And I'm back with another chapter for this story, finally. Sorry for the wait, but I had a serious run of inspiration for YJM, so that got the majority of my focus over the last month. I managed to grind out a chapter for this story as well, though. Because CJWO is so much further along, it can be harder to write for than YJM. I'm no longer just establishing the world and characters here. I have to ensure I'm giving proper payoff to things I set up earlier while continuing to build on plot points for the future. In the beginning of this story, I could usually get a chapter written in 2-4 days. Now, it takes more like 2-4 weeks.

Thank you all for the positive response and feedback you gave me on the last chapter. I'm glad most of you enjoyed my interpretation of Thrawn. Writing him is intimidating. Of all the characters I have adapted so far, he certainly has been receiving the most love from canon media. I, for one, cannot wait for Tales of the Empire to come out.

As I have too many times already, I once again ask all my readers to show whatever support they can afford to Ukraine. Thank you.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Chapter 54

General Grievous, Supreme Commander of the Separatist Droid Army, looked out at the burning wreckage of the clone medical station and the Star Destroyer that had been defending it. He chuckled with amusement at the sight. A single cruiser trying to defend against this new superweapon Dooku had given him? It was worthy of comedy. He only regretted that there had been no Jedi aboard. That would have been the perfect seasoning for the day's feast. Still, the death of almost 80,000 clones was more than satisfying enough.

"What is the enemy's status?" He growled. Not that he was angry. All he had left was a growl.

"All life signs are gone," a B1 said. "They're dead."

"Very good. Signal the fleet to move for-"

"Sir! General, sir! One of our escort ships has picked up another Republic vessel."

Grievous snarled at the interruption. These B1s were as stupid and annoying as they were numerous. They were an insult to true warriors everywhere. His metal fist lashed out and crushed the offending droid's head. There was none of the satisfying warmth of blood or the brittle crunch of bone, but he couldn't have felt them in any case. Somewhere in the bits of his brain that were fashioned of metal and wires, he registered exactly how much force it had taken to destroy the droid and what percentage it represented of his maximum strength. It was useful information, and adequate for controlling his new body. But it was not feeling. He could feel nothing anymore. Except pain. He'd made sure Dooku left him with pain.

He let the droid clatter to the floor and turned to the rest of the bridge crew. "Fools! Why did we not detect it sooner?"

"They're right next to the broken moon," another B1 said. It spoke quickly, its voice a sick mockery of fear. "The radiation must have obscured our scopes."

He growled again as he saw the sensor readings. An Arquitens-class. Too small to be out on its own unless it meant to remain unseen, which meant one thing.

"It would seem we've caught a scout. Move us into firing position and charge the plasma rotors. Do not let them escape. This ship must remain a secret."

He signaled the rest of his fleet to give him a clear line to his target and the Malevolence fired its engines. The enemy ship was making for the moon, but they were too slow. In short order, he had them.

"Fire!"

The brilliant disc of the ion ray closed the gap in a moment and washed over the enemy ship. It was a little ridiculous to use such a potent weapon against a single light cruiser, but decades of war had taught him that overkill was much underrated. Why bludgeon your foe with a stick when you could crush them under a boulder? He watched as sheets of ionic discharge crackled over the scout ship's hull and its engines flickered and died. The uncontrolled loss of thrust sent the ship listing to one side.

"Enemy disabled," a droid said, and only the fact it was on the other side of the room saved it from destruction.

"I can see that, you fool." He longed for the day when he would no longer need to rely on such inferior soldiers.

"Should we destroy them?"

He was about to say yes, but someone else spoke before he could. Someone he had not heard enter the bridge, though that should have been impossible.

"My master is already growing impatient. He would not be pleased to hear you delayed our advance again just to destroy one ship."

He rounded on the figure, not letting his shock show. "Do not presume to give commands here, assassin."

Pale yellow eyes gleamed from under a deep cowl, and he thought he spotted a smile in those shadows. When Asajj Ventress spoke, though, her voice was a knife carved of ice.

"Do not presume your position is so secure you can afford to anger Count Dooku. My master expects you to press your attack on Corellia, not waste time toying with your prey like a Loth-kitten."

A phantom itch built up in the ghost of his hands, to feel them close around her slender neck. The arm of his chair crumpled under his grip at the thought. Her death rattle would have been like music, but he restrained himself, if barely. Oh, he could kill this child, whatever she thought of herself. But the battle would be arduous. It would leave the bridge and much of the rest of the ship in ruins. Worse, Count Dooku would no doubt have his head if he killed his favorite assassin. Arrogant bitch though she was, Ventress was right about one thing. Dooku had made it very clear his position and even his life was nowhere close to secure.

"So be it. But we leave a ship here to investigate. It's no coincidence the Republic had a scout waiting for us."

Those gleaming eyes narrowed in consternation. Ventress was not as adept at schooling her expressions as she liked to believe. "If the Jedi know this ship's capabilities-"

"If the Jedi knew what this ship could do, they would already have destroyed it," he interrupted. Her eyes narrowed further, but at least she had the sense not to deny his words. This weapon Dooku had given him was a bludgeon, and a clumsy one at that. It was why he'd so readily agreed to strict secrecy. He had already puzzled out four ways the Malevolence might be defeated, which meant the Jedi would too, once they learned of it. They were cowardly scum, but cunning for it.

"They must only have known our target," he continued. "Signal the Firecrest to raid that ship for intel. If we have a spy in our ranks, I want to know. Have the rest of the fleet set a course for Denon. Maximum speed. The Count demands haste, after all."

Once again, he looked out the viewport at the wreckage he had wrought. Clouds of smoke and debris drifted from the shattered medical station and its cruiser. In his mind, he pictured Corellia in the same state. Burning. Broken. Dead. The bodies of all the Jedi he would slay there piled themselves in his imagination, and he could already feel what remained of his heart beat faster at the thought. He would not say it made him feel alive. He wasn't alive. Not really. But that didn't bother him. Death had taken him and spit him right back out again. He'd been reborn as a monster. A nightmare forged of metal and blood, set loose to cleanse the galaxy of the filthy Jedi. What was life and comfort and sanity next to such a glorious purpose?

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Naruto swore as the ship pitched and his feet left the deck, then swore again when they didn't come back down. He bobbed weightlessly through the air until he reached the ceiling, where he pushed himself back down to the floor and anchored himself with chakra.

"Status?" He yelled.

"We're dead in space," someone yelled. "Nothing's responding. Most of our systems are dead. Backup power's barely covering the emergency lights. That shot overloaded almost every circuit we've got."

"Escape pods?" Someone else suggested, and Naruto was about to agree when Thrawn's cool, unruffled voice cut through the chaos.

"No. The escape pods are no doubt disabled as well." For a man currently crouched upside down on the ceiling, he sounded remarkably in control, and Naruto found himself listening automatically. "Commander Ponds, are your armor's electrical systems still functioning?"

Ponds, who had his legs wrapped around a console like it was his lover and was snagging stray bridge crew out of the air and pushing them towards their stations, paused and started fiddling with his helmet. His rangefinder lowered and raised, his external lights flashed on and off, and he sent a burst of static through his comm.

"Everything's good."

Thrawn nodded as if he'd been expecting such an answer. "Then independent systems inside the ship were not affected. Commander Uzumaki, the enemy fleet is moving to leave, save one ship. I expect that ship has orders to destroy us and search the wreckage for intel on how we knew to be here at this time."

He nodded out the viewport and Naruto followed his gaze. He was right. All but one of Grievous' ships was turning for a hyperspace jump. Only a single Commerce Guild corvette wasn't following the formation. Naruto looked back to Thrawn and felt the sharp, calculating edge of his mind sharpen to razor keenness.

"You have an idea?"

"I do." He pointed at the corvette heading their way. "The ships in the hangar will still be operational. If you can get us aboard that vessel with as many clones as possible, I believe I can destroy Grievous' flagship."

Naruto felt his eyes widen. Thrawn had only seen the ship for a few minutes at most, and he already had a plan to destroy it? It seemed crazy. Then again, his life hadn't felt sane since he graduated from the academy. Thrawn didn't ask for trust, but he found himself trusting the man, anyway. He didn't know why, but his instincts had never steered him wrong. With the lives of every man under his command at risk, he listened to those instincts now. His brain kicked into overdrive as ideas flitted through his head before he settled on one that might not get everyone killed.

"Alright," he said. "Ponds, get on your comm. Have every man on the ship get to the hangar as fast as possible. I want them there ten minutes ago." He raised his voice so the entire bridge could hear him. "All of you, follow me."

There was a flurry of "yes, sir" and "oya" as confidence swelled in the men around him. Not a one of them had the faintest idea what he was planning, which was probably for the best, but they all saw he had a plan, and that was enough for them.

As he dragged himself down the hallway, the lack of gravity making movement awkward, he created a dozen kage bunshin. The copies split up, using chakra to walk normally, though without regard for floor, ceiling, or bulkhead. Thrawn cast curious glances at the chakra constructs, but Naruto didn't pause to explain. The man would have to trust him for now.

They weren't even halfway to the hangar when the first shots slammed against the ship. Naruto winced as he slammed his head against the wall when the ship tilted from the blow. More tremors followed, and soon he heard the distant roar of escaping atmosphere. The hull was well armored, but it was meant to act as a backup to the shields, not the primary defense. Without power, he doubted the cruiser would last more than a handful of minutes. Perhaps a little more, if the weapons on the corvette were still stock. The Commerce Guild was infamous for shorting their ships on power. Still, stock weapons or no, when the next volley hit, he felt the first clones die.

"Faster!" he yelled, and they all picked up their pace. The ship shuddered violently as the fire picked up, and he felt more and more clones perish. The lucky ones died instantly, vaporized in a burst of plasma. Most weren't so lucky, though. Dozens tumbled into space when sections decompressed. With so little power, only a few of the emergency bulkheads closed properly. Those that didn't let the clones drift into the airless void to suffocate and freeze. Their armor would give them a little time, but not enough. He ground his teeth as he felt them perish, as cold emptiness swallowed the vibrancy of life.

'Mourn later, boy,' the Kyuubi said. 'You have bigger problems to worry about.'

'I don't even know their names,' he thought bitterly. 'They're my soldiers. I should at least have known their names.'

'It is too late for that now.' There was no judgment in the fox's words. Just merciless truth. 'You will not honor them by dying here, and there are more you can still help. If you must indulge in sentiment, at least save it for the living.'

He didn't respond, but the fox was right. He usually was, when he wasn't going on about hatred and killing and the like. Though it felt like shoving a hot coal down his throat, he pushed aside the death pangs of his fallen troopers and redoubled his pace.

A minute later, they reached the hangar. At a glance, he saw just over a hundred clones trying to stay near the floor. Once everyone in his group was in the hangar, he reached out with the Force and dragged everyone to the floor. At the same time, he sent a thin film of chakra over the deck, so whenever anyone touched down, they stuck. It wasn't quite like gravity, but it was better than the awkward floating. It also let him get a better look at the clones who'd made it. Most of them were the marines of Hurricane company, which was good. He'd need their skills soon enough. Almost as many remained scattered throughout the ship, but there was no more time. Hopefully, a few of his kage bunshin would complete their task before they died. It was too late to save everyone, maybe to save anyone, but he wouldn't stop trying while he still lived. To that purpose, he bit both his thumbs, ran through hand seals faster than a human could see, and slapped his hands against the deck.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Six bursts of smoke around him marked the arrival of the Toads he'd summoned. The clones whirled, leveling blasters, until they recognized what he had just done. He'd made sure to brief them weeks ago on his summons, lest they think some strange enemy was attacking them. Thrawn hadn't received any such briefing though, and his face twitched memorably at the sight of the six, small amphibians that had appeared out of thin air.

"Hey there, Naruto," a pale green Toad said. "It's been a while. Whatcha need with so many of us?"

"Hi Tenzo," Naruto said. "No time for catching up. Our ship's about to explode. I need you guys to let my men hide in your stomachs. Can you do that?"

Tenzo gave him a thumbs up. "No problem. Haru, Ito, take the right. Mizu, Ise, Gin, take the left. Let's go! Naruto's counting on us."

The most violent tremor yet shook the hangar, sending half the clones to their knees. Naruto caught himself on the wing of his starfighter and pushed himself back upright. The smell of smoke began drifting in from somewhere else on the ship.

"Listen up!" He used the Force to ensure every man heard his words. "Get inside the Toads. You'll be safe there. They'll signal you when to get out. When you do, be ready to fight. The seps broke our ship, so we're gonna take theirs as payment. Now, move!"

This time, there was no cheering. With the efficiency of elite soldiers, the clones clustered around the Diving Toads and, after a few moments of tense explanation, stepped into their mouths. He sensed more than a few queasy stomachs at the sight, but given the alternative of burning in a dead ship, none of them hesitated. None save Thrawn and Ponds, that was. The Chiss looked at the clones vanishing down the gullets of the six Toads with naked disbelief.

"Commander Uzumaki, what-"

Naruto shoved him forward. "If we live, I'll explain. Now go. I need you alive."

He turned to Ponds, but his second in command was already shaking his head. "I think I know what you're planning, and you'll need help."

Naruto swallowed a sharp retort and just nodded. He could use help with his part, even if he hated to put one of his men in danger. Then again, they were all in danger. Glancing around, he saw more than half the clones had already vanished into the Toads. A rush of memories told him two of his kage bunshin had found groups of clones elsewhere in the ship and hidden them in Toads of their own. He would have to summon them back later.

"Take the Y-wing," he said as he climbed onto his fighter. The Toads, who had finally finished swallowing the last clone, made to follow him, but he waved three of them off. "Mizu, Ise, Gin, go with him. The rest of you are with me."

Ponds saluted and ran to one of the two Y-wing fighters in the hangar, three Toads trailing behind him. The choice of which to take was easy enough, given one was partially crushed and on fire. Flames flickered in the back of the hangar and smoke was rapidly filling the air. Wires dangled from the cracked ceiling, floating oddly in the zero gravity. Each breath brought the acrid stench of burning plastoid. Still, he waited until he saw Ponds seal the canopy on the Y-wing before sealing his own and flicking on the scrubbers.

Instantly, fresh air replaced the stale, stinging miasma from the hangar. The gentle hum of the engines was music to his ears. Even with Thrawn's earlier test, he'd still worried the ion pulse might have disabled his fighter. A flicker of engine light from his left told him Ponds had found similar success.

"Everybody ready?"

"Good to go, boss," Haru said from his place on Naruto's lap, and the other two gave thumbs up from his shoulders.

"Oni?"

-Declarative statement: I am always ready. Observation: This is the third time in the last fifty days we have launched from a burning hangar. Interrogative: Do you have a fetish for burning hangars?-

"… I never should have given you access to the holonet," he muttered. The demented astromech what led something akin to laughter over the speakers, but he muted the damn thing before whatever was left of his sanity slipped further.

"Ready, Ponds?" He asked over the comm.

"Yes, sir." There was a pause and something in the background even Naruto couldn't make out clearly. "Errr, the Toads say they're also ready. What's the plan?"

Naruto couldn't help grinning at the obvious discomfort in Ponds' voice. People were just so… weird about the Toads. He didn't see the big deal, but it was endlessly amusing.

"I'm gonna blow a hole, then we drift like debris. After that, if we're still alive, I'll let you know."

"You don't know?" Ponds' tone could have dried out a lake. Naruto only grinned wider.

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

"My sense of-"

Thankfully, before Ponds could tear into him, the ship rocked again. More flames burst from the ceiling and Naruto decided it was time to leave. He aimed the cannons at the floor just in front of the proper exit of the hangar. Leaving through the doors would look too clean, but blowing the exit wider would let them drift out naturally.

'Here goes nothing,' he thought and fired just as another set of turbolaser bolts hit his doomed cruiser. For a moment, all he could see was fire. Even in his starfighter, he felt the shockwave and then heard the dull thud of explosive decompression. The flames and smoke vanished in an instant; snuffed out in the sudden vacuum. The only sounds left were those from inside his own cockpit. With a feather-light touch on the throttle, he nudged his fighter forward just enough to have it drift into space. Ponds was right behind him, and just for good measure, he pulled the other Y-wing and the LAAT along with them.

The sight outside was at once beautiful and gruesome. Beautiful because the debris drifted along, weightless and unburdened. Vast schools of metal fish swam gracefully through an endless sea. Gruesome because those chunks of elegantly spinning metal had once been part of a ship. His ship. Every piece floating through space meant more dead clones. He couldn't see the corvette shooting at them, but he could see the flashes of turbolaser fire reflecting off the debris and wondered how much longer it would keep shooting. Surely not too much longer. They must be able to see the ship was dead by now. If they wanted any chance at gathering intel, they couldn't afford to vaporize everything.

"May as well put on a show if this is going to work," he muttered. "Ponds, you read?"

"Loud and clear."

"Vent some engine plasma. Nice and slow. It should hide your life signs from any sensors. I don't want them spotting us when we clear the debris field."

"Copy that, sir."

When he twisted his head, he could just make out the flare from Ponds' left engine. His Y-wing began a gentle spin as the escaping plasma pushed it along.

"Okay." He took a deep breath and braced himself for the inevitable. "Oni? I need you to make it look like the ship is broken."

-Observation: The ship is not broken.-

He sighed. "I know that. But we need to make it look like it is."

There was a pause before Oni responded. -Emphatic Observation: This ship is not broken.-

"I know, you little rust bucket," Naruto growled. "And if you want it to stay that way, we have to convince that corvette not to, I don't know, vaporize us the moment we get in view."

-Statement: I am an astromech. If my ship looks broken, people will think I am bad at my job.-

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You're disobeying your pilot out of pique. How, exactly, are you not bad at your job?"

-Observation: My pilot is frequently an idiot who cannot be trusted to make intelligent choices.

Naruto let his head thud against the control console, and one of the Toads patted his cheek comfortingly. "Will you please just make us look like a dead hulk? Spoof the sensors, vent some coolant, scuff the paint, I don't care. Just do something."

There was another lengthy pause, and then the starboard stabilizer burst into flames. At the same time, two hull panels on the nose popped off and drifted away. Naruto watched them go, eyes wide and mouth hanging open beneath his mask.

"Ummm, Oni? You know you could have just made it look like we're damaged, right? You didn't have to actually break the ship."

-Statement: I am a very good astromech. You asked me to fool the enemy ship. This will fool the enemy ship.-

Naruto sighed. "You are such a little shit."

-Observation: I am a reflection of my creator. Clarifying statement: You are my creator.-

Naruto sputtered indignantly and muted the droid once again. Oni would work around it, of course, but at least he'd have a few minutes of peace.

"Commander, the corvette has stopped firing. I think they're on an approach vector."

Then again, maybe not. He looked around the listing wreck of the light cruiser and saw the round, squat form of the Commerce Guild corvette had indeed stopped firing. Smoke billowing from the remains of his ship made it hard to make out any details, but he thought he could see the glow of its engines. Though he didn't dare use his sensors to confirm it, the ship definitely looked closer than before. It wasn't moving very fast, though.

"Let's wait for them to get closer," he said. "When they're right on us, use your torpedoes. Disable their communications, but leave their weapons and engines. That's our new ride, after all."

"Roger that, sir. What will you be doing?"

"I'll blast their hangar doors open, assuming my lunatic astromech left the missile launchers operational, and secure the hangar. Come in after me and we'll let the men out of the Toads and cut our way to the bridge. If we're fast, we should have control of the ship before the captain can scuttle it."

Naruto could sense the commander's reluctance, admiration, disapproval, determination, and confusion tangled in a mess, but all he received was a curt acknowledgment of the plan. He frowned nevertheless. Ponds was an exemplary officer and had never once let him or Mace down, but he was also a man at war with himself. It hadn't impacted his duties, but it had gone on far too long. It was past time to get to know his second in command better, Naruto decided.

"While we're just waiting here, is there anything you'd like to talk to me about?" He asked. "Off the record?"

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, sir. I'm squared away."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Ponds, I'm an empath, remember? I can sense the conflict in you. I'm just not sure what it's about. If you tell me, maybe I can help."

There was a long pause and he could almost smell Pond's discomfort warring with whatever it was he wanted to say. If it had been Ahsoka or Anakin or Barriss, he would have prodded again, but Ponds was different. They didn't have that sort of rapport yet. He didn't want the man to feel pressured and clam up. So, reluctantly, he dipped into his stores of patience and waited. And waited. Finally, after two minutes that felt more like two weeks, Ponds replied.

"You don't know this, but I was never supposed to be assigned to a Jedi. Before General Windu chose me, I was slated for a separate command. Don't get me wrong, it's an honor to serve with you and the General, but it's… not what I expected."

"How so?" This wasn't what was truly bothering the man, at least not the core of it, but it was a start and Naruto meant to follow whatever trail Ponds left him.

"Besides the di'kut stunts, weird powers, and general Jetii banthashit? Well, let's see." Apparently, once Ponds loosened his tongue, it had an edge to it.

"I'd say it's just different than I expected. On Kamino, we were raised to expect strict discipline at all times. It's how you win wars. But things are so… informal with Jedi. It's bizarre."

"Well, I could always court-martial you if it would make you feel better," Naruto offered with a grin. He couldn't see Ponds' face, but the sudden guffaw let him know what he thought of the suggestion.

"Better make it Neyo," he said. "The look on his face would be much funnier."

Naruto tried to picture the taciturn clone with a look of horrified surprise on his face and had to agree. "We Jedi aren't exactly used to military service. Remember, you may have grown up knowing we would be your generals, but it came as a surprise to us. I'm sure we'll get used to each other. But I think there's something else bothering you."

There was another pause, this one even longer. Naruto waited as patiently as he knew how and passed the time judging how long until the corvette was in range. It really was moving slowly. Maybe the captain suspected a trap. Or maybe they were reluctant to rejoin Grievous' fleet. Any battle that needed that monstrous ship would hardly be a place for a 400 meter corvette. If that was the case-

Ponds' voice cut through his musings. "Do you remember the end of Christophsis? When those drop ships hit the capitol and you pulled us out?"

"Not something you forget," Naruto said. The memory of dust and fire and screaming made him grip the controls a little tighter. "What about it?"

"Why didn't you send us in? We could have bottled the droids up until you could call in a bombing run. It would have cut the legs out from the invasion force. We might have even held the planet." There was genuine confusion in him, and something else too. It was almost… shame.

Naruto shook his head. "That would have wiped out most of the battalion. Thousands of vode would have died. I'm not about to give an order like that."

"You should have." Ponds' voice was grim. "That's the whole point of clone soldiers. We're weapons. If you don't use us like that, it'll only get more of the important people killed."

It took a few seconds for Naruto to find his voice again, but when he did, he spoke with as much passion and sincerity as he could over a comm transmission. "You are the important people. You're my men. I'm responsible for you. You're not disposable, and you're not weapons. You're people, and I'm gonna treat you like it."

Ponds sighed over the comm. "Sir, I know you'd like to think that, but us clones are-"

"People!" Naruto snapped. "I am a Jedi, and I think that makes me an authority on what is and isn't a person, and I say you're all people just as much as me or Mace or anyone else. You want to know how I know?"

"How's that?" Ponds sounded curious in spite of himself.

"Because you laughed at my joke earlier," Naruto said. "Weapons don't laugh at jokes. Tools don't laugh at jokes. People do. So I'm ordering you to think of yourself and all your brothers as people from now on. That doesn't make you any worse soldiers. Stars, I know you want to live through the war. That's part of what makes you such a good soldier. If you have something to live for, you have something to fight for. Something personal to you. That's good. Keep it and help your brothers find it for themselves. Got it?"

"I- yes sir." Ponds all but glowed with stunned amazement. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting such a ferocious rebuttal. Naruto snorted at the thought. As if he'd ever give anything less when someone said something so nerf-stupid as that.

"Good. Now, look sharp. That corvette's just about in range. Time to work for a living." He tapped Tenzo on the shoulder. "Let the clones know they'll be up in a few minutes."

The corvette had indeed closed the distance while they'd been talking. Up close, it was even uglier than he'd expected. The Commerce Guild was known for churning out bland, soulless drek, and this had to be their crowning achievement of corporate dullness. It was a ship totally devoid of artistry, passion, or even the faintest glimmer of imagination. Just row after row of identical, slate gray panels riveted together in a hull shaped like a can of soup. The bridge stuck out like a boxy barnacle, and various weapons and comms antennae bristled about the hull. It was a dreary lump of a ship, and he couldn't look forward to flying it. He could certainly look forward to stealing it, though.

'It's been a while since I stole a ship,' he mused. 'I wonder if it's still as fun as it used to be.'

"Oni, get ready for a fight," he said. Predictably, the mad little droid had already bypassed the mute function on the speakers.

-Exclamatory Statement: We shall cast our enemies into cold vacuum and watch them squirm as their blood boils and their eyeballs freeze-

"… okay, no, but I like your enthusiasm," Naruto muttered. His astromech really was a demented little thing. "On my mark… now, Ponds!"

"On it."

In a heartbeat, the Y-wing went from spinning like a top, for all the world a ruined lump, to flying straight and true. Naruto sensed a spike of alarm from the corvette, but it was too late for them to react. Twin torpedoes streaked out from the front of the fighter and diverged as they sped towards the comm arrays. He didn't have time to watch if they found their targets, though. As soon as Ponds began his attack, he throttled his own fighter up to full. The engines hummed behind him and whatever Oni had done to light the stabilizer on fire, it didn't affect the handling at all. He swooped down for the hangar on the underside of the corvette and lined himself up for the approach. When he was in position, he gunned the engines and simultaneously loosed two concussion missiles of his own. The pair of missiles looked like blue streaks as they raced ahead of him and slammed into the hangar door. Giant flowers of orange and red and yellow bloomed against the gray hull before the airless void swallowed them. He was close enough to feel his own fighter shudder from the shockwave, and a plume of smoke blocked his view, but he sped right through it. Flying blind was easy with the Force on his side. He felt and heard the sudden change as he passed the atmospheric shields and entered the hangar. Smoke still obscured everything, but that would work in his favor more than anything. With a jarring lurch and the screech of metal grinding against metal, he landed his starfighter. A quick burst of chakra activated the purifying seal on his mask, and then he popped the canopy open and leaped into the hangar.

Instantly, burning hot smoke clawed at his skin. He could breathe fine, thanks to his mask, but his eyes slammed shut of their own accord. Tears trickled down his cheeks as his body tried to flush the hot soot out of his eyes. He could hear the dull roar of something burning and the tortured groan of destroyed equipment, but nothing else. The Force told him there was danger nearby, probably battle droids, but he couldn't tell where they were through the carnage of his own entrance. There weren't many, but even a few battle droids could be deadly if they took him by surprise.

'Okay. The smoke might not be working for me as much as I hoped it would,' he thought ruefully. 'Probably should have thought this through more. Too late now, though. Just gotta make do.'

With a deep breath, Naruto gave himself over to his instincts. The Force tugged him forward, toward the back of the hangar, and he set off at a run. The floor was treacherous; littered with debris. It would have been easy to trip, but even blind, he was still a Jedi. His feet landed between chunks of rubble and broken Vulture droids, but he never once slipped or stumbled. His heart hadn't beat a dozen times before he heard the distinctive clank of droid footsteps. Stars knew he'd heard that sound often enough in the last month. He still couldn't open his eyes, but the Force was more than enough to replace sight. A sold weight filled his palm, and the hum of his lightsaber was like music.

"Aaaaahh! It's a Jedi. Where'd he come fro-"

He'd been right; there weren't many droids left in the hangar. Just five. They panicked and yelled when they saw the lightsaber, but it was already too late for them. He struck once, twice, five times, and the droids fell to the ground in pieces. Not one of them managed to get a shot off. A moment's pause didn't reveal any more immediate danger, so he clipped his saber back to his belt and pulled out his comm.

"Ponds, I'm in. Hangar is secure. Get in here quick."

"Copy that. On my way."

He tucked his comm away, lowered his mask a bit, and sniffed the air. It seemed the atmospheric scrubbers were finally doing their job. The air was still bitter with smoke and dust, but not choking like it had been before. Cautiously, he opened his eyes. They watered and stung, but not too much. The smoke was just an acrid haze now, rather than a blinding wall.

"Alright, Tenzo, Haru, Ito! Let them out."

The Toads saluted, and not a moment too soon. His ears picked up the faint clank of droids coming his way.

"Looks like someone wants to say hello," he said with a grin. "How nice of them."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Thrawn couldn't help but look at his surroundings in a mix of wonder and no little disbelief. Just days ago, he'd scarcely been prepared to credit tales of mystic Jedi powers as anything more than exaggeration borne of time, distance, and the natural sentient inclination for inflating stories. His own tactical abilities were the subject of numerous fanciful tales in the Ascendancy, including some crediting him with seeing the future. Now he was sitting inside the belly of a sentient amphibian alongside a dozen clone troopers. An amphibian that, from the outside, had looked no bigger than his head.

"Fascinating," he murmured, though apparently not low enough. The clone next to him, a Captain Hack he recalled, gave him a look.

"Sir?"

"I am merely adjusting to our present circumstances," Thrawn said in answer to the implied question. Thankfully, whatever Uzumaki did to translate for him was still in effect. "I had heard rumors of the Jedi, of course, but this surpasses any expectations I may have had."

Hack laughed and nodded. "That's the Commander for you. When I first saw him, I thought it was a joke. He looked like some snot-nosed little all fresh out of his growth cycle. Shows what I know."

Thrawn noted the sincerity in his tone and the increased infrared glow from his face. "You sound very loyal to him."

For an instant, when Hack shot him an unreadable look, he saw the soldier beneath the man. Saw the same gleam in those eyes he'd seen in so many others. This was no one to trifle with. Indeed, with an army of men like this at his back, he thought Uzumaki might just be capable of carrying out that absurd promise of his.

"Without him, no one here would be alive," Hack said. "Hell, without him, I don't think anyone in the battalion would have made it off Christophsis. I've seen him fight off a whole company of droids with a piece of shrapnel the size of my arm stuck in his back. I don't know what there is between you, but if he's made you a promise, you can be damn sure he'll keep it."

Thrawn wasn't sure what to say to such a disturbingly insightful comment. Fortunately, he was spared the need to reply when a rumbling croak sounded from all around them.

"Get ready." The voice was deep and booming, but he recognized the accent. It was the same as the Toad had spoken with earlier. Hack apparently had come to the same conclusion, as he had his helmet back on and his blaster slung across his chest. Either that, or this was a common tactic Uzumaki used. He could certainly see the advantages of infiltration.

"Alright, men. We don't know what we're walking into here, so come out ready to fight. First squad, establish security ten meters ahead of the exit…"

Hack went on giving out last-minute instructions while Thrawn checked over his own equipment, such as it was. The mad dash to escape their doomed cruiser had left no time for fetching arms and armor. The clones had kindly lent him a heavy blaster pistol and a pair of thermal detonators from their supplies, but he was easily the least well-equipped person present. Even if he'd had a full set of Chiss tactical gear, he would have been content to let the clones exit the Toad first. He knew himself to be a more than competent combatant, but he had not trained with these men. In ship boarding operations, flawless teamwork was essential. Until he could familiarize himself with GAR tactics and procedures, he would only be a liability on the front line.

It was no more than five minutes after the warning that light spilled into the stomach where they were waiting. Hack gave the order, and one by one, the Galactic Marines charged out of the Toad. When it was his turn, Thrawn took careful note of the sensations of exiting their amphibian conveyance. He wanted to know how, exactly, Uzumaki had accomplished this impossible feat. There was a sense of compression, as if squeezing through a too small pipe, and then of being re-inflated somehow. Overall, he found it a fascinating experience, if not particularly instructive. Perhaps a form of spatial compression? Any further speculation had to wait, though. He regained his bearings just in time to duck under a blaster bolt aimed at his face. They had emerged into a war zone.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

After a thousand years (or a dozen chapters) Oni has returned. The robotic psychotic is back to sass Naruto again. I told you he would be a recurring character, and I alwaysusually sometimes keep my promises. Some other things happened in the background, but obviously the most important thing is that Oni is back!

Also, Thrawn has a plan. Of course, that's a lot like saying Thrawn has blue skin. The man probably doesn't zip up his pants without a plan and two back-ups. It was tough thinking up a plan that could have conceivably come from the greatest tactician in fiction short of Batman, but I think I managed alright. You'll have to read the next few chapters to find out.

Finally, you got your first look at Grievous in this story. My goal is to strike a balance between the menacing apex predator we got in the 2003 cartoon and the more traditional, mustache twirling villain we got in the later shows and movies. There are pros and cons to both, but I generally lean more towards the earlier concept of Grievous as an elite warrior and genius general who was a truly worthy foe for the Jedi.

Thanks for reading. Please leave a review if you have any questions or critiques. Be aware, the email alert system had, once again, gone down. I will try to respond to your reviews and PMs as soon as I see them, but it may take longer than normal.