Chapter One: Straight into Hell
Artus felt the cold metal in his palm. He looked down at the lightsaber in his hands. Even without the blade ignited, he could feel the energy of the kyber inside. The young Jedi brushed his hair from his face and grimaced; he could feel the sweat on his forehead. Despite all the missions, all the planets, all the targets, he still felt trepidation. Artus looked across the shuttle to see his squad. Despite their differences, he considered them his brothers and he could sense that the feeling was mutual. Looking up, he could see the flickering lights of the shuttle controls from the cockpit, and the white armour of the pilot navigating the ship through hyperspace. Artus closed his eyes to meditate. He felt the rush of the Force flowing around him, instantly connecting him to all life in the galaxy. Artus felt the heat of blaster fire, he could hear the boom of artillery and screams of people fleeing the horrors of the Clone Wars. However, under all the pain and destruction, he could sense the hope of thousands as the Republic liberated their worlds. Artus sensed the love of families reuniting and the heartbreak as innocents realised their closest would not be returning home. Meditation usually focused Artus before a mission, but this time felt different. He could feel a darkness underneath the chaos of his tranquillity. He could feel the shadows emerging from the war and encroaching on the galaxy, the Republic, even the Jedi…
"Ready commander?" The voice snapped Artus out of his meditation. Sarge had turned towards him. His armour was wrought and scarred; Artus could see a battle in each scratch. Although the squad had been through a lot together, Artus and Sarge had a bond not commonly found in the Grand Army of the Republic. The two had served together since the first Battle of Geonosis, when Sarge was a fresh trooper and Artus a padawan.
"Commander?" Sarge repeated.
"Sorry. Yes. You ready?" Sarge chuckled at Artus's question.
"Commander. This is our two-hundredth and forty-seventh mission together. Has my answer ever changed?"
"Ha! You tell him cap!" A voice called out from across the shuttle. Artus smiled as the other squad members prepped their gear; Ryth, Bridge and Parsec. Ryth was the squad sniper, with more confirmed kills from over a click away than from close range. Parsec was the demolitions expert. On their first mission Artus had watched him rig an entire Separatist Dreadnought to blow with nothing but two wires and a single thermal detonator. Finally there was Bridge, the youngest member of the squad. Bridge had been drafted in after Ranger, his predecessor, took a blaster to the helmet at the start of the Mygeeto campaign. Bridge had been recruited as a replacement and although he had been with the squad for months, he still felt like a recent addition. Artus stood up.
"Alright boys." Artus activated the holographic star map. "We're approaching the Empress Teta system. Republic intelligence indicates that Separatist Leader Wat Tambor is visiting the planet to convince them to join the war. This system is in the Deep Core, meaning that the Separatists would be able to strike at the heart of the Republic. Sarge?"
"Thanks Commander." Sarge activated a datapad. A holographic display of a city-planet appeared. "This is Koros. Reports indicate Tambor is on the surface. We go in quiet; a Republic operation would only convince the locals of the need to Separatist protection. We find Tambor, and take him out." A shiver went down Artus's spine. He recalled his time as a youngling, and Master Yoda telling him about the Jedi being keepers of the peace, not soldiers. He never imagined he would be conducting assassination missions for the Republic.
The shuttle rumbled. A red light began flickering.
"Exiting hyperspace now." The pilot called from the cockpit. Artus looked out the viewer to see stars speed into focus. The planet from the briefing appeared in the distance. Alarms began blaring as heavy blaster fire erupted around the shuttle.
"Karrablast!" Sarge growled. Thousands of Separatist ships surrounded the shuttle. Imperious grey hulls littered the space around Koros; each emblazoned with the navy blue, hexagonal emblem of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Each ship was equipped with dozens of turbolasers and swarming with vulture droids. "The entire clanker fleet is here!" The shuttle weaved between cannon fire. The alarms. continued to blare."
"Get us out of here!" shouted Artus. The shuttle veered to avoid the hull of a dreadnought. Artus ran to the cockpit. Everywhere he looked red warning lights flashed. The pilot pulled a small lever and the shuttle began to hum as a the hyperdrive powered up. The stars slid into a blue chaos as the shuttle raced into hyperspace.
The shuttle spun out of hyperspace. Artus thanked the Force that it had not broken up and left his remains scattered across three systems. Smoke erupted from several parts of the hull. The entire ship shuddered.
"Tau Squad to Liberty. Come in!" Sarge yelled into his commlink. The Venator-Class Star Destroyer Liberty, the squad's command ship, emerged from hyperspace. Artus saw the hanger doors began to open.
"This is Liberty. You are cleared for emergency landing." A steely voice crackled across the commlink.
"Brace for impact!" Sarge shouted. The shuttle had begun violently shaking. Artus watched as the starboard engine ignited into flames. He closed his eyes as the Liberty got closer and closer. Sarge sprinted to the cockpit to assist the pilot. The shuttle crashed into the hanger, letting off a screech as it slid across the floor. Sparks and debris showered the Liberty's deck. Artus looked up to see flames engulf the cockpit. Sarge looked back from the controls. Before he could react he was engulfed in flames. The fire kissed Sarge's armour, charring the plastoid alloy. Sarge's silhouette quickly vanished into the heat.
"Sarge!" Artus screamed.
"No no no no no!" cried Ryth. Sparks flew across the shuttle interior. Artus threw his arms in front of his eyes. He began to move towards the fire but before he could reach it, everything went black.