Chapter 4: The Hidden Enemy
Truth enlightens the mind but won't always bring happiness to your heart.
Recap: A planet under siege! Separatist forces mercilessly batter the beautiful and elegant world of Christophsis. Unable to defend themselves any longer, the people of Christophsis call on the Jedi for assistance. Hoping to save lives and prevent further destruction, Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker plan a daring ambush, which could turn the tide in the fight for this crucial star system.
Both Obi-wan and Anakin were stationed in two towers next to each other as there was a small gap in between. After getting the supplies needed for the people, the two planned to launch a surprise attack on the droids that would pass them by, as they had no idea they were there. Obi-wan was looking through some binoculars as all around him; he had clones on the lookout and near the entrances. Some of them were getting guns online.
"Anakin, how are you doing over there?" asked the Jedi Master through his comlink on his wrist.
"We're set," responded Anakin. "I've got some guys here anxious to get going."
"Glad to hear it," responded Obi-wan.
"Too bad Storm had to stay at the command center, but somebody had to be gatekeeper." chuckled Anakin as he turned off his comlink.
The elevator opened up, and Commander Cody came, accompanied by one of his fellow brothers, as he made his way to Obi-wan.
"We're back, General," said Cody.
"Good," stated Kenboi as he looked out with his binoculars and took them off momentarily before looking back. "The show is about to begin."
"How's that cannon coming, boys?" stated Commander Cody.
"We'll have this one back in business in no time, sir." said one of the troopers.
Obi-wan was still looking out from his binoculars as he could see the thousands of droids marching in their direction.
"The droids are advancing." said the Jedi Master as the men started to get in position.
"I'm seeing a full battalion coming right on schedule." said one of the clones named Gus as he saw it through his pair of binoculars. "Tanks! They brought tanks," he informed the others.
On the walkway, tons of droids were walking in a group, one right behind the other as their tanks were behind them. One of the tanks had the entering lid open as there was a T-series tactical droid on the top of it, as he gave his command to the droids to advance.
"A little closer," said Obi-wan, still looking through the binoculars.
"They're splitting up." said a trooper.
"What?" responded another.
True to what was seen through the binoculars, the droids were all marching in one direction and then suddenly broke off into several different directions.
"Something's gone wrong," said Obi-wan. "Prepare all troops for-" Soon, the sound of a blaster firing cut off the Jedi Master as he and the clones he was with all turned to their left as they saw some of the droids had made it into the building as they were shooting some of the clones that they saw.
They were starting to pour in as they shot down any clones within their distance. Obi-wan activated his lightsaber and began to deflect some of the blaster shots back at the droids as some clones grabbed their helmets and weapons and fired back at the droids pouring in.
"Abort the mission!" shouted Obi-wan as he and some of the clones were holding their position.
Some clones tried to escape through the right side, but a few peaked around the corner to see that they were also coming from that side. The droids marched in as they shot any clones positioned over there and any that tried to fight back, only to fall to the ground.
"Our positions been compromised." said a sergeant named Slick through the comlink in his helmet. At this rate, they would be overrun on both sides until all were dead.
"Obi-wan, what's going on?" asked Anakin through the comlink on his wrist.
"We're cut off. The droids are onto us," said Kenobi as he and his men surrounded and held their ground. A few more clones were shot as they were slowly getting overwhelmed.
"Gunship, come in. Hawk, we need an evac in the south tower," said Anakin through his comlink.
"Roger that, sir, we're coming." said the pilot named Hawk as he changed his course to aid the Jedi.
"South tower? We're in the north," said Captain Rex.
"Not for long," said Anakin as he ignited his lightsaber, as a blue light came out. He then slashed did an x-slash on the window in front of him as he then Force pushed the window shattering it into pieces that fell out as they now had a clear opening. "Rex, fire your cables."
The clones with Anakin all had guns aimed at the opening made by the Jedi. They then fired the cables attached to them as they stuck to the building they were aiming at as it allowed them a way to get across and help Obi-wan. Soon Anakin and his troops all grabbed the cables as they began to zipline across the gap.
"Blast them!" shouted one of the foot soldiers as he saw the Jedi and clones up above. The other droids heard the command as they looked up and pointed their weapons at them.
They managed to hit one of the troopers as he let go of his weapon from being hit as he fell. The others were doing their best to dodge the blasts to avoid suffering a similar fate as Anakin turned on his lightsaber and deflected any blasts coming at him. He saw the window coming as he kicked it, shattering it into pieces, as the clones soon landed and joined their commander. They were now in the back of the huge wave of droids that infiltrated the tower as they made their way to Obi-wan.
"This way is clear," said Anakin as he managed to cut down and clear the left side of the tower.
"How did you get over here?" asked Obi-wan.
"I improvised," said Anakin as he and his clones provided support for their comrades.
Obi-wan then grabbed one of the guns positioned as he used the Force to rip it out of its place and then flung it forward as it collided with some of the droids. Yet, they were still coming from the right side. They all then fell back to the left side as they crammed into the elevator as it closed and took them up to the roof. The elevator opened as the whole group raced out, expecting to see the gunship Anakin requested to be there, but there was nothing.
"Now what?" asked Obi-wan as they had nowhere else to go.
Just then, the elevator on the right opened up as out came some droids and started to fire at the group. The clones all got their guns out and took a position where they were while Anakin and Obi-wan ignited their lightsabers as they raced forward to the roof's middle and began slashing away at the droids while also reflecting some blasts. The elevator they took to get to the roof opened as more droids came out, and they joined in on firing at the remaining clones and the Jedi. The T-series tactical droid was leading them as it appeared there was no escape, and our heroes were surrounded. Above the gunship was seeing the fighting as it landed behind the clones as the doors opened.
"Need a lift?" asked Storm with a smile.
Some of the droids changed their focus on the boy as he ignited his lightsaber inside the ship and deflected the blasts with his yellow blade.
"Get in!" shouted the Jedi Knight as he leaped forward to provide some cover for the clones as they all got in. The T-series tactical droid managed to take out one of the clones as Storm blocked another shot saving the trooper next to the one that was shot.
Storm was now with Anakin and Obi-wan as the three Jedi began to work together like they've done so many times in the past as they were slashing and reflecting bullets as they provided the cover necessary for the clones to get on board.
"Time to go!" shouted Storm as Anakin and Obi-wan heard their friend as they all fell back.
The clone that Storm saved had managed to grab the head of the T-series tactical droid and ripped it off its body as he jumped into the ship with the three other Jedi as he believed it could prove useful. The gunship began to fly away from the place as the droid was shooting randomly as he couldn't see. The other droids began to fire at the gunship, but they were out of distance.
"What the hell happened out there?" asked Storm.
"That's what I'd like to know," said Anakin.
"Maybe this tactical droid will tell us how they knew our plan," said Rex as the clone that snatched it gave it to him.
The entire group made it back to their headquarters as they had their fellow clones and weapons moving about. Once they landed, Storm, Anakin, and Obi-wan told the clones to rest up. Meanwhile, Cody and Rex took the head as they headed to the command center; once they got there, there was Storm's clone commander and their brother.
"Didn't know you'd be here, Sark?" said Rex with a smile.
"My team and I just finished our mission with General Luna. She then sent the three of us to help aid you and General Storm. And by the looks of it and what I heard, it was pretty rough." said Sark.
"You don't know the half of it," said Cody. "Anyways, let's see what this droid has."
Rex then placed the tactical droid's head on the table in the middle as he hooked some cables to it as it showed the info inside.
"The Republic Army is in the north and south towers, level 46."
"It just doesn't make sense," said Rex. Soon the droid shut off.
"Blast!" said Cody.
"Signal's gone; seems we can't get anything else," said Sark.
"Well, at least we're not the only ones having a bad day," said Anakin.
"I saw what they were serving in the mess hall, and I think I'll pass," said Storm as he walked in with the other two Jedi. "Any news?"
"Generals," said Rex to all three of them. "They had all our intel."
"That would explain the ambush," stated Anakin. "How could we have left ourselves vulnerable to a security breach?"
"I don't think we did," said Obi-wan.
"What do you mean?" asked Storm.
"You think someone infiltrated our defenses?" suggested Anakin.
"Possibly." said the Jedi Master. "It would have to be someone cunning and resourceful enough to gain access to all our plans."
"But that still wouldn't explain how they got our intel," stated Anakin.
"No. You're right. They wouldn't act alone. They'd have someone working for them,"
"A spy, sir?" said Cody. "But who would want to betray our troops to the Seppies?"
"Why would the thought even cross someone's mind?" added Sark.
"Excellent questions, Commanders. Perhaps it's time we visited enemy lines," said Obi-wan. "I think we'll find our answers there."
"Let's hope to think we have a traitor in our midst," said Storm.
"We'll get right on it," said Cody.
"No, Captain. I need you here to find the security breach," said Kenobi.
"You can count on us, sir," responded Cody.
"One more thing. This mission is extremely confidential. The spy could be anyone. Let no one know of our mission."
"Understood, sir," said Rex to Obi-wan.
"Sark, help Cody and Rex find this traitor," said Storm.
"Yes, sir," responded Sark to his CO.
All three Jedi left the room as they prepared to leave. Inside were the three Clone officers as they began to get to work on solving this mystery.
"Well, let's get to work," said Rex.
"Hold on, what's that beeping?" said Sark as he heard something.
Cody heard it, too, as he saw where it was coming from. He noticed that one of the comlinks was still active as it meant that whatever was said just moments ago could be heard by someone.
"Someone left this comlink on," said Cody as he picked it up and turned it off. "Someone has been listening to everything we said."
Rex and Sark then looked around as they were near the doors. Rex spotted the shadow of someone they noticed. He saw them as they began to run.
"Hey! Stop!" shouted Rex as he and the other two officers were now chasing after the person.
"Who's that?" asked Cody as they ran.
"How should I know? What's important is we catch him, whoever he is!" stated Sark; as the three turned the corner, the person ran down. They saw the person turn down another corner to the left.
"I'll follow him. You both take the west corridor," stated Cody as he turned left while Sark and Rex turned right.
"I'm on it," said Rex, Sark backing him up as they all split.
Cody was now in hot pursuit of the person. Over on the other side, Rex and Sark had pulled out their blasters.
"Set it to stun, Rex," stated Sark to avoid an unnecessary fire.
The two arrived at the end of the corridor as they turned one last left as they had their weapons out and pointed. They saw someone coming from the left as it was just Cody. All three looked at each other and then at the door they found themselves in front of.
"He must have gone into the mesh hall," said Rex as he pushed the button as the doors opened up, and all three officers walked in.
All around the room, there was nothing but their fellow brothers. But no sign of the person they were chasing.
"We've got a big problem," said Cody as he looked around.
"Yeah. The only people here are brothers," Rex responded to the other two as all three decided to head back to the command center.
"One of us? Great. But, which one?" asked Rex.
"More importantly, why? What could they gain from betraying us? We're brothers." said Sark.
"I dunno Rex and Sark. But we'll have to wait for his next move," said Cody. "Keep this to ourselves."
"Better contact the Jedi," said Rex.
"I'm on it," said Cody as he left Rex and Sark to talk.
"I just don't get it, Rex. Why betrayal? Of all things, one of our brothers?" said Sark. "We're here for one another, to support each other. So why throw it all away? For money? Pathetic."
"You and me both, Sark," said Rex to his friend.
While the clone commanders were dealing with their problems, the Jedi had their own. Anakin, Storm, and Obi-wan all were riding on speed bikes as they were heading towards the Separatist's headquarters. They zoomed on by a bridge, as on the bridge were some droids who saw them.
"Don't shoot. Just keep their communications jammed." said one of the droids.
"Roger, roger." said the rest of them in unison.
"We can't reach General Kenobi. Whoever it is has blocked our communications," informed Cody to his friends. "We're gonna have to find this guy ourselves."
"And when we do, I'm gonna make sure I punch him in the face forever thinking about betraying us and killing some of our brothers in battle today," said Sark.
"R2, come over here and plug in," stated Rex to the small blue astromech droid.
"What are you doing?" asked Cody.
"The guy got his messages out there somehow. We just gotta find them," answered Rex.
"What do you think? He just sat down and wrote a note?" stated Cody.
"You have to start somewhere," said Rex as he and his friends now got to work on finding this mystery person.
The Jedi were getting closer to the enemy headquarters as they zoomed by some more droids.
"We appear to have picked up some friends," said Anakin riding on Obi-wan's right.
"So I wasn't the only one who thought we were being watched," answered Storm, who was riding on Obi-wan's left.
"Indeed." answered the Jedi Master as he rode between the two. "I believe the number of eyes watching us has been steadily growing."
"Great. Perhaps this means our adversary has learned about our mission."
"Perhaps it does," answered Obi-wan to his student.
"Of course, nobody's tried to stop us yet," said Anakin.
"Also true."
"They want us to get to the Separatist headquarters, which means this is a trap."
"I imagine it is," stated Obi-wan.
"Well, that's unfortunate... for them," said Anakin.
"Then we best not keep them waiting." smiled Storm as the three pushed the full throttle.
Back with the clone commanders, they were still trying to solve their issue. Sark had a small pad detecting some frequencies with R2's help. He noticed something interesting as he called the others over.
"Rex, take a look at this," said Sark as he handed it to his friend and brother.
"Interesting. R2's found something," said Rex looking at the pad.
"What is it? Is it the traitor?" asked Cody.
"I'm not sure. Maybe," said Rex as he looked at the pad, which showed red lines going up and down.
"Well, what is he looking for?" asked Cody.
"Wavelength interference, weak frequencies, spotty, irregular. See how it shows up every few days, then disappears?" explained Rex as he showed it to Cody.
"Day to day, you wouldn't notice it," said Sark as he too saw the same thing as Rex.
"What?" asked Cody, still a bit confused.
"It's the pattern," stated Sark.
"The band's only coming off one terminal in the whole base. Check it out," said Rex as he handed the pad to Cody.
"Hmm. Slick's barracks. Only Slick's men would have access to that terminal." stated Cody.
"Yeah. Slick's not going to like that," said Rex.
"No, he's not. But if one of his men is giving away our intel, we have to find him and sort this out," said Cody as R2 gave a beep.
"Then let's go see him," said Rex as all three clone officers began to leave.
"Rex, Cody, go on ahead. You go meet Slick, and I'll round up the rest of his men," stated Sark.
"Good plan, Sark," said Rex as the three split off.
Back with the Jedi, they had just arrived at their destination. They got off their bikes and looked up at the tower.
"No guards, no barricades. Huh. You'd think the Separatist headquarters would be better protected."
"What did you expect, Anakin? That they roll out the red carpet and welcome us with confetti and wine." stated Storm.
"Well, I do love a good champagne." smiled Anakin to his friend.
As they started at it, all three of them now approached the front door.
"But clearly, keeping us out is not what they intend," said Obi-wan as he waved his hand in front in a sliding motion as the doors opened. All three of them then entered inside.
At the barracks, Rex and Cody had managed to track down Slick as they confronted him and informed him about the situation.
"No. No way. My guys are the best." said Slick as he heard their statement. "No way they're capable of something like this."
"Something like what?" asked one of Slick's men as they were escorted in by Sark.
"You called them here?" said Slick to all three commanders.
"Of course, we did," said Rex. "We're getting to the bottom of this. Now."
"Look, let me have a few minutes with them first. It's going to hit 'em hard," said Slick. "They trust each other, and if one of our own betrayed us-"
"I don't think that's necessary," said Cody. "Your men are tough, right?"
"Take a seat, gentleman," stated Sark as they obeyed the order given to them by the higher-ranking officer.
"We have a turncoat in our midst," explained Cody, looking at the troops. "And we think it's one of you."
The elevator rang the bell, and out emerged the Jedi as they arrived at the top floor. They looked around the place but saw nothing.
"So this is the belly of the beast," said Anakin.
All three then felt a presence as Anakin looked to his right and saw a cloaked person emerge from the shadows. The figure stood before the trio as they pulled the cloak's hood off. Their face was revealed as was a Dathomirain female.
"And there's beauty," said Storm as he looked at the woman in front of him with a scowl.
"Ventress," said Obi-wan as he recognized the Dark Acolyte while stroking his beard. "And here I thought this mission would be unpleasant."
"The pleasure's all mine, my dear Obi-wan. I've missed you," said Ventress as she took off her robe and revealed her two lightsabers.
The three clone commanders now began to question each of the soldiers.
"I... uh, I don't know, I was doing the things I always do after a mission." said one of the troops named Jester, as he was a bit nervous having three of the toughest commanders looking at him. It was a rather intimidating view.
"Things like what?" asked Rex as the clone fidgeted his fingers.
"I'm sorry, sir. I'm just a little nervous. You're my CO." said the clone to Rex.
"The way I figure it, you tell the truth; you have nothing to be nervous about," Rex responded.
"So tell us, what did you do?" asked Sark.
"Jester is telling the truth, " said one of the squad's troops named Gus. "He cleans his weapon after every mission. First thing, every time. He's kind of obsessed that way."
"Is that right?" asked Cody. "You were cleaning your weapon?"
"Yes, sir," responded Jester.
"Go on the computer while you were in there?" asked Cody.
"No, sir. I didn't even power it up. You can check."
All three commanders looked at each other with a look.
"Let's see your weapon, soldier," stated Sark.
Jester then pulled out his blaster and handed it to Cody, who began to inspect it and look it over. To him, he saw that it was indeed nice and clean.
"Yep, freshly scrubbed," stated Cody.
"The rag's over there in the corner," said Jester adding some more proof he was telling the truth.
"Good man," said Sark to his pal as it got the soldier to smile as he was relieved of some pressure. The three turned back to address the others sitting in the same bunker.
"You," said Cody to address another. "You were cleaning your weapon too?"
"No, I was hungry. I went back to the mess." said the clone named Gus.
"Right away?" asked Rex with some suspicion.
"Oh, yeah."
"Anyone with ya?" asked Sark as he and the other two walked in front of them.
"Sketch, sir," he said as he addressed the clone next to him.
"We got to the mess simultaneously, got our grub, and sat together," said Sketch.
"Anyone else in the mess able to confirm what you two are saying?" asked Rex.
"Lots of guys there. Ask any of them." responded Slick.
"Oh, we will," said Rex. "Sark?"
"They're telling the truth. I asked around, and I can confirm they saw the two of them," stated Sark to his friend.
"Captain, give me just a moment with them." pleaded Slick.
"No, it's okay, Sarge. I got nothing to hide." said the next clone after Slick. "I was in the infirmary." He showed off his left arm as it was wrapped in bandages. "Got banged up pretty good by one of those clankers. A med droid was fixing me up. Doc's got all the records there if you want to check." said the clone as Cody lifted his arm to see the bandage.
All three nodded as he told the truth and for their brother being alive. Soon they reached the last person of the squad; they all looked at him with scowls.
"So, Chopper, old boy, what's your alibi?" asked Cody.
"I was in the mess hall." responded the clone.
"No, you weren't... " exclaimed Sketch as he stood up abruptly as it got the attention of the three commanders. "I mean, you..."
"If you know something, kid, you should speak up," said Cody.
"Chopper came in a lot later after everyone else," explained Sketch as all eyes were now on the clone himself as he looked around at them.
As tense of a situation was it with the clones, the Jedi had their own. Ventress grabbed her lightsabers in her hands and ignited them as Anakin, Obi-wan, and Storm turned theirs on. There were two blue lightsabers and one yellow. Ventress now ran up the stairs as she had the high ground against the three.
"My loyal informant let me know you were coming," said Ventress.
"Well, then, we thank you for your hospitality," said Obi-wan as he and the other two stood at the bottom of the stairs looking at the Sith warrior.
Storm then made the first move as he flipped into the air and landed next to Ventress as he was staring at the Sith woman.
"A padawan? No, you're Master Luna's student."
"First, I'm not a padawan. I'm a Jedi Knight."
"Very well, let's see what you got, boy," said Ventress.
She then swung one of her blades as Storm blocked it perfectly. Soon the second came at him as he pushed the other off and blocked that one. They then began to trade blows and shots as they moved about in a small circle, trying to hurt the other. For Storm, he was holding his own against the Sith warrior as he blocked every attack Ventress was throwing at him.
"Your defensive movements are solid. Stance impressive; Luna did well teaching you Form III in addition to your other style of fighting," said Ventress as she had both of her red lights against Storm's yellow as the sound of the hum made by the weapons could be heard as they fizzled. "But what about offense?" taunted the woman.
Storm then pushed back both blades as he now switched up and went on the attack as he used Luna's training to strike fast and hard. Ventress was blocking his attack, but Storm was relentless, and each swing he made wasn't the same as coming from all different directions. Storm had an opening as he did a barrel roll near Ventress' lower body and delivered a hard kick to her in the gut as she stumbled a bit, turning off the blades while clenching her midsection.
"I think that's a ten." Storm smiled smugly. His training with Form V was spot on when it came to fighting, as he would often spare with Anakin.
Ventress was annoyed by the boy as she plunged her lightsabers into the ground that Storm was standing.
"Uh-oh," said Storm as he felt his ground collapse as he fell through a hole and landed some floors down from the headquarters.
"Storm?!" shouted Obi-wan into the hole.
"I'm okay," said Storm as his voice called out from below, to which Obi-wan let out a relief.
Ventress turned her attention to the remaining two Jedi as Anakin stepped forward and met the woman halfway up the stairs as their blades exchanged. She brought both of her blades downward, but like with Storm, Anakin blocked both by turning his blade to the side as they pushed back a bit and swinging, trying to get a hit as soon Obi-wan joined in.
"I think I landed on my keys," said Storm as he was lying spread out from the fall he took. He then rolled over onto his hands and knees as he got up and dusted himself off some rubble. He then arched his back backward as he heard his muscles crack. "Gonna feel that in the morning."
Storm then looked back up at where he fell as he saw the medium-sized hole. He could also hear the sounds of the lightsabers as that meant Anakin and Obi-wan were engaging Ventress. He could be able to make it back up with a single jump.
"Well, gotta help..." Storm suddenly stopped talking as he sensed something.
A shadowy presence was now moving about the pillars on the floor that Storm had landed. The Jedi put his head down and closed his eyes as he tried to figure out what his instincts were telling him.
"I... sense... something." said the boy with his eyes closed.
The shadow made it behind one of the pillars next to Storm as they looked at the Jedi Knight. Soon they rushed out; as they pulled something from their cloak and turned it on, a red light came out. Storm's mind was showing him the exact scene. As he quickly activated his lightsaber, he managed to block the weapon in time. The Jedi Knight now looked at the shadow as if it was a person, but they were wearing a robe; he couldn't see their face. He noticed the color of the lightsaber they were using.
"Another Sith? But how?" said Storm as he knew the rule regarding Sith Lords and their apprentices.
The person didn't answer Storm's question as they were now engaged in their battle.
Back at the barracks, the clones and the commanders were all looking at Chopper. Given what Sketch just said, it made them now look at the clone.
"Where were you before you went to the mess, Chopper?" asked Cody.
"Nowhere. Walking around." said the clone, not looking directly at his commanders.
"Son, you know we'll need a better answer than that."
"This is an important matter, Chopper. We need to know where you were?" said Sark backing up Cody with a scowl.
Chopper sighed, "I was hiding at the south exit. I didn't want anyone to see me string these together." said the clone as he had a round keychain with things on it.
"Battle droid fingers," said Rex as he saw them on the keychain.
"I just- I just wanted something back. I guess I felt like they owed me." said the clone.
"I always knew there was something deficient about you." said one of his fellow clones.
"This isn't good, Chopper. Lying about where you were, taking forbidden items from a battlefield," said Slick as he was disappointed with one of his troops.
"I know,"
"I put up with the attitude 'cause you have skill. But if you could break those rules, your whole character's in question here."
"Wait, no. Hang on. I'm no spy." said Chopper as he was innocent.
In the Separatist's headquarters, two battles were going on. Anakin and Obi-wan were dealing with Ventress at the top. While Storm was fighting another person on the lower levels as their battle took them up several floors. The Jedi were holding their own against the woman as he put her hand out, used the Force to grab a huge object, and tried to slam it into Obi-wan, who saw the object coming at him. He then used his lightsaber to cut it in half. As for Storm, he had a formidable opponent as it was taking all his Jedi training to survive and fight, but even with that, he couldn't land a hit. As for the cloaked figure, they too were having a tough time with the teen as he was tougher than he appeared.
Both of them entered a room as the cloaked figure did a backflip to get some feet between them and Storm as the Jedi Knight held his stance and weapon. Both opponents looked at one another as they took a moment to themselves.
"You're good," said Storm.
"You're not bad yourself," spoke the cloaked person.
"So, can I get a name?" asked the boy.
The person turned off their lightsaber for a moment and took off their entire cloak as Storm got to see the person. He was shocked that his opponent was a girl, but she looked around his age. She had a light amber skin tone; her eyes were moderate cyan. The most striking thing was her hair color was vivid crimson with brilliant yellow stripes.
"A girl? Didn't expect that," said Storm.
"My name is Sunset Shimmer." The girl turned her lightsaber back on and then raced forward as she clashed her weapon with his.
"So, mind explaining to me? Who you are and what you're doing here?" Storm asked as he continued fighting.
"And ruin the surprise; that's not how a girl likes it." Sunset smiled as she stared Storm in the face.
Both warriors were now dancing and moving about the floor as they kept going higher. Storm and Sunset kept trying to find an opening against the other, but they couldn't find one. Soon both grabbed their weapon and, using the Force, spun it fast around their body, transitioning it between their hands as they looked to confuse their enemy. Once they saw an opening, they collided blades as both thought the same idea and attack stance. Even then, that showed how well trained the other was.
Sunset repelled Storm's blade away and used her hand to push the boy to the ground as she began to race up the stairs. Storm recovered immediately by kipping up and then jumped high into the air as he landed in front of the girl.
"Didn't think I was gonna let you go, now?" mocked Storm.
"You're persistent," said Sunset as they both clashed again.
"Yeah, I get that a lot. My master tells me, along with determined, focused, handsome," said Storm as he listed off his traits.
"Did she add annoying to that category?" stated Sunset as she moved up the stairs while Storm was backing up, minding his footing with his back turned.
"You know, if I wasn't a Jedi and I met you, I'll admit. You're kinda hot." stated Storm.
"Please, as if you would know how to please a girl like me," said Sunset. The two teens made it to another level of the building as they kept fighting while throwing some flirts between exchanges.
They continued to fight as they heard some rumblings up above from the other battle. Soon some parts of the ceiling were falling as it was over Sunset's head.
"Look out!" shouted Storm as Sunset looked up and saw the debris about to fall on her head. Storm acted out instinct as he tackled the girl and pushed them out of the way at the last second. The pair found themselves on top of each under.
"Well, looks who's on top."
"Indeed, though I prefer my men on the bottom," said Sunset as she got her legs under Storm's midsection and pushed him off. The momentarily stumble allowed Sunset to jump up and head-scissor the boy as he fell onto the ground as Sunset pinned him. Now she was on top as she pressed a hand to his chest.
"I'll admit, you're not half bad, cute even. Such a shame, though." snickered the evil girl as she turned her lightsaber on and stabbed it downward as Storm moved his head to the side. He then turned his on and swung upwards as Sunset just backflipped to get off the boy.
"Chopper, we're all brothers," said Slick. "But how can we trust anything you say now?"
"No, sir, I'm telling you, I did not-"
"It's okay. We'll get you a proper investigation," said Slick putting his hand on his troop. "You don't have to say anything till the Jedi come back and talk to you."
"Maybe you should talk, sir," said Chopper as he shrugged away Slick's hand on his shoulder and confronted his leader. "Tell them where you went. I was at the south exit, remember? I saw you go in, sir. I saw you, " stated the clone getting in his sergeant's face.
"Chopper, I have been patient," said Slick trying to ease the situation.
"Everyone else turned right toward the barracks and the mess. You turned left toward the command center. Where were you going, sir?" asked Chopper.
"Obviously, the kid feels cornered."
"Sergeant, what did you mean, 'till the Jedi come back?" asked Cody.
"How do you know they're not here?" asked Sark. Also, everybody was now looking at Slick with stern scowls.
"I really wish you hadn't noticed that, sir," said Slick with his head down. He punched Cody in the face as he tumbled back into Rex's arms. He then elbowed Chopper and jumped over the bed as he began to run.
"It's Slick? Slick's the traitor?" said Rex as he was shocked by the sergeant's actions.
"The rest of you, stay here!" ordered Sark as he and the others chased after their brother. The remaining clones were just as shocked to see what transpired.
The three clone commanders were now in the courtyard of their base as they had their weapons in hand. They were tracking down their brother while also watching each other's back.
"I've got someone by the gunships," said Rex with his comlink on his wrist.
"That's our Slick," said Cody.
All three commanders began to follow Rex's comlink as it was telling them where Slick was.
"Now that he's exposed, he has to get out of this base," said Sark.
"There's no escape now, you piece of rankweed!" shouted Rex.
They all turned to see where the signal was coming from. Rex looked at his wrist as it matched the position. But instead, a bomb was waiting for them as it was about to go off.
"Move. Move!" shouted Rex as he and his pals ran.
They ran from the bomb as it went off, but soon all their weapons, guns, and everything around them started to go off; as additional bombs went off, all three commanders hit the ground and covered up. The major thing was a huge explosion at the weapons depot as some inside clones escaped.
"Scrap!" shouted Sark as he pounded the ground.
"He took out our weapons depot," said Cody.
"He knew where we'd look," stated Rex. "He's not trying to escape."
"He knows all our moves before we even make them," said Cody as all three of them stood up.
"How do we get this guy?" asked Rex.
"Sir. Slick ran into the command center." said one of the nearby clones.
"You guys stay here. Seal the perimeter," ordered Cody.
"You guys go after Slick; I'll check on the weapons depot. See what survived," said Sark.
"Good luck, Sark," said Rex as they split up.
Ventress engaged in a battle with Obi-wan and Anakin as she retreated with the Jedi following her. She entered the room as there were some bookshelves. She then used the Force to pull some out and pushed them towards the Jedi entering the room. Obi-wan saw this and put his hands out to stop them, for Anakin to put his hands out and fire them back at Ventress, who was hit with them. Once more, she ran into another room as they pursued her. They entered another part as the Sith woman was sitting down.
"Give up, Ventress."
"I'm all yours, Obi-wan."
The two Jedi then began to walk towards the woman igniting their lightsabers. When they were both in front of her, she stabbed the ground as she did with Storm as the floor Obi-wan and Anakin stood on fell apart. Storm and Sunset were directly below them as the pair saw the ceiling collapse as both Jedi landed on their back in between them.
"Anakin! Obi-wan!" said the boy as he rushed to check on his friends.
Sunset took this opportunity to jump up and land next to Ventress as the two Sith women looked down at the three Jedi who stood up.
"You've served your purpose," said Ventress.
"But it's time we leave. We have more important things than to play with all of you," stated Sunset.
"We have to get back. Now," said Anakin to his master and friend.
"It's already too late," stated Ventress. "So hard to know whom to trust these days, isn't it?"
"What's the plan, Master?"
"Bringing us here was a mistake, my sweet," said Obi-wan. "You've both overestimated your abilities."
"Really?" snickered Sunset as she and Ventress now began to run as all three jumped up.
The girls ignited their lightsaber as they busted through the windows and jumped down. The Jedi now pursued her with their lightsabers activated as they came to the edge to see both girls standing on two Octuptarra Combat Droids. But the major thing was behind the girls, as there were thousands and thousands of droids.
"Come and get me, boys," taunted Ventress.
"I'm not done with you yet, boy toy," said Sunset as she gestured for the boy to come and get her with her pointer finger.
"You didn't tell us you were bringing friends," said Obi-wan as he looked out to the sea of droids.
"I thought this was a private session," said Storm to Sunset as she smiled at the boy for playing along with her despite being enemies.
"Poor Obi-wan. You've been betrayed," stated Ventress.
All three then jumped down, with Obi-wan and Anakin landing on the same one. Storm, on the other hand, was on the droid Sunset. All three of them had the same idea: they cut two of the three legs as the weight was unbalanced. As they were falling, both Sith women were battling their respective partners. While they were falling, Obi-wan realized they were going to hit the ground as he had an idea on how to escape and get back to their base.
"Anakin! Storm!" shouted the Jedi master to his friends. He then jumped off as the two followed him.
"We'll have to finish this date another time," said Storm as he did a small salute with his fingers and jumped off the droid.
All three Jedi managed to time their jump as they landed on droids riding some hover devices. Each one kicked their rider off as they took control and were now racing back to their base. The Sith women jumped off the safety and landed on the ground as the droids they were on crashed behind them. They both looked up to see the Jedi fleeing in the distance. Storm looked over his shoulder to see the women as Sunset saw this. She then put her hand to her mouth and blew a kiss at the boy as she was excited about their next "date."
"Prepare to march on the city!" ordered Ventress. She and Sunset began to walk as the droid and the commander of the force, General Loathsom, was in charge and started their journey toward the clone base.
"Have General Loathsom delay the Jedi as long as possible," said Ventress to the tactical droid. "We'll need time to execute the next part of my master's plan."
"Yes, mistress."
"If my calculations are correct, Jabba's son should be heading home now, " said Sunset with an evil smile.
With that, the two ladies were now making their way to their ship as they had somewhere else to be. Ventress asked Sunset how she enjoyed her time with the boy her age, as all she said was she was looking forward to putting her hands on him even more with an evil smile.
Rex and Cody made it back into the command center as the door opened, and both filed in. They looked around, hoping to see Slick, but he was nowhere to be seen. While they scanned the room, Slick hid in the vent above as he saw the two commanders.
"Pretend you're Slick. What's in your head?" asked Cody.
"My cover's blown, it's time to go, but I decide not to use a ship because it's too obvious," answered Rex. They both nodded as they quickly looked up at the vent, but there was no sign of Slick.
"The lockdown. He wants to get around the lockdown," said Cody with a bit of acting in his voice.
"He's blinded us by taking out the power," said Rex as he played along with Cody's acting. "He could disable the entire security system."
"Yeah, but he knows we'd expect him to do that," stated Cody putting his weapon on the table in the middle.
Slick was now back as he saw the gun on the table and removed the vent preparing to drop down.
"Or does he? Yeah, I see what you're getting at," stated Rex as he prepared to leave.
"Go to the south exit," stated Cody.
"What are you gonna do?"
"I'll stay here, get the power back up. That'll help."
"Got it." Rex then exited the command center, but he stood outside of the doors as he was lying in wait.
The moment the doors closed, Slick then jumped down. He saw Cody at the panel as he grabbed the blaster on the table and pointed it at the commander.
"Hey, there, Slick. Gun's empty," said Cody with his back turned as he had the ammo attachment in his hand.
"You know what's funny, traitor?" said Rex as he appeared behind Slick with his blaster pointed at the man. "We knew you'd never take a chance on the exits while they were blocked."
"I'd stay here to open them myself first," said Slick as the weapon in his hand was grabbed by Cody. "Just like you."
"Don't do a job till you've guaranteed the best odds, right?" said Rex as he and Cody had the blasters pointed at him.
"You knew I was here."
"Of course, we knew. You'd think we wouldn't have a plan?" stated Rex to Slick.
"I'm not the traitor. You are!" shouted Slick as he grabbed Rex's arm and managed to push the captain onto the ground and hold his weapon.
Cody then sprung into action as Slick saw his coming and turned around. He could knock the weapon out of Cody's hand as he fired a shot, but Cody sidestepped. He then knocked the blaster out of his hand as it was now a fistfight. Slick grabbed Cody's head and kneed him in the face as he went down. Slick ran for the exit as Cody recovered and tackled him to the floor. Cody then got on top of Slick and started to swing, but his shots were blocked.
"All of you just blindly following orders!" shouted Slick as he covered up. "For what?!" He then wrapped his legs around Cody's neck, flipped him to the side as he was now on top, and began swinging at him. "At least I got something out of all this suffering."
Rex came to the aid of his friend as he grabbed Slick from behind and put him into a sleeper hold. "Yeah. I bet you sold out your brothers for some real shiny coin, huh?"
Slick then moved his head back as it hit Rex's face. He then grabbed the captain's leg doing a takedown as he rolled over. He then grabbed the leg again and yanked on it as he pulled, letting the sounds of bones crunching be heard as Rex let out a painful cry.
"Yes, she offered me money, but something more important. Something you wouldn't understand. Freedom." said Slick. Cody recovered as he did an uppercut and sent Slick flying onto the ground as he was knocked unconscious.
"I think freedom's gonna have to wait, kid," said Rex as he now had Slick in handcuffs.
"Rex, Cody," said Sark as he met the two in the hallways. "You caught him."
"It wasn't easy," said Cody. "How did it go with you?"
"We lost everything. We only have the heavy cannons," informed Sark as their entire weapons supplies were long gone.
"Better than nothing," stated Rex.
"Right, also..." Sark then looked at Slick, reeled his right fist back, and punched the sergeant hard in the face.
"Alright, Sark. You got your punch in, save some for the rest of us," said Rex as the three of them were heading to meet with their Generals as they had just arrived back.
"Slick? It was you?" asked Obi-wan.
"He gave us a bit of a chase, sir," said Rex.
"You couldn't be a greater disappointment," said Anakin with his arms crossed. "How could you have done this to your brothers?"
Slick just let out a scoff, "Only a Jedi would ask that. It's the Jedi who keep my brothers enslaved. We do your bidding." said the clone looking at the three of them. "We serve at your whim. I just wanted something more."
"And all you had to do to get it was put the rest of us all at risk," said Rex.
"I... I love my brothers. You're too blind to see it, but I was striking a blow for all clones." said Slick.
"If you loved your brothers, you wouldn't have put them at risk," said Cody.
"You betrayed every one of us," added Sark with a scowl.
"Take him to lockup," said Cody to some other clones as they led Slick away.
"Were you able to salvage anything from the weapons depot?" asked Obi-wan.
"Slick pretty much scorched the whole thing. That seemed to be what he was going for all along," informed Rex.
"We managed to save the heavy cannons, though," stated Cody.
"Well, that's good. 'Cause there are about a thousand battle droids on their way here," said Obi-wan.
"The fight goes on, gentleman," said Anakin as he and Obi-wan left.
Storm was the only one left with the three commanders as Sark approached him.
"What are your orders, sir?" asked Sark.
"What more needs to be said? We've got a fight on our hands. So tell the troops to rest up cause we're going to need all our energy for what's coming."
"Yes, sir," said Sark.
"Sark, Cody, Rex. Good job, men. Now get some rest; in the morning, we'll all meet up to discuss the plan." said Storm to the three clone commanders.
"Yes, General!" shouted all three as they saluted to Storm as he too left to prepare for the fight about to be upon them.