Greetings!

Happy (late) Holidays! I had intended to release this chapter on the 25th, but then I grew dissatisfied with the events of this chapter and I decided to re-write all of it.

Some of you have left reviews recently calling me out for breaking the laws of physics. For this I apologize. I am no physicist, but I try to write things as best as I can. I will try to be a little more accurate in the future and double-check things before I post, okay?

We haven't seen a Star Wars perspective for a little while, so I tried to make up for that this time. William and Fireteam Castle will grace us next chapter.

This is version 2.0. I hope that this is more to your liking than what I had originally planned out. It's long, but there's a lot of content that needs to be *here* and not elsewhere in the story.

Good luck, and please enjoy.

Chapter 28:

Interrogation Findings:
/Urgent/ PRIORITY ONE-ZULU

Interrogation Room, Ship's Brig,
Infinity-class Supercarrier 'Infinity'
03:40 Hours | Standard UNSC Military Time/Calendar

The following is an excerpt from an Interrogation conducted by ONI Sec-1 Agents 02491-94482-TU (Indigo-1) and 8943-6448-HJ (Indigo-2) for the immediate attention of 98604-72690-TL & 65287-98303-SP concerning [79156-15545-DO] (Shadow-3)

-Excerpt Begins-

[General] *The door opens and Indi proceeds into the room.*

[Indigo-2] "Good. I was wondering when you'd show up."

[Indigo-1] "Yeah yeah, relax. I just got word about Kamino. I'll brief you about it when we're done here. How's he doing?"

[Indigo-2] *Gestures to Shadow-3 "He's not as cocky as when he was hauled away. Had the medics give him a dose of Tri-Abx."

[General] *Both agents walk slowly around a table where Shadow-3 is sitting completely still.*

[Indigo-1] "You already interrogate Four?"

[Indigo-2] "He didn't have much to say other than he did it."

[Indigo-1] (To Shadow-3) "Well, what about you. Are you going to cooperate or are you going to remain silent?"

[General] *Shadow-3 remains silent but barely contains a feeling of nervousness.*

[Indigo-1] "I see." *Motions to Indigo-2 who approaches.*

"Well, son, you can either do this the easy way or hard way. We know you did it, you outright admitted it in front of the entire crowd. Way I see it, we can do this two ways. You're looking at death or a life-time of imprisonment depending on how much you cooperate with us. You're going to tell us what we need to know."

[Shadow-3] (Barely audible) "What do you want to know?"

[Indigo-2] "So you do want to talk?"

[Indigo-1] "Agent, shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you." (To Shadow-3) *Pulls up a chair* "So, let's hear it."

[Shadow-3] "You already know what I did. What do you want to know?"

[Indigo-2] "I wanna know why on Earth you went tried to murder that Spartan.

[Shadow-3] "I don't know."

[Indigo-2] "You don't know?"

[Shadow-3] "I don't know. It was more a decision made in a momentary impulse of anger."

[Indigo-1] "So, what you're saying is you decided you wanted to kill her because you just had an...impulse? I'm I hearing that correctly?"

[Shadow-3] "I didn't say I wanted to kill her. I only wanted to make her hurt. He took it one step further."

[Indigo-1] "You only wanted to hurt her?"

[Shadow-3] "Yes."

[Indigo-1] "You realize that even if that was your intent, the courts are going to charge you based upon the actual outcome rather than your intentions."

[Shadow-3] "Yes." *Looks down to the floor.*

[Indigo-1] "Eyes up. Let's go back then. You said you wanted to hurt her and that it was more of an impulse made in anger. Let's change topics for a second."

[General] [Indigo-1 keys the holoprojector on the table which resolves into a 3d scan of the faces of Fireteam Castle.]

[Indigo-2] "I've got a major spike in vitals."

[General] *Shadow-3 starts perspiring notably*

[Indigo-1] "Know these people."

[Shadow-3] "I...I...I don't..."

[Indigo-2] "Far as we know there's nothing to suggest you might have run across Fireteam Castle. So, why on Earth have you been acting so hostile towards them."

[Shadow-3] (Exerting effort) "I...don't...know!"

[Indigo-2] "Don't lie to us. What's your beef with Fireteam Castle? Since you've crossed paths with each other your behavior patterns have spiked in aggression.

[Shadow-3] (Panic entering his voice) "I told you, I don't know! I...I...swear to you, I'm not l-lying. I've never seen the rest before!"

[General] Shadow-3 clutches his head and begins to rock.

[Indigo-2] "Then why are you so hostile towards them?"

[Shadow-3] "P-Please, I'm telling the truth! URgh!" *He groans sharply, doubling over.*

[Indigo-1] "Wait, what do you mean "the rest of - "

[Shadow-3] (Panting heavily) " - Their faces! I know their faces! I...can't..."

[Indigo-2] "Stress levels increasing exponentially."

[Indigo-1] "Mild sedative, now."

[General] *Indigo-2 produces a hypodermic syringe and injects the contents into Shadow-3. Shadow-3 relaxes a little bit but is still very tense.*

[Indigo-1] "Which ones have you seen before?"

[Shadow-3] "Those two!" *He gestures wildly in his restraints towards B-317 & B-312*

[Indigo-1] "You've seen them before?"

[Shadow-3] (Simultaneously) "Uuuahhh! Make it stop! Hurts...so bad!"

[General] *Indigo-1 switches off the projector but Shadow-3 continues to struggle in his seat and grows delierous.*

[Indigo-1] (To Indigo-2) "Call for security."

[General] *Indigo-2 steps away and speaks rapidly into a comlink.*

[Shadow-3] (Raggedly but picking up in intensity and speed.) "In Orange Grove, all men... are brothers. Subjugaret...fortis."

[General] *Indigo-1 and 2 abruptly start.*

[Indigo-1] "What the ****?"

[Indigo-2] "What's he talking ab - "

[Shadow-3] "Subjagaret...fortis..." *He gives a loud shriek and thrashes wildly.*

[Indigo-1] (Trailing off) "No..."

[Indigo-2] "We need to - "

[Shadow-3} (unevenly, straining to grasp reality) "SUbjagret forTiS!"

[Shadow-3] (To no-one in particular) "No! You will not touch me again! I. Will. KILL! YOU!"

[Indigo-1] "Stay with me Shadow-3!"

[Shadow-3] (In agony) "Please! Make it stop! Subja-GAwaHH!"

[General] *The restraints start to buckle. The door opens and a large squad number of guards rush in."

[Indigo-2] "Sedate him now!"

[Indigo-1] (To the ceiling) "Roland, if you're recording this, get this to Captain Lasky immediately. We need to figure out what the **** is going on here."

[General] *There is general chaos as Shadow-3 is injected with a sedative and he is removed from his restraints. It takes six men to get him under control and out the door.*

[Indigo-1] (Whispered) "****. Do you know what this means?"

[Indigo-2] "Yeah, and I'm not sure I like it. Getting him back to Earth solves nothing. We're stuck with him until we get to the bottom of this."

-Excerpt Ends-

The Citadel, Lola Sayu, Separatist Controlled Space
December 12th, 2559, Time Unknown

Special Operations Officer Ripa' Talam

"Keep going and you might wear enough of a hole in the floor to escape." a derisive voice called.

Ripa stopped his pacing. His captor had spoken his first words since their confinement in this single cell together.

"Then perhaps you should join me," he replied.

"And what would that accomplish?" the other Sangheili replied with a chuckle.

Ripa didn't have an answer.

"Thought so."

Ripa turned and examined his companion. They had both been stripped of their armor and locked up in this cell, for how long he did not turned back to study their cell.

The cell was fairly small. It was even more so with two full-grown Sangheili taking up residence. A single window on the wall provided them with a view outside. Their cell overlooked a sheer drop that ended in jagged spires of volcanic rock and glass below. Behind it were lakes of fire in between ashen-black plains. The sky was purple and it stained almost everything except for the fire surrounding them.

In the cell itself, there was a small observation window in their door and a slat in the middle, presumably to pass food along. Otherwise, it was a solid sheet of metal. The floor looked solid enough but there was an odd gap from the floor to where the wall came down. He had already examined it and found nothing, but it gave him little comfort. No footholds or handholds existed anywhere else. A single slit in the wall at the top provided some form of internal air circulation. It was barred. Ripa guessed he could probably break the bars if he desired, but the access space would be way too small to crawl through, useless to him.

"What is your name?" his captor asked breaking the silence again.

"Ripa 'Talam."

"A fine name from a fine clan."

"What's yours?" Ripa inquired as he shifted from pacing to sitting in the far corner.

"My name?"

"No, I'm talking to the wall over there."

"Hold your tongue whelp." the other Sangheili growled at his use of sarcasm.

"Well?" Ripa inquired.

"My name doesn't really mean so much to me anymore, but since we share the same air, I suppose I might as well tell you."

The Sangheili wrestled with something for a moment before looking him in the eye.

"My name is Koto 'Hoshomee."

"'Hoshomee." Ripa repeated. He struggled to place him with the various clans.

"'Hoshomee, 'Hoshom, either way you say look at it, it's a dead name." Koto added when he observed Ripa's expression.

Then, when Ripa didn't say anything, he clacked his mandibles together a few times.

"I suppose you have time for a story then?"

"Might as well. What better option do we have?" Ripa asked as he pointed to the confines of their cell.

Koto drew himself cross-legged on the bed hewn from solid stone that he lay on.

"You look far too young to know the name of 'Hoshamee so I shall start from the beginning."

Ripa nodded and listened intently.

"The clan of 'Hoshamee was part of the first wave of colonizers to the Colony of Duraan. We had always been trod upon in history. A Kaidon arose from among us, powerful and mighty and he ensured that other Clans knew to think twice about antagonizing us. We no longer desired to reside on Sangheilios and so sought our own place in the universe. Our tenacity helped us prosper as a people and the other clans who came after quickly gave deference to us. We exploited what we thought were rich mineral deposits and tilled vast fields. We grew rich, we grew powerful, we had a place in the universe. Under the Prophet's leaderships we prospered even further as they supported us to keep the other clan's who sought to define themselves from their brethren on Sangheilios.

But power and wealth became cancers that rotted out the Clan from within as several weaker Kaidons made decisions that squandered away our wealth. The mineral deposits vanished. Famines struck - and with it financial troubles. We turned to the Hierarchs for support and aid. Our lust for wealth combined with a want for bread became a noose that was slowly slipped more and more around our necks until we could not break it for fear of the wrath of the Covenant. While other clans bounced back, ours stagnated.

In return for relief, the Hierarch's began demanding more and more of us. More conscripts for the Military. More tribute with interest. They dictated our behavior, meddled with internal affairs, and demanded compliance. We had long suspect that our time had passed and that the Prophet's were looking to others now. We became desperate to regain our standing through any means necessary. A plot was hatched to assassinate the Kaidon of our staunchest rival to even the odds. Our assassin was discovered and publicly executed. The Prophets agreed to lend support and aid to the 'Zumamee clan to remove us from power.

We fought valiantly to defend what was left of our honor, but our efforts were hopeless. The Kaidon was forced to watch his children executed before he was drawn and quartered. The keep reduced to ruins. The only thing left standing was our saga wall which the survivors took and hid in the center of the village below the keep. We were made subservient to the 'Zumamee. In time, one would rise who sought to regain the glory and honor of the clan and would fail, unable to return in shame to his family. We believed ourselves to be cursed by the gods. We instructed the next generation to abandon dreams of vision and glory, but inevitably the cycle would continue. The young and idealistic would perish and bring more shame to the clan.

"So how do you fit into this? What convinced you to abandon your kin and home for false offers of Separatist hospitality." Ripa asked.

Koto remained silent for a long time, staring upwards at a single fluorescent lamp that lit their room.

"I was one of the young and idealistic. I was alive to witness the fall of our clan. From then on, everywhere I looked I saw hardship and toil brought upon us by the sins of our ancestors. I saw how the 'Zumamee lived, how they spent their time creating poetry or honing their martial prowess without breaking their backs over tilling the fields and I wanted that for ourselves. So I spent my time in the fields practicing combat as I observed from those who would spar. In time my talents were observed by the Battlemaster of the local academy.

I was recommended, even though I was much older than those who normally entered, and told my clan that I was going to do great things for the Covenant and bring honor back to our clan. The elders warned me, told me that I was pursuing an impossible goal, but I ignored them. I bid my family goodbye and set off for the academy."

"You must have done well," Ripa noted.

"Oh yes." a wry smile crossed Kota's face. "Those 'Zumamee fools thought that a simple laborer from the fields was no match for them. While they were certainly more refined and polished, I fought and trained with a ferocity that they couldn't compete with. They at first resented me, but we formed something akin to friendship and we graduated to be assigned to our first real missions.

We fought the humans and took special delight in fulfilling our role in the great journey by killing them. My lance and I had a reputation for being particularly bloody and we delighted in it. That is until we met the Demons."

Kota's face turned painful for a second as he recalled a particularly vivid memory.

"We first encountered them on the Human colony Skopje. We had managed to get behind their lines and were moving to sabotage a communications hub. We had heard rumors of them before, whispered in hushed voices about how terrifying the appearance of one of the battlefield was."

"I know the stories too," Ripa replied.

"And, to their credit, they have earned the title. But nothing could have prepared us for an encounter with four of them. We scattered and tried calling in reinforcements to help us kill the Demons. One by one, they cornered and killed my lance with a supernatural speed and ferocity. Reinforcements were diverted to help us, but they were shot down by the Demons, an Ultra, one of my instructors and friends at the academy lay trapped in the midst of the carnage who had come all the way from the left flank so that he could personally slay them.

By the time we got to him, it was too late. The wreckage collapsed on him and he perished. Without strong leadership on the left, the flank collapsed and the UNSC were able to regroup and hold us to a stalemate allowing a large group of vessels to flee carrying civilians. We were forced to withdraw and I returned to base alone.

I was questioned by the General leading the assault and I defended my decision claiming that we had no idea the Demons would target us personally. It was concluded that the Evocatus* forsook his duty on the front lines and that he had dishonored himself with the heresy of forsaking his duty for vain ambition. While the name of this Sangheili was besmirched, I was praised for cunning action in sneaking behind lines to wreak havoc. It did not make sense to me how I could be lauded while he was hated.

Time passed. I helped burn planet after planet. I was given control of a lance of my own. And we fought the Humans on Reach. In the waning moments of the fight our Legion was tasked with others to prevent the escape of the last human ship on the planet. We failed our objective and we cowardly retreated. The General, furious that the ship had departed and the glory of the kill fell to the Supreme Commander, punished us by posting us on guard duty at one of our fuel refineries in the Bakurag system. We were angry and furious with our lot, even more so when word of the discovery of the ring was told us and we were forced to sit idly by.

But then the Demons struck again. With so much of our material devoted to pushing the humans farther and farther into their shell, we were virtually alone. We came close to success and I even wounded one with my blade. But then the Shipmaster of a Corvette got frightened at their progress and fired. The blast was poorly aimed and it started a chain reaction that set the whole refinery ablaze. Most of us died in the conflagration.

Again I failed to defeat my foe. This time the blame rested solely on the now deceased Shipmaster and what was left of our unit was transferred back to High Charity until we could get reassigned. During this time I made a visit back home to Duraan. The Elders scorned me for my failures, even when I had achieved so much elsewhere. I was told to leave until I had achieved some measure of greatness that I could be readmitted back under their sight. The only ones who seemed happy to see me where my wife and children."

"Your children knew who you were?"

"That custom is not strictly followed among all clans. The 'Hosham are small and insignificant enough now that we broke from that tradition long ago. Please let me finish."

Ripa bowed his head and Koto continued.

When the Prophets and their barbarous servants, the Brutes betrayed us, the last ideas of glory and honor were shattered. When the war was over, I desperately sought out some form of redemption for myself. I had no quarrel with the Arbiter, but I disagreed with his vision of the Sangheili. I thought that by uniting with others who sought to hold to the old faith, I could help regain what honor I had lost."

"And so you joined the Covenant." Ripa filled in.

"For a time, yes. I jumped from faction to faction with a different name each time, but all these were reduced to squabbling children. The loss was useless and wasteful. Too much in-fighting. Victories that brought no honor and merit. I realigned myself with the Arbiter's leadership, but I did so only in a sense of self-preservation. Over time I worked my way up into the upper echelons of leadership, but through no great act of valor and service. The elders back home thought little of this achievement, claiming that the honor was a hollow one. They claimed I was only there because they needed more Officers to fill the ranks. They weren't entirely wrong."

"Did you not feel like you had a place with us even when you served?"

"No. I felt out of place. The other Officers I was surrounded by were warriors and thinkers of great talent. Some had fought demons and had lived to fight another day. Others had turned routing units into juggernauts that bloodied the humans and won entire campaigns. They all had years of experience and came from the finest lineages. I was still a nobody. I still desired ways to elevate my clan back to their former glory and so I made contacts with Jul 'Mdama who promised to help restore that honor and glory for information. He agreed and for a time I felt like that I had a chance. Raids were conducted by the Storm on the other clans. While resources would disappear, the 'Hosham found their coffers inexplicably grow a little bit. I told them I was sending spoils gathered from conflict with the Brutes or other Sangheili. I was allowed to visit again and I committed more of myself to 'Mdama. I kept all of my involvement in the Covenant a secret because they had allied themselves with the Arbiter.

For a time, this arrangement worked, but then the Elders started accusing me of hoarding wealth for myself. They told me I needed to do more. I told them I couldn't do more and they forbade me from ever returning until I had gathered enough wealth to regain our glory. This was an impossible feat and I knew that they were using this to exile me forever. Deciding that I could never return, when we were pulled into this galaxy, I thought that perhaps making a similar deal with the Separatist's could help me gain so much more. I had only been doing this for a couple weeks because of the difficulty involved in getting a message out that wouldn't draw scrutiny. Then 'Mdama called in a favor and in my rush to give him information, I left tracks that you ended up following. Had I known he would have attacked Coruscant and let loose the Sharquoi, I would have probably turned myself in."

"And now we're here." Ripa said as he observed the thick walls and the metal bars. A droid patrol clanked by looking at them with some curiosity before continuing on.

"Now we're here and I can never return to my home like I am now. My treachery will be known throughout the universe now and there is no act that can purge that sin from my head."

Disgusted, Koto turned away from him and Ripa observed the broken Sangheili laying across the bunk across from him.

He stood up and began pacing again. After hearing Koto's tale, he didn't know what to make of him. The anger he felt at being dragged into this mess was at odds with the compassion and pity. The depths of his treachery, his desire to restore something of worth to his clan, the lack of sight on the part of the Elders, the bad luck he had encountered in several major campaigns; he didn't know whether to hate Koto or feel sorry from him.

"Well, you certainly can't do anything while we're trapped in this cell." Ripa said, making a switch from Sangheili to English.

"You can't escape from here."

The voice took both of them by surprise. It was a female voice and it sounded equally as broken as Koto's.

Ripa paced over to the left side of their cell and peered in from the tiny window set way above them.

He could see the outline of a Human Female, everything else was in shadows."

"You can't escape." the voice repeated.

"I'm not going to die in this cell." Ripa affirmed. "So, you can either tell me something useful or leave me be."

"This prison, there aren't any other prisons like it. Do you not realize where you are?" the woman asked him.

"A miserable cell on a miserable volcanic rock?"

"Simpleton." the woman scoffed. "This jail was built by the Republic to hold Jedi! It is the Separatist's most impenetrable prison."

"And why would the Republic build a prison to hold Jedi?" Ripa asked. "I thought they revered the Jedi."

"Not even Jedi are immune to betrayal. This prison was built to contain and hold them in case one of their own ever...lost their way."

"Doesn't seem like a very Jedi thing to do."

"The Republic is full of hypocrisy and corruption. What makes you think the Jedi would be immune? If it's any consolation, the Separatist's aren't much better either."

Koto roused himself from the bed and drew closer.

"And has anyone ever escaped from here?" Ripa asked again.

"Well," the woman paused. "Yes." she admitted with some hesitation. "But it took three Jedi and a platoon of Clones to break out another that had been captured.

"Then we can do it."

"What? Are you insane? Just who do you think you are?"

"We are Sangheili." Ripa replied as he looked back over at Koto. "And we're not one to accept defeat easily."

Koto shifted uncomfortably.

"You're who?" the woman asked utterly perplexed.

"Sang-"... Ripa stopped himself. Was it possible this individual had been in prison since before they had been dragged into the conflict.

"If you're from the Unknown Regions, it wouldn't surprise me a bit, what with all the worts and blargs you're making. Are you Republic agents?"

"We're not from the Unknown Regions." Ripa answered with clenched jaws. "And we're not agents of the Republic either."

"A Mercenary then? Do you hail from Wild Space? The Outer Rim?" she interrupted.

"If you would kindly let me finish, you would know that we are nobody's side but our own. We're not from the Outer Rim or Unknown Regions or any part of your galaxy. We're from another one entirely."

"Do not play jokes on me!" the woman remonstrated them angrily. "I may be imprisoned but you could at least afford me some sense of-"

Ripa swore. "We do not jest. We're not from your galaxy." He repeated again. "We're here because we've been dragged into war with the Separatists."

"What?" the woman gave a startled cry. "We're at war? What's going on?"

"Filthy mud-dweller. You're one of them!" Koto snarled. "You drew blood against our kind."

"This doesn't make sense! What's going on out there?"

"Did you not listen to a single thing I said?" Ripa demanded, his patience stretching to it's uttermost limits.

"No, no, no, I hear you!" the woman said quickly. "I'm sorry - I've just... I've just been cooped up in this cell for too long. I don't know anything about the outside world."

"Then why are you here?"

"I - why, it's Dooku's fault! All Dooku's fault!" she blustered, becoming more frantic and agitated within her cell. He heard the sound of manacles shake and fall from the other side. "I should have known better than to trust him - all of us! We were all fools! All of us! The whole time we were being deceived! You must believe me!"

"This creature grows more and more mad," Koto whispered.

"I want to hear what she has to say." Ripa replied cautiously. "I know Dooku doesn't keep his word. That is why we are both here." he replied back in an attempt to get her to calm down.

"Oh but it's more than dishonest words! He's...he's...he's been manipulating us the whole time! I can see it now! Why couldn't I before?"

"Look, what's your name?" Ripa interrupted in an attempt to halt her rambling.

"My name? Yes, my name... Quinn, yes - that's it, Quinn. Quinn Tamtree."

"And what were you doing before you ended up in this place... Quinn?

"Why, I was a Senator, a Senator for Raxus itself!" she said swelling with pride.

"And Raxus is a planet controlled by the Separatists?"

"It's the blarn-tarn Capital you dotards!" Quinn shouted angrily. "Why would you..."

She stopped and Ripa could hear the pieces clicking together in her brain.

"Oh, that's right, you're not from here are you."

"We're not," he repeated again.

"Oh, well, my apologies for shouting at you," she replied meekly.

Ripa was about to utter a reply when the wall shook slightly as something heavy pounded against it making it an ugly crashing sound.

"And are you spies?" Quinn demanded.

"No, I'm not, my cellmate is though," Ripa said looking over his shoulder to Koto. "I'm-"

"I knew it!" she cried triumphantly. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. You're advance agents scouting about in the dark! Looking to burn our worlds to the ground are you, looking to rape and pillage our cities until every last man, woman, and child lies dead in the streets! Well I won't do it!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I won't give you the location of Raxus! I'll take it with me to the grave!"

"I'm not trying to-"

"You can't break me! My willpower is strong! Stronger than you!"

"If you would just-"

"SILENCE!"

Ripa leaped back as Koto bounded up from his place on the bunk and smashed his body against the wall producing an explosive blast of sound that echoed throughout the block."

"I will not listen to such mindless babble! Keep your mouth shut or I will rend you limb from limb!"

On the other side of the wall, there was a frightened cry and a heavy crash of metal as Quinn staggered back. More crashed continued as she shuffled to the farthest corner of her cell, utterly afraid and sobbing uncontrollably.

Koto, sides heaving with rage balled his hands into fists for a moment before retreating away to his bunk.

Ripa examined the wall which had the faintest sign of a dent in the otherwise unyielding surface before turning and glaring at Koto.

"Do not tell me that you sympathize with that poor, pathetic, piece of-"

The door hissed open revealing the patrol of Battle Droids that passed by earlier entered the room flanked by several Magnaguards.

"What's going on in here!" the leader demanded.

Ripa eyed the electrostaffs and blasters pointed at their heads and shook his head toward Koto."

"I demand to be moved. I will not listen to mindless babble."

"You are to remain here." The droid insisted firmly.

Koto made a sound of disgust and turned away again.

"No more noise from you!" one of the Magnaguards growled at them as it brandished his staff.

"Roger roger." the Patrol responded enthusiastically.

The door hissed closed again and Ripa lay against the corner and tried to block out the sounds of anguished weeping in the cell next to theirs.

External Landing Pad 78-A, Tipoca City, Kamino, Kamino System
9:03 Hours, Galactic Standard Time (GST)
Padawan Ahsoka Tano

Thunder roared overhead as a particularly nasty bolt of lightning struck a lightning rod on one of the nearby spired buildings. She adjusted her cloak and used a touch of the force to wring out most of the water beginning to soak through and chill her back.

"Was it your idea to make us stand out in the rain?" she asked as her Master walked out of a door behind them and joined her on the rain-slicked pad.

"It wasn't my idea of fun either," he admitted.

"Come on, even the Kaminoans don't like to be out in the rain longer than they have to."

"You didn't have to be out here all this time."

"I hate the air in the city. It's too stale. Too recycled." she explained.

"Point taken."

"Relax, they should be here soon," he said dismissing her concern.

The two of them had arrived in system two hours ago and had off-loaded to get a small bit of much needed shore-time. The training facilities were finishing their final preparations now and when those were complete, the 501st would be run through the gauntlet with the servicemen and women of the UNSC. She was looking forward to seeing how the strategy and tactics would play out.

"Why are they late?" she asked. "They should have been here two hours ago."

"There's a reason for that. Did you hear what happened to the 34th Legion?" he queried.

"Tyzen's Unit?" she asked, trying to place the unit among the many others in the GAR. She knew Master Reus' Padawan from her time in the temple, but they were in different years. They were respectful towards one another, but their personalities didn't mesh too well.

"Yeah. Apparently they stumbled upon a Confederate convoy carrying something special. But then Ventress boarded their ships and messed everything up. Supposedly Dooku dumped her when they announced she was captured and ordered the ships to fire on them."

"Dooku just turned on her like that?" Ahsoka gaped.

"That's what the briefing said. That didn't sit with Ventress too well and she tried to escape. Tyzen apparently tried to engage her."

"Oh no." Ahsoka murmured.

"He's alive, but he's lucky." his face turned grim. "Kid shouldn't have just charged her like that."

"But you and I have done the same."

"Regardless, Ventress managed to escape, but I hear one of the Spartans managed to shoot off her hand with a scattergun." he nodded satisfied.

Ahsoka had seen what those guns could do. They were brutal weapons, much more brutal than some of the scatterguns that existed in their galaxy.

"Can't exactly block that with a lightsaber, can you." she murmured.

"Indeed."

"Ventress still alive?"

"If she is, she won't be. The shuttle she stole was damaged before it went to lightspeed. My guess is there was enough damage done to destroy the drive after activation and damage a bunch of other systems. She won't be able to get far, and there aren't very many habitable planets along her last known trajectory. It's not like she's going to go running back to the Separatists."

Ahsoka felt something akin to satisfaction which quickly faded away. Dying in the middle of open space surrounded by enemies on all sides is not how she would prefer to go out.

She shielded her face as she peered out into the murky gray. The rain fell so heavily that she couldn't make out much further than the edge of the platform they were standing on - large enough to fit several mid-size shuttles. The mist and fog parted for a moment and she could make out the massive whitecaps of the waves far below.

Another blinding flash of light lit up the sky and Ahsoka for a second saw a massive shape stand out against the horizon. She rubbed her eyes, trying to determine whether she was flash-blind.

Presently, a rumbling sound defined itself more and more against the constant din of the rain.

"What was that about being late?" Anakin teasingly nudged.

The clouds parted as the bow of a massive ship forced the rainclouds out of the way.

"Never gets smaller, does it." Ahsoka noted. It seemed almost impossible that something so huge could suspend itself above the turbulent oceans of the planet. The twin cruisers that escorted it seemed insignificant in comparison.

"It's a big one, that's for sure.

The Infinity drew closer and closer until it hovered overhead, a massive black shape against the steel gray clouds.

The door hissed open again and they were joined by Master Shaak Ti along with several important dignitaries including Prime Minister Lama Su, the Prime Minister, Taun We, his administrative aide, and Nala Se, the Chief Medical Scientist all approached.

Ahsoka saw several flashes of blue light as the hangar doors on the side of the ship unsealed and scores of aircraft descended on approach to meet them.

One "Pelican" (as the others referred to them) separated from the mass and approached them.

The engines howled as it approached closer. It compensated it's heading due to the heavy crosswind and gently descended, spinning 180 degrees until it's landing gear touched down on the ship.

The door opened and Ahsoka saw the Captain step out of the ship flanked by several of the Spartans. She recognized Palmer from the one or two times that she had run into them, but she didn't recognize the three other Giants clad armor the color of Olives.

The group stepped forward to meet them.

"Welcome to Kamino, Captain Lasky. On behalf of the Republic, we thank you for this opportunity we have to train together." Master Ti bowed.

"The pleasure is ours." the Captain returned the gesture.

"Captain, this is Lama Su, Prime Minister of Kamino." Anakin said, gesturing to the tall and stately Kaminoan.

"Welcome to our humble abode." he said, shaking the Captain's hand. "We would love to give you a brief tour. Our crew are finalizing preparations for joint-exercises in the military education complex.

"That sounds wonderful. Where shall I direct the soldiers?" he asked.

"I shall have the controllers direct your men to the adjacent interior hangars. They should be big enough to land multiple crew, seeing as we don't have moorings long enough to support your ship." he nodded to Taun We and she turned to the side and spoke a few quick phrases into a comlink on her wrist.

"Then please, show us around." the Captain nodded.

"Right this way." Nala Se gestured, leading them inside the stark white interior of the building.

The Prime Minister began explaining their history and leading the ship's compliment. Ahsoka lost interest entirely. She already knew the story of Kamino and how it forced the Kaminoans to adapt or be destroyed. Where as Lasky looked intently at everything they passed as they proceeded down the sterile white hallways, the other Spartans were careful to keep their emotions in check. A tentative reach into the force gave her nothing to work with, not that she had been expecting anything else. The other humans moved through the force like a boat gliding through water, the force bent and rippled around them leaving swirling currents and eddies. Sometimes, there was a small echo of something, like she now felt off Commander Palmer who was perhaps uneasy at the prospect of fighting with the Clones in training missions.

They crossed into the heart of one of the buildings, the cadet training center. There were tens of thousands of cadets in this one room alone training on different weapon and vehicle systems they would one day operate.

One of the Officers walking nearby Lasky suddenly pulled him to the side.

"Excuse me, this man says he is being summoned back to Infinity, is there a shorter route back to the landing pad?" Lasky asked.

"Yes, if you turn right at the intersection instead of going straight, you should find a quicker way back there."

The Captain nodded and two of his Officers spit off for the group and began jogging back.

"Now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you the actual cloning facilities themselves. At the heart of the Grand Army of the Republic is..."

Ahsoka observed the two men before turning back to the Prime Minister and continuing her attempts of remaining focused while the Prime Minister continued his tour.

Nearby...

As soon as the two ONI Agents were out of earshot, they stopped and took a collective breath. They had a few minutes at the most.

One nodded to the other and he pulled out two devices. One was the size of a thumb, the other a small cylinder reminiscent of the code cylinders used by the Republic.

The taller of the two clicked the smaller device and give a small chirp followed by a whirring sound, then it all died away.

"Clear?"

"Section One hasn't let us down yet. Should be invisible to all electronic eyes and ears."

"Make this quick, we need to get back to the ship to complete the other end. Good thing Lasky knows how to act when he needs to."

"Come on, it should be down the hallway."

They moved at a lightning quick-pace, maintaining the illusion of purpose. They came to the intersection and instead of turning right, or even heading straight, they turned left and proceeded towards a door inset 500 yards down the hallway on the right.

There was a small console to the side. A small slot for the cylinder lay below it.

"Let's hope those codes we got were worth it."

The shorter one knelt down, removed the code cylinder from his partner's hands and inserted it into the receiving slot. The door hissed open and the two agents allowed themselves a nervous smile before entering. There was no turning back now.

The room was oval in shape, a long computer terminal sat in front of them with several large cables running into the wall. If their intel was correct, this was an auxiliary data center, designed to alleviate the load on the main system when it underwent repair.

The two of them checked for any visible threats before moving quickly. Both withdrew silenced weapons, a precaution against intruders.

"Alright, let's get this done."

Another cylinder was produced by the shorter agent. While they could definitely interface with the terminal without physical contact, they couldn't take any chances.

The second cylinder was inserted and the machine began chunking away. The cylinder disappeared within the depths of the machine. A holographic eye flashed for a brief moment on the display before all traces disappeared.

The asset had been planted. Within the hour it would begin to spread itself out to the planetary database and attach itself to any communique that was sent or received.

"Operation is a go." the taller agent breathed out.

The shorter one was about to whisper some well-deserved compliments when the door hissed open behind them.

The two agents froze and without hesitation fired their weapons with muted coughs.

A lone Kaminoan gave them a quizzical look before staring at the two tranquilizing darts that punctured through his robes to his abdomen. The figure swayed for a second before collapsing to the ground.

The two agents rushed forward and pulled the Kaminoan out of sight of any other passersby.

They dragged the limp body towards the console and draped him in a chair as best as they could. They removed the darts and examined the alien.

"Good, he won't be remembering anything." the taller one said as he observed his eyes, glassy and unfocused.

"We dodged a bullet on that one."

"Come on, let's get out of here."

The two agents gathered their gear and left without a trace.

Once they were back on track, they clicked the smaller device and continued onward towards the Pelican. They stepped back out into the storm and shielded their faces as the Pelican dropship lowered its ramp and spooled up its engines sending a fine spray in their direction.

"We good?" The Pilot asked them when they approached the cockpit.

They both nodded and the ramp closed as the ship climbed towards the Infinity, not fast enough to stand out from the other Pelicans and Darters that were ferrying most of the ship's armed compliment to ground.

The shorter agent removed a headset from his pocket and toggled it.

"Control, this is Indigo One, the asset has been planted."

"Roger that, standby." their handler said.

A brief pause followed and the two agents waited with baited breath.

"Telemetry received. Receiving encrypted signal." a rare smile crept into their handler's voice. "Well done Agents. BLACKBIRD is a go."

Nu-class Attack Shuttle,

Location Unknown (Adrift in Space), Time Unknown

Two hours.

That's all the time she figured she had left.

She had never been good at math, her time might actually be two minutes, not two hours.

It didn't change her fate either way. Her navigation systems were shot and she wasn't anywhere near a habitable system. She had activated the ship's distress beacon in a last-ditch effort to save herself, but it looked like there wasn't any aid forthcoming.

She could recall little about her escape, only that she had been acting on instinct and made it into this shuttle. That shuttle had been hit many times by pinpoint fire and she had barely made the jump to hyperspace. Not long after, the ship's hyperdrive had failed and her ship had dropped out of hyperspace abruptly, damaging a number of systems... including life support.

Now she had nothing to do but sit in the pilot's seat and try to conserve her core temperature. She shivered once and a thick line of frost cracked along her robes and the color reminded me vaguely of a set of fine dining robes Dooku possessed for sumptuous occasions.

Dooku.

That murderous, slimy, double-crossing-

Her lip curled and her fists, already closed to keep warm, clenched so tightly that her knuckles threatened to pop but an almost instantaneous wave of pain in one of her hands forced her to stop the gesture.

Right. She didn't have that hand anymore. Instead, there was a heavily bandaged stump where the hand used to connect to her wrist.

It was one of those blarn-tarn Spartans wielding nothing more than a fragging scattergun that had done that. The damage had even extended to the lightsaber it had been holding cracking the crystal and breaking some of the sensitive circuitry inside. To activate it now would be to activate a bomb.

Her shoulder had caught a lucky break. Had the entire slug hit her instead of the tiny fragment, she probably would have already been bled out on the bridge of the Cruiser. As it was, she had only caught a fragment that had splintered off the wall. Luckily (and unluckily) it was a one in a million shot.

A wave of nauseous fear overtook her. There was simply no way for her to deflect that particular slug with her lightsaber. It just moved too fast.

She checked the bandages and grew slightly relieved when she saw that the wound hadn't deteriorated at all. She had used the shuttles medical gear to patch herself up as best as she could which gave her new appreciation for the weapons the UNSC fielded.

Slugthrowers hurt. A lot.

Ventress felt the urge to weep and stared back at herself in the viewport startled. Assassins did not weep. Sith did not weep. Yet here she was, wounded and freezing, running out of oxygen, and far away from any friendly starport.

She had activated her emergency beacon earlier and decided to use what power was left on the ship to try and get a signal to someone friendly. To be alive in custody of the Republic would be better than dead at the feet of Dooku.

Her anger flared again making her that much more aware of the cold. She recalled the way in which Dooku tossed her to the side. She had failed much more catastrophically before and still lived to tell the tale. Was this somehow the final straw that broke the bantha's back?

"Treachery is the way of the Sith."

A mantra, frequently repeated by Dooku, wormed its way through her brain.

Had she failed a test? Failed to realize how Dooku could turn his back on her at any time?

No. There was something else.

Either way, she had become a liability to Dooku and he had sought to terminate her just like he had so many others. Off-handedly, she wondered if Lola Sayu still harbored Senators that knew too much.

A bright light suddenly illuminated her viewport blinding her. She reached to shield her eyes but couldn't move her good hand - the one that connected to the bloodied shoulder and she squeezed her eyes closed.

Rescue.

The word sent a burst of warmth through her body. She was going to make it, she had another chance.

As the ship moved away slowly, she caught sight of the identity. It was a Corellian CR-90.

She weighed her options. She faced an extremely public trial and quick death in a maximum security prison if she went to Coruscant. She doubted she would live, even if she cooperated with the Jedi. If she killed the crew and ran for somewhere, anywhere else, she could escape the eye of anyone watching and lay low until Dooku let down his guard enough.

Maybe, she mused, she could start a clean slate and disappear into the collective masses.

She heard the sound of the cargo ship docking with her emergency docking port and reached out with the force. A dozen crewmembers, with no cares in the world.

A new idea popped into her head and she cracked a small smile.

They stood no chance, even in her weakened state.

She would kill them when the opportunity presented itself, take the ship, and flee for Dathomir. If there was anybody left to call friend, it would be there. She could recover there, recruit some allies, and lash out at Dooku when the time is right. She would make him pay for every ounce of blood she had lost. He would taste betrayal as bitter as she had.

After all, "Treachery is the way of the Sith."

Serenno, Citadel of House Dooku
10:29 Hours, Galactic Standard Time
Count Dooku

The Count was busy in meditation when a chime broke his concentration.

His countenance flashed supreme annoyance for a second before he regained the placid and serene expression of nobility.

He hit a sequence of keys and the hologram fizzled to life - a tactical droid he had tasked with the destruction of his apprentice."

"Report," he ordered.

"My Lord, we traced Ventress' distress beacon to the middle of space. We sent a scout ship in to survey the area and we found the shuttle ripped in two. We were not able to recover her body. It is unlikely that she survived any decompression and time in space."

"Good work. Make haste to the coordinates I assigned you."

"At once."

The hologram fizzled out.

He sighed. Well, it was done. A death in the vacuum of space was still a death. He would need to report to Sidious.

Which reminded him.. he had yet to receive an update from the Trandoshan running The Citadel on Lola Sayu. Anxious to learn more, he quickly punched in a new sequence of keys and soon the figure of Mardossk appeared before him kneeling.

As he should. Dooku silently sneered.

"My Lord, are you looking for my report?"

"I am."

"Good. I just finished up here."

"And? What news do you bring?"

"We've got our hands on a database alright, but it's scrambled and depicted in a way we haven't seen before. I've got several droids working on figuring it out. We aren't able to access much else. It's pretty much locked itself down."

"That is disappointing."

"Hey, we got ourselves two prisoners here though, and I'm anxious to see what kind of cooperation I can extort from them." he hissed.

"And what of the Senators?"

"Only one survive; Senator Tamtree. She's put up a tough fight though. It makes watching her suffer all the more-"

"Kill her," Dooku ordered coldly.

"What?" Mardossk said, taken aback at the suggestion."

"I said, kill her, Mardossk. She's too dangerous to be left alive."

"I don't think you understand, she's not in her right mind half the time and the other half she just sits and cries. What exactly are you worried about?"

Dooku's eyes flared. Insufferable beast. Of course, he wanted to play with his food instead of carrying out a simple order.

Instead of voicing those words, he clenched his fist and Mardossk's hands began to writhe at his throat as he began to choke and splutter.

"By the time I contact you next she had better be sitting in a grave, Trandoshan, or it is you that will find yourselves lying dead on the ground," he said, releasing his grasp on Mardossk's throat.

The Trandoshan squawked and fell to the ground.

"I'll begin prepping the execution chamber at once." he coughed twice before bowing meekly.

For a second time, the connection fizzled out.

That particular unpleasant piece of business aside, he glanced at a chronometer on the wall. Hopefully, it was a convenient hour.

This time when he punched in the code, he found himself staring face to face with the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.

"Lord Tyrannus, your presence is unexpected at this hour. What do you have to report?" Palpatine said quickly slipping into his true character.

"My Lord," Dooku began while kneeling. "I first have news that Asajj Ventress has perished."

"Are you sure?" Sidious asked.

"I had a ship confirm it myself."

"Excellent." Sidious purred. "You have proven your loyalty."

"There are other matters, Master." Dooku pressed.

"Such as?"

"We examined the navigational database of the captured Sangheili ship. We've recovered some data, but we need one of the aliens to cooperate to make sense of it."

"This complicates things somewhat, but I should be able to rectify it."

"Master?" Dooku asked curiously.

"No matter," Sidious said waving him off. "The continued involvement of the Orionids is throwing more and more kinks into our plan."

"Orionids?"

"The others from outside this galaxy claim to hail from a region known as the "Orion Arm."" Sidious said with a tone verging on exasperation. "What a completely imbecilic name. The Senate hasn't figured out what they want to call them so we're stuck. To the great scientific minds of the Republic they are Galaxy SA-12 - but don't get me distracted on tangents. The bickering is particularly grating."

"Yes, yes. I apologize." Dooku said diplomatically, wondering just how fatuous the whole affair had been.

"Like I was, saying, both the Terrans and Sangheili are proving to be more meddlesome than I would care for. We need to draw them away from this galaxy. That data could prove key to helping us, but we can't move our ships into their galaxy directly because we don't have any hyperspace routes mapped."

"Are you looking to attack them directly?"

"No, not necessarily. But if we can turn this ship against them, it will provide a much-needed distraction."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Plagues, pestilences, weapons of mass destruction, really the possibilities are endless." Sidious said bringing his fingertips together. "It matters not so long as we make sure that their worlds know that they are not safe and isolated. I shall leave the details up to you. I am entrusting the success of this mission to you and you alone."

"I will not fail." he bowed.

"Good." Sidious nodded satisfied. "Send me what you were able to pull from their ship. If neither Sangheili cooperates, make them suffer."

"Yes, Master."

"Is the fleet positioned?"

"They're positioned in a nearby nebula and ready to move when the order is given."

"You have done well. You will know when the time is right."

A knock on the door was heard and Sidious' face twisted in annoyance.

"Go, my Apprentice." his Master said slipping back into the kindly guise of Palpatine.

The connection closed leaving Dooku to scheme alone.

Military Education Complex, Training Room 528
Tipoca City, Kamino

13:04 Hours, Galactic Standard Time

Jedi General Anakin Skywalker

A soaring artillery shell flew over their heads and impacted in a grove of trees. The trees shattered and disappeared in a flash of light.

"Anyone spot the source?" he inquired.

"Our men did."

It was Major Crespo, the woman he was working with for this exercise. He had met her only once before when trying to take out Ventress at the very beginning of the UNSC's military action.

They had been embroiled in joint exercises for a while now. Throughout the entire facility, every space had some mixture of Terran soldiers and Clones. Some were trying out the others gear, others were doing squad-level exercises. Their current objective was to try and take a fort on top of a hill. Beyond that was a landing point, the source of the Separatist reinforcements. Unfortunately the "Intel" they had been given was bad. What was supposed to be the flank of the enemy force was actual their front line.

He watched as a Scorpion, the UNSC's main tank took aim and fired.

He had no idea how they managed to implement the UNSC's training assets into the simulation, but that feat alone earned his respect for the unknown individual(s).

The training shell soared high over and disappeared over the top of the hill. An explosion followed and the artillery fire ceased.

"Artillery's down General. Can you get your scout walkers to draw their fire?"

"They're not that armored," he replied, somewhat miffed.

"Well, do you have any other ideas? I just need to move up out of their crossfire."

He could only assume she meant the enormous bank of mounted turrets that were focusing most of their attention to his right, were Major Crespo was.

"Hang on, lemme think of something," he said scanning his lines.

"General Skywalker, we need help on the left. Droids ambushed us from a hidden bunker." Rex reported.

"Copy that Rex," he said sprinting forward and driving to the left. He saw the bunker in question as he crested the tiny knoll.

Some of the training droids had Rex and Ahsoka pinned down by another nest.

The droid didn't see him coming.

Using the force, he leaped up and turned his fall into a dive. The droid saw him only too late. As he fell through the open window he rolled and ignited his lightsaber in a sweep severing the droids head from it's body.

The nest fell silent. He looked to his right and saw a tunnel that led, supposedly, into the rest of the base.

"Thanks, Skyguy," Ahsoka said as she mantled it with Rex and several members of the 501st mantling the wall and joining them inside.

"Passage lead into the fort?" Rex asked.

"Why don't we go and check."

"Skywalker, where are you?" Crespo demanded.

"We've infiltrated the fort, we're moving to disable the nests," he reported.

"What the **** are you doing?"

"I'm sorry?" Skywalker said taken aback by the woman.

"Apologies General, that wasn't intended for you. One of our Rangers is trying to learn how to use one of your blasters and nearly shot himself. We're pulling back for a moment. We're going to try and move up our 'Hogs. Let me know when you're done. Crespo out."

"Sounds like we need to hurry." Ashoka noted.

"Appo, where's second platoon?" Rex asked.

"We're trying to draw the fire of the nest so that the Rangers can move. We're pushing forward as best as we can." the sergeant reported

"Keep at it," Rex replied. "We're going to try and cut them off from behind."

Skywalker nodded towards his men and they pushed through swiftly into the corridor encountering no resistance.

In time, they came to a lift at the back and they all crammed on. The door automatically sealed and they began ascending.

When the doors opened they saw walked into a narrow corridor with corridors branching out. The sounds of the laser cannons were nearby.

"I don't get it, where're the droids?" Ahsoka asked.

On cue, one of those droids emerged from the corridor and froze.

Anakin's left ear went slightly deaf as Rex fired his blaster pistol over his shoulder and dispatched the droid without a moment's hesitation. A second one appeared around the corner.

"Oh my gosh!" it yelped as it scrambled back from where it came.

They charged forward and followed the droid to a wide open room where three dozen droids were clustered around a dozen or so cannons that were trying to fill the air with as much blaster fire as possible. Several other turrets had been shot up or disabled by the attackers trying to press forward. It looked like the droids were there to take the place of their comrade when they inevitably fell.

The Rangers, to Major Crespo's credit, were doing a remarkable job of scattering their fire with their Warthogs. Though the chainguns were inaccurate from the range they were at, they were still forcing the droids to break their continuous fire which allowed the 501st to advance in the pockets where the fire was diverted or halted.

The droids all turned to face them and most of them, save those who were on the guns, opened fire.

Anakin and Ahsoka stepped forward in an effort to shield the Clones from blasterfire and the Clones retaliated by peering around their flanks and firing.

They quickly cut a swath through the droids and their formation spread out and quickly eliminated the guns.

"We're all done here," Anakin announced when the last droid was unceremoniously shoved out the window

"We noticed. Thanks, General." Major Crespo responded gratefully. "We're moving up to secure the landing point."

He looked to his right to see the Rangers emerge from cover and take several running sprints before igniting their jetpacks and soaring into the air. They got enough clearance and landed on the roof of their fort before streaming past it. A number of Warthogs and their single Scorpion rumbled by further to the right of the bunker. The 501st's walkers also moved up the hill followed by the rest of their unit.

"Rex, have your men clear the rest of this fort and secure it. Ahsoka and I will link up with the others."

The Captain nodded and he began barking orders to the Clones allowing Anakin and Ahsoka to split off and pick their way out into the "sun".

They heard a clanking sound and he watched as several black objects fell from the ceiling, distorting the illusion of the training ground for a moment.

The pods slammed to the earth kicking up clouds of dust and more UNSC troopers jumped out before charging forward. The sound of weapon-fire was intermittent, but it was clear the droids were in retreat back to their landing point. They hit a little slower than he had seen in footage of other drops, but the effect was similar.

"I can't believe anybody would be insane enough to try a stunt like that." Ahsoka shook her head.

"That would be Special Forces for you." Anakin grinned.

One of the ODST's gave an alarmed cry as a training blaster hit him in the shoulder. The shot, while not lethal, would certainly stun and burn slightly. His squad mates shouted and pointed as a squadron of STAP bikes rolled forward and pulled up from their dive on the squad. One managed to get a rocket off which slammed into the bike. The bike and it's crew fell to the earth disabled, but he was sure that had that been a real rocket, the effect would have been much more explosive.

One of the Warthogs broke from formation and swerved towards them, the gunner trying to draw the STAPs away. The rounds impacted on the droids and registered as kills. The bikes tumbled to the earth and the ODST's cheered. Another Warthog, this one looking like an ambulance, pulled up and the crew created a perimeter.

"Look out, they're coming around!" Ahsoka called out and pointed to another group that had snuck up on them unseen.

The Warthog Gunner took a hit and the Ranger tumbled out stunned.

"Come on, Snips," Anakin called out, an idea rapidly forming in his head. The driver slumped out of the vehicle with some effort.

"Mind if I borrow this?"

"What?" the driver asked before murmuring some incomprehensible response and passing out.

He took the answer as a vaguely worded agreement and dragged the trooper against a tree before leaping into the seat.

"They're making another pass at us!" Ahsoka barely shouted above the rattle of automatic gunfire as the other ODST's fired.

"Then get in the gun and shoot!" Anakin pointed.

"What?" she protested. "How am I supposed-"

The ground erupted at her feet as the blasters on the STAPs began peppering the ground surrounding her.

She bit back her response and ran to the vehicle quickly mantling the back and jumping on the gun.

"Uh, how do I use this?" she asked.

"Why are you asking me?" Anakin said distractedly as he examined the dash of the vehicle. The engine was already humming, but he had no idea how to get it moving. There was a lever on the side and three pedals on the bottom. Maybe those did something.

"Who designs these things?" he grumbled.

He moved the lever up a notch from where it was causing a letter L to appear on the electronic readout. Immediately the Warthog started moving forward at a crawl.

"Would you start firing already!?"

They had drawn the attention of one of the Rangers attending to the "wounded" ODST who was trying to keep covered while the others weren't sure what to make of the scene.

"I'm trying!" Ahsoka said spinning the gun and pointing it straight at one of the STAPs. She accidentally found the trigger causing her to yelp as the big gun roared to life for a second. Her single shot grazed the body of one of the STAPs causing it to jolt wildly into a tree where it fell to the earth in sparks.

The sound of the gun, much louder than he had expected from this seat, caused him to accidentally jolt one of his feet to the pedals and the Warthog shot forward causing Ahsoka to nearly topple out of the gunner's position. He hit the pedal in the middle and Ahsoka slammed into the body of the Warthog as it crunched to a halt.

"What are you doing?" she demanded as she struggled to pick herself up.

"I have no idea!" Anakin replied.

The STAPs made another pass and he ducked as blasterfire stitched across the ground behind them.

"Well don't just sit here!" Ahsoka demanded.

"You're supposed to shoot them!"

"And you're supposed to - "

He slammed his foot on the throttle and the Warthog shot ahead again cutting his Padawan's remark off. They were closing the gap on a large tree rapidly. He pulled on the wheel and the Warthog lurched a little bit to the side.

Not enough.

He turned it hard and the Warthog swerved out of the way of the tree. He swerved it back into line and they started driving in what he thought was the direction the landing point. Ahsoka yelped as the gun swung around and nearly knocked her over.

"Sorry." he apologized.

He took his foot off the throttle and the car continued moving slowing down a little.

Alright then. He could steer, he could stop, and he could go. Was there anything else he needed to know?

He looked around. There was a crash harness, did he need it though?

"So, what's your plan?" Ahsoka demanded, interrupting his thoughts.

"Well, let's head for the landing point," he suggested.

"Are you going to drive this thing?"

"Well, we're here, so we might as well."

"Sometimes I wonder w-aahhh!" she yelped as he gunned the Warthog again. Once she had recovered her footing, he heard the sound of Ahsoka moving the gun before she started firing in short bursts.

"I got one!" she called out.

"Great!" he said looking in the rear-view mirror to see two more chasing them. "Can you do something about the others?"

"Well, maybe, you can go faster," Ahsoka suggested.

They were moving moderately, but not at the pace he saw the other drivers do so. He examined the lever he had pushed up a notch. The engine sounded like it was topping out and the car wasn't going any faster.

Maybe if he pushed it up...

The STAPs opened fire again and he decided to throw caution to the wind and throw the lever all the way forward. The moment he did so, the vehicle shot forward and he heard Ahsoka stumble for a second before firing again. Another STAP took a tumble leaving one more remaining.

Looking ahead he saw their path widen out and various walkers and the Scorpion trying to dissuade a column of AAT's from approaching. The tanks were wrecked, but one was ducking behind bits of cover, trying to hit the Scorpion with its main cannon.

"That's the last one!" Ahsoka announced as she sent the last STAP to the ground.

"How much ammunition do you have left?" he inquired.

"No idea," she answered. "Why?"

"We got a tank ahead of us," Anakin announced as he half steered, half swerved the Warthog around a large boulder.

Ahsoka yanked the gun around and started firing.

"No good Ahsoka, we're going to try and flank it."

"I got a bad feeling about this."

The Warthog's engine roared again as he pushed down on the throttle.

"General, it's Captain Rex, we've secured the fort. Where are you and the Commander?" his comlink chirped.

"Oh, we're around," he said doging the question. "We're moving up towards the landing pad now."

"Roger that sir... is that a Warthog I hear?"

"We can discuss the finer points of the situation later."

"Right sir... we'll see you soon," Rex said before closing the connection.

They passed a group of Rangers sitting on top of a pair of tall rocks with sniper rifles trained on some point beyond. He swore as they passed one of them removed his optics, trying to figure out whether he was seeing things.

They barrelled past the convoy of assorted vehicles, some of the Clones on the flanks rolling out of the way to avoid them before they hit a bump, and they landed at a weird angle before they skittered to the side of the AAT.

As soon as the tank's rear was exposed, Ahsoka opened fire and the tank collapsed to the ground, no longer powered by repulsorlifts.

"General, was that you that just took out the tank?" Major Crespo inquired suspiciously.

"Yep."

A pause.

"You're unorthodox... but effective."

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment," he said before clicking off.

"Landing point is dead ahead," Ahsoka informed him.

"I can see that."

He heard several explosive whumps and saw the trees in from of them crash as a series of explosions uprooted them.

"Look out!" Ahsoka cried.

He peered over the dash and saw the shambling form of a Separatist Proton cannon.

"Oh, well this is gonna be easy."

As they rounded the bend they saw three more Cannons lining themselves up to fire at them.

"I take it back. Hang on!" he warned.

He saw his Padawan clutch one of the safety rails as he swerved out of the path of another explosion.

"Major, there's four cannons guarding the landing point," he reported, triggering his comlink.

They straightened out and saw what looked like the rest of the Battle Droids, all assembled and taking position.

"Add a full platoon of droids too."

"Acknowledged. Stay put, we'll call in air - "

"Don't bother. Ahsoka and I will take them out," he said, closing the connection.

"We are?"

"Yep. Get ready on that gun back there."

He veered off the beaten path and immediately the Warthog began to bump and jostle as they rolled over uneven patches of terrain, rocks, branches, and who knew what else. He felt through the force and directed the Warthog through the clearest route possible.

One of the droids called out and they started firing at them. Anakin steadied the vehicle and they smashed from the tree line sending a small trunk flying towards the ranks of droids. It knocked a good dozen over before Anakin took over plowed straight through the ranks of a column sending droids flying everywhere. The Warthog gave a sickening crunch as they did so, each metallic impact sending the droids flying over the hood.

Ahsoka opened up on the turret and to his right, the closest Proton Cannon stumbled as one of its legs collapsed and fell over, neutralizing the target.

He yanked the wheel to the left and the Warthog began tracking a large circle, the tires barely gripping the ground from the excessive speed.

He slammed down on the other pedal, hoping for a miracle and instead he felt the Warthog's rear become light as it began to spin.

He looked back to see Ahsoka wide-eyed clutching onto the turret as the Warthog spun out.

He let his foot off the death-pedal and floored the throttle again putting space between them and the droids. He ignited his lightsaber with one hand and deflected a few stray bolts coming their way before straightening out and driving by another cannon and slicing the legs through leaving it teetering before it too fell over like the other one.

The gun clicked behind him.

"I don't think spinning is a good maneuveur." he reported.

"No kidding." his Padawan deadpanned. "I think the gun jammed," she reported a second later.

"Forget about it. I'll draw their attention, you get to the Cannon on the far left," he ordered as he spun the vehicle into a much wider circle.

"Got it."

For kicks, he held out his lightsaber and held it out to the side slicing six or so in half as they drove by.

When they were near enough, Ahsoka tensed before leaping from the Warthog in a burst of force energy before landing on the side of one of the cannons. The droid manning it flailed about trying to get rid of her. She fed the droid a good foot of her shoto blade for good measure. She dragged the droid out and hopped in the cannon bringing the gun to bear on the other.

The other cannon fired and Skywalker felt himself be lifted out of the Warthog and tumble to the ground from the force of the explosion. He turned his fall into a slide and slid across the ground for some distance before he anchored his fall with the force. He watched as the Warthog turned head over heel slamming into droids before it it landed on it's rear bumper. A droid tried shooting it, thinking it some enormous foe, but the Warthog tilted slowly before gravity took over and slammed into it.

Ahsoka fired and the other cannon was no more.

Anakin picked himself up to see the rest of the droids crowding around him. He reached for his lightsaber close by, but to his horror, it did not fly to his hand. It must have come loose in the crash.

"Surrender Jedi!" One of them ordered.

With a sudden roar, Anakin watched as dozens of olive-clad figures with jetpacks launched themselves from nearby trees and opened fire. The droids turned about in confusion and collapsed all around leaving no combatants on the field.

"You owe me a Warthog, Skywalker."

He turned around to see Major Crespo approach him holding his lightsaber

"Are you kidding me, that's how you're supposed to drive." He said, gesturing to the long line of droids that had been splattered.

"Uh huh," she said looking to the Warthog which was utterly smashed up. "Well, I'll confess, for your first time behind the wheel, you weren't half bad."

"Sunday driver." one of the Rangers said rolling his eyes.

"More like vehicular manslaughter." Another whispered bug-eyed.

"Hey, what can I say, we got the job done."

Major Crespo looked around and let out of a ghost of a smile through polarized helmet.

"Indeed we did General. Indeed we did. Next time, please confirm it with me before taking our vehicles for test drives."

The field began to change and level out into one flat plain all the colors bleaching out until it was a wide open gray and white grid.

"Exercise complete. All combatants return to the theater for post-combat performance review." a disembodied female voice announced.

Crespo handed him the lightsaber and began to round up her Rangers. He turned to find Ahsoka only to find her walking towards him with Rex in tow.

"Next time, can we stick to Starfighters?" his Padawan pleaded.

"My driving wasn't that terrible," Anakin said shrugging her request off. "Besides, we both survived and the Warthog's still driveable."

A sudden explosion drew their attention to the aforementioned Warthog, which was now spewing fire and smoke. Fire suppression droids activated and rushed to douse the flames.

"Right," Rex said, barely withholding a chuckle. "Nice work clearing the zone."

"Thank you Rex" Anakin said appreciatively. "You see, Ahsoka? Someone appreciates my driving skills."

Ahsoka just turned away.

"Alright, then let's see you try driving one, Snips."

"Not on your life Drive-guy," she said shaking her head. He swore he could see her smirk. "Not on your life."

And that's a wrap. You made it this far.

That last section was probably not necessary, but being serious in writing all the time is kind of a bore when you do it all the time. Especially when we are fast approaching some critical plot points... you gotta lighten up a bit, right?

To re-cap, another loop was thrown in with Shadow Three's interrogation, we were introduced to two new characters at Lola Sayu, we saw the UNSC arrive at Kamino, ONI was ONI, Ventress is alive (barely), Separatists are scheming, and Anakin Skywalker knows how to crash a Warthog in style.

As we close the books on this year (excuse the terrible pun), it's my hope that next year treats you better than this year. There's a lot to look forward to and I hope that I can be a little more active than I currently am. It's been years since I began this fiction, and maybe we might be able to see this one knows.

Many thanks to EternalCanadian for our literary partnership. Many thanks to you all for continuing to wait patiently.

You're the real heroes.

Take care, best wishes, don't drive like Anakin Skywalker, and I'll see you in 2018.

Yours in writing,
theotherpianist