"Humans, they make up the majority of the known galaxies populace, but little is known of their origin. Many human cultures and races have flourished throughout the galaxy over the past 25,000 years. Some, such as the people of Alderaan or Mandalore, have existed for so many countless generations that some consider their homeworlds to be where they originated. While this is an impossibility due to the single fact that all humans in the galaxy are genetically related to some degree, it does bring up the intriguing question of where their original homeworld is." - Excerpt from Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn's Holocron, Jedi Archives.
Location: Hyperspace, heading to uncharted space, far Outer-Rim, 41 days after Battle of Geonosis, Earth year 2035
Captain Rex sat patiently waiting in the Resolute's Bridge. It seemed like so much of his ten-year life consisted of waiting. If he wasn't fighting or planning he was waiting, well and thinking. He supposed that's what a life of a clone is. So he sat and counted down their arrival to the uncharted system on his chrono. He and the Admiral had the ship fully prepared; all eight DBY-827 heavy dual turbolaser turrets and all fifty-two turbolaser's were ready to fire at a moments notice. They even had the proton torpedoes ready for launch. However space is a very large place, even if they were following the Separatist exact Hyperspace route, he doubted they would run immediately into them when they came out.
To Rex, something was starting to seem odd about this mission. Why would command send them and the Negotiator all the way out here? They were almost to the galaxy's edge, he wasn't even sure if anyone laid claim to this part of space. The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. Why are they getting detoured to find some cowards who fled a fight? Oh, wait, someone he knew suggested they go after the Consular Cruiser, the di'kut.
Still though, there weren't any diplomats onboard, and even if the captain was onboard he shouldn't have left. Which brings up another question, why did they flee to uncharted space, any pilot worth a credit chip would've returned to Republic controlled space. He was really starting to regret agreeing to this kriffing detour. But then again, Rex thought that perhaps this was the right thing to do, someone out here needed to be rescued, and they are part of the Republic, so maybe it isn't a bad idea after all.
Deciding there were too many unanswerable questions in his head, Rex thought instead about where they were originally going to go, Christophsis. That's where both the Resolute and possibly the Negotiator were going to head depending on what command had in mind. Christophsis is where an entire weeks worth of meticulous planning had gone. Maybe command thought this was just a quick foray before they went back to their original plans. Military intelligence, yeah right. Rex smirked at his thoughts, just as the Admiral turned around to face him.
"Captain Rex, we will be leaving Hyperspace in thirty seconds, do you want to inform the General?" asked Admiral Yularen.
Rex glanced back at his chrono. It showed twenty-eight standard seconds until arrival. Well, so much for waiting, guess where here.
"Yeah, Admiral, I'll let him know." Rex put on his helmet with a slight click and hiss then he turned on his Comms. Rex had a feeling though that his General already knew that they were about to arrive.
Location: Near the Solar System, far Outer-Rim, formerly uncharted star system, 41 days after Battle of Geonosis, Earth year 2035
The first Separatist Battle Cruiser patiently monitored their companions advance through the nearby star system. All was going well; they were close to retrieving a Republic Consular Cruiser which had fled their last battle. According to CIS Intelligence, the ship was carrying representatives of the Republic Senate. Recovering them was deemed a low risk, high priority mission.
There was only one issue, no matter how hard they tried the Battle Cruiser could not contact CIS Fleet Command. They weren't even receiving signals from HoloNet this far out. For the first Cruiser's droid commander this was mixed news, if they can't get orders, then the Republic ship can't call for help. But if something unexpected happens, neither could the Separatist's.
Unfortunately for the Separatist and the Republic, unexpected things tend to occur in a galaxy at war.
With no warning the Resolute dropped out of Hyperspace right in front of the Separatist Battle Cruiser. After a brief few seconds both ships, mostly the Resolute, took immediate evasive maneuvers to avoid a head-on collision. The Resolute went in alongside the Separatist Cruiser and immediately began firing its array of turbolaser's and proton torpedoes on the less prepared ship.
"Admiral, fire everything we've got at that ship!" ordered Anakin through his com-link. He and an entire squadron of starfighter's just cleared the Resolute's Ventral Hangerbay doors.
"We are General Skywalker!... Wait, looks like their sending out a welcoming party for you. We'll focus on their engines just keep those Vulture droids off ours!" answered Admiral Yularen.
"We're working on it..." replied Anakin before being cut off by the oncoming droids. Two of his squad pilots got hit hard; the first pilot was able to return back into the Resolute, albeit a crash landing. The second lost control and slammed into the side of the Separatist Cruiser. Anakin hated losing men, especially some of his most skilled pilots.
Volleys of turbolaser fire and proton torpedoes lit up both ships in blue and red. Swarms of vulture droids chased the Five O First's most skilled pilots including Anakin, though not without heavy losses of their own.
The battle was quickly turning in favor of the Separatists. After the Resolute's initial surprise attack, the droid commander immediately started a large counter attack. Orders to speed up the capture of the Consular Cruiser were also sent to the second Separatist Cruiser which immediately accelerated at full speed towards the unknown planet on which the Republic Cruiser had landed.
"Well, so much for the Negotiator arriving first. Admiral, is there any sign of her? I hate to admit it but we could really use the help. Things aren't going to well out here," asked Anakin as one more of his starfighter's was lost.
"No General, no sign of her, though she might appear any minute." After a brief pause the Admiral continued, "If this battle doesn't go as planned should we try to contact our Cruiser that fled here? Our long-range sensors show it landed on the third planet from this systems star. We're in communications range."
"Yeah, go ahead Admiral; contact them, whoever they are, when you get a chance. If the sepp's think their worth fighting for, then we better give them a fight they won't forget."
The battle continued on for several more minutes during which the Admiral was very busy. Damage from the proton torpedoes the Resolute had initially launched were starting to take effect. Just as the tide was once again turning in the favor of the Republic, the Negotiator dropped out of Hyperspace right in front of the two battling ships.
All three ships, again, took evasive maneuvers. The many starfighter's caught in between also scattered. Moving straight towards the two ships, the Negotiator turned itself so its topside, the side with the biggest guns was facing the Separatist ship as they passed one another. A dangerous move considering that this fully exposed the Negotiators bridges to direct enemy fire. The Negotiator then proceeded to open fire. Meanwhile the Resolute accelerated forward in a dive, continuing to fire while coming underneath the sepp's ship. Both the Resolute and Negotiator's combined firepower was starting to tear the Battle Cruiser to pieces.
The droid commander knew his chances well, they weren't good against two fully armed Star Destroyers. He proceeded with a CIS time-honored tradition, retreat. He typed in the coördinates for Separatist controlled space and then hit the Hyperdrive controls. Before the Resolute or Negotiator could do anything more, in a quick flash of light the ship went to Hyperspace.
As both ships leveled out, Admiral Yularen patched though to General Kenobi and Anakin's starfighter using the Resolute's Holo-projector.
"General Kenobi, glad you could join us," said Admiral Yularen flickering into view in full height on the Negotiator's bridge.
"Admiral, I must say it's good to see the Resolute's been keeping busy, as always. I don't think I've ever seen such an interesting reception for our ship as the one you two managed to throw together... Anakin, was that your starfighter that buzzed our bridge just now?"
"Sorry Master, but I have to keep you awake, since you didn't arrive here first."
"Anakin, how many times have I told you to never do that! Its reckless piloting like that which will get you and others killed… Besides, we were having problems getting our Hyperdrive going at full speed, or else we would have been here first. Now, Admiral, what's our situation with the missing consular cruiser?"
"Well, first off General, as to our friends who just left, I don't think it is wise to follow them. They went deep into Separatist controlled space. I thought that we had disabled their Hyperdrive, but apparently they had a secondary system. Now as to the Consular Cruiser, our long-range sensors show there's one more Separatist Battle Cruiser in the system. It's heading at breakneck speed towards the third planet from this star. That's the planet on which our Cruiser landed. Do you want to pursue them, General? They'll reach the planet before us, but our engines are faster."
"Well, at least we get to have some fun too. What's on the planet? Can our sensors detect any life forms?" asked Obi-wan.
"Yes General, the readings are showing levels of life almost comparable to Coruscant. They're off the charts. I'm not sure if it's intelligent or not... Wait," Admiral Yularen stopped and turned from the Holo-projection. A clone officer had just come up to talk with him.
Meanwhile Commander Cody stood behind Obi-wan waiting to help or receive orders. While Admiral Yularen was talking with his officer, Cody noticed Captain Rex standing behind him in the Holo-projection. He gave Rex a quick nod of his head in acknowledgment. Receiving one in return, he smiled; it was good to see his brother again.
After a moment more the Admiral continued, "My Communications Officer Dace, just informed me that there are high levels of robotics. He also said he was able to pick up on radio frequencies emanating from the planet. They aren't frequencies commonly used by the Republic or anyone else for that matter but they do point towards intelligent life."
"Very well Admiral. Set a course for this planet at full speed, we'll do the same. Let's see what we find. And Anakin, were going to have a talk later about your flying, preferably before someone gets killed."
"Of coarse Master," answered Anakin slowly in an all too easily noticed annoyed tone. With that, Obi-wan ended the transmission and turned from the Holo-projector.
"Cody, I need you to get me all the information you can on this sector of space, and on this star system. It can't be that such a large amount of life has gone completely unnoticed for so long. Also, have our Comms Officer Runt work with Dace to find out what those transmissions are. While you do that, I am going to contact the Jedi Council to discuss this matter further."
"Yes sir, It'll be done right away," replied Cody.
"Runt, you heard the General," said Cody with a nod, then he left for the ships navigation and information's room.
Obi-wan walked over to Runt, who was working diligently at his station on his new cross-ship assignment with Dace. Obi-wan felt a twinge of guilt for what happened to this clone. He was shorter than his brothers, not by much but Obi-wan understood how he got his name.
Runt had lost his right hand and his entire left arm in an explosion which Obi-wan should have prevented. His entire squad got killed in the explosion and Runt would have as well had it not been for the quick dust-off provided by the Negotiator. Obi-wan had insisted on keeping him around instead of being shipped out to Coruscant. He was one of the best Communication Officers Obi-wan had ever seen, and with the arrival of his new prosthetics last week, he had only improved in his abilities.
"Runt, I need you to secure me a link to the Jedi Council. Can you do that?" Runt turned around in his chair, surprised, and then he shook his head, "No sir." Ever since the explosion Runt said little, even to his brothers. He had been, to say the least, really close to his squad. For him, everything said now was on a need to know basis.
Obi-wan was surprised, he had begun to believe there wasn't a place in the galaxy this clone couldn't communicate with. "Why not?"
After a brief sigh Runt reluctantly explained, "Sir, we're simply too far out to get any signals from High Command, let alone the Jedi Council. I can't even pick up the HoloNet. The only signals out here are coming from that planet, a few hundred probes, and the Separatist ship. We're out of contact with everyone for the time being, sir."
"Oh, that's not good, that's not good at all... Thank you Runt, continue on with your work." That wasn't news Obi-wan expected to receive, the sooner they got this mission over with, he thought, the better.
Location: Far Outer Rim, Planet Earth, ISA-ECUCNA Secure UN Meeting Chambers, 41 days since Battle of Geonosis, Earth year 2035
The United Nations Military General didn't like what he was hearing. The President must have gone crazy, or maybe these aliens had control of her. Either way he wasn't going to let them do this.
"Listen, with all due respect Madam President, we can't trust these, these clones. We don't even know what they're capable of. And now you're telling me you want to tell them about the movies and other information we think we might know about them? We don't even know if this so-called Republic is the right side to ally ourselves with. If they are indeed who we think they are then we know they're not to be trusted, remember what they do to the Jedi! Look, I would rather ally myself with a group who uses robots to fight than a group who forces clones to fight for them!"
He was not pleased at all, he found himself lowering his body back down in his seat, sweat beading on his head. To his surprise, both Lisa and James looked rather amused at his raucous state. Then the President returned to her normal serious state.
"Don't lecture me General, on the merits of trust and morality. If I recall, only a few years ago you led a program in DARPA whose sole purpose was to create human clones for military use! Not to mention the whole China fiasco that your precious programs caused. And you talk about trust General as if it was second nature to you..."
After a brief pause, whilst she calmed herself down, the President continued.
"No, I think the Republic, if it exists, be allowed the opportunity to present themselves diplomatically. As to what I am going to tell our clone visitors, I think not telling them would do more harm than good. It will be their decision, theirs alone as to whether or not they tell their superiors or the Jedi…if they exist. What they do with the information will either prove them trustworthy or not. As to allying ourselves with the Separatists, may I remind you that they're the ones whose very large ship is barreling down right at us. We will not ally ourselves with a group who threaten our very existence. I believe what the Clone Tens said about them and I think it's wise for you to believe him as well. However, airing on the side of caution General I recommend that in either case we should prepare."
The General sat; face white in anger, glaring at her. He didn't like being threatened or corrected. Especially since she brought up his highly classified programs that had gone to the wayside.
"If I may interrupt for just a second," interrupted James, looking up from his iPhone 30 xi.
"We just received the DNA tests back for all four of the clones. The lab confirms that they are completely identical, except for a few very minor variations of some genes," he added looking apprehensively between the President and the General.
"Thank you, James. At least that confirms what we thought, and that they weren't lying to us," stated Lisa, looking back with a smirk to the General.
After a moment's pause the General decided now was the best time to tread diplomatically.
"Very well then, Madam President. We will ready our forces; hopefully your newfound friends can give out good tactical advice on our enemy, because short of using ICBM's against them, our chances don't look so good." With that he got up and made for the exit.
The President let him go, looking back to James amused she added, "I do believe we made him angry… It's a shame it took a probable alien invasion to do it. I've tried for years to get back at him for what he did in China."
"Are you sure we should tell all of them, or show them. I'd hate to admit it but the General could be correct. What if they betray us like they betray the Jedi? We've hardly met and that, need I remind you, didn't go over very well. Can we really trust them?" asked James. He sighed then took a sip of coffee, the strongest black coffee he could find in the ISA store-room.
"James, we are talking about events that have yet come to pass. For all we know what happens in the movies won't happen or didn't happen. Or maybe the events described are different, I don't know. Let's play it safe then, we'll just tell Tens, the others won't know, that way he won't get pressured by the others. How does that sound?"
"Fine that sounds reasonable enough... I still can't believe this is happening, I mean who'd have known? I certainly, in my wildest dreams couldn't have….." but before he could finish his sentence an ISA Marine ran in taking off his helmet and saluted the two. Panting and out of breath, the man took a moment to compose himself before speaking.
"Mrs. President, Mr. Vice President you're needed at once in the main command center. The situation has changed. Two more ships have been spotted in the outer solar system, and the Separatist ship has doubled its speed. Also, Delta Squad with the clones report that one of those new ships has just made contact with their ship. We're patching that live feed through to command as we speak." The last of the Marines update was spoke as they all ran towards the command center.
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Story Note: I've updated the earlier chapters to show place and time. I also changed the place in which Tens star destroyer was destroyed. That's now the Churba System in the Mid Rim, a Republic held system. It also just so happens to be the location of the homeworld for the Togruta.
Authors Note: Well, I suppose I should apologize for not updating sooner. To compensate, I've made this chapter the longest by far, good old chapter ten. For some odd reason Tens really enjoyed this chapter. Also added some location and time info, updated earlier chapters too. Please Review, and as always, I do not own star wars... Hopefully I did the Canon Characters justice... Oh by the way, it's summer! Chapters should be added more often now. : )
Also, I really can't wait until they come out with the iPhone 30 xi. I hear that it has a built-in 3D printer, a holographic imaging projector and a scent maker, also has anti theft in the form of built-in pepper spray and a Taser. Just don't press the big red button, I can't wait...