The Galaxy was torn apart during the single greatest conflict it had ever faced; the Clone Wars. Pitting against each others were the vast droid armies of the Confederacy and the equally vast but more professional clone army of the Republic. In 19 BBY, the two armies were very well matched, a breaking point being expected at any moment that would end the conflict for all. During the Battle of Corsucant, Chancellor Palpatine was captured by General Grievous and during the space battle was killed due to Republic ships opening fire upon the Invisible Hand before Master Kenobi and his apprentice Skywalker managed to stage a rescue attempt. Despite this, it would seem Grievous managed to escape along with Dooku on escape pods.
After the battle, the Republic mourned, the Senate went into chaos due to the years worth of political corruption by Palpatine. The infighting in the Senate of who was to take over was serious to the point that the only party in the Republic to have any authority anymore, the Jedi, took over in order to secure a peaceful transition to a new Chancellor. Several anti-Jedi organizations and politicians claimed it was a ruse for th Jedi to claim power, yet behind closed doors the Jedi Council discussed with several political groups on who was the most trusted figure in the Senate.
Meanwhile during all this, the curtain hiding the evils of Palpatine was being slowly pulled back when records of Clone programming against the Jedi was discovered and several before unknown rooms were discovered in buildings built during Palpatine's reign. Not only did these convince the Jedi that Palpatine had been in close contact with the secret Sith Lord if not being him himself. The records were silently processed not to shake the Republic further than it already was being as the tide was turning in the war.
Without Darth Sidious to play a chess game against himself behind the scenes, the Clone Wars escalated into a real war where the mind of the strategists was everything. The clone army was force to pull out of several planets while making no progress at all on other planets. It would seem the Confederacy was starting to gain more momentum and the Jedi made it their top priority to seek out the Confederate leadership by any means necessary.
This is where our story begins. It's six months after Palpatine was killed and the Jedi Council is desperate to appoint a Chancellor. The war effort is on the losing side and the Republic is filled with corruption-caused infighting. Without the Jedi, the Confederacy would've already won, yet they cannot stall the droid armies for long. One of many last-ditch efforts is made when a Republic task force is sent to Utapau where rumor has it that many Confederacy leaders are hiding. A small clone detachment of six ARC troopers along with two Jedi Knights are sent to the sinkhole planet to find the leaders if possible and alert the Republic fleet on standby in a nearby asteroid cluster to jump into the system to provide support and to aid in the capture of the leadership.
---
An old and partly disguised AIAT/i transport made it's way swiftly down to the atmosphere of the planet Utapau. Covering as much of it's signature as possible, the ship got through the hidden Confederate defenses, but it would've been spotted from afar by many creatures. Many groups would leave to find the wreckage of the seemingly crash landed vessel, some native and some droid.
However, one figure who noticed the ship landing was not so sure. On a hilltop covered with low brush, the red cape of the figure flapped around in the wind. The figure knelt down and raised a hand up to his helmet to turn a small knob. This zoomed his helmet's inbuilt rangefinder on the ship and in turn also zoomed the view on the screen within his helmet. The data showed on his view didn't match that of a crashing ship, however. As a chuckle rang within the helmet, the armored man knew exactly what the old transport vessel was about.
As a Dactillon approached from behind the man, as indicated by his short-range radar, he stood up and looked up at the bird-like creature flying low. On first thought, one would think it were one of the native patrols like most of them were these days, but instead of seeing several figures on it's back he saw none. This indicated a free-bred Dactillon. Taking his hands behind the mask, the figure released the locking and took off the mask with a loud hissing as the sealed suit balanced the pressure inside and outside. What was revealed with this was a green-skinned Feeorin man behind the armor. The man, named Marn, still had the rest of his head enclosed within the helmet but now looked upon the bird with his own two eyes. As he turned back to the transport, it had already set down. With a grin, the figure whistled sharply and an obedient screech came from a nearby crack on the ground where his planetary transport had been waiting for his call. A fully grown and tamed Varactyl climbed it's way out from the crack in the ground and ran towards it's current owner and rider.
With a swift motion Marn jumped on the Varactyl and placed the mask back to cover his face, thus also sealing the armor again. He took a hold of the reins on the beast and slapped them across the being's back, thus ordering it to start running. Tugging on one side of the reins he told the beast to head towards the AIAT/i transport. By now it's passengers had probably disembarked already and he needed to rush before the droids or natives loyal to CIS managed to find the ship.
Kerrina was impressed with the pilot chosen for the AIAT/i. He seemed to know just exactly what it took to be certain the ship looked as though it were crashing. Hell, it even felt like they wouldn't be likely to make a safe landing in this thing. Taking a small breath, she turned to face the ARC troopers who'd been sent with her.
"We should be down in a matter of seconds now," she said. "Primary concern is getting away from the ship. I'm certain it has been seen, and salvage crews will be on their way. Secondary concern is meeting up with Edessa... and then to find the Confederacy leaders, if they are here."
She knew the clones would have already been briefed on the mission, but she always made sure she went over the objectives with anyone she led. It wasn't so much that she thought the clones were worthless. Indeed, she respected each and every one of them. But she also saw the traces of individuality, especially in the ARC troopers, and she was intent on making them aware of her understanding. They were people too, and she was going to treat them as such.
"Are you ready?" she asked them, placing one hand on her lightsaber.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Edessa had been planetside on Utapau for just over three days. Her status as a mercenary allowed her free-run of the planet's sinkhole cities, provided she had proof of cargo she was picking up. That sort of proof was easy to get, and so Edessa had been free to wander the cities, meeting with various people, Mind Tricking them into thinking they had legitimate reasons for meeting with her. Then, she would go on her way and they would go on theirs, feeling as though something important had been accomplished.
Edessa snorted. Something important had been accomplished with each and every one of those meetings. They allowed her to keep her cover, masking the fact that she and her ship were here to aid the Jedi in hunting down the Confederacy leadership. And slowly, her ship was also filling up with cargo, which she would be able to sell for a profit at a later date. So far, this trip was everything Edessa could have hoped for.
She witnessed the AIAT/i and its descent pattern on the third day and knew it had to be what she'd been waiting for. She'd have loved to go out and meet them when they landed, but she knew that they'd already have left their ship by the time she could get there. No, she would wait, letting Kerri's presence guide them together when the time was right.
The leaders of the Confederacy were gathering secretly in the Utapau system, Darth Judicar was on his way to the planet as it was ordered by Darth Tyranus.
Darth Judicar’s Sheathipede-class transport shuttle arrived to the planet just in time, many members of the council were arriving too.
“Welcome Lord Judicar, please follow me to the council room”- a Neimoidian messenger said as Darth Judicar was stepping out of the ship.
“Good, I wish to be informed of all type of security problems or any distress, we need top security as the complete council will be here.”-Judicar ordered the Neimoidian as he walked towards the room.
“Yes my lord, there is no need to worry, our troops and guards are well informed and well capable of managing any situation my lord.”- The Neimoidian informed as he walked with the sith.
“Still, I wish to be informed of every activity.”-Judicar stated as he looked at the neimodian in a very serious way “leave now and take care of the matters”.
“Yes my lord”- the messenger replied as he left the entrance of the room.
The sith walks towards the room and takes his seat, he occupies the seat of the representative of Bakura V and second voice of Dooku.
Alpha-70 sat, calm as could be, helmet in his lap, eyes closed, and lips moving in silent prayer, a strange custom for him that he did before every mission, not just this one, and not because he was in a ship that looked and felt like it was plummeting to the ground.
His face was no different than any other clone's, except for the amazing amount of scars that were etched into his face, even more so than most clones, his face was - what one could call - almost tattooed with wounds, cuts, scrapes, and scars, showing how many close calls he'd had over his military career.
"We should be down in a matter of seconds now," the Jedi General, Kerrina, overseeing the operation said. "Primary concern is getting away from the ship. I'm certain it has been seen, and salvage crews will be on their way. Secondary concern is meeting up with Edessa... and then to find the Confederacy leaders, if they are here."
"Are you ready?" She asked.
Alpha-70 continued his habitual little custom, until just a few moments before their "impact", and he finally opened his eyes, standing up, the ARC Trooper nodded to his fellow soldiers, who nodded back, and then he slipped his helmet on giving the Jedi a 'thumbs-up'.
"More than you know, ma'am," Alpha-70 told Kerrino with a grim confidence. He, as well as the others, knew all too well how important this mission was; failure was not an option, death was a heavy possibility, and to the ARCs, an accepted outcome. Alpha-70 didn't know about the Jedi though, he'd never seen her before, never witnessed her fighting, nor did he know how she thought, or how willing she was to die. He'd learned to respect Jedi, and from that respect he'd become very loyal to them, but he had also learned to evaluate every single Jedi he met, because from past experiences he'd learned that many Jedi knew, and were trained, to accept death, but most did not know how, nor were they all too willing to die.
Kanricko Vode kept thinking these things over in the few brief moments before they touched down, and then some, thing, some...idea, came into his mind. It was a question, and a retort, he'd always wished to ask, and it was one the Jedi herself had already said.
"Excuse me for saying this ma'am, but, are you ready?" The veteran of many battles asked the Jedi princess, just moments before the ship hit the dirt.
As the vessel touched down, Kanricko Vode was already in action, not pausing to wait for an answer from the Jedi, he was out of the ship, along with many of the other ARCs, and securing the area. The Jedi would have to give him her answer later...if there ever was a later.
"Area secure, suggest immediate dispersal from the LZ, ma'am," came the call from one of the other ARCs ((if you don't mind the little bit of control, that is, Tepe?)).
Alpha-42 was leaning in the back of the ship. He was looking around at his fellow ARC comrades. They were all in Phase II armor, infact every clone was except for him. Not only did he deny the phase II armor he missed out on it when he was stationed on Kamino for his injuries from General Grievous. Oh he he longed to meet him again in combat and finish him off once and for all.
He began spinning a DC-17 pistol in his right hand. The jedi that would be with them on this mission was named Kerrina. He had never seen her in combat but he had heard good things about her. She seemed quite confident about their mission and this made him happy.
"We should be down in a matter of seconds now," the Jedi General, Kerrina, overseeing the operation said. "Primary concern is getting away from the ship. I'm certain it has been seen, and salvage crews will be on their way. Secondary concern is meeting up with Edessa... and then to find the Confederacy leaders, if they are here."
Alpha-42 spun the pistol one last time and holstered it just like his father Jango Fett did.
"Are you ready?" She asked.
"We wouldn't be ARC troopers if we were not ready General Kerrina"
As the ship began to hit the ground one of his men had asked her a question.
"Excuse me for saying this ma'am, but, are you ready?"
This made him laugh. He knew this clone quite well, he had requested him to be one of the six troopers, he was Alpha-70. It seemed the jedi had no time to respond to Alpha-70's question so he decided to do it for her
"She's ready, otherwise she wouldn't be here with the 6 finest ARC troopers the Republic has to offer"
The ship hit and Alpha-42 was the first to get off. He and his men checked to see if the area was clear... it was.
"Area secure, suggest immediate dispersal from the LZ, ma'am,"
"I couldn't agree more with him General or if you'd like Alpha-70 and I could do some recon work while you prepared yourself with the force if you need to"
"Excuse me for saying this ma'am, but are you ready?"
Kerri would have laughed had it not been for the fact that they hit the ground almost immediately after the ARC had asked the question. She left the ship with the clones, lightsaber in hand but not active. After a short time, one clone informed her that the area was secure, and another immediately piped in with:
"I couldn't agree more with him General or if you'd like Alpha-70 and I could do some recon work while you prepared yourself with the force if you need to."
Kerri smiled faintly at the ARC's eagerness. "That'll be alright, Brutus." She paused for half a second to let the fact sink in that she knew the names they had chosen for themselves. Then, she said, "From this point forward, we'll go by names instead of designations. Call me Kerri." She nodded. "Alright, let's move out."
((I don't mind if you control the ARCs by yourself. They are NPCs after all :p ))
One of the ARCs raised a hand and called out that someone was coming. He focused his rangefinder and clarified further only a moment later.
"An armored rider on a native beast, General. Doesn't seem to be local or droid" the ARC reported and readied his blaster rifle.
---
In the distance, the Veractyl screamed and continued onwards with the top speed it could achieve. The rider held on to the reins and swung around in the high-back saddle. It wasn't the most steady ride one could get bur as swift as it could be without getting a swoop or speeder. He knew that by now the clones had noticed him if they had any competence. This also meant several blasters pointed towards him and his mount. He wouldn't get close without being shot, so he slowed down and eventually stopped just on the edge of what he estimated to be their blaster range. Marn turned the Veractyl sideways towards the group before taking out his lightsaber, activating the green lightsaber blade and raising it to hail the Jedi in the group.
Kerri's lightsaber had not left her hand since they left the ship. As one of her companions warned her of someone approaching, she turned to face the correct direction and held her lightsaber ready, but not active. "I sense him," she said slowly. "But I cannot sense his intent."
She frowned in concentration, trying to determine the newcomer's motives for coming out to meet them, but she was not successful. Gritting her teeth, she switched her lightsaber on and settled into a defensive position, with the dark blue blade out ahead of her.
"Hold your fire," she told the clones. "He is Force sensitive... and he's had training."
At that moment, the stranger and his mount burst into view and the armored man dismounted, drawing a green lightsaber. Kerri took a single step forward, her lightsaber still in hand.
"Forgive my caution," she said, using the Force to amplify and direct her words to the newcomer. The clones could also hear her, but beyond the clones and the stranger, her words would not be heard. "But this is exactly the sort of meeting that led to my Padawan's death. Who are you, and what do you want?"
((Actually, Marn's still on the Veractyl))
Tugging at the reins the armored figure caused his mount to screech a sharp tone and raise it's head and neck to a more vertical position. As the Jedi spoke to him instead of having the clones blast him to the nine Corellian hells, he lowered his lightsaber and looked at the ARCs. All of them experienced yet nervous as they should be. It took a while for the man to answer, since he was looking the group through from head to toe and back.
"You're going in the wrong direction, Jedi. The Confederate leaders are in that direction" Marn called out when he was done measuring the group and pointed towards a direction towards where he had come from. Beneath the mask the Feeorin was slightly stunned that the Republic would send this kind of rabble to capture or assassinate the Separatist Council. He smacked the reins against the back of the Veractyl that screeched again and started to slowly make it's way towards the Jedi in a zig-zag motion so the rider and the Jedi had both a clear view at each others as much as possible.
"If you may excuse me for my rudeness, I will deny your questions a proper answer for now. Let's just say that there are many on this planet who wish to deny it's occupiers" Marn told her before turning his mount the other way again and stopping it well within blaster range. Only 10 meters or so from the Jedi.
"And I work with these people" he continued while the bright blue slit, which indicated a rough place where his eyes would be without the mask, stared at Kerri. This gaze diverted to the blue lightsaber blade and the man tilted his head to the side. His hand went again to the side of his helmet and he zoomed in on the hilt before zooming back out and his eyes going back to the Jedi.
"Tell me, who sit on the Council now? Has young Master Jinn earned his place there yet?" the rider asked her, obviously being cut off from Jedi affairs to the point of not knowing that Qui-Gon Jinn had died several years ago. Before he continued he pressed a button on the hilt of his lightsaber, deactivating the blade but not hanging the thing on his belt quite yet.
"I hear his Padawan Kenobi has turned into a good General in the war, in any case" the man continued, revealing that he hadn't been cut off from the Galactic affairs entirely. This was nothing new, as many Jedi who had left the Order no longer found Jedi affairs as intriguing as before unless they sought to take revenge or to reapply.
"That'll be alright, Brutus."
He was stunned that she had known his name. Most jedi had to get to know their clones before they would call them by their names.
"From this point forward, we'll go by names instead of designations. Call me Kerri." She nodded. "Alright, let's move out."
Brutus snapped at attention
"Yes General Kerrina... er Kerri"
They had not even gotten to move an inch when one of the ARCs called out
"An armored rider on a native beast, General. Doesn't seem to be local or droid"
Brutus took out both of his DC-17 blaster pistols and aimed at the target, He was ready to give the troops the command to fire when the jedi took action.
"Hold your fire," she told the clones. "He is Force sensitive... and he's had training."
Brutus did not shoot but he kept his pistols where they were. The man was riding some creature and had a red cape. His lightsaber was at his hand and he was masked. General Kerri had her lightsaber activated as well.
"You're going in the wrong direction, Jedi. The Confederate leaders are in that direction"
He and his mount began to move towards her. Brutus moved from his spot and moved to her side. If her was going to strike, the man would have to get through him first. He began talking to General Kerri as if he had no intention on killing them. He then turned his mount in the other direction, Brutus was slightyl relieved but he did not move from where he was. The man was now talking about General Kenobi and his old master. He must have been living here for quite some time now for he was not aware Master Jinn was dead. He was tempted to say something but this was a conversation for jedi... if that's what he was. He continued to listen in waiting for his general to speak while brutal thoughts danced in his head.
"If he makes a move blow his brains out" he thought to himself.
All the confederacy members where present at the meeting, Darth Tyranus was the last one from the council that arrived. He entered guarded by two magna guards and Grivious at his side, every member stud up and greeted the Dark Lord of the Sith as he entered.
Darth Tyranus then decided to start the meeting as fast as possible.
“Fellow leaders, I have gathered you here to the Utapau system to inform and continue our discussion of this war, we have won 3 more sectors in the inner rim and 1 in the outer rim, our army is getting stronger by the days and the republic is falling and destroying it self from within”- Dooku informed the Council. “The Jedi order is getting weak; the republic without a chancellor will fall faster than expected”
“We are very close to achieving victory, it’s only a matter of time”- Judicar interrupted “more star systems are joining and way more are leaving the republic for an independent government.”
“Correct apprentice”- Dooku said after hearing the voice of Judicar “In a few more years we will be completely victorious”
The meeting continued with the complete information of how the battles where going, the gains and the lost of credits in the war, the economic inflation and other matters at task for the meeting, including how the progress of the Ultimate weapon was going.
During the meeting Unit 432 was behind General Grevious as his personal gaurd.The meeting was dragging on with nonsense about credits and troops.The galaxy knew the C.I.S was winning even the republic.But unit 432 did not interupt the meeting he was only a body gaurd not a politician.even though it was wrong Unit 432 wanted some action he grew tired of slaying the training droids and it has been a long time since his staff dueled a lightsaber.
Halyward had been silent on the way in, mainly because he felt out of place among the ARC's. He knew about Recon, he knew everything the ARC's knew, but they had grown up with it, their entire childhood had been devoted to warfare. He was also uncomfortable because he was one of the few non-clones aboard the AIAT/i.
The Phase II armor was an uncomfortable fit for non-clones, but it was better than nothing, and Erphrain figured that it would help keep him awake. However, the feeling of looking at others and seeing just the sea of sameness was... discomforting to say the least, which he was inclined to do.
The AIAT/i landed eventually and Erphrain had raised his rifle when he saw the lone rider approach, much like the clones aboard the transport had done. When the lone rider began to speak, and the order to stand down had been given, Erphrain had followed the orders, trying to feel out with the force once again, even though he knew it was futile, as it never worked.
However, to his suprise, he was able to sense, somehow through the force, that the stranger was a force-sensitive, more than likely a former-Jedi. With that knowledge, Erphrain allowed himself to relax a little and look around the LZ...
((Sorry I'm late. Wasn't able to check this out yesterday!))
"I am sorry to be the first to inform you of this, but Qui-Gon Jinn was killed on Naboo some time ago," Kerri answered, shutting her own saber off, but still holding the hilt, ready just in case. "If you are truly working against the Separatist Council, perhaps you have heard of or have perhaps had some limited contact with a friend of mine. A week ago, she agreed to meet us on Utapau and aid us in our mission." She paused.
"Without knowing who you are or who your allies are, I cannot feel safe saying anything more than that," she concluded. She was still trying to search his surface thoughts for his intent... or perhaps at the very least that he'd had some contact with Edessa, but she could get nothing from him. His mind was shielded very well.
The rider bowed his head down slightly with the news of Qui-Gon Jinn's passing as if mournful of the matter. The man shook his head slightly before looking at the female Jedi again as she spoke.
"You speak of the mercenary? She is well known by now on this planet. She would've been taken by the CIS unless she'd known her share of Jedi tricks. That's what I've heard in any case. I haven't personally met her yet. Mainly because I shun away from staying long in the sinkholes" the rider told them and looked at the ARCs again. Especially the one who had moved right next to the Jedi and had two blasters pointed towards him. Silly clone, thinking it could even squeeze the trigger if he were there to kill the group.
"The people I work with have been in close contact with your mercenary friend. According to their last piece of information she landed in the same sinkhole where the Confederates have based themselves just this morning" the rider continued as he put the lightsaber away and took an older model Jedi imagecaster from his utility belt. He skimmed through the images in the small disk's data core before finding a clip from a security holo showing Edessa boarding her ship on one of the sinkholes. This was to prove his words.
"Now, since you so badly wish to call me something, call me Marn" he told her, still not exactly indicating he was the former Jedi Master. He was even doubtful that she could figure it out who he exactly was before she contacted the Jedi Council for advice. Of course it was obvious by now he was once a Jedi and knew quite a lot of the Jedi arts as well, but practically nobody would know anything about a Master Marn except for those Jedi who had met him. And that amount could be countable with the fingers of two human hands after the massacre at Geonosis.
Watching the masked man deactivate his blade and General Kerri do the same Brutus sensed this man was not an attacker. He placed the blaster in his left hand into a holster and he spun the right one before holstering it as well. He may have put his guns away but he was still alert and ready in case this man tried to attack. The man called himself Marn. Marn knew where the confederate leaders were, perhaps he also knew which leaders were there. After the man finished speaking Brutus waited for a few seconds before speaking.
"Excuse me Mr. Marn, but would you happen to know if General Grievous is here on Utapau?"
He felt a little stupid asking that question but he wanted to make sure Grievous was here, he would not let Grievous escape again.
The rider glanced over at Brutus before seemingly scanning him. Inside the helmet, inaudible for the others, the man snickered before answering the man. Nonetheless he managed to slide in a side comment to the others in the group.
"Quite polite for a Clone. Are you sure he's one of you?" the man commented, as he knew the clones were usually no nonsense kind of men like Mandalorians were before them.
"But yes, Grievous is there. And so is Dooku and his apprentice. That's quite unfortunate for you, actually. However, my associates have heard rumors that Dooku would be leaving soon and so would Grievous and the rest of the Council. For what information that has been forwarded to me, the cowardly representatives in the Council are planning on relocating to a more central staging point in the Confederacy where it is easier to control their upstart nation. And I would assume Grievous and Dooku would be on their way to command some massive invasion fleets somewhere in the Galaxy like usually" Marn told Brutus before tilting his head slightly as he wondered why the clone was so interested in Grievous. The rider reasoned that the clone was an ARC and thus always wanted to know more of the mission than necessary. And so he didn't bother with questioning of it any further than that. Instead he concentrated on the Jedi General, waiting for her to make her move
Kerri saw the holo of Edessa without a trace of emotion on her face. Either Marn was very good at guessing, or he was actually in contact with some of the same people Edessa was working with... or he was just very good at lying. Regardless of which it was, Kerri had very few options. She could take Marn at his word or she could disbelieve everything he was telling them. Either way could lead to a very bad situation and she was getting nothing through the Force on Marn.
"Very well, Marn," she said. "Lead the way."
Brutus decided to try to get to know his general a bit better. It helps to know someone when you'll be fighting with them. He heard lots of rumors about different jedi. Most of them were true, some were not. He heard Kerri was from a royal family so he decided to ask her about it.
"Gen... Kerri, is it true that you're a princess?"
Marn nodded to the Jedi General before dismounting the Veractyl and patting it's back.
"Go ahead of us and wait for my call. Hide well, old friend" the man told the beast that then ran off towards the sinkhole they were heading for as well. It would seem that the man managed to make himself the guide to the detachment without really meaning for it to happen. Nonetheless he probably should've joined them at some point during their trip in any case.
The armored man tugged his hood slightly further over his head and pulled the cap over his shoulders to cover a blaster and a lightsaber hanging from his belt. As one of the clones asked the Jedi General is she were a princess, Marn shook his head slightly at the inappropriateness of the question's timing and place. Still he continued to walk on and led the Republic task force towards the sinkhole city where the Separatist Council was eagerly discussing the war effort. For once they were again on the winning side.
At Brutus' question, Kerri raised a single eyebrow. "A bit odd, your timing," she commented. "We've just landed, looking for the Separatist Council and you're asking questions as to my lineage?" She shook her head. "I'd have thought a seasoned soldier such as yourself would have been more interested in learning of my skill in battle, especially considering the current situation we find ourselves in."
She shot him an almost scolding look as she concluded, "Or did you perhaps assume that I am qualified for this mission simply because the Jedi Council thought it fitting to send me?"
Turning to find Kanricko Vode, she said to him, "Kanricko Vode, just before we landed, you asked me a question. As the timing is not right to detail the list of my accomplishments in battle, I shall answer your question, blunt and brief. I am ready."
Finally, addressing Marn, she said, "We need to be put in contact with Edessa. Might your contacts know how to reach her?"
Brutus had been hoping for an answer like this.
"My appologies General Kerrina, I wanted to see how you would react. I have worked under some chatty jedi, and the calling you Kerri thing threw me off slightly. In order to find out how our leader will do in combat we like to ask them one question not related to the mission at all. If the jedi takes the time to respond than they are not dedicated to the mission. If they respond like you did they are dedicated and will make no mistakes. You attacked me for not being one hundred percent focused on this mission, and answer we clones love to hear. It will be a pleasure working beside you general"
Brutus shut his mouth and got focused back on the mission at hand. He raised his right hand into the air signaling the clones to move into formation.
"Highly unlikely they wouldn't, General" Marn told Kerri, behind the mask sporting a teasing grin.
"However, we won't know until we get there. The local communications system is compromised and so is the HoloNet in the system. There's no other safe way to contact them than a face-to-face meeting. Once my Veractyl arrives, they will know to set things up for a meeting" Marn answered before taking a glance at the sky above the sinkhole.
It was apparently the only sinkhole not sending scouts or salvaging parties towards the 'crashed' vessel. Either that or the Confederacy was planning something. In any case they would need to hurry before the droids got set up for anything they were planning for. The Feeorin man increased the speed they were going at into a jog. They had just about two kilometers to go and had to make it as fast as they could. He and Kerri could use the force to speed themselves up but the Clones didn't have the luxury.
They arrived at the sinkhole in decent time and slowed to a walk. Kerri turned to Marn and said, "Lead us in, if you please." And glancing down at herself and around at the troopers, she added, "And any path that's out of the way would be better. A Jedi and a handful of Republic troops would be sure to raise a few eyebrows if seen here..."
"No kidding?" Marn asked Kerri sarcastically while kneeling right at the edge of the sinkhole. He raised his arm from his side and pointed towards what seemed like the bulbous core of a Lucrechulk pinned to the side of the sinkhole.
"There's your target. The locals say the droids have concentrated on the tenth level, so I believe that anything that's significantly important is there" he told here while taking the other hand up to the side of his helmet, zooming his rangefinder on a balcony on the side of the structure. His sensors indicated a droid standing right inside the balcony opening, but the lighting made it impossible to see inside.
"The easiest way in there is to go along the maintenance catwalks as far as I know, but we'll find out more in the meet" the Feeorin told her before zooming out and standing up. The man turned and walked not that far from them before kneeling again to open a hatch.
"This'll lead us straight to the meeting. It's the route I use when I don't need supplies. The supply route is being watched by now. About time, since I've used it since the Confederates got planetside" Marn told them before jumping in. After a short fall he hit the slowly curving wall of the duct and was followed by the view of a second hatch that had been jigged to open at the same time as the top one was opened. The armored man slide smoothly out of the tube like many other times before and lowered his feet down to the ground, thus slowing from the uncontrollable slide into a regular walk towards a group of tall shadows waiting for them.
Once Kerri and the rest of the task force were down, Marn moved his cape behind his back and approached the group. They were in some sort of an old Utai store room. One of the tall figures stepped forth and into the light.
"Ah, Blood-Stained One. You have returned as Bogara told us" the Pau'an said and gave grin exposing his sharp teeth rather intimidatingly. Bogara was the name of Marn's steed.
"Yes. These ones are from the Republic. They seek the mercenary skulking around as a merchant" Marn told the Pau'an before drawing back his hood. This revealed the originally smooth surface of the rest of his helmet. It had several T-shape carvings on it, each painted red and each indicating a Sithspawn killed by his hand. It also had several vertical line carvings on it painted yellow, indicating each sentient non-Sithspawn creature he had killed. The sheer amount of the latter had given him the name the Pau'an used when speaking of him, despite his reluctance of using it himself.
Marn glanced back at Kerri before looking up at the Pau'an.
"She's General Kerrina. A Jedi and in charge of the rest of the task force" the armored Feeorin told the Pau'an while pointing at Kerri with his thumb over the shoulder.
"You are welcome on Utapau. We have waited eagerly for the moment the Republic responded to our pleads for help. We did not think our request for aid had been received" the Pau'an told her, ignorant of the matter that their request had not been heard like he hoped.
"But it was received and here they are," Edessa said, coming up behind Kerri. She smirked slightly, slinging an arm over her Jedi friend's shoulder. "I told you a week ago that she'd get here just as soon as the Jedi cleared all the governmental red tape." To Kerri, she said, "It's been a while."
Kerri's bewilderment was almost visible on her face, and she would have asked when they'd requested help, but Edessa caught her eye, shaking her head slightly to prevent Kerri from saying anything. Instead, Kerri slipped her arm around Edessa's waist and gave her a light squeeze. "Too long," she agreed. Then, she turned to the Pau'an.
"We came as quickly as we could manage," she told him. "Like Edessa said, it's not easy to wade through red tape... even for Jedi."
They sent a request for aid? she asked Edessa through the Force.
It surprised me as well, the Arkanian Offshoot replied. I've been trying to lead them on about it, and to this point, I've been successful.
Our numbers are too few to give the Pau'ans suitable aid, Kerri objected. Abruptly, she realized that the Pau'an had asked her something. She'd been too distracted to notice.
"I'll take them to their rooms," Edessa volunteered, having heard that he'd asked if they wanted a brief rest before getting to work. "This way." She frowned at the little group. "Well, you'll all need disguises to start."
She looked at the Pau'an. "Can your people see about getting the troopers less conspicuously dressed? I'll see to Kerri."
Marn glanced at Edessa and squinted slightly within his helmet before looking at the troopers.
"It's your mission" he told them before drawing his hood back on and dropping the blood red cape over his shoulders. The Feeorin walked over to a container and leaned against it before taking out his blaster and double-checking it so it wouldn't jam during a firefight.
The other two Pau'ans stepped into the light and motioned for the troopers to follow them for a small cache of clothing that had been hastily put together under Edessa's advise after the Veractyl returned. The troopers would have to manage with suiting themselves with very loose robe-like garments over their armors.
---
Meanwhile, in the Separatist Council meeting, Dooku stood up in front of the Council.
"We have secured a more suitable place for the Council. Some place more secure. I myself along with my apprentice and General Grievous are needed in the War, but I am sending you to the Volcanic world of Mustafar. It is the most secure place in the Confederacy. The Jedi will never find you there" Dooku told them before nodding to a group of kortosis super battle droids standing by to escort the council to their transport.
Once the council had adjourned, Dooku signed for his apprentice and Grievous to approach him.
"There is a presence here I have not felt in years. An old friend is here. A Feeorin by the name of Marn. Keep an eye out for him, for he may be trouble. I will leave for the fleet heading to Corellia. It is a key system we must conquer. Grievous, check the perimeter guard posts one more time and then leave to lead the battle for Onderon" the graying old fiend told the men before placing a hand on his apprentice's shoulder.
"As for you, my young apprentice. Hunt this sinkhole for Marn. He is a liability for our efforts here and it is in our best interest to either capture and hold him or outright kill him. This is an important mission and do not underestimate the Feeorin Jedi's abilities. He is much older than I am and has thus much more wisdom and possibly skill as well. and be wary of the natives. They do not agree with our occupation" the Sith Lord told his apprentice before leaving for his own shuttle.
Edessa led Kerri back to her ship, which was not far from the meeting area. As they walked, they worked together at tricking any observers into thinking that Kerri was dressed as a simple traveler, not a Jedi. When they reached the ship, they dropped the illusion and boarded.
"What are you so on edge about?" Edessa finally asked. "Last time we talked, you told me there was a Republic fleet within range for a quick jump in-system to help us out."
"I have to think about the numbers involved at present," Kerri answered, selecting one of Edessa's slightly more modest outfits. I have six ARC troopers and myself. There's you, that strange fellow... Marn, was his name? And then, we'll have a handful of Pau'ans. Against how great an army?" She sighed. "I know too little about the situation I've been thrust into."
"You'll catch on quick," Edessa promised, running a hand through her white hair. "Get dressed and we'll go back to the others. We have little time to rest. Rumors are floating around the city that the Council is preparing for a move."
Just as Edessa was about to leave, Kerri stopped her. Stepping closer, she traced a finger over the blue tattoos on Edessa's pale face. "Are they permanent?"
Edessa laughed. "Quite," she answered. "If I'm going to be a mercenary, occasionally on call for the Jedi, I've got to look the part. No more flowing Jedi robes, the occasional blaster thrown in the mix..." She tapped the rather bulky looking blaster holstered next to her lightsaber. "Go on, get ready."
And Kerri retreated further into the ship to do just that.
Brutus began looking at the cloaks they would have to put on over their armor. He selected a red one to match the red on his armor, it was the color of war. He turned to face his brothers after he was done.
"Alright men this is the moment we've been waiting for. The odds seem to be against us but we've got something those tinnies don't... we've got souls. I don't know about the rest of you but I've been through alot this war. I've encountered General Grievous twice in combat and lived. He's strong but he's not invincible. He's quick, he's strong, and he's got four arms all holding lightsabers, if you run into him during combat just fire and back up, let the jedi handle him... or a clone seeking revenge. I've fought along side General Kenobi and he's told me Dooku is no walk in the park either. Our best chance here is to eliminate as many droids as possible and let the jedi handle the leaders. Get yourselves ready for combat we move out when the general is ready."
Brutus watched the masked man check his blaster.
A jedi that uses blasters... sounds like my type of jedi Brutus thought to himself as he began to check his weapons as well.
"As for you, my young apprentice. Hunt this sinkhole for Marn. He is a liability for our efforts here and it is in our best interest to either capture and hold him or outright kill him. This is an important mission and do not underestimate the Feeorin Jedi's abilities. He is much older than I am and has thus much more wisdom and possibly skill as well. and be wary of the natives. They do not agree with our occupation" the Sith Lord told his apprentice before leaving for his own shuttle
“Yes, master” the apprentice answered.
He walked towards a magna guard that was standing in Grievous side, “You, come with me” Judicar said to the magna guard. He then walked out of the room and from under his robe he takes out a holovideo of his love “I need to see you love” Judicar said as he looks the video where he appears with a young woman. He then hid the holovideo again and walked towards a small battalion of droids and said “prepare, a Jedi is coming, we can’t take any risk”
Kanricko Vode took out some excessively baggy garments from the clothing cache, slipping the cloak he had chosen on over his armor. It was perfect in size and make, easily engulfing his entire body, and covering everything, even down to his very feet, but still allowed him full mobility, and easy removal in case of intense firefights. It had one of it's own pauldrons, which was on the right side, and that allowed his own armor's pauldron to even out the left side. The cloak itself was of a course material, and a tannish-brown hue, with strange black pinstripes and other odd markings.
Kanricko Vode removed his helmet, once again revealing his heavily scarred and tarnished face.
"Sir," he said to the captain. "I recommend we remove our helmets, we'll be recognized, regardless of whether we have these cloaks on or not, if they see us in these helmets that is," Kanricko Vode finished, attaching his helmet to the repelling cable on his belt. Considering the shear bagginess of his garments, the helmet was well hidden under them, no bulge could be seen at all.
The other ARCs took his advise, removing their helmets too; many of them had their own individual scars, some even had tattoos, but they still all looked the same. But they knew this, so one by one they found things to cover their faces, or heads: one wrapped his head in bandages, making his appearance less distinguishable, another found a strange baklava in the clothes cache, and the other two did similarly, one finding a crude helmet to wear ((one from the clothes cache that is, if any of you didn't catch that)), the other wrapping the lower half of his face in a large, thick scarf-like garment.
Kanricko Vode pulled out a strange pair of goggles that nearly encompassed his entire face, and thus hid his identity rather well, though they did make him look rather silly, so-much-so, that his ARC brothers began snickering and laughing to themselves.
"What? Do I look that bad?" He questioned his them with his arms spread out wide, the baggy sleeves that covered his armored arms only adding to the comical effect, which didn't help his ARC brothers one bit, many started laughing raucously, two of them pounding on each others backs two help themselves breathe, as they were out of breath from laughing so hard. Kanricko Vode simply shook his head with a smile, it was good to see they could still laugh during such trying times for the Republic, then again, ARCs hardly ever laughed, so it was just good to see them laugh period!
Alpha-70 simply did as his Captain and the force user Marn were doing, and he began checking his weapons.
After awhile of cleaning, preparing, checking, and then rechecking his gear, Alpha-70 turned to the only person who didn't appear to be grinning like a fool because of his appearance, then again, that same person hadn't removed his helmet like he'd suggested, the Captain. "Brutus, Sir, I think I'll go see if General Kerrina is ready to go, she's been gone long enough to have gotten ready by now," he told his superior, and then walked off.
As Kanricko Vode began to leave the area, heading off in the direction he'd seen the two Jedi head, but he realized something, he had no idea where they were. But experience, common sense, and strong intuition told him it was a relatively straight path. So Alpha-70 kept going, passing quite a few people, who paid him little heed, which was good, it meant he was well disguised, and that he blended in well. Eventually the ARC Trooper made it to the other Jedi's ship, or what he could guess was her ship.
He approached, looking around and seeing no one he walked partway up the ramp, and then pounded on the side of the ship so those inside could hear.
"Gener...I, er, Kerrin...no, uuuhh," Kanricko Vode had a hard time speaking to people in a non-formal fashion, it was what defined who-was-who for him. "Kerri!" He finally spat out, wincing a bit, but realizing that he wasn't being reprimanded, nor was the world imploding, he let out a sigh, it wasn't as hard as he'd thought, but it would still be pretty hard, the formalities of the military were well ingrained into his head, it would always be a bit of a struggle to speak to a Jedi in a casual manor, especially since he had such strong loyalties to the Jedi.
"...Uh, Miss, I mean, uh, Kerri, are you done? We need to get moving, the others are prepared, well, actually, we've been prepared, we're pretty much waiting on you, oh, and your friend too," Alpha-70 said into the ship with a raised voice, so those inside could hear. "Wonder if she'll laugh at me too," he muttered to himself, as he walked back down the ramp, and sat down on a nearby crate.
"Time is of the essence General, we have no idea how long the council will stay in one place for long," Alpha-70 said to no one in particular as he sat, waiting for General Kerrina, and her friend, Edessa, to come out.
As the clones were getting ready, Marn snickered at their dressing up. It seemed they were competing for the worst dressed clone award if anything. As he holstered his blaster, he also leaned off the crate and walked to the head of the Pau'an welcoming committee.
"Blood-Stained One, you will not mask yourself?" the Pau'an asked and the armored man shook his head.
"The Clones can distinguish between armors. My armor will not attract attention any more than it has before when droids have walked past me around here" Marn reassured them before glancing towards one of the ARCs that went after Kerri.
"You got my latest shipment?" he asked quietly from the Pau'an who nodded and led him to a more remote crate marked with a holocron-like symbol.
"Thank you" Marn said before forcing the crate open. Inside he looked at the contents, grinning slightly to himself within his helmet. As he closed the lid of the crate, the Feeorin turned to the Pau'an once more.
"Have the Utai take this an the rest to my ship. I trust you've kept it hidden from the Separatists" Marn said and the tall man nodded.
"Your ship has not been touched. It hasn't let anyone touch it, if I'm quite honest about it. It seems like it has a mind of it's own" the Pau'an told Marn who chuckled and nodded.
"It does, doesn't it?" he asked him rhetorically before walking over to the ARCs.
"Listen up, fellows. When you're here there's only one rule until your General tells you otherwise; don't screw up and attract attention" he told them before sitting down on a crate and waiting for Kerri.
Brutus took Kanricko Vode's advice and remvoed his helmet hooking to to his side. His face was not as battle wounded as the others. He had a scar from the first Grievous encounter and that was about it... at least on his face. He listened to the other ARCs at the laughed at what was Kanricko Vode's face.
"I'd watch who you're laughing at, Kanricko Vode can rip a droid apart with his bare hands," Brutes told his clones as he held his electrostaff.
"Brutus, Sir, I think I'll go see if General Kerrina is ready to go, she's been gone long enough to have gotten ready by now,"
Brutus nodded as Kanricko Vode walked off.
"Listen up, fellows. When you're here there's only one rule until your General tells you otherwise; don't screw up and attract attention"
Though Marn was not a superior he was still a jedi, or appeared to be one so Brutus stopped what he was doing and saluted the man after he had finished speaking.
"Yes sir Mr. Marn, you can count on us, in fact you won't even know we're there."
Brutus then placed his electrostaff under his cloak and waited for General Kerrina to return.
Kerri and Edessa came out together, joining Kanricko Vode just outside the ship. Kerri was dressed in loose black pants, black leather boots, a dark gray long-sleeve shirt, and a black leather jacket. Her lightsaber had been attached to an inside pocket of the jacket and was therefore not visible. On her belt, she wore a blaster similar to Edessa's. She had also removed the plain gold tiara from her forehead, leaving it behind on Edessa's ship, and she had pulled her hair back into a ponytail, such that the white strips of her bangs sent a narrow streak backward along the center of her head.
At the sight of Kanricko Vode, Edessa turned away, forcing herself to keep a straight face. Kerri just smiled at him and said, "We're ready. Let's head back."