"Sir,the enemy ships are all converging on us at once!"
Hearing the clone navy officer alert him, Admiral Yularen glanced at the large screen in front of him, to see several medium-sized vessels bear down on their cruiser. Glancing out the window, he could see the outlines of the Separatist warships floating in the vast emptiness of space as they made their way toward his ship like angry Gundarks. Scrunching up his face in concentration, the admiral of the Republic noted that none of the assaulting ships were larger than Providence-class dreadnoughts. He turned to the clone officer and barked out orders.
"Engage them at once!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Venator-class star destroyer groaned and shook under heavy fire from the enemy capital ships. The droid fighters also harassed the Venator, but fortunately for the crew, the shields were holding. The other two Republic cruisers had arrived to engage the Separatists with their blue fire tracing through the vacuum of space. The control room of the ship shook as the fighters of both the Republic and the CIS whooshed by. As Yularen spied a V-wing engage and pursue a Vulture droid, the ship shook heavily, nearly knocking him off his feet.
Yikes, what was that? That doesn't seem promising.
"Sir!" The clone crew member seated at a monitor called him over. "Our shields have taken critical hits. They won't last much longer."
"Very well, focus on your objective until-"
Before Yularen could finish giving his orders, a second explosion rattled the ship. Alarms began to wail as the admiral struggled to retain his footing.
"The shields are down! I repeat, the shields are down!"
Blast! This is not going well at all!
"Pull back! Disengage and pull back now!" Admiral Yularen rose to his feet and barked orders. "Let the others handle our attackers. Speaking of which, I don't see Grievous's ship anywhere in the vicinity. Have you heard from Kardo's squad?"
"Negative, sir." The clone shook his head. The crew member glanced downard at his screen. "The last time we have received a transmission from them, they were engaging the clankers and the Jedi."
"Do a search on your radar and locate his ship!" Admiral Yularen pointed at the scanner. "I will be darned if I lose such a prize!"
The entire Separatist council in addition to Kenobi will be more than enough to gain favor with the Chancellor. My promotion will be inevitable.
"Sir!" The clone's outburst took him out of his reverie. "The scanners are picking up no sign of Grievous's flagship! They must have vacated the battle!
"Karabast!" Yularen fumed. "What about the Subjugator-class ship?"
"That one is gone as well. Only the lesser Seppie navy ships are present. Should we engage or retreat?"
Before the furious admiral could respond, a flaming Arc-170 spiralled into the bridge, causing glass to shatter and clones to leap out of the way.As the wrecked fighter rolled off the bridge and into the core of the ship, Yularen glanced up in horror to see that it had breached a massive hole on the side of the ship, causing the air pressure to plummet. Many clones fell to the floor, struggling to breath. The rigid admiral knew he had no choice, but to sound a retreat. No way was he going to risk his men for a lost cause.
"To the escape pods!"
The clones followed suit as he lead them to the pods. Struggling to fit inside one, he waited until he was sure the remaining crew members who hadn't succumbed to the lack of air or sucked out of the ship in a vortex had manned their places in their pods before he ejected from the doomed Venator. It wasn't long until the others followed suit. No sooner had they left the doomed starcraft had it broke apart under heavy fire. A couple pods unfortunate enough to be too close to the broken halves of the ship were crushed from the debris that had erupted from the disintegrating cruiser.
Admiral Yularen took a breath as he turned away from the heinous sight and glanced at their destination-the moon of Utapau.
I will have to report this to the Chancellor. Alas, my promotion is in the scrap pile now.
---
Obi-Wan felt the familiar jolt as the Recuscant-class dreadnought lurched out of hyperspace and into Mustafar space. He and the Ubbese bounty hunter both kept watch over their clone prisoners whom they had captured during the space battle. With the exception of a couple deaths, the infiltrating squad seemed to have their ranks filled with about a dozen or so clones. Obi-Wan had learned that the leader Kardo and his adjutant Flexxx had been sent capture the ship and deliver the occupants to Yularen and the Republic. Thankfully, the clones, as rigorously trained as they were, were taken back by the resistance of the Jedi and the Separatists and had their attempt to snare them thwarted.
"Well, well, what do we have here?"
The Jedi master turned to see General Grievous and a couple Maganguards enter the room which the prisoners were being kept. The cyborg paced between the clones, surveying them. If Captain Kardo or his men were intimidated, it wasn't apparent as their emotions were hidden underneath their helmets. The general turned to face Kenobi.
"Are these valuable prisoners or disposable clones?"
Obi-Wan, betrayed as he felt by these clones, couldn't bring himself to sell them short.
"Sir, these are Special Ops clones, the cream of the crop in the Grand Army of the Republic." The Jedi master crossed his arms. "They would make advantageous prisoners the Republic would desperately want back. After all, none of the other clone troopers have the ingenuity as this batch. "
General Grievous cackled as he stood over Flexx and Kardo. "I can tell these two are worth a lot to the scumbags that are in the Republic due to their markings, but I am sure the others are expendable." The cyborg ignited green and blue-bladed lightsabers and positioned them before the two clone captains.
"They actually are worth more than credits to the Republic." Obi-Wan stepped forward. "Even that pilot over there. You see, clones are not expendable like droids. Each of these battle-hardened men take years to train, even the lowly ground troops. Unlike droids, clones have personalities and the ability to reason beyond what meets the eye. I am only talking about the ground troops and not the specially-trained troops like these men." The Jedi waved his hands at the captured soldiers. "Can you imagine the cost and time that went into producing these men?The Republic won't want them to go to waste."
General Grievous froze for a sec, considering what his nemesis had informed him. Weighing the costs and benefits of keeping the clones prisoner, the Kaleesh warrior turned to face his droids.
"Take them to the prisoner's bay." Grievous turned to Obi-Wan. "Also, throw him in the lot while you are at it."
Anticipating this move, Kenobi ignited his lightsaber, only to take a stunning blow from behind. As the Jedi general crumpled to the ground, Vruh'Kang sheathed his blaster, which was set to stun and faced Grievous.
"Why do you want him, sir? The Jedi are seen as turncoats to the Republic. "
"That is precisely why I want to ransom him as well. " Grievous cackled as droids lead the clones to the cells. "The Republic will pay a hefty fee for a traitor. Oh, it seems like Kegruc got his worthless arse over as well. Someone inform him of where to meet the rest of the Council."
---
"Go for a second run!"
Commander Cody glanced down at the canyons, which were lit in an orange due thanks to the sunset on Utapau, as the LAAT gunship he was on provided cover fire for the troops attacking the resisting Utapaun citizens, including the Amani and Sugi. The clone brigades involved included the 212th and a small detachment of the 501st under Captain Kohorte. They were aided in their mission by the Beta Squad of Republic Commando legions. The 212th and the boys in blue would face the local population in the front lines as the commandos took out the enemy behind their lines.As the commander watched the green lasers from the gunships cut through the enemy lines, his comm link beeped.
"Commander Cody here."
"This is Commander Exhit of Beta Squad. We have secured the command and control centers of the enemy. Their defenses should be crippled enough for you and Kohorte to break through."
Well, at least there is one shred of good news. As Cody ordered the LAAT to approach the airfield on the top level, his comm beeped again.
"Commander Cody, this is Admiral Yularen. I am sending this distress signal as our cruiser was demolished, leaving us stranded on the moon. I would have asked the others in the fleet, but unfortunately they were wrecked in the battle. I also regret to inform you that Grievous's flagship ,which was confirmed to be carrying the entire CIS council as well as OBi-Wan Kenobi, had escaped. Captain Kardo and his troops are in enemy hands."
Cody freeze as the admiral bore the unpleasant news. Way to shatter the uplifting mood.
"Very well. Shall I report this to the Chancellor?"
---
Hey all, I hope you enjoyed this update. Sorry if it took so long or is too short. Thousands of words usually take hours to formulate due to the intense amount of planning required to make the story flow. So what do you think of this chapter?What will happen to Kenobi?
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