"We're going too," Nadinna said, as Aton, Kira and D'anna nodded as well "I might not be able to help much, but I am a doctor."
Satele just nodded "Fine, you come with us!" She said as they and Roman's team left the bridge as Satele left command to one of the Clone Officers.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Meanwhile
On Coruscaunt
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Taylor Masao and the others waited on the Sundered Heart for Master Yoda and Bail to return. Mak and Kass were beginning to get worried by how long they have been gone for Yoda to confront the Emperor, but John reassured them that Yoda and Bail would be fine.
"I wonder where Obi-Wan, Jade, and Trips are?," Mak said, now concerned for the members of their group who followed Padme to find Anakin, no, Vader.
"I'm sure they're alright, Mak," Rahm said, "Obi-wan is one of the best Masters in the order, while Jade and Trips can look after one another."
"He's right," Taylor said, "I know they will be alright, we just have to believe in them."
Kass was about to say something, however it was then that Master Yoda and Bail finally walked into the room, with Yoda looking like he's seen better days.
"Master Yoda!" Mak said as he and the others snapped to their feet "What happened, are you alright?"
Yoda simply nodded grimmly "Fine, I am." he said, before he gave a tired sighed "But...failed I have, the Emperor...to strong he was."
The Jedi looked shocked when Yoda said that, "T-Too strong?" Kass asked, "How is that possible?" Taylor sighed "The Dark Side of the force runs strong through the Emperor." He said, "I doubt any of us have the strength to take him on in one-on-one combat if he could hold his ground against Master Yoda."
The others' mood plummeted at that.
"Well this week just keeps getting better," Kass said sarcastically, and the others nodded in agreement with her.
It was then a beeping sound sounded on the table, and Bail went over and pressed the button for the communicator.
"Yes?" the senator said, and the voice of Captain Antilles was heard.
"Sir, we're recieving a hail from Commander Trips of the Hades Corps," said the captain of the CR-70, "he says it's urgent,"
The others immediately got worried about that "Patch him through!" Bail said as Taylor activated the room's Holo-Comm. Not to long after, and the miniature holographic image of Trips appeared on the screen.
"Oh thank the force I could contact you guys," he said, "Listen, we got a situation over here, me and the others followed Padme to the Mustafar System where Vader apparently just killed the Separatist Council. But when we left the ship, Vader thought Padme lead us to him, and force-choked her."
"WHAT?" Was the simultaneous response of everyone, even from Yoda himself.
"What the hell! He Force Choked his own Pregnant Wife!" Mak shouted, but Trips wasn't finished yet.
"That's not the worse part," He said, "Guys, it turns out she's Pregnant with Twins, her water broke, and she's dying!"
This came to an even further shock, and John was the first to regain his voice "W-Where are you know?" he asked.
"We just left Mustafar on her Star Skiff, we're heading to Polis Massa to get her some real medical treatment." Trips said, "Obi-wan is still on Mustafar, fighting Vader. But don't worry, he'll use Anakin's old Starfighter to meet up with us when he's...done." Trips paused for a moment before continuing "Also, we'll be meeting up with Satele, Marik, Zule, Lady Artemis and the others there as well."
"Lady Artemis and the others?" Mak asked, confused "I thought they were still at Concordia."
"Well, we'll get answers when we get there." The Commander said, "Once your ready, I suggest you haul your asses over here."
"Right, we'll take off immediately." Taylor said as he glanced at Bail, who nodded quickly as he went to tell the Captain to take off. "Just hurry up and get there!"
"We will, Trips out." And with that, his image disappeared.
Bail then activated the communicator and told Antilles to prepare the Sundered Heart for emergency take off, immediatley. It took a few minutes for the CR-70 to leave it's personal hanger in the Senate Complex, and then took off into space, and jumped to light speed to Polis Massa.
0-0-Back with Trips-0-0
Trips sighed in relief, glad he managed to contact the others. He then glanced toward the 3PO unit who was piloting the ship as they left the Mustafar System for Polis Massa. He then decided to leave the bridge and head to the Medical Bay where Jade was.
When he arrived, he found Padme still in the bed, still unconscious, while Jade was sitting next to her in a chair "How is she doing?" he asked.
Jade looked up at Trips, "I've done all I can," she said, "I wouldn't call her condition 'stable', but we can keep her alive until we reach the medical facilities on Polis." She then sighed as she leaned back in her seat.
Trips knew something else was on her mind "Jade, is there something wrong?" He asked, and he could see in her eyes there was a lot of confusion, fear and saddnes.
"Trips I...after what happened today..." She said, "What if...what if love really does cause people to fall to the dark side?" Trips looked stunned when she said that, "I mean look at Anakin! He nearly killed Padme back there, and he...he loved her! What it that happens to us? What if-"
She was cut off as Trips placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see the Clone Commander with a serious expression. "Jade, love isn't what caused Anakin to fall." he said, "When I saw his eyes, I didn't see the loving eyes Anakin would usually have whenever he sees Padme...I saw nothing but anger, and fear in the eyes of Darth Vader. He fell because he was afraid of anyone discovering about his and Padme's relationship. It drove him to be angry at the Jedi and their code for forbidding attachments, which eventually evolved to hate, which lead to suffering."
Jade was surprised at what the Clone Commander said as he continued "If Anakin had looked for help, if the Jedi Code allowed attachments, then maybe this all wouldn't have happened." He said. "However, he didn't tell anyone. And the only one who seemed to be able to help him was Palpatine, and he used that to his fullest extent to gain his loyalty to him, and not the Jedi. By the time Padme came to Mustafar...Anakin was dead, and replaced with Darth Vader." He almost spit out the name of the new Dark Lord of the sith, before he sighed "Though...if you really believe that...then I won't-"
"No, its alright." Jade said, shaking her head as she smiled a bit "Your right...Thanks I...don't know what I was thinking there for a minute." Trips just smiled as he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead "Hey, someone has to keep your head in the right place." he said, before there was a short series of beeps on the nearby council, and he went to check it out, and sighed a bit in relief. "Good, we've arrived at Polis Massa." He said, "We've already been cleared for landing."
Jade nodded in understanding, "Right," she said and turned to Padme, "Let's get her ready,"
Trips nodded as he moved over and picked up the senator as the skiff landed in the hanger bay. When the loading ramp lowered down, Jade and Trips walked down, with Trips carring Padme bridal style. The station master approached them not to long after "We have been told to prepare for your arrival by Master Yoda," He said, "Please, follow me to the medical center."
Jade and Trips nodded as they quickly followed the Station Master to the Medical Center.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Later
Medical Center
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Eventually, the others had arrived at the asteroid station, aside from Obi-wan who was probably still fighting Anakin. Padme was taken to the Medical Center to make sure the children were still alright, and try to stablize Padme's condition. Meanwhile, as they waited for the news on Padme and for Obi-wan to arrive, the Jedi, Clone Commanders and Lady Artemis were gathered around the meeting room to discuss what has happened, what is happening, and what to do next.
"Fuck. Me. Sideways..." Trips said as he palmed his face, "Grevious is back, and we lost Concordia? Damnit, it just keeps on getting worse, doesn't it?"
"Well, in a way this could be considered a blessing in disguise." John said, and the others looked at him confused. The Jedi ace grinned a bit "If Palpatine is going so far as to bring back a dead Separatist General, and give him control of the remaining Droid Armies, then it means he's getting desperate from all of the clones who went rouge, and from the Jedi who survived 66."
The others were interested by this, as Nasha thought about it.
"Hmmm, that's right," she said, "And if people find out about this, they'll know something's not right,"
John nodded, "Correct!" he said, but before he could say anything else, one of the Polis Massans came in.
'I'm sorry to interrupt,' the being said, using it's telepathy, 'But Master Obi-Wan Kenobi has arrived,'
Many of the others sighed in relief, none more so than Siri. "Good," Yoda said, "Bring him here." The Kallidahin nodded and left the room. Not to long after, and Obi-wan stepped into the room. His eyes scanned over the occupants, when they fell upon Siri, he sighed a bit in relief "It is good to see you all made it here in one piece." He said.
"Good to see you too, Obi-wan." Siri said, with a smile before John asked "So, did you kill Vader?"
Obi-Wan sighed as he shook his head, "No, but I injured him enough where he will need three new limbs, and treated for fourth degree burns after falling near a pit of lava," he said and everyone couldn't help wince at the thought of that, Sith or no Sith.
"Ouch," Marik said, "Sith or not, I would hate to be him," Zule meanwhile rubbed the spot where Ventress had sliced her old arm off. She knew from personal experience how much pain someone goes through in loosing a whole limb, so loosing three at once would have been insanely painful.
"Well, if we're lucky he'll die from the wounds," Nasha said before a sighed escaped her lips "Though there is still the chance he could survive, and Palpatine could give him cybernetic replacements."
"I could not kill him, he was defenseless." Obi-wan defended, "A lot has happened, but I still will not kill someone who is defenseless, Sith or Jedi."
"We understand, Obi-wan." Siri said, before she sighed "To be honest, I would have done the same thing probably..."
Obi-Wan sighed at that, he knew it wasn't the Jedi way to strike down an un-armed enemy. And he followed that rule to the letter. Before he could think anymore on the situation, another Kallidahin came in and 'talked' to Bail who nodded and turned to the others.
"Doctor Nadinna wishes to speak with us," he said, his face somber, "Its about Padme..."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Later
In the Medical Room
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Once the others were gathered in the room overlooking Padme's room, they were soon approached by the Kiffar Doctor, "So what's the story Doc?" Anton asked, Nadinna looked at the Colonel and the others, and sighed.
"I don't know what to tell you," she said, shaking her head. "Clinically, she's perfectly healthy. But...I don't know how...but were loosing her."
The others, were all shocked to hear this "Shes...dying?" Obi-wan asked, "How?"
Nadinna shrugged "I don't know what to tell you," she said. "Its like she just lost the will to live."
Everyone immediatley became shocked and saddened by the news, as the Kiffar doctor continued.
"We also need to work quickly, if the twins she's carrying are to be saved," she said, and the others all agreed to that. Nadinna quickly reentered the room, and told the Kallidahin to give her what she needed to help Padme give birth ASAP.
"I can't believe this is happening..." Siri said to herself, as she tried to fight back the tears escaping her eyes. Obi-Wan placed an arm around her shoulder in a effort to comfort her, which provoked Siri to lean into him.
"What will happen to the children?" Kass asked the question everyone was thinking.
"I'm not sure Kass," Mak said sadly as he watched, "I'm just not sure,"
Yoda looked sadly at the scene in front of him. For over ten years he greatly admired the Former Queen-turned-Senator from Naboo for her bravery, and her goal to bring peace to the galaxy. And now, here she lied down, dying from heart break. Meanwhile, Darine was cooperating with the Medical Droids and Kallidahin doctors as they prepared to give birth to the twins for the dying woman.
0-0-A few minutes Later-0-0
Once everything was all set, Nadinna and a Midwife prepared to receive the two soon to be born babies, while Siri and Obi-wan stood next to Padme, Obi-wan holding her right hand, while Siri held her left, while Padme cried out in pain as she began to give birth to the first baby.
"Come on, easy does it," Darine said gently as Padme gave another cry.
"Ooiba, Ooiba," the Midwife chanted as the dying woman struggled to bring her first child into the world.
"Alright, that's it! Just one more...," Darine said and soon the cries of an infant were heard, "It's a boy," the Kiffar said, as Padme, although weakly, gave the infant boy his name.
"Luke,"
Darine then gave the baby boy to Obi-Wan who lowered down to Padme's level so she can see him.
"Oh Luke," the senator said tearfully as she stroked her son's face. But then she had to cry again in pain as she began to deliver her second child.
"You've got this!" Darine said, "Come on, just one more, and...There!" She said, and soon another set of crying was heard. "Its a girl!" She said, as Padme have her daughter her name.
"Leia," she said, just barley over a whisper as the Kiffar handed Siri the child, who lowered her down so Padme could see her as well.
"Leia," she said as she did the same thing as she did with Luke, "My Little Leia,"
She then felt her life slipping as she fought hard to stay awake.
"Obi-Wan," she said and said Jedi leaned forward, "Siri," the female Jedi did the same as her lover did and leaned in. What the Senator said next suprised them.
"There is good in him...I know...I know there's...still...," with one final breath and her head lolling to the side, Padme Amidala passed on. As Darine regretfully called the time of death, outside the others either cried, closed their eyes, or turned away, the only sound heard was the crying of the two newborn infants.
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Later
Onboard the Sundered Heart
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"Hidden, Safe the children must be kept." Yoda said to the gathered assortment of Jedi and Clone Commanders with Bail.
Obi-wan nodded, "We must take them to somewhere the Sith will not sense their presence." He said.
"Then it would be best the split them apart," Nasha said, "It would be easier to hide them, and harder for Palpatine or Vader to track them down."
Yoda nodded, "Yes, for the best, it is," the Jedi Master said sadly. The others didn't like the idea of the two newborns splitting up after their mother, but they knew it was the best way to keep them safe. Bail then spoke up.
"My wife and I will take the girl," he said, "We always talked of adopting a baby girl. She will be loved with us,"
The Jedi nodded at that.
"And what of Luke?" John said, "Where should we hide him?"
Yoda turned his chair to face them "To Tatooine, to his family, send him." He said, and Obi-wan nodded.
"I will take the child, he should be safe with his aunt and uncle." He said.
"Will you stay there, and watch over him?" General Kota asked, and Obi-wan sighed "I would," he said, "But I feel that you may need my assistance in the near future. Soon however, I most likely will leave for Tatooine."
Yoda hummed, and nodded "Needed, you are." he said. "But fighting the empire, difficult this will be, in ways more than one."
Nasha sighed "Master Yoda has a point," she said, "The Republic wanted to become an empire, if we try to firmly stand against it, then it will only make us look like the bad guys."
"Then we may have to wait, as much as I hate to admit it." Jango said, "We have to wait until the people realize what kind of government rule them now, let them experience what a galaxy under the rule of the Sith feels like."
"Still, we can't simply stand around and do nothing," Marik pointed out, "If we do nothing, it would make us look just as bad as the galaxy suffers."
It was then Anton spoke up.
"I've believe we should first begin by winning Public support," he said and the others turned to him, "For instance, we should do what the Empire probably won't do. Take out slavers, crime syndicates, pirates, the typical thugs, usual scumbags," he explained, and the others thought about that.
"That's actually not such a bad idea." Nasha pointed out, "If we win their support, then the Empire will loose its influence."
"And let's not forget about Grevious." Siri said, "Palpatine is probably trying to keep him and the recommissioning of the Droid Armies a secret. If word got out about why a former separatist general was willingly serving the emperor got out, people will begin questioning his leadership."
Many nodded at that, "True, and then people will begin to move toward our way of thinking," Jango said with a smirk.
The others all agreed with the course of action, and it was then Yoda convened the meeting over, and told them that until the time was right, they will disappear for now. As everyone began to leave, Yoda told Obi-Wan to wait.
"Master Kenobi, while during this mission, training I have for you." Yoda said, surprising Obi-wan.
"Training?" He asked, confused as to what the Grand Master could be talking about.
Yoda smiled a bit "An old friend has learned the path to Immortality." He said, "One who has returned from the Netherworld of the force, your old Master."
Obi-wan's eyes widened at that "Qui-gon?" he asked, making sure he was understanding him correctly as Yoda nodded.
"How to commune with him, I will teach you." He said, with a smile.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Meanwhile
With the others
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"Well...now where do we go?" Marik asked as he and the others began to make their way off the Sundered Heart.
"Me and Trips have set up a Prefabricated base on Hoth," Jade said, "With the old Separatist Ship Yard there, added to how out of the way the system is, we should be able to maintain a new base of operations there."
"Actually," Lady Artemis said, "I may have a better place to make a new H.Q for Ne'tra Kad, and for our new resistance force."
The others raised an eyebrow at that.
"And where exactly is this new H.Q. you set up Lady Artemis?," Rahm said, and Nasha smirked at that.
"Ever read about the Grey Jedi Knight, Revan, and his lover Bastila Shan?" she said as they continued down the hallway.
"Of course!" Rahm said, "They were the ones who put an end to the Jedi Civil War, and were key to allowing the Republic to survive through the Great galactic War."
"Correct," Nasha said. "However, what most do not remember was the final battle of the Jedi Civil War, and where it took place. Any records you may look through will say something like 'a long forgotten star system' or something like that."
"I remember," Jango said, "The final battle took place at a planet called Rakata Prime, where they destroyed some Sith Super Weapon."
"Correct again." She said, "Rakata Prime, or as it was renamed Lehon after the war, was the sight of the final battle. But after nearly 4,000 years, its location has been lost...until we found it."
The others looked at the Ne'tra Kad CEO in surprise "You found Lehon?" Jade asked, shocked as the woman nodded.
"Yes," she said. "It was simply a matter of tracking Revan's steps, visiting the planets Dantooine, Kashyyky, Manaan, Tatooine, and Korriban, and finding the Star Maps which lead me and my Father to discovering the planet. Since then, we established a base on the planet, one we would use should Concordia were to fall. Its possibly one of the few places Palpatine doesn't even know exist."
The others were shocked by that piece of information.
"Geez, and how long did you and your father keep this secret?," Zule asked the question everyone was thinking, and Nasha's smirk grew more.
"Since before I became CEO of Ne'tra Kad," she said. "But that's not the only thing that's there."
"What do you mean?" Siri asked, and Nasha's smirk, if possible, grew more.
"My Father, when he was in charge of Ne'tra Kad, has been working on a... project, at Lehon." She said, "When I became CEO, I assumed command of the project. Its still not complete...but its almost there."
"And what project is that?" Trips asked, and Nasha just grinned as she headed for her shuttle.
"You'll have to see it for yourselves," She said, "I'll send you the coordinates to Lehon once we return to Hoth, and from there we'll meet up with the rest of the Ne'tra Kad fleet already there."
The others nodded as they continued, and walked passed Captain Antilles who nodded and the others returned it.
"Captain Antilles!" Called Bail grabbing the man's attention as he turned and greeted his superior, who was accompanied by R2 and 3PO.
"Yes, your highness?" the captain said.
"I'm placing these droids in your care," Bail said, gesturing to the droids. "Treat them well, clean them up...and have the Protocol Droid's mind wiped, but not before you copy its memories onto a data pad."
"What!" C3P0 said, as R2 made a few beeps that sound like chuckling. "Oh no..."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The next Day
Unknown Star System
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The fleets of the Hades Corps and their allies dropped out of Hyperspace, just outside the orbit of a large blue planet.
"So...this is Lehon?" Jade asked while the holographic images of the other leaders, minus Obi-wan who left to bring Luke to Tatooine, surrounded the display.
Nasha nodded as she contacted the base. "Lehon Control, requesting deactivation of the Disruptor Field." She said, "Access Code 00924827."
"Access code accepted, Disruptor Field is down." Came the quick reply. "Welcome back Lady Artemis."
"Good to be back," she said, "Prepare one of the the shipyards if you please, we have guests coming in,"
"Copy that, Lady Artemis," said the Controller, "Shipyards 11 through 13 are available,"
"Good. Thank you Lehon Control, We'll be arriving on the surface shortly," she said and cut the link.
Not long after, the fleet of ships moved out of Lehon's shadow, and towards the numerous Shipyards and Stations orbiting the planet. Lehon's sun, Abo, shined in the near distance.
However, at the sight of the sun, the eyes of the others widened at what else they saw, while Nasha just grinned. "By the force..." Rham muttered, "what is that!"
The attention of the Clones and Jedi were drawn, to a massive spire of energy flowing up from Abo, leading up to a massive structure. It was huge, almost as large as a moon. The energy was being built up in three long 'arms' below it. The structure showed signs of construction, telling whatever it was, it was still under construction.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Nasha said, the grin never leaving her face. "I present to you, what soon will be our largest advantage over the Empire. The Project that me and my Father have been working on for Decades. I give you...the Star Forge Mark-II."
For a whole minute, everyone just stared at the massive space station in awe, "But...how?" Marik finally muttered out, "The Star Forge was destroyed in the Jedi Civil War!"
"It was," Nasha said, "But when we found Lehon, the debris from the Star Forge, along with the debris from the hundreds of ships littered across the space and surface of Lehon was till surrounding the system. Me and my Father decided to use all of that Material to rebuild the Star Forge, improve it, and use it in times such as this."
"But...doesn't the Star Forge feed off of the Dark Side of the Force?" John asked warily, and Nasha just shook her head "Not this one," she said. "The first Star Forge did because the ancient Rakata's Infinate Empire built the Star Forge with the Dark Side, and with dark intentions of conquering the galaxy. However, we will not be using the Star Forge for those same intentions. When we use it, it will be for the good of the galaxy, to protect if from the Dark Side. As such, the Star Forge Mark-II does not feed off of the Negative emotions of the Dark Side, but Rather the positive emotions of the light side."
The others were gob smacked by that announcement as they stared at the colossal station.
"I gotta ask something," Mak said, "Even though it's still under construction, can it still produce the same number of ships it did in the Civil War?"
Nasha chuckled at that, "Yes Mak. Although the weapon systems are not operational, the factory part of the Star Forge Mark-II is," she said, "Although it's not up to it's full potential at the moment. For example, it can only produce a couple hundred ships per month, such as Corvettes, Frigates, cruisers and Starfighters. However to create a ship the size of a Star Destroyer, it could take a bit longer. It could take a whole 4 months just to build something the size of the Defiant or the Talyc Alii'gai. On top of that, the SF-MII can also produce infantry weapons, and ground vehicles as well."
Trips let out a low whistle "Damn, I'd say our odd's just went up considerably." he said, "But when do you think you'll be able to get it working at 100%?"
The Ne'tra Kad CEO shrugged "It depends," she said, "at the current rate, it'll be a few more years until its finished. It could take up from 10 to 20 years until its finished."
Several of the others sighed at that "Unfortunate, this is." Yoda said. "But, still, good news this is. The Star Forge, great advantage give us, over the empire it does."
Nasha nodded at that, "That it does, Master Yoda," she as the ships reached a cluster of shipyards. To say the structures were huge was an understatement, but not as Gigantic as the Star Forge.
It took another hour and thirty minutes until all the ships were safely docked in their berths and the personal shuttles of the leaders headed toward the surface of Lehon, in order to prepare for the future fight, against the empire, and the return of the Jedi.
117Jorn: HAHA! BOOM! Chapter FINISHED!
Patriot-112: Yep! Finally done!
Church: What the hell, man?
Griff: We only got ONE scene!
117Jorn: Don't worry, you'll be getting more scenes in later chapters. The Freelancer Plot is going to be very important in We Dared. Besides, I like seeing Tex kick ass.
Tex: Thanks!
117Jorn: Don't mention it!
Next Time on Star Wars We Dared: As the forces of the Hades Corps, Ne'tra Kad, and their allies finally get some rest after a long week, Jango and the Neo True Mandalorians are contacted by his allies at Kamino Taun We, and Lama Su, claiming they have means in which to assist them. Meanwhile, other clones who rose up against order 66, and surviving Jedi also reveal themselves. The 295th Legion, under the command of Jedi General Telma Klos, rescue a group of Clone Commando's from the High Orbit Precision Entry (H.O.P.E) Squad, Dar'yaim Squad, and the 31st Blizzard Regiment. However, they come under attack by General Grevious's forces. Will the resistance be able to help them? Find out in the next chapter of We Dared.
Until Next time, May the Force be with you!