"Thank you, Commander. I will be along shortly."
"Yessir."
Percy exhaled a breath from deep within his soul. He was nestled away in his private quarters, sitting atop his bed and trying to meditate. However, such efforts were in vain; no matter how many deep breaths and attempts to empty his mind, they led nowhere. His mind was rampant with too many thoughts. After all, The Olympus had just arrived in orbit over their target in the Pantora System. Down there, on the freezing iced-over planet, waited his first-ever mission.
"Do not mess up."
Thanks, Mother.
"It would ail your path if you face strife such early on. Nor would a bad first impression work in your favor."
Your confidence is inspiring.
Mother always knew how to settle his nerves. Just a fun reminder of what he was about to do and who he was to meet up with. The group he was tagging along with would explore the icy planet that homed a Republic outpost that had gone quiet. His late addition to the group was to "assist in any manner needed" and "observe firsthand how the chain of command is displayed" by the other two Jedi. That was at least what the green frog-man thing wanted him to do when Shaak Ti had arranged a call earlier. The frog thing might have said something more, but his speech pattern was just atrocious, and Percy was getting left behind in the conversation when he stopped to decipher.
At the end of the briefing, it boiled down to Shaak Ti letting him dip his toes in the water so the other Master Jedi could see how he reacted and if he could swim. Percy was fine with that. He recognized he was essentially an unknown in their operations, and they would need to find a point of trust within him or his ability.
It was also this very reason that he was nervous. Mother was right. He could not mess this up. First impressions were important, and who knows what the ramifications of messing up a military operation could be. He could royally crap the bed with this. Oh boy, this mediation thing didn't work for him.
Okay, the mission… just don't mess up and do things right. Be still my beating heart. This is all very simple. It was all about establishing a starting point with everyone else. Baby steps forward.
Percy stood, popped his neck, and reached for his lightsaber hilt that rested on a metal shelf near his bed. As his hands clasped the cool metal, he could feel the familiarity of a hilt in hand, and his heart slowed in kind.
Shaak Ti had told him that his saber was unconventional, that building one was meant to be an endeavor he should have had to do alone. However, she had been there, guiding him piece by piece as he assembled his blade. She had come forth with the materials after a week from when he found his crystal.
At first, Ti made him try to reach out to the Force to manipulate it and construct the blade himself. Yet, nothing came of it for him. The tangibility and mysticisms of the Force had evaded him, and the only mystical guide he did have was the voice in his head, the very one he had made a deal with.
Once he had finally constructed the hilt by hand, Ti had claimed to have needed to inspect the blade herself. She had promptly wandered off with his new grey saber hilt and left him jonesing to have it back. However, when she returned, he only groaned as she returned with a grin and a painted white saber hilt. She simply laughed and told him that the color suited him.
Yet, after her comment about the city not really being white, he didn't know what to think about the color he had become so familiar with.
What colors were the city halls or the clone armor?
It didn't matter right now. Clear your mind.
Right now, he needed his mind in the game. He needed to be ready, which meant donning his armor, another gift from Shaak Ti. It looked like the clone armor minus a helmet and gloves. On top of it, he begrudgingly threw on a nondescript heavy brown cloak. The armor was sufficient enough for day one, but he wasn't sure if he liked it. It felt a bit clunky, especially around his legs. Would it be a problem to alter his uniform, or did military regulations prevent that? With unfamiliar nostalgic ease, he secured the last strap of the armor and headed to the hangar bay.
"Commander, is the squad ready for transport?" Percy asked as he entered the hangar, his eyes drawn to the one clone who stood out amongst his brethren with his skirt and pauldrons. Percy dutifully ignored the fighter crafts, transports, and other clones that crowded the hangar bay as above them, the endless expanse of space stretched beyond the opened hangar doors.
"Yessir." Commander Wrath saluted. "A team of six clones and our pilot are ready to go."
"Thought we flew with two pilots?"
"We do, Sir, and I have been trained as a copilot when needed. However, Lust is the best pilot coming out of the academy," Wrath said. "He doesn't let anyone else on the sticks but him."
"I don't need a copilot, sir," Lust, the pilot, butted in. "Trust me. I'll get you there in one piece, no matter what."
Percy stared at him and searched the pilot's visor. The orange tinting did little to conceal the man's eyes as Percy found them sharpened and ready. The clone's body language only reinforced the image of confidence. He just had to trust things. He didn't understand everything and would never admit that he did, either. So, he might not know how these things got approved to only have one acting pilot, but he would allow it. Plus, this was overall a test mission. If he needed to correct this, he could.
"Right." Percy nodded more to himself than anyone else. "Well, load 'em up. I don't want to be late, gents."
"Yessir." Wrath saluted once more before turning to bark orders. "First squad, load up." A collection of identical white armored troopers saluted and boarded the LAAT in the middle of the room. "Just us two, General." He motioned to the shuttle.
Percy nodded and joined his small fire team.
"General," chorused his men on the ship. Each of the five waiting troopers looked identical by design, and Percy knew he wouldn't be able to tell them apart without help.
"Role call, whom am I deploying with, and what do you do?" Percy asked.
"Envy, Sir, and I am the medic. I like your armor, Sir."
"Thank you, Envy," Percy nodded to him.
"Ego, Sir. The General knew you would need the best shot with you."
"Of course, but she sent you instead, huh?"
"The other guy just happened to miss the deployment."
"Of course, of course." Percy smirked, feeling his nerves bleed away with the familiar clone nearby. Made it easier to think he was still back on Kamino, and this was all a simple training mission, "Probably his first time missing anything too. Who is next?"
"Gunner, Greed, good to be back with you, sir."
"And you, Greed."
"Communications officer Gluttony."
"Sloth, I handle the tech, but you knew that."
Percy forgot, actually.
"Good to see you two as well. Honestly, it is good to know I got some of you that I can trust my back with." Percy nodded, looking over his men. "I am sure you others won't disappoint."
"Of course, sir."
"This is your Captain speaking," a voice buzzed over the team's short-range intercom. "Please keep all arms and hands inside the vehicle until you are forced to bail out. Please be mindful of all airbags and seatbelts; you will need them, but we do not have them. If you start feeling unsteady, please grip the hanging hand holds for dear life. Please refrain from screaming if we start plummeting for a tactical engine failure. It makes it hard to save myself. That said, if there are no questions, this is Captain Lust signing off and beginning flight check procedures."
This is going to be horrid.
With a soft rumble, the LAAT came alive as the side doors slowly slid shut and sealed. The craft hummed as it began to lift off the ground. Immediately, Percy could feel his stomach turn as it searched for the safety of the ground. He steeled his face and gut as he looked over his crew, familiar and new.
"What an interesting squad we got here."
"Only the best, General."
In what felt like hours, the transport descended into the atmosphere of the planet of Orto Plutonia. Percy clung to the hanging handholds that dangled before him as he tried to steady his breathing. Flying is not enjoyable. He wasn't sure what was whiter, his armor or his fingers, which were leaving indentions in the handholds. The small shakes of turbulence only further unsettled him. He bit back the urge to vomit for a third time as bile burned in the back of his throat. At least in The Olympus, turbulence was null with the artificial gravity and lack of atmosphere to tumble and drop through.
The intercoms turned on once more as the craft began to slow. "Snowstorm rolling through as we make the final approach to LZ. Visibility less than a half click at most."
"A-firm," Wrath responded over the party line. "Eyes open. The moment when these blast doors open, boys, give me a wide arc ready for anything."
"Yessir," the troopers responded together.
Percy, for his part, forced a nod as he struggled to swallow the lump in his throat. He was grateful his Commander had told them what to do, as he was too busy trying not to puke.
"Don't worry, Sir. We'll be on the ground in a moment." Envy squeezed Percy's shoulder. Percy forced a half smile at the medic.
This landing couldn't come soon enough.
In the end, Envy was right. As the craft thudded heavily onto the ground, Percy felt his throat clear and his stomach settled as the world came to focus. The doors to the LAAT hissed as a blinding light and a piercing freeze assaulted the men inside the ship. Percy pulled his cloak a little tighter around his armor. Meanwhile, his men showed no discomfort as they braved the cold with weapons drawn and heads searching.
It really has to be a white snow-covered planet.
Percy stepped out of the shuttle next as his foot sunk a few inches into the snow. He adjusted his grip on his saber hilt as he took a moment to scan the area. Before him loomed a towering structure mostly frozen over and half buried in snow banks and low-hanging clouds. Beyond that, the bleak white of snow and clouds painted a blurring horizon of nothing.
"We the first ones to arrive?" Percy searched the open grounds before the tower, not seeing another LAAT on the ground.
"Yessir, the other transports are on approach now. They should be making final in less than a minute," Gluttony spoke.
Percy nodded to his comms officer as he turned his eyes to the sky.
There. He could see the aircrafts approaching like animals emerging from a snowy burrow as they broke through the layers of clouds above. Five transports were now on final approach, nearing his own landing zone. The shadows of their crafts lingered over the snow before him as the whirling of their crafts became louder. His heartbeat thrummed harder and even louder in his chest as if competing against the LAATs to be the noisiest thing in the area.
He swallowed another lump in his throat and licked his lips as the wind continued to try to freeze his cheeks. "Gentlemen. Line up. Proper introductions and all that."
"Remember not to piss them off," Mother chided him.
I know. I know.
From the new crafts, out marched clones. However, unlike his fresh ones, the clones had worn blue accent markings all over their armor—scratches and decorative markings individualized one from the other. Two steps behind them, two figures emerged in fur-lined weather jackets, one white and the other blue—the Jedi.
"I presume you are General Jackson," the one in white yelled over the wind. Meanwhile, the one in blue started directing orders to the troopers.
"Just Percy will do," he responded, stepping closer to offer his hand to shake.
"I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi." The bearded man in white said before gesturing to the one in blue who was overlooking the clones that had begun to sweep the perimeter. "And this with me is Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. We have heard of your unique station and privilege."
"Yes, well, as long as you don't hold it against me, I believe we can get along just fine."
Please make this easy.
"I hope we do." Obi-wan smiled, slowly turning to the last group to arrive from the flock of LAATs. They were adorned in grey and blue ponchos with dashes of white, "Forgive me for not chatting. This will be a long war, Percy. I am sure we will have much time to know each other well."
"No problem." Percy nodded as Obi-wan stepped forward to greet the newcomers.
The new group, as Percy took in, were blue, as in they hade blue-skinned. A very soft blue with golden markings on their faces, but blue nonetheless. Add that to the list of colored beings he has now seen. First orange, and now blue. What would be next?
"Chairman Cho, Senator Chuchi." Anakin turned back in time to acknowledge the newcomers.
Senator. Percy couldn't help but grimace to himself. Shaak Ti had to be laughing back on Kamino at him right now. Of course, his first mission had to deal with senators and world leaders of that sort—the subject of studying he had purposefully neglected to uptake. She so planned this against him when she suggested this be his first mission.
This whole mission seemed to be a whole joke against him. Another planet of only white after suffering through the bleakness of Tipoca City, and now add in some senators. Yeah, Shaak Ti planned this—a final lesson to get at him. There was no other possible answer that he would accept. Actually, maybe it was a lesson?
"Please wait outside while we clear the structure," Obi-wan directed to the politicians. "General Percy, if you do not mind sticking with them, as Anakin and I secure the facility."
"By all means," Percy acknowledged.
"Be as that may, General Kenobi," Chairman Cho interrupted as he swished his maroon cape behind him, "but this is sovereign Pantoran territory. I will go wherever I please."
"This planet is registered as uninhabited and unaligned," Anakin challenged.
The Chairman looked disgusted as he leaned forward, almost invading Anakin's personal space, "Our moon of Pantora is the only civilization in this system. I have asked the Senate to protect this planet in our stead. This frozen wasteland belongs to us."
"With respect," Obi-wan intercut, "Chairman, the matter of sovereignty is for the Senate to handle, not the Jedi."
Yada. Yada. Yada. Politics… Percy could only stare from the sideline, watching them bicker.
"Yet, the Jedi report to the Senate," the Chairman said. "And here with us is the very senator of Pantora, Senator Chuchi herself."
All eyes turned to her, hidden in the shadow of the Chairman. The only female in the entire group that landed on the planet stepped forward. She was notably short compared to her present company, with an ornate golden headdress binding her glossy lavender hair into buns on the side of her head. Percy also noted that her outfit did not look to match the weather but more a reflection of her status. A white poncho, while artful with its gold accents and jewels, would do little to block the sharp wind, as evident by the slight shaking and indigo cheeks.
She looked more like a princess than a senator, but culture is vast and different across the galaxy. Who was he to judge?
"T-technically speaking," she stumbled, her voice drowned in the wind, "Master Jedi, the Chairman is correct. Since the planet is uninhabited, the moon of Pantora reserves the right to continue as its protectorate."
"Point taken, Senator. In that case," Obi-wan relented, "General Percy and his men will remain here with the Senatoras the rest of us secure the outpost." The Master Jedi turned to Percy, who nodded back in agreement.
"Let us be on with it, then," the Chairman marched forwards as his guard of blue-cloaked men followed. Anakin and Obi-wan shared a knowing look before following the Chairman. The Jedis' loyal clones a step behind them, guns ready.
Bye.
Percy watched them approach the structure's base before Anakin motioned with his hand, causing the large doors to separate—the Force. Inside, Percy could just see mounted helmets upon sticks, and as quickly as he could, Percy stepped forward, blocking the senator's line of sight before any more carnage could be shared with the world.
"I am Percy Jackson," he pulled her gaze by offering his hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
She took it. Her hands were freezing and small, "Senator Riyo Chuchi of Pantora. The pleasure is mine. I have not had the honor of meeting many generals before, but you seem younger than most."
"Befriend her. She will be important to have in your corner."
Percy ignored Mother's comment, letting it fall to the back of his mind as he responded to the Senator, "Fresh out of Kamino, actually."
"I did not know there were any Jedi on Kamino beyond the one overseeing the production of the army."
"I'm a late add-on to all this," he motioned around them.
"I see," her voice trailed away in the biting wind as she brought her hands to her cheeks.
Staying in the said wind would do them no favors. Thinking, Percy gazed around, looking for somewhere he could guide her, shield her, and keep her warm. Nothing really insight beyond the LAATs. The LAATS.
"Lust," Percy called into his communicator as he locked eyes with his pilot through the glass of the cockpit. "Open her up. We are going to step out of the wind."
"Of course, Sir. You are always welcome to bring a lady aboard."
"I see where you get the name," Percy sighed as he let the line go dead. He shifted his gaze to the Senator as she stared at him, "We will be taking refuge in the transport until we are clear to settle in."
"Thank you," she shivered as she fell in step with him and his men. "The Chairman said we would be fine as we are mostly unaffected by the cold as a species, but I guess even that has limits."
Percy grimaced. She really should have dressed for the cold genetics or not. He pulled off his brown cloak and draped it around her shoulders.
"That will help."
"What about you?" she stared up at him, eyes wide.
"Don't worry about me. I can barely feel the freezing temps," which wasn't a lie. The cold, stagnant air did little to bother him, but the wind, that was what was piercing. "Worse case, I make Envy bare the cold as I steal his gloves and helmet."
"I am the medic, Sir. I can't let my fingers get frostbite."
"Fair," Percy turned to the next soldier. "What say you, Greed? Feel like sharing?"
"Never, sir," the clone laughed as the LAAT doors sealed shut.
"Do all of you have such interesting names?" the Senator asked.
The clones who had now gathered inside the LAAT all shared a look, their helmets hiding their emotions as they all shrugged at once.
"We are who we are, Ma'am."
"In their defense," Percy cut in, "Ryio Chuchi is an interesting name."
"Yes, I suppose it could be to others. It was my great grandmother's name–Ryio."
"Pretty name." Percy smiled down at her.
"Thank you," she whispered as she brought her hands to cover her cold indigo cheeks.
Beep. Beep.
Percy turned his gaze to his wrist communicator as a holographic Obi-Wan head appeared on his arm.
"The outpost is secured. You are free to escort the Senator inside where it is warm as we investigate a Separatist encampment a few clicks from here."
But they had just gotten out of the cold.
"Of course. Do you need anything of my men or I?"
"Not at this time. Just keep the Senator safe."
"Confirm."
The call disconnected, and Percy let his arm drop. His eyes naturally met the Senator.
"We have to go back out there?" the Senator asked.
He looked her over in her ornate dress and clashing brown cloak, "It should only be a short walk." He grasped the cloak's edges and pulled them close to protect her from the cold. "Just keep the cloak snug." He reached for the hood, "And keep this on, and you should stay much warmer than before."
Through the shadow of the hood, he met her eyes, "Thank you, General Percy."
"Of course, Senator." He returned the smile. "It is my duty to protect you, and I won't even let you catch a cold if I can help it."
A small laugh escaped her lips, "I shall hold you to it, then."
"Lust," Percy turned away from the Senator and activated his party line. "I have an idea. Bring the shuttle as close to the hangar doors as possible. I don't feel like walking in the cold for more than I have to."
"Yes, sir."
With a soft shudder and rumble, the LAAT lifted from the snowy ground, hovering in place for a moment before slowly creeping closer to the Republic base.
"I thought you did not feel the cold?"
"Not really. I am just lazy." Percy winked.
:P LINEBREAK d:
"Please stay back a moment, Senator." Percy held a hand before her.
The doors to the central command room closed behind him as he left the Senator in the hallway. The main room of the besieged Republic base was not a pretty sight. Clone bodies lay strung out across the room, with dried blood pools staining their armor and the ground. It was odd, as blasters and sabers did not leave a bleeding wound as they cauterized and tore into a person.
So, whoever did this did not use conventional weaponry…
"Boys!" Percy called to his men, who were already sweeping the room. "Clean this place up. Our guest doesn't need to see this, and they deserve better than to sit there."
"I think otherwise, Jedi," the Chairman griped as he finagled at a workstation in the back of the room. It would seem he did not leave with the Jedi. "The Senator should understand the hostility of the Separatists and why we have to put them down."
"Sure, believe what you want, Chairman. But I believe we can be decent enough to the dead so they aren't something to be looked at like an exhibit. Now, as I was telling the men, let us get our dead out of here so they can be given their final rites."
The Chairman huffed as he swaggered away towards the center console. Percy did his best to ignore him as he helped throw one of the fallen over his shoulder and carried the clone into a separate room.
"Who do you think did this, sir?" Envy glanced over the wounds. "These are stab wounds, impaling. Primitive weapons at best. A spear or a polearm. "
"If you were on a more red planet like Korriban, I would believe this to be the work of the Massassi. Fierce with their polearms. Could even shoot poisoned discs at you." Mother spoke. Against the cold of the planet, her voice filled his being with an unnatural warmth as if he had pitched a fire before himself, yet it all came from her inquisitive words, her pondering of death and carnage.
How do you know this?
"I have seen much and done much."
What a great answer. Note the sarcasm.
"Well, whoever did this, let's not let them repeat it," Percy spoke aloud to his men, who turned to him.
"Aye, sir," they chorused.
In no time at all, Percy and his small batch of troopers relocated the bodies of the fallen out of sight. While he could do little about the blood, it looked much easier on the eyes. Meanwhile, the Pantoran Chairman still furiously typed away at a command station and mumbled under his breath.
Percy let him be and instead took that time to cross the room and let the Senator in. She politely nodded as she scanned the room. Her eyes lingered on the dried blood. Percy said nothing as he let himself linger by the door watching the growing anger of the Chairman come to a point.
"Damn it! You, clone!" the Pantoran man pointed at Ego. "Work this damn array and get the shields up and weapon systems back online,"
Ego looked around momentarily, his T- like visor meeting Percy's stare before settling on the yelling blue man, "I'm a marksman. Not a techie."
"I don't care what you are clone. Fix it! The Separatists could return at any moment, and we are completely vulnerable!"
Ego met Percy's stare once more, and all Percy could do was turn his gaze to the actual tech of the group. Sloth nodded to Percy and laid a hand on Ego's shoulder as he crossed over to the Chairman.
"I'll handle it. It is likely just a button push away anyways." And it really was. Sloth approached the array of buttons, T-bars, and small screens, "You see this big red button here, Sir? I push that, and weapons are online. This bar here powers the shields up. Pretty standard system across the Republic and even Separatist systems."
"Yes, well, good. Make sure it is at a hundred percent. Those Separatists could be just beyond the horizon waiting."
"Your Majesty," Senator Chuchi turned from the frosted-over windows. "What makes you so certain they are behind this attack?"
"Look around, Senator," Cho scoffed. "Isn't this carnage proof enough? How much blood needs to be spilled for you to see those monsters will try to raze us from our homes and forts."
In her respect, the Senator did look around once more. Her eyes lingered on a splash of blood that streaked down the observatory glass. Percy had seen the cut that caused it–straight into the throat between the chest piece and the helmet. A trained killer or killers did all this.
"But there are no droids here," she argued. "No blaster marks. And blood? That is not consistent with the weapons the droids use- "
"So," the Chairman interrupted with a barking laugh, "You're an expert on war now, are you, Senator?"
"No, Your Majesty. No, I only-"
"Let me tell you something, Senator," he approached her, getting into her face. "I have led our people since before you were born. I've seen a hundred planets rise and fall through force of arms. Even if this isn't the Separatists, then it is a malevolent and aggressive enemy, nonetheless. I will not let whomever it jeopardizes the security of the people of Pantora."
"Then perhaps, if it isn't the Separatist, there is a peaceful solution?"
"Senator, I am willing to fight and die for my people. It is time to ask yourself if you are brave enough to do the same." He jabbed his finger into her chest.
Rude.
"Then leave," Percy pushed off the wall, cutting across the room as the Chairman turned to him. "Take your personal guards, walk out the hangar door, and find your fight."
"Then, I will!" he turned to Percy's men. "Clones, fall in step."
The clones turned to Percy, waiting for his order. Good men.
"No, they don't go," Percy stepped in front of them. "They are my troops, not yours. You take your own guard here and march. My men and I will continue to serve and protect the Senator, so unless she orders me to march, you are on your own."
"You-Jedi! So conceited caught up in yo- "
"Let me cut you off there, sport. I am not a Jedi. I am a General of the Grand Army of the Republic. I march my troops, not anyone else. I don't care about this planet and whoever lives here unless they threaten my life or the Senator. That is my mission. Not to commit genocide on the natives."
"There are no natives! This is an uninhabited planet. It is under the power of Pantora."
"Then it is an in-house affair. Your problem to solve, Chairman. Go take your Pantoran guards and solve it. The Republic's military's jurisdiction on this planet only covers the extent of this base and the LAATs outside."
"He is correct, Your Majesty," Chuchi added from behind Percy.
The Chairman scowled as he looked like he chewed on something sour. "Then order him to march!" he bit out at the woman. "He will have to obey that. We can have this planet back under control by sunset."
"Until the Jedi return with an informed reconnaissance, we shall remain here." Percy put his foot down. "If you wish to take your guard and set out into the blizzard outside, I cannot stop you, but I will not send my men to aid you to freeze to death."
The patriot could only stare at Percy and Chuchi before he pointed a finger at them, words falling at the tip of his tongue before he turned and left into the hallway. His small guard quickly followed.
Chuchi let out a sigh as she deflated and frowned.
"Way to have my back, Senator." He bumped her shoulder softly.
"Thank you." She smiled tersely up at him. "I don't know what I would have done if you didn't oppose him first. I fear he would've already been wrangling troops to march if you weren't here."
"Nah, I wouldn't let him." He jerked his thumb behind him as he turned to look out the large windows. Everything was white and grey as snow and clouds covered any of the landscape they could see past the layer of ice on the glass. "After all, that wind looks a bit much to be walking about. Especially without a cloak or proper snow gear on."
"Do you want your cloak back then?" She made to take it off before he quickly stopped her.
"Not at all. Keep it. I am not a fan of the brownness of it." He shrugged. "Plus, you look warmer in it."
She pulled it tighter for a moment, silent as she stared at him. Before she finally joined him in staring out the frozen windows.
"What color would you prefer then?"
What color would he prefer?
Black?
Orange?
He looked over at her and her blue skin.
Blue?
He clutched his eyes as he felt a prick of pain inside his pupils. It was like someone had taken a needle and quickly jabbed it in and out. It was just so sudden and then gone.
He closed his eyes and winced from the brief feeling of pain.
"Percy," a woman spoke in his head, a memory of a woman, "your cookies are ready, and before you ask, yes, they are blue."
He could feel his heart race at hearing her voice. He could feel the phantom aftertaste of chocolate dance across his tongue. And his eyes opened once more. The pain was gone as he blinked away the black spots in his vision.
He just had another memory. A fraction of memory, but it held so much.
Mom…
A smile crossed his face as he stared back into imaginative warm brown ones–brown like chocolate. Her voice and love for him were warm as a freshly baked blue cookie. That was his real mother. He knew it.
"Blue," he turned his back on the cold window. "It is a happy color."
:P LINEBREAK d:
"Percy, why is the Chairman readying his guards to fight?" Obi-Wan pulled his hood off as he entered the base's hangar.
Percy shrugged as he spun his saber hilt around in his hand. "I told him to go fight his own battles but not to drag my men into it. Welcome back, by the way."
"Yes, well, as I am sure you tried to warn him about the blizzard, at least?"
"Not really. Just told him to freeze to death on his own."
"Are you sure Shaak Ti trained you?"
"Taught me how to swing a sword and limit casualties. The rest didn't stick."
"I see." The Master Jedi stroked his beard. "That explains much."
"So, are we going to stop him?" Anakin joined the conversation.
"I'm not," Percy said as he tossed his saber into the air and caught it. His gaze met Obi-Wan's. "He isn't the Senator, and she is my mission."
"Right. I guess it falls to me. Anakin, go find the Senator and tell her about the arranged meeting with the locals. I will handle the Chairman."
"What about me?" Percy asked.
"Send a communication to send for Anakin's protocol droid. He may be able to translate for us."
Percy nodded as he walked away from the others. He needed to find Glut. He could send the message to the Venerators in orbit. Although… it would be interesting to watch someone else argue with the Chairman. The blue man got angry so quickly and easily.
However, orders were orders, and he returned to the command room and found Gluttony poking around on the now rebooted systems. Anakin was also present and was informing the Senator of the found natives who were open to talk of peace. That explains the protocol droid.
"Glut," Percy said to his communication officer. "Transmit request for General Skywalker's protocol droid for translations to be sent down ASAP."
"Easy, sir," Gluttony began to tap away at the console as a holo-projection of The Olympus' communications officer appeared, and he began to relay the command.
That was done. All in a day's work.
"Percy," Chuchi called for him, "is the Chairman really about to march?"
"Yeah, why?"
"But if the natives are really open to talking of peace and he arrives demanding war…."
"You have to step in then," Anakin insisted.
"I do, don't I?" She looked down, unsure.
Percy wished he could have read her mind at that moment. How did she get to where she was if she could not do what needed to be done? The Chairman needed to be stopped.
Beep. Beep.
A holographic Obi-Wan appeared on Anakin's arm.
"Anakin, the ever so wise Chairman, has already taken off to the Separatist outpost. If we want any peace to be found in this matter, we need to stop him from making a mess of things."
"All right, I will be down in a second. Tell Rex to ready the speed bikes."
"He is already on it."
The line closed as Anakin sighed, "Guess we don't have much time, Senator."
The Jedi knight quickly exited the room.
"Glut, relay to The Olympus or whoever to send the droid to the meeting spot. Obi-Wan marked it on the map for everyone."
"Easy, sir."
"Now, Senator." He stole her attention from the door Anakin left through. "This is the part where we race to stop a war."
Her eyes swam back and forth as she digested his words before they stilled on his own.
"Of course, lead the way."
Percy bobbed as he began to leave before quickly seeing his men follow, "Sorry guys, you are holding down the fort until we return. If four hours pass without a word, bring in The Olympus from orbit."
"A-firm," Commander Wrath saluted.
Below in the hangar of the base, Percy found the rest of the other clones and Jedi boarding speed bikes, leaving only one to spare. However, before he could ask for another bike for himself, the clones began to exit the hangar racing off into the blizzard.
Figures.
"It appears we will have to share, General."
"Yes, it does, Senator. You wouldn't happen to know how to drive one of these things, would you?"
"I thought you were the General here? Shouldn't you know how to use military equipment?"
Valid.
"Probably," Percy shrugged as he threw his leg over the bike, "In my defense, I only got about a three-month crash course on this stuff before I was deployed."
"Only three months?" she whispered to herself.
"Give or take," he assured her to little effect.
"And you are a General, who wields a lightsaber, but not a Jedi?" She asked, rich with disbelief.
"Yeah. That sounds about right."
"Who are you, Percy Jackson?" She spoke in his ears as she saddled behind him.
"That is the million-dollar question, isn't it? Now, we need to catch up, so hold on tight."
He felt her small arms circle around him as he finagled with the controls. Rotate the right handle for speed. Left gripper for the brake. No way this could ever go wrong for him… At least it had a pod for them to sit in to be out of the wind and weather.
"Ready?" he asked her.
"As I think I will ever be."
He cranked his right hand, letting the speeder's nose rise slightly as he accelerated into the bleak white weather.
The ride was a blur of white as Percy refused to do anything but the fastest speed. In no time, he arrived at the marked location. A small assembly of speeder bikes were already parked in a semi-circle as the clones had their backs to the Jedi and gazed at the horizon and snowbanks.
"I see you have come to your senses, Jedi," the Chairman addressed the convoy of speed bikes that arrived behind him. "I want men on that ridge, securing the area and on the lookout. Shoot to kill!"
Looks like I arrived just in time.
"There will be no attack, Chairman." Obi-Wan stepped forward.
"You will do as I command, Jedi. This planet is under my jurisdiction."
"Nothing is under your control, Chairman. The Talz are already here."
"Their scouts have been following us for some time," Anakin added to what his master said.
As if on cue, from the very snow everyone stood on, white furry beasts with long anteater mouths stood, spears in hand. Yup, that tracked for a hunting party. There were at least fifty of them in the nearby area. Percy was willing to bet there was even more likely further out.
Percy, for what it mattered, had just helped the Senator off the bike and immediately pressed her behind him as he drew his saber, the blade dormant. Peace or not, he wasn't leaving himself unarmed.
"It would seem Thi-Sen doesn't trust you any more than you respect him," Obi-Wan laughed as he passed by the Chairman, who was stuck staring at the natives.
The two Jedi continued trudging forward through the snow to the destroyed Separatist base as more snow creatures emerged from the snow. The assembled clones quickly reacted and reformed their grouping, tighter on the VIPs as they held their blasters firm.
Percy continued to shield the Sentaor behind him. All it took was one blaster or spear for chaos to take over.
"Rex, tell your men to stand down," Anakin called back as he walked forward into the abandoned Separatist outpost. "Stay here, and do not do anything to provoke them."
Did that extend to Percy?
"Yessir," a blue-marked trooper responded before relaying to his men who followed the action.
Beep. Beep.
Percy opened his communicator, and the face of a clone pilot appeared.
"General, LAAT pilot Strife, approaching DZ with one protocol droid."
"Confirm. Take ease not to spook the locals too much. Things are on edge down here."
"Of course, sir."
Percy closed the line as he side-eyed the Pantoran behind him, "Ready to settle the peace?"
"I fear, in this matter, the Chairman will seek to undermine the powers that the Senate enables me with."
"Yeah, well, can't you like start a vote of no confidence or something?"
"Perhaps back on Pantora, but here, there is no citizens or credited witness to attest to seeing it through."
"Not even the Jedi?"
"Jedi cannot involve themselves with politicians and politics."
"What about me? I am just a general."
"But not a citizen of Pantora or her system."
"Lovely."
The roar of a LAAT coming into land pulled everyone's focus as it nestled behind the speed bikes. The blast doors hissed as they slowly extended out and slid back to reveal a singular golden humanoid droid.
"Guess that is our cue to move," Percy said as he carefully stepped behind the Senator. "Head on inside. Tell them I will be along shortly with the droid."
"I will."
Percy split from her as his boots sunk into the snow with soft crunches. The golden droid met him halfway before it began to speak, "Might I introduce myself? I am C3PO, human-cyborg relations. And you are?"
"General Jackson, look, we need you inside. Let's put a hustle on and get in there before someone starts trying to kill the other."
"Of course," the droid replied as it pressed forward at the same speed it started with. Great, the 'put a hustle on' part seemed to mean nothing as the gold droid slowly wobbled along in the snow, its fixed arms wobbling left and right. He could just carry the droid forward….
Inside the Separatist base, a collection of natives were assembled, weapons poised. Percy honestly didn't like that. These weird multi-eyed things with their straw mouths and furry bodies were giving him bad vibes. Bad enough that his pen blade strapped to his belt near his saber felt heavier than it should. He wanted to grasp it and feel it secure in his hands, but it was so close to where his saber rested that the locals could take it for a sign of aggression, and he would be damned if he was the one to start the war.
The seemingly main honcho of the Talz, draped in a neck scarf of sorts, huffed and puffed a series of noises that made Percy's hair on his neck stand up. It was like an animal snorting through its nose, not unlike a bull. He really didn't like this….
"Patience, Perseus. You need not slaughter these primitive beings," Mother said in his right ear, almost as if she was standing just a breath away.
I know, but I don't have to feel safe around them, either.
"Chieftain Thi-Sen welcomes you to his home and hopes you come in peace," the gold droid translated. "He wishes to be good neighbors, but he does not wish you to remain on his planet."
How did this droid know a language where the natives weren't ever known to exist before? That didn't make sense…
Regardless of Percy's confusion, the Chairman instantly stepped forward, a snarl in his throat, "Listen, droid, translate everything I say and exactly as I say it."
The Senator, for her efforts, tried to step forward and intervene, "Would you like me to repres-"
"Not on your life, Senator. There will be no frivolous attempts at diplomacy this time," he bit back, not even gracing her with his full attention. No, he was staring down the Chieftain, fire in his veins, "Listen here, you savage, this world belongs to the moon of Pantora. And as the Supreme Chairman and exalted ruler of Pantora, you will not command me to leave this planet or do anything else."
"Your Majesty, we can't."
"Droid, tell him."
"Oh dear," the bot hesitated as it began to translate. The Chieftan grunted and stomped as it lowered its grip on the spear. Low enough for a good jabbing grip.
"I recommend a less confrontational approach," Obi-Wan tried. "The Talz are easily provoked."
The Chieftain began to grunt and rage back his response as everyone in the room, but the Chairman cringed at the noises. The scattered natives in the room drummed their spears together in a war beat.
"That didn't go over very well," Anakin whispered to Percy as they slowly began to go back to back.
No kidding. Hopefully, they won't have to fight their way out.
"Chairman," Obi-wan tried again. "I promised the Talz that we would leave them in peace."
That isn't happening, Obi-Wan. Wake up to the fact that we might get speared to death.
"This is now an internal affair of Pantora. Stay out of it, Jedi. Now, droid, do your job and tell me what this beast said."
The golden droid made a series of robotic animal noises—the native huffed and bayed in response before articulating a more strung-along collection of huffs and puffs.
"The great Thi-Sen, son of suns, asks again that you leave, or it will mean war."
Speared to death, it was.
The Chairman stood straighter, a savage snare on his mouth and hate in his eyes, "Then war it is."
AN: Hope you enjoyed all 7.5K words of that. Sorry it took so long to post. A special thanks to Aminta D. on the Emerald Library discord server, among a few others who helped me polish this chapter. I appreciate each of you taking the time to look this over and even teach me a thing or two about how to improve my work.
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That's about it.
-Manke