Titanomachy

by TheLandMaster

A narrow escape sees an entire fleet of the Militia Army dragged from the Frontier and into a galaxy far, far away. And it seems in the end, war awaits them no matter the destination. But the Sentinel Corps are steadfast, and Commander Elyse will make sure her people prevail. After all, they have the help of Titans... But will it be enough?

5. Chapter 5

I lied.

Turns out I'm not feeling it for writing Charge the Heavens. Instead, here's another Titanomachy chapter.

Also, some news for Discarded Blade have been posted… Not the kind of news I like, but necessary ones. Especially in the face of what I just found out.

Anyway, here we go.

~O~

It'd be a lie to say that tensions weren't high as the pitch-black ship landed inside the Resolute's hangar. Clones and crewmembers alike watched the unknown vessel set ground on the lustered floor of the starship's bay, its engines producing an eerily quiet hum the entire time while its guns swiveled to a neutral position. And standing not too far from its landing site were Ahsoka, Anakin, Captain Rex and R3-S6.

"So, SkyGuy. Ready to meet our help?" asked the Togruta teen cheerfully, even as she eyed the ship with some apprehension. "I have a good feeling about them."

"They're mercenaries, Snips, there's never a good feeling to be had about them," replied the Jedi Knight dryly, his arms crossed and brows furrowed.

"Master, they came at the suggestion of Master Kenobi and the Chancellor! Give them a chance at least."

"I agree with Commander Tano, General," replied Rex in his usual professional tone. "If they were approved, then we should give them a chance to prove themselves."

Any further words remained unsaid, however, once the underside of the ship opened and lowered a ramp to the ground. Steam jetted out from the hydraulics, creating a cloud of smoke that obscured the ground around the ship and made the group take a step back to avoid breathing it in. And from within the ship, stepped out six figures… That, to Anakin and Ahsoka's surprise, they could not sense at all through the Force.

Though the answer to that question became much clearer once the figures walked into view: all six were droids… Or at least, seemed to be.

Two of them were exact copies of each: squared, angular heads with a camera at the front and an antenna sticking out the side. Their bodies were painted white with red highlights, thick armor plates hanging from their shoulders, thighs and chest, with some ammo pouches attached to said chest plane, several knives and two curved blades hidden beneath the limb plates, each one carrying a strange looking shotgun on their back and two black pistols on their hips.

Another was far taller and larger than the rest of the group, their black-painted body having much thicker proportions and heavier armor plating with several grenades adorning it. Their head was similarly angular, but with three red holographic eyes arranged in a triangular pattern around the black orb in the middle of their head. A massive machinegun was held in their grasp, with another rifle-like weapon on the back of their waist and a large revolver holstered on their breast.

The third was colored light-blue and had six limbs in total: four arms, and two legs that ended in flat pieces of metal rather than regular feet. Yet again the head was angular, and yet again the lens was different: two yellow straight lines, one atop the other. Two pistols on each side of their hips, one submachinegun hanging from a strap around their torso and a box-shaped rifle on their back comprised their impressive arsenal, even if the "droid" looked somewhat fragile.

The fifth one had the most… Peculiar design of them all: a clearly female and more human-looking body shape, with a defined breast plates and slender limbs. Yet it was her(?) head that was the most striking feature of it all, with two ear-like antennas that rose and then dipped behind the shoulders, not unlike a Twi'lek's lekkus, while the droid's faceplate was fully glass, and two bright blue spots serving as eye analogues. The weapons she was carrying were two long pistols on her thighs and an ornate-looking rifle slung behind her back.

Finally, ahead of the whole group, the most plain looking droid. They still had all the tactical gear and armor plating like the first five, and their head was similarly simplistic, just a trapezoid with two attached boxes on each side. Yet the notches marked on their breast plate made clear that this droid was both the leader, and a deadly one. Paradoxically, however, their weapons were the most oddest-looking of the bunch: a rifle, a golden revolver on the front of their waist and a shotgun strapped across their back, all looking like beat-up relics than weapons of war.

The four Republic members remained where they stood, eyeing the approaching figures with a healthy mix of curiosity and shock, until finally Rex spoke up.

"… Are those… Droid mercenaries?"

"You know, I'm getting kind of tired of that comparison…" replied the female-looking one in a surprisingly youthful voice, her digital eyes shifting into a half-lidded shape. "Does everyone here just… Assume we're droids?"

"Seems like the usual thought process."/"Maybe we should grow accustomed to it," spoke up the twin machines in identical male voices.

"We'll deal with this later," said the one at the fore of the group, as he turned towards the older Jedi. "I assume you're General Anakin Skywalker?"

"That'd be me."

"I am APOLLO, leader of the Golem Unit, 27th Stealth Reconnaissance Pilot Squad. These are PHOBOS and DEIMOS, PALLAS, NYX and ICARUS. We've been asked to assist you with the recovery of your astromech droid, R2-D2," spoke the Simulacrum calmly, his faceless head facing each member of the group standing ahead of him. "We've received the debrief on the situation, and we are at your orders."

"Just, you know, don't call us droids," piped up NYX cheerfully. "Or ask us to die again! Otherwise we're mutinying and running away faster than you can catch us."

What followed that statement was a certainly awkward silence as six Simulacrums, an astromech droid, a Togruta, a Mandalorian clone and a Tatooine ex-slave stared at each other at five steps across. Unfortunately, that was not the opening for a terrible joke.

"… Well, I am Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's Padawan," spoke up the young Jedi learner finally, before motioning to the last two members of the group. "These are Captain Rex, and R3-S6, our… Temporary replacement droid." The last part had been said coupled with a careful sideways glance to Anakin, whose expression turned minutely sour as he eyed the black-and-gold cylinder standing conspicuously to the side. "It is a pleasure to meet you all."

"Likewise, ma'am. The Corvo is at your service for this mission."

"Thank you, but we already have a ship," interjected Anakin, pointing to a spot in the hangar further away from them. "We'll fly the Twilight for this mission, it's less conspicuous than your ship." As one, Golem turned to the spot the Jedi had pointed…

"… Well, uhh… Looks… Cozy?"

-O-

On route to Bothawui system…

"I miss the Corvo already…"

Five Simulacrums sat in the crew quarters of the restored freighter, with only ICARUS being absent, instead having sequestered himself alongside Skywalker and Ahsoka in the bridge to "learn how natives fly these ships" in case of emergencies. That left the rest of the Golem Unit to wait out the travel time alongside Rex, who had joined the Pilots not long after the Twilight took to hyperspace.

"Yes, well, flying a ship like that into a post-battle area wouldn't exactly be something I'd call subtle, ma'am," replied the clone with a smile as he (for the fourth time in a row) re-checked his DC-17 pistols. Beside him, PALLAS carefully performed maintenance on his machinegun, "Whirlwind's Howl" as he called it. Loading back the power cell onto the pistols, Rex set them down then turned to look at the large machinegun, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "Still can't believe you use slugthrowers… You didn't make the switch to blasters back in your, uhh… Home galaxy?"

Even after they had given their story, it still felt strange to say it aloud or think it over. Humans from another galaxy… The war just kept getting weirder and weirder.

"We have a few particle-type weapons, but mostly big ones."/"We do have pure energy ones though, and those make quite a mess," spoke up the twins from their chosen corner, the white Simulacrums tinkering with some data slates they had swiped aboard the Resolute containing some public texts and files about the galaxy at large. "Remind us to show you an L-STAR later."/"And what it does to someone when you shoot them with it."

"PALLAS takes weapons very seriously, as well," said APOLLO as he twirled a coin between his fingers in a deft showcase of dexterity. "He designed the ammunition that we use, and customizes all our weapons between missions. You won't find a better gunsmith than him." As if to reinforce that point, the heavy weapons specialist closed up his gun and set it to the side, setting to work instead on APOLLO's Flatline. Said team leader finally grasped his coin tightly and returned it to the pouch he had taken it from, with all the care you'd show to a personal treasure. "Don't expect much talk, however. He tends to keep quiet most of the time."

At that moment, the doors to the quarters opened, and in strolled Ahsoka and R3. The Padawan strode down the stairs calmly, with the astromech following slowly behind by taking the service lift. "I see you're getting acquainted with our new friends easily, Rex," she said with a playful tone, letting her gaze drift amidst everything and everyone piled inside the room. Her response was an electronic giggle from NYX.

"Well, you know how it is, us soldiers need to keep our skills sharp and our war talk warm," spoke the Simulacrum, running a metallic hand over the head of R3 as he stopped beside them. "Though… I can tell you're here for an extra reason, right?"

It was almost like lightning coursed through Ashoka, her back straightening and her eyes widening by the slightest of amounts, but to Rex's trained eyes and the exceedingly high-quality optics of Golem, it was something they picked up quickly. The Togruta looked to the side awkwardly, rubbing her hands together in a clear sign of nervousness, before opening her mouth—

"We can't answer that."

APOLLO's response was quick and measured, but for a moment Ahsoka could have sworn there was deep sorrow in his electronically generated voice. And even if she already knew what question he had answered, the Padawan still felt the words return to her. "Answer… What?"

"We never came back in the normal fashion, ma'am. We just had the last copy of our minds uploaded into a machine… It was more like closing your eyes down on the ground, and opening them again aboard a warship… Only we were now this." The Golem leader raised his hand and twisted it around, the servo barely making a sound as the limb spun on its axis. "If there is something beyond the veil of life… Well, I haven't seen it yet."

"I understand… I'm sorry if I was untoward with my questions. The Jedi speak much of how those who die go to become one with the Force… But for someone like… Uh—"

"Someone as us, who defy natural existence, and who besmirch creation with every step we take in a shell not of our own."

Ahsoka and Rex almost jumped once PALLAS spoke, his voice a deep, dry and reverberating echo that seemed to shake them to the bone. The heavy android placed a magazine into the Flatline and passed it over to APOLLO, who took it with a short nod of approval. He then turned to the clone and Jedi, his three red eyes flashing slightly at they each moved independently. "Yet it is in this defiance of nature that hope is brought to those we fight for. Hope born of sacrifice. A cycle that must never be broken. We fight, because we wish. We die, because it was to be. We live again, because it must be so."

PHOBOS and DEIMOS gave each other a glance, then gave slow, almost emotional nods to the group. "We all got some regrets, sure… And sometimes it's hard to forget our old bodies."/"But we also know that our deaths meant something… And that we kept someone safe in doing so."

"So don't you worry about a thing, Soka," spoke up NYX, her voice now far softer and calmer than before, the glowing eyes on her faceplate bringing forth the ghost of her true face. "We made peace with this a long time ago. All we can do is keep going forward, right?"

And for a moment, it was how they remained: in silence. Sudden, yet strangely comfortable. It was the kind of silence that seemed to bring understanding to each side… The start of something. Friendship? Companionship? Who could know. But to them, it was enough.

It was at that moment that ICARUS came back, the Pilot knocking lightly at the railing to draw the attention of the group below. "Skywalker called, we're arriving at our destination. Wants you back at the cockpit, miss Tano."

"I'm on my way," replied the Togruta as she rose to her feet, before turning back to the Pilots with a soft smile. "You're welcome to join us as well, if any of you wish to."

-O-

In the end, APOLLO, PHOBOS AND DEIMOS took the offer to go up to the bridge, filling carefully into the compartment. Anakin occupied the pilot seat, while beside him ICARUS operated the instruments with all four of his arms, pausing every few moments or so seemingly to make sure he was doing everything correctly, and off to the side Ahsoka occupied the navigator seat. The blue-and-black spiral of hyperspace swirled wildly and unpredictably outside the Twilight's viewport, though the map showed they were just about to arrive to their target zone.

When the three Simulacrums stepped into the bridge, Anakin looked over his shoulder at the three and nodded, receiving one from each Pilot in return. "We're just about to reach the Bothawui system. Best place to look for R2 is inside the debris field… I just hope he's alright."

"We'll get him back safe and sound, master. Don't worry," said Ahsoka with a soft smile as she swiveled her chair to look at the Jedi Knight. Anakin replied with a smile of his own, but there was sadness in it. Without another word, Skywalker pressed a few more buttons in the control panel then cut the hyperdrive. With a low hum and an almost imperceptible rumble, the Twilight exited hyperspace…

Into a mass grave.

Republic and Separatist ships, sheared and torn into, floating in the cold emptiness like carcasses of great beasts. There was no fire burning, but the marks of blaster fire were evident in their white and grey hulls. Broken remains of fighters, manned and unmanned, bounced against armor plates and hulls… And bodies. So many bodies, both organic and inorganic, clones and droids, all limply floating by, some intact… Some not.

It was a sadly familiar sight to the two Jedi… And to Golem as well.

But to the Pilots, the scale was something they rarely witnessed. The Frontier War had certainly grown in scale over the years, but a war grave of this size… It was a rare thing to witness, born only when the IMC and Frontier Fleet fully committed to the battles. And it never got any less gruesome to see.

"Are you sure your droid is out here?"/"It doesn't look like anything survived this."

"I did. And if I survived, R2 can to."

The Jedi's words held finality in their tone, his eyes sharp and attentive even as he expertly maneuvered across the debris field. More than once, the dull thud of something bouncing against the Twilight's hull was heard, though the passengers did their best to ignore it. The grim spectacle continued… Until something more unique came into view. It was a yellow and black arrow-shaped fighter, with a chunk torn off of it like an animal had bitten through: a Delta-7B Aethersprite-class starfighter.

"That's my ship!" called out Anakin almost in a desperate cry as he rose from his chair, drawing the attention of the other four occupants in the room. They all watched as the fighter slowly spun around its axis, turning its bottom section away from them to reveal… An empty astromech dock.

The Jedi knight slumped back onto his seat, shoulders sagged as he stared at the wreckage with a whirlwind of emotions. "He's not here… R2 must have escaped, he should be in the wreckage somewhere!"

"Scanners aren't picking up anything that small, Skywalker," called out ICARUS from beside him, his hands flying over the console as he operated the ship's sensors. Suddenly, he stopped, and turned his attention to a single point in the panels in front of him. "Got something else, though… Large, three kilometers off to starboard. Looks to be another ship."

Quickly, Anakin turned the Twilight to the indicated direction, flaring the freighter's engines just enough that it began moving to the unknown contact. Carefully, the Jedi and Simulacrum piloted the vessel around more wreckage until finally, after flying below the broken hull of an Acclamator-class cruiser, they came across the second visitor of the grave.

It was an ugly ship, and no words could mince that fact. To the Milky Way natives, it reminded them of the old waste disposal trucks that would trudge along inside factories or waste management facilities in the industrial colonies. It had a narrow main body, covered in grime and dirt, with three dirt-blue containers on each side with long clamp arms between each container. A double-barreled cannon sat atop the rear of the ship, while two bright search lights lazily cast away the darkness as the ship lazily drifted through the battle site.

Stepping closer to the viewport, APOLLO leaned over ICARUS' seat and peered at the vessel they were approaching, the cameras on his head zooming in for a better picture. "A scavenger ship… Any idea who it could be, Skywalker?"

"That's a GS-100 salvage ship, it's a Trandoshan vessel… So most likely a Trandoshan scavenger crew, trying to find something to sell on the black market."

"You think they found R2, master?"

"Only one way to find out, my young Padawan."

Slowly, the Twilight flew towards the Trandoshan hauler, carefully aligning itself to the bigger ship before locking into another with magnetic clamps, sending a loud, groaning shudder through the freighter's hull. Without missing a beat Anakin and Ahsoka were on their feet, reaching for two brown, beat up-looking cloaks that were hanging on the wall. "Alright, let's get this done. Faster we finish this, faster we find R2."

"I'll go get R3," replied the Padawan as she slipped the ragged cloth over her body. "We could use his help with the systems aboard the ship." Before the two Jedi could leave the bridge, APOLLO stepped forward and shook his head at them.

"You're not going into that ship without back-up." The team leader then turned to the twins standing behind him and point a metallic finger to each one. "PHOBOS, DEIMOS, go with them. Don't say a word, just pretend you're guard droids. With any luck, the scavengers will be too stupid to notice."

"Yes, captain."/"Yes, sir."

"ICARUS, can you fly this thing if it comes down to it?" asked APOLLO, to which the four-armed Pilot's response was to give a slight shrug and a wave of his hand.

"Eh, I can probably fake it well enough. I'll call Rex if it comes down to it."

"Make it so then. I'll warn the others about it, make sure we all have some extra firepower in case things worsen."

"Very well then, captain… Let's move then."

"Aye, sir."

-O-

The five erstwhile teammates rode an old elevator up to a spherical room, with the only other passage being an iris-shaped door right in front of them. Ahsoka, Anakin and R3 stood at the forefront, while PHOBOS and DEIMOS flanked the trio from behind, their weapons holstered but ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. The two Simulacrums were eerily still, looking every bit the part of the soulless machines they were meant to pass as. In truth, however, the twins had their eyes on everything around them, their camera eyes minutely shifting to take in the surroundings, while the radios built into their heads were wired directly to a small, discreet ear piece that both Ahsoka and Anakin were wearing. If PHOBOS and DEIMOS spoke to the Jedi, then no one other than the two would hear it.

"If anything happens and someone's watching, we'll step in."/"Better you two keep your cover while we play the part of the muscle."

"Alright… Let's get this over with." Anakin stepped forward and gave the iris door a few hard knocks, the sound echoing loudly inside the small room and drawing a wince from Ahsoka. And for a moment, there seemed to be no reply… Until suddenly two holes opened, allowing two metal eyestalks to extend outwards and swivel to stare at the group and speak in a garbled, almost incomprehensible language. "We're looking to buy some salvage. Anyone home?"

The eyestalks spoke a few more words, swiveled to look at the five group members, then disappeared back into their holes. A moment later, the iris door opened, allowing a fat, short and old-looking lizard to clamber in. He wore a blue jumpsuit, and his long, thin arms reached all the way to the floor. "So, looking for salvage, eh?" asked the Trandoshan in a gravely, old voice. "What can I interest you in, my good fellow?"

"I'm looking for droids and related. Intact models, parts, anything that you can offer. I'm looking to start a little side-business, figure it'd be better to get second-hand stuff." The Knight then pulled out a few credit ingots from within his robes and carefully rattled them in his grasp, something that he was happy to see drew the attention of the salvager. "You got anything special?"

"Hmm… Maybe…" The Trandoshan tapped his chin with one long clawed finger, then turned a greedy eye to the astromech and "security droids" standing behind the two. "I have a mint C-14 in storage, I'd be more than happy to trade it for that R3 of yours… Plus a few extras for those two on the back."

"Those aren't for sale," spoke up Ahsoka, her expression far more mature than someone her age would have. "We're here to buy, not trade." To the others' relief, rather than being insulted by her response and attitude, the salvager instead merely regarded the Togruta with mild amusement, before giving a grunt in agreement.

"Very well then…" and with that, the lizard stepped away from the door and motioned to the inside of his ship. "Storage is this way. Feel free to browse, just give me a list of whatever interests you… Though I'd recommend being careful in there. There are some… Unique items down there. Heheheh…"

Anakin and Ahsoka glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes, then stepped forth into the ship, with PHOBOS and DEIMOS following close-by with faked robotic movements.

Neither of them missed the fact that the scavenger kept his gaze solely on the simulacrums until they disappeared further down the hall.

As soon as they were out of sight, the group finally relaxed their body language, with the Pilots finally returning to their more organic while Ahsoka and Anakin let out a relieved sigh. "Finally, if I had to stare at that sleemo's face for a moment longer… Ugh…"

"Well my young Padawan, consider this a learning experience on the workings of the open world," replied the Jedi Knight to his apprentice, a playful smile in his face, which only grew wider once he caught the look the Togruta was giving him.

"We've seen quite a few ugly things back home."/"That was easily top five. He's like an obese Prowler," called out the twins from behind them, to which the comment drew a confused warble from R3. "Big lizards, about the size of a hoverbike."/"Very angry too, tends to kill a lot." The warble in response to that was quite a lot more panicked than before, which earned the astromech a pat on its dome.

"Don't worry, Goldie, you won't be seeing any of them here," she reassured the droid, even as Anakin let out a quiet snicker at the suffering of the replacement R-series. The group quickly grew silent, however, once they reached the storage area.

It was a spacious room, with the ceiling high enough that a Titan could walk upright, if not for the large amount of shelves packed as tightly and as close together as possible. Each shelf was packed with large metal boxes, droid parts or loose pieces of technology, all haphazardly thrown or piled against one another, like a large vertical junkyard. More than once Anakin had to push a crate off their path with the Force, while his eyes carefully scanned every nook and cranny of the vessel… But no matter where he looked, there was no sign of R2 here. So, either the scavenger was being truthful… Or he was very good at hiding his ill-begotten gains.

Behind one of the larger crates, however, they did end up finding something quite interesting: two tall, lanky droids with cylindrical-shaped limbs, slumped and sitting on the floor with cables connected to their backs and a pair of rifles in their grasp. "I'm guessing these are the unique items he told us about…" spoke Anakin with a low tone of voice as he stared at the shut down droids.

"What are these, master?"

"IG-series assassin droids. Very unpredictable, very dangerous… Let's just make sure we don't disturb them."

"They don't look so tough to me…"

"Neither do we, but looks can be deceiving."/ "You wouldn't know from our appearance that we can phase through dimensions," spoke up the twins as they stared at the IG droids, their hands ghosting their revolvers at the mention of the word "assassin". Ahsoka gave the two Simulacrums a confused look, but settled on shrugging and stepping back to her master's side.

As the group went further into the storage area, R3 slowed itself until it stood right next to the IG droids, its head spinning to face the assassin machines.

A moment later, its manipulator arm retracted, and the astromech resumed its path to follow the groups.

And after a moment more, the assassin droids twitched.

-O-

"Anything, Snipps?"

"No, nothing…"

"Kriff…"

"Same here."/"No sign of the droid."

Their search, in the end, was proving to be nothing other than fruitless. No matter how far they searched, the four couldn't find any trace of R2, or any other R-series droid in their entire storage. They overturned boxes, cleared shelves, even climbed to the highest ones, but nothing had come of it. Either the Trandoshan had hidden R2 better than two Jedi and two Pilots could feasibly look for… Or he wasn't on this ship, and they had wasted time.

"Maybe he's not in storage… He could be further inside," mused Anakin, his gaze turning to a door leading further into the ship. The Jedi Knight quickly paced towards it, but as soon as he reached it, it became clear the door would not open easily: no control panels, no emergency switches, and with durasteel thick enough that prying or cutting it open would mean a great amount of effort. With a groan of frustration, Anakin began searching the room itself instead, and thankfully enough a solution presented itself in the form of a dataport under one of the shelves. "R3, access the network and open this door."

The astromech warbled a few beeps in response before slowly rolling over to the port and inserting his scomp link into it. R3 turned its head towards the door and remained watching it as the port spun and turned, when suddenly a faint metal clang echoed from inside the storage area. Quickly, all four figures drew their weapons, with Anakin and Ahsoka igniting their lightsabers while PHOBOS and DEIMOS took hold of their revolvers and Itak blades. Once or twice, another clang would echo somewhere else, only closer, until suddenly they simply stopped.

"I got a bad feeling about this…" muttered Ahsoka as she twirled her lightsaber, her eyes darting from corner to corner in hopes of finding the source of the sound… Just before they stopped.

The silence only made the Jedi and Pilot tighten their guard… Before PHOBOS and DEIMOS' cameras lightly turned upwards, and the Pilots fired their revolvers upwards.

The assassin droids twisted their bodies out of the path of the shots, the .50 caliber rounds grazing their armor plating but failing to hit anything vital. In response, the IG units fired back with their E-5 blaster rifles, raining down red bolts that were either dodged or deflected into striking the floor, shelves and boxes around them.

With nary a word, PHOBOS and DEIMOS literally jumped into action, their Jump Kits flaring brightly inside the poorly-lit room as they rocketed up towards the IG droids, swinging their Itaks quickly and precisely, only to have the assassin droids swing themselves sideways to avoid the blows. The Pilots were undaunted, however, and boosted after the two droids, kicking off the shelves for Wall Jumps.

It was a dangerous dance of agility and speed, with the four machines constantly leaping over the heads of the two Jedi below, who did their best to support their allies in the firefight. Be it deflecting blaster bolts at the droids, pushing crates to try and unbalance their footing, or telekinetically flinging parts as distractions, Anakin and Ahsoka did not remain idle. And yet still, they could not help but watch in amazement as the two Pilots moved and fought not unlike a Jedi, with perfectly ergonomic attacks and deadly, pinpoint accurate shots from their sidearms.

And indeed, these shots piled on, the massive bullets from the revolvers leaving sizeable dents with every hit and forcing the droids into a stagger more frequently. It was during one of these staggers that PHOBOS took advantage of the opening and leapt towards one of the IG units, burying his Itak onto the droid's chest before boosting down onto the ground. He then backflipped off of the assassin, quickly holstering the revolver and switching to the Peacemaker shotgun on his back, just as the droid rose from the floor and spun around, aiming his gun at the Simulacrum jumping up to punch the droid down before firing.

And having its processors stall when the blaster bolt went through the body of the robot before it dissipated into the air on motes of light, followed by another equal Simulacrum rushing forward with the same motion as before, and disappearing just like the one before, then a third one…

But instead of a fourth disappearing punching PHOBOS, the IG unit found the barrel of a loaded energy shotgun right in front of its optics. The subsequent shot decapitated the droid, and the two follow-up Arc Daggers that were thrown and buried onto its cylindrical torso finished the machine off, frying its internals systems with a powerful EMP detonation.

And while PHOBOS lowered his shotgun, Anakin and Ahsoka ran past the Pilot, readying their lightsabers just as up in the shelves, DEIMOS fired the grappling hooks of his Jump Kit onto the remaining IG unit, reeled it in, flipped it over his body and kicked it down onto the ground, right in the path of the two Jedi. And with two perfectly synchronized blows, Anakin and Ahsoka dismembered the IG unit, their lightsabers carving through the blaster-resistant alloy and turning the assassin droid into a half-molten pile of broken parts and abandoned weapons.

"Alright… Guess you all were right about them being dangerous," said Ahsoka with a sigh as she shut off her lightsaber.

"And yet another valuable lesson is added to your repertory, my young Padawan," replied Anakin with a smirk, before his expression became schooled once more and he turned back to R3, who was still tinkering with the dataport. "What's the hold up there, Stubbie?"

As if on cue, the astromech let out a low warble and spun the port one last time, at which point the door finally opened with an almost deafening metal groan…

"What have you done?!"

And to the distaste of the group, in stepped forth the Trandoshan, his small beady eyes wide in shock as he ran towards the ruined IG droids and almost bowled over everyone in his path. The scavenger picked up the cut-off head, staring at the dead optics of the once deadly droid, now reduced to trash. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to get my hands on working IG Sentinel droids?! And they were near mint too!" shouted the Trandoshan in frustration. "What possessed you to do this?!"

"What are you talking about, lizardo, it was those things that attacked us!" shouted Ahsoka back, waving her arm at said remains. "Sounds more like you had something to hide in here!"

"And how can I know that you didn't attempt to steal my cargo?! To me it looks more like you were going to rob me blind with those droids of yours!" He then pointed a damning clawed finger at their hands holding the lightsabers. "Not to mention those! Are you trying to play Jedi or something?"

As the Togruta and Trandoshan argued furiously with one another, Anakin turned towards the corridor the salvager had just arrived from, his eyes focused on a specific part of the hallway's plating that seemed strangely askew… That is, until the voice of PHOBOS and DEIMOS rung softly on his earpiece, and only his going by the fact Ahsoka continued her ranting.

"I want you all off my ship, now!"

"You can't just kick us off this ship, we haven't gotten what we want!"

"I don't care, leave!"

"Alright, we'll leave."

"Master!?" cried out Ahsoka in shock as she turned back to Anakin, who seemed oddly serene and collected at the whole ordeal. "What are you talking about?!"

"We caused trouble in his ship, and destroyed his property. We have no room to be rude to our host," spoke the Knight in a perfectly calm tone of voice as he holstered his saber. "We apologize for the trouble, and we'll let you continue your work."

The Trandoshan blinked stupidly at the strangely complacent acquiesce, before giving a haughty snort and crossing his arms. "Apologies do not recoup my losses, 'Jedi'. So tell me, how do you plan on paying me back for my droids?"

"As a matter of fact, I have the perfect business proposal…"

-O-

BRIDGE OF THE RESOLUTE, HALF AN HOUR LATER…

"Anakin."

"Yes, master?"

"Explain yourself."

"What do you mean, Obi-Wan? I already gave you a full report."

"Oh, I've noticed it. What I'm asking you to do is please repeat that and explain the part where you sold our new allies as collateral for a Trandoshan scavenger!?"

It was rare to see Obi-Wan "The Negotiator" Kenobi truly lose his calm. The man was known for his legendary patience, witty humor and near completely unflappable cool.

Today was one of those rare occasions, as the bridge crew of the Resolute watched the incredulous expression Obi-Wan Kenobi held as he stared at the pleased smile General Skywalker sported himself, even as he was surrounded by the nervous Ahsoka and the members of Golem.

… Bar PHOBOS and DEIMOS.

"Now master, I have an iron-clad reason for my actions," said Anakin as he crossed his arms in a complete show of calm. "One you can't possibly pin on me."

"And what would that be, my thoughtful apprentice?"

"That this was wholly their idea, I just went with it."

"He's correct, General Kenobi," spoke up APOLLO off from the side as he took a step towards the holotable. "PHOBOS and DEIMOS contacted me for the plan, which I approved, before requesting General Skywalker's assistance in executing it."

"But why would they ask to be left behind on a random scavenger's ship? You already said that R2 was not aboard it."

"That is our initial assessment, yes. But the fact the scavenger had already been in the location meant that either he could have some intel aboard his ship… Or he was lying to us, and the droid was hidden somewhere we could not reach." The Simulacrum then withdrew a small device from his leg, pressed a button on it and placed the device upon the table, allowing a hologram of the Golem Unit's symbol to spring to life between the group. "Two minutes ago, we received our answer."

"Captain APOLLO, PHOBOS and DEIMOS reporting it."/"We apologize for the delay in communication, but discretion was necessary," said the audio coming from the device in the voice of the Simulacrum twins. "We had to remain undercover, so we were unable to search the ship for signs of the missing R2 unit. However, our decisions have paid off."/"Five minutes after the Twilight left the system, the scavenger sent out a transmission to an encrypted frequency. We were unable to track the source, but we intercepted audio. This is the playback."

xOx

"What is it?"

"General, I believe I may have found a particularly… Useful piece of salvage for your cause."

"Explain yourself."

"A group passed by my ship just some time ago. They were very keen on searching my ship for any droids I had… And I just so happened to pick up an R2 series unit at the site of your latest battle, that I am willing to bet good credits has some valuable intel for you."

"What of the group that were looking for it?"

"Ah, they've left already. I even swindled some droids off of them, good looking ones too. So, general… What do you say?"

"Bring the droid to these designated coordinates. Should its contents be deemed useful, you shall receive… Proper compensation."

"At once, general. I promise you, you will not be disappointed."

"For your continued existence, you best hope so, Trandoshan."

xOx

"We've activated a Militia-standard subspace beacon, it'll allow for our current path to easily be tracked."/"With the added bonus of being in a frequency unknown to the scavenger or his contact," continued the recording, a small icon appearing next to the Golem emblem with a continuously-moving line of code. "We'll remain undercover for now, and re-establish contact once you arrive at our location."/"Good luck, and don't take long, captain."

And with that, the recording ended, the device subsequently shutting down right as APOLLO picked it up from the table. "We have their coordinates, and have crossed it with navigational data of this ship. The scavenger seems to be headed towards the moon of the planet Ruusan, where we assume a rendezvous or proper base are located."

At first, Obi-Wan did not reply, instead simply stroking his chin and humming in thought. Finally, however, the Jedi Master turned to the side and picked up a data slate, quickly scrolling through it until he reached the desired intel. "We received reports of increased Separatist ambushes and incursions in the systems surrounding your area… It is likely your scavenger is headed to a hidden base or outpost in the Ruusan system."

"Which only gives us more reason to go after that Trandoshan: save R2, and destroy the Separatist outpost," spoke up Anakin, his usual mask of determination returning to his face, though with more than a tinge of eagerness and anger. The Jedi Knight suddenly found a pair of hands atop each of his shoulders, which a quick look over them showed him it were Ahsoka and NYX, both showing expressions of sympathy to him.

"I understand your urgency, Anakin, but we must be careful with this information. If we bring a fleet to bear, the Separatists are bound to call for reinforcements, and it'd only lead to heavy casualties," said Kenobi as he turned his gaze back to his old Padawan. "Subtlety is necessary for this, otherwise we may lose the trail… And R2 with it."

"You don't have to worry about a thing then, general," spoke up NYX as she stepped forward, her digital eyes bright and wide as she watched the hologram. "Infiltrations are our top skill, and we got two men on the inside!... Well, two Simulacrums, but you get the idea."

"We'll take the Corvo to these coordinates and meet up with PHOBOS and DEIMOS. Her stealth systems will guarantee our arrival and departure are a secret, and the jump drive gives us the advantage in case of a retreat," added ICARUS as he carefully tinkered with his pistols. "Ain't the first time the twins pulled a stunt like this, either."

"Their last time was four months ago," added NYX when she noticed the curious stare Ahsoka directed them, before her simulated face shifted to one of disgust. "We sold them off to a brothel that served as a drug manufacturing plant… We chemically scrubbed them for hours after they came back…"

"Then I'll authorize this mission. If the scavenger leads you to any Separatist holdings, report back and do whatever you can to keep the data inside the droid from the enemy."

"Consider it done, master."

"Good luck, and may the Force be with you." And with a bow of his head, Obi-Wan's image flickered out of existence, a sign for them to move out.

Five minutes later, the rescue team had been assembled at the feet of the Corvo: Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex, R3, the four remaining members of Golem and four clone troopers, all of them fully equipped and ready for the mission. The group had also loaded the ship with several high-yield explosives and extra ammunition, just as a precaution, while the Pilots had made sure their auxiliary mechs were prepped and ready for a fight.

"Just you wait, you'll see what real flying is like when she gets on the air," NYX cheerfully called out as she ran final checks on her twin Mastiffs. "The Corvo flies smooth as butter, and ICARUS has magic hands for flying. Ain't no better ship pilot out there!"

"I don't know, I'd say I'm pretty good myself," said Anakin with a smirk, earning him a roll of the eyes from his Padawan.

"Spinning isn't flying, SkyGuy."

"But it is a good trick, Snips."

"Just don't say these things in earshot of Hawk back in the fleet, you two," replied ICARUS good-naturedly as they all began filing into the stealth ship's interior. "I spent enough time in the VR simulators dogfighting that asshole, I don't want to get trapped in that pod again."

As the Republic forces fully entered the Corvo, they finally took note of the surroundings of the ship's interior. Soft blue lights kept the hallways illuminated just enough to reveal the fully metal construction. Matte-colored plates of black steel lined the floor, walls and ceiling, with a few indicators of circuitry or power lines on them serving as the only decoration. As the group moved further inward, PALLAS and NYX broke off alongside the clone troopers and R3 to show them the "passenger quarters" for their short trip, while ICARUS and APOLLO lead the Jedi and Rex to the cockpit, as a token for allowing the Simulacrums the same access aboard the Twilight.

"I take it the décor isn't something that bothers you very much," quipped Rex as he took one last look around him, his eyes quickly scanning over two cleverly-hidden hatches on each side of the hallway leading into the cockpit, which he quickly assumed were for security of defense capabilities.

"It works wonders when you're being boarded and the lights get turned off," replied APOLLO in his usual business-like tone as he once more twirled a golden coin between his fingers. "Especially when they have organic eyes, and you have variable cameras for sight."

"Truly a comforting thought…" muttered Ahsoka, which earned a good-natured chuckle from both Rex and Anakin. Any further comment were held once they arrived on the cockpit, which just like the rest of the ship quickly surprised the natives. Rather than the more plentiful space like that of the Twilight, the room was more akin to an up-sized starfighter cockpit, with three seats total surrounded by dozens of control panels and screens, the most cluttered one being the center seat, right at the front of the room, while the ceiling and front of the ship lacked any kind of glass or transparent surface, being instead solid metal plates just like the rest of the ship.

With practiced ease, ICARUS and APOLLO slid into the pilot and gunner seat respectively, with the Golem team leader motioning Anakin to the co-pilot seat to the left. Ahsoka and Rex remained standing, carefully leaning against the walls in what little free space the cockpit still had, right as ICARUS began pressing buttons and flipping switches, while out of sight two metal cables snaked out of the seat and connected to the base of the Simulacrum's "spine" and neck. Almost immediately, the entire ship rumbled lightly, a low and ominous hum echoing through the corridors and hull as the reactor and engines came to life.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the Corvo," said ICARUS with a tone not unlike that of a commercial flight pilot. "Please keep your hands and feet close to your body, don't touch the buttons, and don't spill liquids or food in the floor." As he spoke, Anakin, Ahsoka and Rex watched in awe as a holographic wave ran across the cockpit, turning the solid metal surface into a perfect recreation of the area outside the ship, complete with the hangar crew milling about performing their tasks and tactical information of any possible threats. "Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for departure."

And with what the Republic forces considered to be one of the smoothest lift-offs they had ever felt, the Corvo left the Resolute's hangar, an ebon hawk rising from the confines of a white titan. Its Republic passengers barely felt a twitch as the stealth ship distanced itself from the Venator-class cruiser, with the clones sitting at the "mess hall" staring at the ceiling in complete surprise. "Hell of a ship you got here," said Denal in a tone of awe as he turned to face NYX and PALLAS, who were calmly preparing the explosives for the mission.

"Yup~ Our pride and joy, totally worth all the money and resources we sunk onto her back home," replied the female Simulacrum as she set aside one of the bombs and took another to tune. "… Oh right, tuck your heads between your legs."

"… What?"

"All passengers, stand-by. Beginning jump."

"Well, this is your first jump, right? So better be ready for it."

Before Denal or any of the clones could question the two Pilots, he felt the world twist and churn around him…

And in those brief seconds before the universe became a chaotic jumble of color, space and time, Denal wondered if it had really been worth it after all.

While unbeknownst to him, back in the cockpit, his commanding officers thought the same thing.

-O-

Apologies once more for the delay on this.

I got caught up researching quite a lot of stuff for the sake of fluff, and that caused the chapter to grind to a halt in writing… Plus a lot of chores to be done at home.

I also would like to apologize for slightly lying: I promised we'd see the scary lungs man in Chapter 5… Then I actually rewatched Downfall/Duel of a Droid, and realized that if I actually wrote both episodes together, this wouldn't be out for another month or so.

So yes, we're splitting things more… But trust me, come next chapter, John DiMaggio's finally showing up… If ya know what I mean~

Next up, for realsies this time with all the marbles in the line, is Charge the Heavens… I hope at least. I really, really hope.

Have a good one, everybody!