Chapter 93
He looked into the tactical holo of the capital city of Umbara, its environs and met the eyes of Obi-Wan, seeing his own disquiet mirrored there.
Anakin really didn't like the intel black hole they were about to land in. Umbaran technical capabilities and weapons were extremely thin on details and RI had been scrambling to find out everything they could, with little to show for it. There had just been not enough time and he couldn't help but feel that this entire invasion had been launched too quickly.
Ahsoka's foresight had helped somewhat, but that was very much a lightsaber that had to be kept off and holstered, only to be used as a last resort.
The picture she painted was enough for him to conclude that the Republic Judiciary, like many things in the past two decades, had dropped the ball when it came to this planet. The Umbaran weapons were insidious, advanced, deadly and nightmarish. Now he had to lead the 501st straight into that grinder.
Here they were, in the cavernous bays of Acclamator T9485, surrounded by the senior leadership of the legions and they had to portray that nothing was wrong and that they weren't leading these men into a technological terror trap.
The Umbarans, as a people, had planned for this day. When someone came for their technology and the science in their libraries and minds. There was no approach that was better or worse, it was all bad and horrific. Ahsoka had run probabilities for hours and found nothing that made any of this better with what they had on hand. No clever stratagem to outflank or shorten the battle and the only weakness was the Umbaran militia's relatively low numbers.
The Umbaran people's population was also low given the size of their planet. As a culture they actually emphasized a carefully managed population count. A holdover from a time when their technology hadn't conquered nature and their food production was limited. It was only within the last century that the culture had begun relaxing these restrictions.
"Masters Krell and Tiin will be supporting my troops in the east, the best primary approach that orbital scans have identified," Obi-wan began the quick ad hoc briefing. "General Skywalker's battalion will come in from the north and cut off the main roads leading out of the city, preventing enemy reinforcements from sallying, which will naturally attempt to wheel around and flank our main line of advance. The southern approaches and our left flank will be interdicted from the air by saturation bombing from Y-Wings and Z95s in combat air patrols.
"We must conquer the capital as quickly as possible and hold it. Only then can we force an Umbaran surrender with their royal caste in custody. I need not impress on all of you that we cannot afford to fight a general resistance across the entire planet."
Obi-Wan gave him a nod.
Anakin stepped forward and looked at all the nearly identical grizzled faces. "We are not fighting droids here. Throw away all notions of what you've experienced that can come from the Separatists. The Umbarans are new to the fight, there are few if any CIS tactical droids or officers here as far as we know. These are people who will be fighting for their homeworld, who may have advanced weapons or entirely new ones we don't know about. If anything moves down there, assume it's hostile. If an umbaran surrenders, you may also safely assume that they just want to get in a better position to kill more of you. We're in no position to take prisoners, so stun any surrendering militia then leave them."
"Understood, general," said Rex for the clone leaders assembled.
"The one thing we've managed to prepare for this assault is an upgrade to your Phase 1 armor helmets," Obi-wan continued. "The night vision has been significantly improved and can now filter automatically for the flashes of blasters and most explosions. This also means better contrast and there is no excuse for not using them."
Most of the clones simply nodded, looking satisfied, though Anakin could hear Rex's new deputy, Fives, grumbling under his breath about how it made the helmet heavier. Rex in turn simply gave him a subtle elbow to discipline his old comrade.
"Any questions?" Obi-Wan scanned the troopers with his eyes. "Good. To your gunships, liftoff in five minutes."
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The Acclamators delivering the invasion forces decelerated from orbital velocity for a smooth insertion into the atmosphere of the planet.
They effectively encircled the capital in their approach, but this was just to keep the umbarans guessing as to where the invasion forces were landing for as long as possible.
Ventral doors opened on all the ships and LAAT gunships began streaming out and into the cloudy perpetually dark sky, escorted by Z95s waiting in formation.
This was in furtherance to the deception, all the gunships coming from the west had no troops and would act purely as their name intended, blasting every target on the ground with missiles, blasters and collimated lasers.
Anakin held on to the overhead grips with his right hand as his gunship was first rocked by turbulence, then the sizzling whine of plasma blasts that exploded with acid green flares of light.
The whine of Z95s shooting past, immediately releasing concussion missiles to target identified enemy AA positions.
The Acclamators' own AA networks were filling the airspace with fire, targeting freshly launched squadrons of Zenuas 33 fighters coming up from the capital to meet them.
Far from needing night vision, the skies became a strobing of blue, green and orange, as fire from both sides crossed each other and either missed or found their targets.
"That's a lot of surface fire!" Fives shouted with some awe in his voice.
The gunship to their right suddenly exploded when something with a sharp electric tone cut through the air from the surface. All that was left was pieces of the central hull, which in itself was on fire in a way that Anakin had never seen. The debris swerved out of view and was swallowed by a cloud.
"General Skywalker!" The gunship pilot's holo appeared in his helmet HUD. "My nightvision's shot, I'm on instruments only and scanners are being affected by heavy ECM from the surface. We're down to inertial reference. I can't guarantee an accurate landing!"
Anakin tapped his com, "Just get us as close as you can, pilot."
More high pitched electric plasma fire raced up from the surface, grazing one gunship and utterly obliterating another.
Ahsoka appeared in his HUD and he felt her warming presence in the Force suddenly surrounding him. "Master, the Umbarans have thrown up an ECM jamming field that is causing havoc with targeting systems. Our missiles have to be steered in manually by astromechs and even the encryption links are being degraded by all this electronic soup."
"So you're saying our accuracy just went down the drain."
"Yes, master. I'm working on countering it with Intel and R2 but it could take a while."
"Understood."
Her image winked out and her remote presence in the Force retreated.
"Time to lock and load!" shouted an enthusiastic ARC trooper next to Fives, brandishing a Z-6 rotary blaster cannon, pulling on the charging handle.
In the rear of the gunship, a recon trooper climbed on the single AT-RT that could fit inside.
Anakin had rather mixed feelings on the vehicle. A single person walker with a chin mounted Maad 38 laser cannon that could run at over 75 kph over flat terrain. It was meant to operate in environments where speeder bikes struggled and repulsor fields were impossible or difficult to generate. They could jump and vault obstacles even. Yet it did nothing to protect the pilot, leaving the upper torso, head and arms of the user exposed.
The exotic forests surrounding the capital were exactly the terrain that would favor it. Its firepower would also come in handy for any Umbaran armored vehicles.
Ahsoka, on the other hand, outright hated the things. Going so far as to request that they dump the lot of them at the nearest scrap planet and divert those maintenance resources and money to acquiring the Naboo MLRS hovertanks.
He felt the gunship flare for a deceleration and reaching out with the Force he perceived they were cruising slow, just five meters above the ground.
"Recon elements go!"
The gunship's rear ramp fell open, exposing the night to the interior for the first time. It was bitingly cold, but remained above freezing.
The AT-RT's legs whined, reared up and the pilot pulled back on his controls, walking the vehicle backward to fall out of the gunship, where its legs easily handled the landing.
The gunship powered forward and Anakin felt its forward guns starting to fire rapidly into the enemy lines.
The side doors opened and he was treated to the sight of nearly 93 AT-RTs rapidly charging and firing their cannons.
The gunship raised its altitude and both collimated beam turrets swept their fire on a ridge line ahead. Destroying two odd looking Umbaran hover tanks in the process. They were clearly the source of the electrified plasma blasts that could take out a gunship with a single hit.
In that moment, Anakin felt Ahsoka's battle meditation envelop his spirit and every trooper of the 501st.
The AT-RTs charged, weaving right and left, dodging fire as best they could, returning fire into the distance against the enemy.
An electrified plasma blast hit a walker and it collapsed immediately, melting and turning into a fiery inferno that killed the pilot mercifully quickly.
"Got a visual lock! Ha!" shouted the pilot.
The dorsal missile launchers cycled and obliterated two more tanks on the approaching ridgeline.
The AT-RTs rapidly closed distance with their opponents, even as more fell to either electrified plasma explosions or simple blaster hits from Umbaran militia.
The chin mounted cannons sent blue plasma blasts into the night; cutting enemy troopers in half or sending them flying with near-miss explosions.
Four walkers dodged and flanked an Umbaran hover tank, which swiftly died in a fiery explosion when blasts hit the right side of the exposed rails of the massive plasma guns mounted on either side of the tank.
This happened all along the northern line of advance and Anakin grimaced as he felt the deaths of 32 AT-RTs just to achieve this first ridgeline.
The gunships could now land with the ridge itself as cover and he felt the thump through the hull as it landed.
A hop and jump later, his boots were digging into the loamy soil of Umbara, his lightsaber bursting into life immediately, casting its soft blue glow all over the immediate area. He stretched out with the Force, obviating any need for his eyes to see and maintaining battlefield awareness.
He led the charge as the troopers poured out of their gunships and within seconds an entire battalion was on the ground with weapons up and forming an advancing skirmish line.
Everyone fell prone just before the ridge and carefully crawled forward.
The opposing enemy opened fire immediately and mere moments later the clones replied in kind.
Anakin reached into the earth below with the Force, ripping out fifteen boulder sized rocks within a dozen meters.
Another thought had them spinning on their axes before he sent them surging forward at speed towards the enemy.
The kinetic strike crushed and injured every militia directly ahead of them.
"Go!" he ordered.
The 501st was well used by now to the benefits of Jedi support in a fight. They didn't even blink or hesitate at the impossibility they just witnessed. They rose onto their feet, advanced forward and fired.
"Bravo company, detonators!" he called into the battalion frequency as he ran down the line.
The company in question, pulled grenades from their belts and threw them without hesitation towards the enemy.
144 grenades sailed into the air.
Through the Force, he gave each a boost to carry it towards the enemy defense line.
All of them detonated at once with a rapid concussive fury and briefly lit up the night.
"Go!"
The troopers charged and now with a huge section of the enemy line opened up, they poured through the gap.
One company wheeled left and another right.
Anakin charged forward in their wake, letting a brief burst of blurring Speed carry him to the front of the company as he turned right.
His lightsaber began its forms around his body as he deflected the inevitable attention it drew from the Umbaran militia.
They had dug a rudimentary trench here, just deep enough to kneel in and provide some cover to fight with.
It was easy to hop over and the umbarans had to frantically abandon it lest they become 'fish in a barrel'.
Anakin had to give them credit though, they fought even as they retreated and with good professional order. One would kneel, shoot, whilst the other rushed past him, then he in turn would kneel and shoot.
It did little though when your line was breached and you had the fire of an entire clone company from the 501st hitting you.
Militiamen fell with accurate fire and Anakin sent their blasts straight back to them.
He reached out with the Force to a platoon of militia that had found new cover behind a tree line.
Anakin raised his hand to focus and closed his fist, before he willed a Pull on every Umbaran weapon.
36 blaster rifles were flung out of the grasps of their owners to land in the open field before the tree line.
Anakin gave a forward gesture and the clone troopers advanced, firing into the trees.
He sensed the enemy platoon's fear and astonishment, combined with Ahsoka's effort over the entire battlefield, it broke the enemy morale thoroughly and they fell into an outright sprinting retreat.
"This is General Skywalker, we've broken through enemy lines. AT-RTs into the gap, now!"
The rapid clanking steps of walkers soon echoed through the area and they ruthlessly exploited the break in the line. Charging through and running up the trench lines, firing their cannons and even crushing militia with their feet.
"Battalion, advance!"
All along the line, troopers got to their feet, shouldered their weapons and at a low jog fired as they went.
"Echo company, turn your advance 15 degrees east. There's a large lifeform buried in your path that's very hungry."
"Yes, sir!"
"The rest of you keep your scanners and eyes peeled in that forest ahead of us, there will be traps. Let the scouts do their job. Sappers, scanners out."
Anakin joined the line and confirmed that the troops were keeping their spacing proper.
Every third trooper pulled out a dedicated hand scanner. Another improvement Ahsoka had rammed through regs and procurement, was cross-training a select number of troopers to be what she called 'sappers' - whose job it was to find and defuse mines, traps or any such offensive technology that would be inevitably developed in the future.
There were clone regiments who were dedicated to engineering and clearing out fortifications, but they were usually sent in after battles were over or to build bases. Ahsoka wanted such combat engineering skills among the front line troops.
He had a nasty feeling that her insistence and months of planning was going to pay off here.
Their advance to the capital went on and let him realize that their initial drop was well short of what they had hoped to achieve. There were still eleven kilometers of rough terrain, forest and undoubtedly more defense lines to fight through before they even reached the city outskirts.
"General, report from our sappers," Rex's voice piped in his helmet. "Enemy ECM is degrading their scanners, but not completely. Their range has been reduced to below fifteen meters."
"It's better than nothing at this point. Watch for active power signatures below 11 milliTara."
"I'll pass it along, general."
The battalion continued, passing over more defense trenches that had been dug but had no umbarans manning them.
In the far distance, the echoes of battle washed over the troops as the other battalions and regiments pushed through the enemy defenses.
Anakin couldn't worry about the big picture to that extent and his own senses were focused on making sure his troops didn't run afoul of the nasty underground critters that seemed to dot the entire area.
He didn't know what to call them, but they reminded him of tiny versions of a Sarlacc and that alone meant he relished pointing them out and ordering grenades to be tossed down their gullets.
They continued their advance for another two kilometers, when Tau company on the far right flank reported that one of the major highways leading into the capital was a mere two hundred meters from them.
"Anything on that road?"
"Negative, general. No traffic."
He spotted another line of empty trenches that were built into a hill approaching.
"All troops, hunker down in the trench," he checked his chrono. "We'll take a twenty minute breather, get some water down your throats."
They were close enough now that Anakin could easily use a macrobinocular attachment on his helmet to see the distant battle Obi-Wan's troops were fighting.
A clone lieutenant rushed towards Rex and Anakin's position. "General, report from all platoons. We've suffered 30 casualties and 44 injured. Most of those should be patched up by field medics with a bit of time, but five are critical and unable to continue the fight."
"Detail two men with each medic to remain behind on those critical cases. If we have to move, there'll be enough hands to carry them."
"At once, sir."
The captain quickly donned his helmet and rushed off.
There were three minutes of rest remaining when he felt Ahsoka pushing on the Bond.
'Skyguy, you have nearly 300 umbaran militia that just emerged from a tunnel four hundred meters behind you.'
'Thanks,' he felt rather bashful that he hadn't picked up on it first, he had gotten too focused on the front.
'Be aware, we've gotten reports from Obi-Wan's battalion. The umbarans are utilizing stealth droids that are barely twenty centimeters high and half a meter long, in insectoid shapes. They administer lethal electric shocks on contact.'
He sent an acknowledgement along the Bond and as casually as possible tapped Rex on the shoulder.
"Rex, ambush, 300, from behind. All troops be aware of stealth droids at ground level. We turn and engage when the umbarans reach 100 meters."
The clone commander nodded grimly and immediately spread the word, with subtle taps on his comlink on the battalion frequency, creating patterned rhythmic distortions that every trooper would immediately pick up on and understand. It was entirely possible that the umbarans had broken the encryption at this point and it was standard procedure at this point for the 501st to assume that.
Anakin felt the alert level of the entire battalion rise up like a blazing fire. Rifles were primed and grenades readied.
He sent his senses roaming across the battlefield, trying to find those stealth droids.
There!
Thirty of the blasted things were skittering low along the ground, their low visual profile and color making them impossible to see with the naked eye. Even night vision would have trouble given how very little heat the things emitted.
They were mostly concentrated along the left flank, but small groups of these droids were racing toward the troops all along the line.
Their speed worried him the most and it would be extremely difficult for the clones to deal with in close quarters. The droids would kill thirty troops instantly, then more as every clone tried to shoot them, most of which would miss and even hit their fellows.
"Not going to happen," he growled, reaching out to the Force.
Thirty individual fast moving targets was stretching his current Control abilities, but there was no time for doubt and hesitation.
He closed his eyes and raised a hand to aid his focus.
27 stealth droids rose into the air, their little sharp legs articulating frantically and uselessly.
The urge to snarl with anger at having missed three of them threatened his control, but he managed to stave it off.
He closed his hand and most of the stealth droids were crushed as the constricting telekinetic force slammed inward from every direction.
The night was lit with hovering sparks as multiple short circuits occurred.
"Now!" Anakin shouted, igniting his lightsaber and his feet carried him into a burst of Speed towards the three remaining stealth droids.
Every trooper whirled around in their trench and started firing in the direction of the incoming militia. The AT-RT pilots wisely didn't get back on their mounts, staying in the trenches and firing into the enemy with their DC carbines.
The umbarans were briefly caught on the backfoot that their ambush had so spectacularly failed to catch their enemy off guard. The moment of counter-surprise and the sheer volume of fire from the clones meant he felt sixteen umbarans die instantly with a further 80 or so wounded.
At this point, he was a blur of movement, sending blaster shots back with deflections and reaching out to the remaining three stealth droids through the Force.
He felt 3 troopers die instantly as the droids latched on and delivered their lethal electric charge.
He managed to bully through the regret of his own failure, focus and his telekinetic grip seized the droids whilst they were still latched on to his three dead troopers.
His hand closed into a fist.
The droids died in a shower of blood as the forces also compressed the dead bodies of the troopers.
He dropped into the trench and keyed the entire battalion frequency.
"Grenade launchers!"
Every trooper with a DC-15A long rifle loaded their new underslung grenade launcher aimed upward and fired.
The endless night lit with hundreds of explosions.
Trees shattered into kindling, leaves caught fire, umbaran soldiers were flung into the air missing limbs or were completely incinerated.
"Advance and attack!"
The clone troops vaulted themselves out of the trenches and charged, firing as they went.
AT-RT pilots mounted their walkers and joined the charge.
Anakin ducked and weaved, passing underneath a flaming tree and swiped his blade through the blaster rifle of an umbaran before he stabbed the man through the chest.
The lightsaber easily passed through the umbaran personal armor - which he could immediately tell was quite advanced in comparison to standard Phase 1 trooper armor. Their heads were encased with sealed helmets and the entire front was made of a transparisteel variant that gave excellent peripheral vision, which included a HUD. There was also a visible green gas inside the helmet that definitely needed investigation after this battle.
He whipped his lightsaber directly out of the dead militia, deflecting the green bolt of another umbaran straight back to his face.
The transparisteel shattered and the umbaran screamed as the fragments buried themselves in his flesh and eyes.
A shot from a clone trooper blasted the umbaran in the chest and put him out of his misery.
An AT-RT burst through the foliage, firing its chin cannon in a sweep that caught four umbarans and sent them flying with the impact and missing large portions of their bodies.
The battle concluded so quickly that it left Anakin somewhat reeling. He realized that the cadence of fighting droids with seemingly never ending numbers had left him instinctively preparing for the same thing here.
"All troopers, check the bodies, confirm casualties and stun shots on them all."
He had no idea what gas these men had been breathing and he didn't want to take the chance of it being something that would come back later to 'bite them in the ass.'
"Commander?"
I opened my eyes, suppressing the urge to curse as Yularen inadvertently caused a slight hitch in my battle meditation.
Ideally, I should've been in a dedicated chamber near the bridge of the Resolute for this. With a full immersive command holo interface around me. The problem was, it would in turn isolate me too much from the crew who managed the starship I was in command of.
I thinned my battle meditation enough that it was still effective, yet allowed me the focus to actually maintain a decent level of conversation with my actual body.
My hand waved away the holo panels displaying real time battle data that surrounded my command chair. Things were generally well in hand anyway, with only Master Tiin's troops still actively fighting.
The Umbaran capital was surrounded and cut off.
Whether it would stay that way and how bloody the fighting would be was another question.
The city had an oblong shape and was nearly 26 kilometers by 19 kilometers, with a total population of nearly three million people. Estimates for just how many trained militia there were were hopelessly optimistic. What no one had answered yet was how well armed that population was in general and how trained they were to resist an occupation.
Their caste system generally implied that we wouldn't be dealing with an armed resistance movement immediately. The only way a caste system worked was if the top caste couldn't be displaced by the disgruntled lower echelons of society. So there wouldn't be a trained rifleman in every home.
"Yes, admiral?"
"There is a communication from the Jedi Council for you."
So it was that time.
I looked through the bridge viewports at the dimly lit capital city on the horizon.
A few taps on my armrest controls brought up the full body holo of Master Yoda.
"Padawan Tano, apologize for the interruption, I do."
That he could tell I was applying battle meditation just by reading my body language, not even projecting his senses through the connection, was not surprising really. He even let me see that he was quite pleased with my current skill with the technique.
"Apology accepted, Master Yoda. How can I help you?"
"Recalling you and your master, to Coruscant, we are."
"We are in the middle of a battle, Master Yoda." I had to object for appearance's sake.
"Aware of this, the Council is. Others there are, who can take over. Take Knight Skywalker's post, Master Krell will."
I gave Yoda a flat stare, "Forgive the blunt question, Master. I have little concentration to spare. Why?"
He gave a weary sigh and brought both his hands on his gimer stick. "Direct order from the chancellor, it is."
Here was the crux of the matter. The Jedi Council could've flat out told Palpatine that his order was impossible at this stage of the invasion. It was trying to put the horse back in the barn. It was taking your best thoroughbred horse in a race and pulling it off the track. The fact that they didn't do this was concerning.
It also meant that Palpatine had brought one hell of a card out to play and whatever that card was, it was something that they wouldn't even risk saying over a military encryption holonet comlink.
What could that card be?
There was no way I could run any probability lines now and even if I could, they would probably all run smack into the wall of the Shroud.
"I trust the chancellor wouldn't do something like this idly."
"No, he would not."
"Very well, Master Yoda. Master Skywalker and I will return to Coruscant as soon as possible."
"Been exemplary, your service to the Jedi and Republic, Padawan Tano. Other battles there will be. Rest, when you can. Master Krell, already informed he has been. May the Force be with you."
The holo faded away.
I sensed the battle around Master Tiin's troops begin to die down with sporadic fire as the Umbaran militia retreated into the city.
With relief, I emerged completely from the battle meditation. I regained my equilibrium and rose from my command chair. "Admiral Yularen, send a gunship to pick up General Skywalker. I need to make preparations for our departure. The Resolute will remain here and provide all support possible to the 501st. We'll take my Kom'rk fighter transport for the journey."
"As you order, commander. But what could the chancellor be thinking? This is ridiculous. Recalling both the commanding officer and his deputy," Yularen shook his head, his mustache twitching. "By the time you even reach Coruscant, this battle could be over."
"Logistics is clearly the last thing he cares about at this moment," I said honestly.
Anakin practically stormed off the gunship before it had even set properly down onto the Resolute's hangar bay deck.
"Snips! What bantha poodoo is this?" he asked, stomping past me towards the turbolift.
I fell in stride next to him, resigned to our little drama we were playing for the sake of the visual sensors. "I honestly don't know, master. Master Yoda was not forthcoming at all on the possible reason for this."
We strode into the turbolift and Anakin angrily thumbed the controls.
The doors closed and we were sent off to the officers' decks. "I don't like leaving the 501st in Krell's hands, Snips. I've done a bit more research on his tactics thus far in the war and it's…" He bit off the words he was going to say. "He has little to no regard for the lives of the clones under his command."
"Oh, one of those," I grimaced. "There's unfortunately nothing we can do, Master. We have our orders." My mind reached out. 'Skyguy, everything is almost ready, you just need to grab your travel bag and leave your lightsaber.'
I could tell he really didn't like the idea.
'Really wish we could've just gone with a secondary lightsaber.'
'Skyguy, running around with a red saber-'
'Yes, yes, this is just Obi-Wan's training talking. Are you sure this is going to work?'
'Again, yes. Things can go wrong, but nothing we can't work around or recover from.'
The lift came to a stop and the doors parted. "R2 and Chewie are already preparing the ship, we should be ready to leave by the time you get to Bay 1, master."
"Got it."
He power walked out and I thumbed the controls to divert the lift in that direction.
My hand curled into a fist involuntarily as the probability line shifted in front of me, unfurling in its ugly glory.
Despite my efforts, the 501st was not going to come out of the Battle of Umbara without deep wounds that could all be laid at the big feet of Master Krell. That bloody prejudicial, orthodox, stubborn minded besalisk was going to get a lot of good men killed before this was over. I was very tempted to wring his blubbery neck myself but that would not lead to anything remotely good.
The sad fact of the matter was that Krell was not a singular example, but rather a faction within the Order that was steadily gaining traction the longer the war continued. Within that faction a kernel of rot was growing; Jedi who were enamored of conflict and getting seduced by the power they wielded.
It was something I had to watch out for in myself and everyone in Fulcrum.
There was a danger that we would become simply a new manifestation of the Star Cabal during the times of the Old Republic. An organization nobly founded to preserve civilization against the ravages of the ancient wars between Jedi and Sith.
They eventually also succumbed to corruption and the lure of power, their purpose changing to wipe out both Jedi and Sith, uniting the galaxy in peace under the common citizen. That was the goal on paper, but in execution it just became another hidden faction manipulating and vying for power over the entire galaxy. They used money, technology and control over information as their weapons, but also had a wetworks division which employed spying, torture, manipulation of individuals and organizations, hacking, sabotage and even organizing massacres for the media to change public sentiment.
It seemed every organization with sentients as their members always succumbed eventually over time to these predations.
What could be done to make sure Fulcrum didn't fall into this cycle?
I'd destroy it myself if I perceived it becoming as corrupted as the Star Cabal in the future.
Yet, that was still just part of the cycle.
How could it be broken?
The heaving of lungs and weary legs was never a good sign.
Rex was one of the fittest of the 501st, but after two full battles, kilometers of running and marching, with the constant stress of potential ambush and combat rearing its head at any moment for nearly five hours, he had to admit he was flagging.
He buried the thought quickly, thinking about it would only make things worse.
"This isn't some training course on Kamino, battalion. Hurry," Krell ordered from the front of their column.
Naturally, the besalisk Jedi wasn't phased at all from the exertion. His heavy steps echoed through the small dark gully the 501st was walking through, only drowned out by the mechanical footfalls of the AT-RTs.
Pong Krell towered over every clone at more than two meters tall, with four heavily muscled arms that seemed thicker than Rex's own waist. The lower two arms were even armored with gauntlets that had red Jedi emblems on them. His beady yellow eyes unnerved Rex and there was an oppressive menace to the Jedi Master's presence that was hard to put a finger on.
With General Skywalker and Commander Tano, you felt as if you had a comrade and fortress at your back, watching over you. They would see you through every hardship and pull you up by your arms should you ever fall. You felt like you could achieve anything when they were with you, no matter how crazy.
"The new general certainly has a different way of doing things," Fives commented.
Rex glanced at his comrade with annoyance. "He's just trying to keep us on schedule. A change in command in the middle of a campaign is not something easy to manage."
"Raising our ire is not going to help with that."
"He's in charge and we've got a job to do. We treat him with respect and do our part, we'll get through this."
"Movement! Incoming 300 high!"
Rex raised his rifle up and to his left, scanning the exotic trees towering over them.
There!
It was another flock of those flying beasts the troopers had taken to call Munchers.
They were almost as large as a man, two large sharp underslung claws, flapping delta shaped wings with green bioluminescent underbellies that also had a tail that could easily impale someone who wasn't armored at least.
How the umbarans could live with these beasts in the air, flying in the darkness overhead, only they knew.
He drew a bead on the lead Muncher, led the target a bit and squeezed the trigger.
The sky was filled with blaster fire lancing upward, as the entire forward column of the battalion opened fire.
Rex switched targets and downed another before his helmet scanner and night vision could see no more of them.
The forest rang with thumps as the dead beasts rained down on the canopy, cracking branches and finally hitting the earth. Some got entangled completely and were halted in the branches, filled with smoking holes.
General Krell hadn't even moved to draw his own massive lightsabers. He simply gazed around at the troopers as weapons were lowered and raised a brow. "Good, keep moving."
Rex hurried up the column and walked next to the Jedi who towered over him by more than a full head. It was distinctly intimidating but he forged ahead anyway.
"General Krell, the leeward side of this ridge will make a good spot for the men to make camp."
"The men don't need rest, captain. They need the resolve to complete the task at hand," Krell said, his deep voice sneering.
"But sir-"
Krell interrupted his reasonable explanation, trying to point out that clones were not Jedi. "CT-7567, are you reading me?"
Rex hadn't been called that for so long by a commanding officer, he had almost forgotten the damn thing. He was so startled by it that he stupidly said, "Excuse me, sir?"
"I asked you a question, CT-7567," Krell folded his upper set of arms. "Do you understand the need to adhere to my strategy?"
Rex changed tactics, as he had a feeling comparing clone against Jedi stamina wouldn't go over well with Krell. "Sir, this terrain and fauna are extremely hostile. Despite the difficulty and conditions, the men are making good time. They just need another break to get their breath back and some rations in their bellies."
Krell stopped walking and turned in Rex's way, bent over and poked his chest plate with a large finger. "Captain, do I need to remind you of this battalion's strategic mission in conquering this planet? Look back." That was a direct order and so Rex obeyed, seeing the long line of staggered troopers in their stained and dirty white armor. "All those platoons, their mission is to draw in the defenders of this city so it can be taken swiftly. Time and rest are luxuries the Republic cannot afford. We are the key to this invasion. The other battalions are counting on us. If we fail, everyone fails! Do you understand?!" Krell looked up, addressing everyone in earshot. "Do all of you understand this?" He didn't even bother waiting for a reply, his anger palpable as he turned around and kept walking, "Now move on."
Rex became aware that the rest of the 501st had stopped, clearly waiting for his command and not some interloper.
He had always felt himself equal to the burden of command, but for some reason, here and now. That weight settled on his shoulders like never before.
Rex nodded to them and continued the march.
The 501st followed.
The Kom'rk fighter-transport that jumped its way into hyperspace had been given the name Omen.
My hand left the hyper motivator lever and I sat back to review all the holographic readouts that floated in front of me. I went through the checklist, forcing myself to pay attention in the moment and not get lost in worries and what ifs. Not to mention finding the brain trust who had decided to give this ship such an ominous name.
"Rex is a good warrior, Ahsoka," Chewie rumbled from the co-pilot seat. He had gotten used to the hybrid of physical and holo controls with impressive speed, as his hands flitted through the holograms and manipulated them. "He will survive and lead his men to victory."
"I hope you're right, Chewie," I said, getting up from the pilot's chair and exiting the cockpit.
As I climbed down the ladder to the mid-deck troop area, I reflected that all the extra training I had been giving the 501st since the war began was with this sort of unfavorable scenario in mind. I wanted all of them to be crack shots, with the best blaster rifle that I could give them, favoring the DC-15A and S. There would be no using that stupid carbine on a planetary battlefield. They'd have sappers, snipers and dedicated anti-armor and anti-air heavy troopers.
Krell could do what he wanted and my troopers would still be alive at the end of it, just to spite his prejudicial, hateful fat ass.
Anakin was out of his armor, back in more traditional Jedi attire, but had gotten rid of the robe and outer jacket, only wearing the inner tunic and leggings. He knelt next to the centerpiece of equipment my clan had brought from Mandalore and was fiddling with an open panel, checking the readings against a datapad in his right hand.
The interface chair hadn't visually changed much since I had last used it to control a droid body on Dathomir, but I knew there had been improvements in the guts of the machine.
"Everything check out to your exacting standards, Skyguy," I teased.
"So far," he grunted, sticking his nose back into the chair's access panel. "The program governing these capacitance relays could use an improvement, just a few tweaks and we could make this thing much more compact. The hypercom-"
"Master, it works. I've done it. We don't have the time for you to reinvent the thing before you use it."
He sighed in annoyance, tapped a few buttons and closed the panel up. "Fine. Everything looks… adequate."
He hopped on the chair, which immediately lit up as it sensed a user seated in it. His hands working the armrest controls with smooth confident dexterity.
I smiled fondly. So typical, he'd read through the user manual and other schematics on the way to Umbara and he used the thing like it was second nature already.
"You want to go already?" I asked.
"Yes," he said immediately. "I realize I can't just take over command back from Krell, but I can infiltrate my way into enemy lines, sabotage them, and help the 501st that way until the time is right."
I lifted my helmet off and put it down next to the interface chair. Then picked up the interface circlet mounted on the back rest. "This is going to feel weird, Skyguy. There might be some body dissociation and you need to first get used to the fact that you have durasteel and kinetic motivators instead of flesh and blood."
My left hand smoothed out his hair before I pushed the circlet down on his head. "That comfortable?"
"Somewhat."
"Did you go to the fresher?"
"Yes, Snips," he rolled his eyes.
"Good," I walked around so I could look him in the eyes. "Also realize that if you take too long in there I'm going to have to hook up the plumbing for you." I made a fiddling gesture, pointing between his legs.
His eyes widened and he coughed uncomfortably, "Ah, don't worry. I'll remember to disconnect before that becomes necessary."
I couldn't help my smirk and walked up to the control terminal for the chair. A few keystrokes and the systems began synchronizing. "Engaging hypercom relay, signal strength at 96%. Our link to Resolute is stable. Linking to the droid… and linked. We're about ready as we can be, master."
Anakin nodded, concentrating and closing his eyes. "Do it."
"Assuming control in 3… 2… 1… now."
Anakin opened his eyes gasping and further panicked when he realized he couldn't breathe for some reason.
The input from his senses were strangely disjointed, his sight was blurry, struggling to come into focus, he heard the loud clanging of machinery and the humm of starship grade repulsorlifts blasting into his ears…
No he didn't have ears…
His heart felt like it should've been racing, speeding up, he was frightened out of his wits after all… only he didn't have a heart.
'Easy Skyguy, there was a glitch in the sync, signal lag, it's clearing up now.'
Where did that voice come from? Who was that? He knew it.
Something shifted and what felt like the entire world slammed down on him; his sight normalized, hearing returned to normal and he remembered… Oh.
He looked down and regarded skeletal hands of durable superalloy metal attached to similar arms, surrounded by armor cladding. A large blanket fell off his metal body. An armored chest with numerous holographic emitter studs all over. Powerful armored legs ending in surprisingly human shaped skeletal feet and even toes.
"Snips, I look like an assassin droid from some nightmare. No wonder you kept it covered."
'Good, body dysmorphia won't be an issue then.' Her voice was coming through the Bond, but he was also technically hearing it in his actual ears aboard the Omen. 'Yes, HK had a hand in designing this one. Something about how if I wanted to ditch my frail meatbag body, even temporarily, that I should get a chassis that is worthy of me. You know how he is.'
Anakin sat up, hearing the soft whirring of droid motivators as he did so and flung his legs over the side of the small cot he had awoken. He carefully tested his balance. Everything came back fine and he chanced standing up, nearly bumping his head against the low ceiling of a port side escape pod of the Resolute.
'Things look good, so far,' Ahsoka reported. 'I'm enabling further inputs.'
His vision was suddenly inundated with a HUD showing readouts from the sensors of the droid body and the status of other systems.
"A little too much there, Snips."
'Ah, yes, sorry, I'll trim it down.'
His vision cleared significantly and now it reminded him more of his own Aegis HUD, with a few more options added.
It also allowed him to see his lightsaber patiently waiting on the opposite cot of the pod. He leaned over and picked it up.
He felt another sense of disconnect from his current body vanish. Through the Force itself he felt the connection to a much better degree now. He banished doubt and focused…
The lightsaber began floating above his mechanical palm, turning left, right, spinning and flipping.
'Amazing isn't it, Skyguy? You can do anything with the Force through the holodroid that you can do with your true body. Aren't you glad now that you completely learned Remote Alter through various connections from me now?'
"Yes, Snips. I bow to your amazing foresight," he said sarcastically. "Let's get going shall we?"
He scrolled through the holo disguises available in his HUD and selected standard ARC trooper for the moment.
The emitters blinked all over his body before a dynamic high definition holo of an ARC trooper with the rank of lieutenant flashed into existence.
Satisfied he stepped forward and released the interface spike from his palm, stabbing it into the logic slot of the escape pod's computer. It was the work of a few minutes to isolate the pod from the ship, then trigger the pod to shoot itself away from the Resolute.
He didn't bother going to the manual controls behind him, as the pod shuddered from the acceleration. It was far more efficient to just control it with this direct interface.
Thrusters and repulsors guided the pod's trajectory straight towards the Umbaran capital city.
He'd be worried about getting shot down normally, but it was easy to bring the pod to skim the trees and in this case the blanket Umbaran jamming was also serving to hamper their own targeting locks.
He flared the pod, extending its landing legs and touched down in a small gully.
The pod's doors opened and he vaulted himself outside into the darkness of Umbara.
His vision immediately went to a high fidelity night vision, not that he really needed it and he regarded his position.
He was slightly behind Republic front lines around the city; he would need to infiltrate through those lines and beyond if he wanted to be of any use.
He stowed his lightsaber inside a hidden compartment of the holodroid's leg and began running.
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