Chapter 8
The acclimator-class assault ship was an impressive feat of engineering in the eyes of Articus Trang. It wasn't the largest ship in the Republic fleet, but it was still a behemoth of a vessel. In the cargo bay, she blended into the crowd, doing her best to impersonate a benevolent Jedi. She mentally scoffed at the idea. Though this sort of camouflage was what made her such a unique, and lethal predator. She'd taken special care to apply a faux tattoo to the bridge of her nose, crossing under her left eye, ending at her cheek. She was as close as most people would need to believe in order to pass for Lira Ansii.
"Excuse me, sir? Master Jedi, sir! Madam!"
She stopped, slowly spinning to greet the clone trooper trying to get her attention. A wry grin crossed her lips as she presented orders for Ansii to report to Fractis Minor.
"Nah, I don't need to see those. But you're exactly who I'm looking for!"
"I am?", she said, genuinely surprised.
"CT-5411, Shaker for short, sir.", he saluted.
"Thank you, CT-5411. Can you show me to my quarters? I've been briefed, but I'm running terribly behind.", she requested.
"Absolutely, sir, but first I've got someone who needs to see you. No worries, it's on our way."
"I suppose, trooper."
In short order, she was escorted to a hallway with austere rooms. Thankfully, this was a short trip. It had proven to be tricky to make the port to intercept this vessel, and the last resupply was for another month. She supposed the mission would be over by then, as would her hunt. Though this was merely a step in her ultimate goal. The mysteriois Sith Lord that the Jedi so feared. She craved his power. Seizing it would be the ultimate victory, and the ultimate feast.
"Here we are, sir.", the trooper indicated as he knocked. The door opened after a moment. "Look who we found!"
"I'm told you've been expecting me. Master Lira Ansii, at your service, young one.", Trang said as she revealed her face.
"I'm Padawan Ta'ni Geen, pleased to finally meet you. So you're Master Ansii? I'm told you're half Mirialan. Do you know Master Unduli?", Ta'ni asked excitedly.
"I know of the famous master, but not personally. How has your training progressed thus far? You certainly feel strong with the Force, young one. Trooper?", she shifted, "You may leave us now. I can manage from here."
For a padawan, this one was indeed a savory find. It was almost too easy to play into the trap she was weaving, as well. The enthusiasm from this padawan masked the temptations Articus was trying to suppress. But one did not survive centuries getting careless, perhaps the only vulnerability of the Anzat race.
The generations of feeding on Jedi had allowed Articus to learn and mimic some of their Force-sensitive abilities. She'd have to make a spectacle of it to appease this young one. For the moment, Articus would play Jedi peacekeeper. After a quick sparring session with her "apprentice", she retired to her quarters.
"Rest easy, Master. We depart in a few hours.", Ta'ni said.
"Indeed, Padawan. Be ready to serve when the time comes."
--
"Master Stral, my men have identified the Separatist enclave as a listening post," the Kel Dor Master Typher Ko stated. "A victory here could grant us many systems if we were to orchestrate the proper strategy."
"My men are almost in place. I've lost half of my armor, and the route here has been nothing short of treacherous. Let's hope victory is swift," Stral relayed.
With a nod, the projection of Typher Ko faded out. Stral ordered his scouts to rendezvous with Ko's men and aid in their push. The rest of the troops were fire support and served as a defense in the event of a flanking maneuver by the Separatists. Master Traab had already sent his commandos to rig explosives in order to bottleneck ground forces straight to the other two units.
The AT-TE gunner targeted the power generator for the listening post. On his mark, the attack would commence. It was now or never.
"You may fire when ready, sergeant," Stral notified.
A few tense moments and careful calculations adjusting windage, and the cannon atop the Walker spat out a large purple bolt that sailed right into the power generator, directly on target. The alarms didn't have time to sound before the explosions started. As the gate opened, a wave of B2 battle droids followed a group of destroyer droids out into the fight. Two hundred meters from the listening post, blaster fire exchanged in flashes of red, green, and blue bolts that disintegrated rock into dust, droids into scrap heaps, and soldiers into memories. By the time the first wave had died down, a large wave of B1 battle droids had marched into the storm of energy and explosions. Despite the bottleneck, the droids had managed to push the Republic forces back, little by little. In an effort to conserve their numbers, the troops started resorting to guerrilla tactics.
The AT-TE's main gun had shut down due to heat from the volume of fire it contributed to the fight. Clones fought intensely to keep it in action, but their efforts could only be so fruitful. The barrel had finally cooled enough that indicators had it back in the green.
"Clear out!" the gunner shouted. "I'm back in the fray!"
Four vulture droids lifted off from the innards of the small base. The tank gunner scored a double hit as he caught two of the droids before they could accelerate. The second pair immediately set out for the Walker, strafing it with intense fire. Clones flew everywhere in the ensuing chaos.
The clone scouts had slightly better luck, having knocked out a command droid, which threw the B1s into disarray. However, they were numerous enough that the snipers could only hit so many. The heat of their sustained fire also slowed their progress. They successfully resorted to defending the mounted repeating cannon.
The losses on both sides of the fight resulted in a fierce stalemate. Stral wondered two things: when would the supply shuttle reach them, and how long until the Separatists would notice their post was down?
--
With little luck in tracking down Blad or Bendo, Conn had focused on Ansii. Her vision had returned, and it seemed her nerves had calmed as well. She'd laid it out for Conn about the Anzat, her vision that was enhanced by the bota, and how Trang had no doubt tried to impersonate her to feed on more Jedi. Her passions began to boil at the thought of slipping into such a foolish trap, and how many Jedi it could cost. Innocent lives ruined by a mistake.
"A Mandalorian," she laughed, "who'd have thought a Mandalorian would rescue a Jedi?"
"I've managed to stop a few in my day, as well," Conn pointed to his bandolier.
"So what takes you from crusading during this great struggle within the galaxy?" Ansii retorted.
"There's no crusade. That's a losing battle now. Besides, there's money to be made elsewhere."
"So profiteering then? Do you seek to slay Jedi to bolster your name? Or perhaps to become the next great clone template?" she chided, "Is there no loss great enough to stop the bloodlust of a Mandalorian?"
"Jedi defeated my people, wrongfully at Galidraonde, at the behest of the Deathwatch. I even lost a son to Jedi. As glorious as his life was, loss still hurts," the faceless man reproached.
Ansii's face fell a little, in shame more than anything. She'd known the history behind the Mandalorians, but nothing as intimate as the personal history observed by a lone warrior. It hit her that her passions had boiled to the surface, against the one thing that had granted her another day to live, and to fight.
"I'm sorry..." she tried to find words.
"I don't intend to do anything aside from what I said I would. And here, I saved this for you. Just in case," he said as he tossed her the lightsaber, "I don't know who it belonged to, but I won it from a combat droid."
"Thank you," she replied soberly.
"So where exactly is this...Fractis Minor?"
"It's a satellite orbiting the gas giant Fractis Major, in the Rseik system. It's past Vestar," she said, her wits slowly coming back to her.
"Vestar? That's at the edge of known space," he grumbled, "but we'll find it, and I'll get you there."
Ansii retired back to the medical bay, meditating. She had begun to disassemble the new lightsaber. As she did, it spoke to her, where it had come from in the Force. It was old, ancient even. She saw the face of a Togruta, fierce in his combat proficiency. But as she reassembled the hilt, she saw another Togruta, a young female this time. Green-skinned with purple-tinted eyes. Young, beautiful. In danger, surrounded by darkness. Her eyes snapped open. She ignited the saber, its low hum indicating her success. She practiced while she continued to ponder her visions.
--
"We're all set to depart, kid," Mover said as he summoned Ta'ni into the corridor. Shaker had taken Zim, who was anxious to leave, an hour before. They were in the mess hall finishing up. As the two approached the Jedi's quarters, the door opened. The hooded woman strode confidently out into the corridor. "Trooper, let's get to that shuttle," she said as she grinned at Ta'ni, who reciprocated the fierce confidence on display.
"Right, sir. This way," Mover saluted as he spun on one heel to turn around. Ta'ni suppressed a laugh at Mover's antics. Her master's attitude was straightforward and her wits razor sharp. She was a testament to the tradition of the Jedi Order and what one could become with enough discipline. They walked into the main hold of the acclamator. It had dropped out of lightspeed long enough for the Nu-class shuttle to depart.
The Jedi, a handful of clones, and provisions were loaded onto the shuttle for it to depart. It lifted off and slowly exited the bay into open space. As the cruiser gave the go-ahead to launch, the pilot set course for Fractis Minor and counted down. The stars stretched once again into the brilliant blue that was lightspeed as the last leg of their journey began. The Padawans were excited and anxious as they raced toward their first assignment. Mover and Shaker shared a light chuckle at the two young Jedi, giving them a pat on the shoulder. Unseen to them, Articus narrowed her eyes, savoring the hunt to come.