"Invisible Hand, Patriot's Fist, and Devious, this is Lancer-craft over. Do you copy?"
As his starship soared over the volcanic fumes of Mustafar, Vruh'Kang glanced up at the heavens. As the disc-shaped ship shot through the sooty haze, the first stars twinkled into existence. As he repeated his message, the bounty hunter surveyed the skies for any hint of the Separatist warships. Beside him in the copilot seat sat his fellow bounty hunter Sha'ar, clad in red Mandalorian armor adorned with blue markings, while the CIS's remaining two leaders, including the de facto supreme leader Grievous, remained in the safety of the hold.
Thank the stars that it isn't crowded with a bunch of gabbling alien leaders.
As Vruh'Kang repeated his message, he glanced to his right at the Shi'ido bounty hunter. The Ubbese was going to ask what was with that flashy Mando armor and where did he come by it since he isn't Mandalorian, but decided it wasn't in his place to bring it up. Besides, he himself lacked credibility as he was almost never seen without his own armor as appropriate for an Ubbese.
Someone please answer already. Commander Kegruc? Any tactical droid? Even a measly B-1 would do as I am not comfortable floating about this blasted planet's atmosphere with a killer Jedi lurking about.
"Lancer-craft, this is the Invisible Hand, we copy. Apologies for the delay in response time, but it seems the ship's communications were scrambled. I have the technician droids aboard examining the issue right now, but how do you want to proceed? "
Before any of the bounty hunters could answer, a low growling voice that sounded more machine than beast spoke.
"Kegruc, this is Supreme Leader Grievous requesting that I be allowed onto the Patriot's Fist, my new flagship. You will remain assigned to my old flagship, The Invisible Hand, while I will hand over the Providence dreadnought to the bounty hunters. "
Taken completely by surprise, the Ubbese and the Shi'ido bounty hunters whirled around to see the cyborg Kaleesh glowering at them with those reptilian eyes behind that shiny white mask the same color as a Krayt Dragon's skull. It was a good thing that they were working for him rather than against him as the mere sight of the general's gaze would be enough to send Vruh'Kang scurrying back to his mother back on Ubertica. If Grievous had managed to sneak into the cockpit like a Corellian Sand Panther, the bounty hunter didn't want to imagine himself on the battlefield, playing cat and mouse with the cyborg. Keeping his guard up, he kept his eyes trained upon Grievous as he barked orders to his subordinate.
"As for the surviving politicians of the Confederacy, they will stay onboard my flagship. I hope my orders aren't an issue, Admiral Kegruc."
There was a brief pause before the voice boomed out. "No, of course not. That will be appreciated, my lord. I am now transmitting the coordinates of each capital ship's locations. It would have looked suspicious had a Subjugator-class dreadnought been seen clumped together with Recusant and a Providence so I spaced them out around the length of the world."
"Do whatever you have to, but I need those coordinates now!" Grievous boomed. "We can't waste anymore time. I plan on getting us to Sy Mirth as quickly as possible. "
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A moment later, a beep indicated that the coordinates had arrived. The cyborg leaned over the console of the ship and grunted.
"I trust you know where to take it from here, bounty hunter."
"For sure, I do. First stop is the Patriot's Fist."
Vruh'Kang yanked on the controls as the ship righted itself and shot up over the smoky haze that resembled cloud cover, setting course for Grievous's dreadnought. The Lancer starship started to rock as it started its exit of Mustafar's atmosphere as the Ubbese narrowed his eyes in concentration, scanning for any signs of the Separatist capital ship.
"Uh, I hate to barge into your concentration, but why isn't my strap coming off? I know there's a button like on my Firespray back on the Devious, but this seems a bit awkward to me.
Sighing, the bounty hunter clicked on the connector's large red button and Sha'ar's strap came free.
"Many thanks!" The Shi'ido bounty hunter chuckled. "I knew the button was located on the connector rather than on the hand rest. I was just testing you."
Vruh'Kang rolled his eyes as Grievous let out what was supposed to a snort, but it sounded the growl of a generator sputtering. At last, the faint minnow shape of a recusant-class heavy cruiser took form through the stratosphere.
---
"Ah, my young apprentice! Do you bear me good news?"
The eerie hologram of the Emperor, looking ominous in with his hood drawn over his scarred and disfigured shape, glowed a ghostly white like a demonic angel over Anakin's Actis starfighter as the fallen Jedi entered Outer Rim space. After a several seconds of unsettling silence, Darth Sidious started to croak.
"That is quite unfortunate. I had just declared the war to be over. You don't want the galaxy to think their emperor is a deceiver of the people, don't you?"
"No, my master." The stars and distant worlds came into focus as the Sith apprentice exited Mustafar. Anakin clenched his jaw and gripped the controls tightly. "I will hunt them all down and rectify my error before it becomes a mistake." It seemed that he had learned something from that Chiss military officer he and Padme had encountered on the Unknown Regions planet Batuu where they had shut down a cortosis droid factory run by a duke and his sister who were affiliated with Dooku. If that had went into production, the Republic would have been in worse shape than it was before the war ended.
"I appreciate your sense of dedication, but you can't accomplish all that simultaneously. Admiral Yularen has a sizable force in the area. Contact him and let him take out Grievous and the rest of the CIS puppets. You are the only one capable of taking a Jedi down face to face. I've seen you take out Jedi Masters in the temple."
"I welcome the compliment, master. I'll track down the Jedi and kill him and all who surround him."
"Good,I trust you to accomplish your task thoroughly and once you finish sweeping up what's left of your quarry, I want you to rendezvous with me on my Eclipse. Soon, the Separatists and the Jedi will be only a file in the archives of history." After a bout of sinister cackling, the Sith Lord disconnected.
So he wants to meet on a Chancellor-class star destroyer, huh? Maybe he has something extensive planned. As long as it saves Padme's life, I will go along with whatever my master wishes.
"Artoo, activate the scanners. I want to identify every ship in the Mustafar system."
As his astromech beeped its compliance, Anakin pondered about his decision to withhold the information about Obi-Wan surviving Order 66. In some sense, he felt relieved that his former Master was still alive, but now he could have the pleasure of slaying the traitor by his own hands. It's true that he once seen the scraggly-bearded Jedi Master as an older brother whom he looked up to and admired, but
Bweep Bweep!
"What have you got there, Artoo?"
As the blue and white astromech conveyed the data the fallen Jedi requested, his neon green screen changed into a pale yellow with red dots scattered about blue ones. The red represented ships and the blue had to be planets. He further scrutinized the red dots and frowned as he recognized two distinct groups of ships that looked like they had left Mustafar and headed in opposite directions. He had to hone in on the dots to discern their shapes. The ones headed toward the Lark Nebula were Separatist capital ships while the one headed to the Nebulon clouds was a Corellian cruiser known for ferrying diplomats between worlds. He knew which one he had to go after as he decided to radio for back up.
"Commander Yularen, this is Red Five, over. Do you copy? I need you to send your forces after a group of CIS ships that are heading for the Lark Nebula. Grievous and what remains of his underlings are onboard."
---
"Obi-Wan Kenobi, I'm glad to see you here in one piece!"
In the hangar of the Consular-class cruiser Envoy, Obi-Wan Kenobi and the clone troopers who had rescued him disembarked from the LAAT gunships, parked among a wide array of ships including Naboo Star fighters and a few interceptors used by the Jedi and their Padawans. Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, flanked by not only the Alderaan royal guard, but troops bearing heavily militarized armor, walked over to the Jedi Master and patted his back.
"That's almost ten Jedi we've rescued so far. I was worried we wouldn't reach you in time and we'd find a corpse, but thank the lucky stars what remained of the Muunilinst 10 successfully extracted you and even brought back more specialized units from the Grand Army of the Republic! We needed all the escorts we can muster in case we run into trouble. We are technically considered outlaws so if we run into not only Separatist, but Republic forces, we will be able to put up a fight rather than appearing as sitting ducks."
"Words can't express how relieved I am to see you, Governor." Obi-wan gazed at the troops augmenting the Alderaanian guard. "Ever since my clone battalion turned on me, I've felt a disturbance in the Force like never before. The betrayal shouldn't have been unforeseen yet it still stings all the same. I have served with these men faithfully, I even seen some as close friends, but it all changed in an instant. I am at a loss of how I should proceed from here on out. " The Jedi's oceanic eyes narrowed. "You just mentioned that I am nearly the tenth Jedi you liberated from the Empire?"
"These occurrences have been reported all over the galaxy, but don't beat yourself up over it. You aren't the only one to be blindsided, but you are one of the fortunate few to be alive. Anyhow, it's not proper etiquette to keep a guest in the hangar. Let's go inside my ship."
As Obi-Wan was escorted by Bail and his entourage of non-clone troops toward the ship's interior, he glanced back toward the gunships and saw the former troops of the Republic's army lounging in the hangar. He then spotted a clone clad in metallic gray and black armor complete with Jaig eyes similar to Fordo and Rex slip out of the pilot's hatch of the LAAT he was in and join up a group of similarly outfitted clones. He had heard of the clone's heroics from Anakin and Admiral Wulff Yularen during the Battle of Christophsis and instantly recognized the trooper.
Ah yes, Commander Blackout didn't go through with the dreaded order, either. Is that Spark in the crowd as well?
"Right this way, my good friend."
As Obi-Wan was taken into the Envoy, he took in every scene. The interior looked as typical as every diplomat-rearing ship, the bright lights shining on the shining gray walls. Here and there, paintings of the Alderaanian landscape or of the royal family dotted the otherwise bare walls. He was able to get glimpses of the crew of the ship, working on their consoles or manning the engines, keeping the ship afloat through the vastness of space. Former soldiers of the Republic of the milled about, some patrolling the ship while others mingled with each other, conversing, laughing, or even drinking. Once again, he saw a motley crew of Wolfpack clones, 327th Star Corps, Gold Company, 41st Elite Corps, the 492nd strike force or the Lion's Pride, Kane Brigade, and even the Marauder's unit to name a few, all merged into one force. He even saw a group a group of commandos, few who belonged to what was known as Delta Squad.
Even Wolf, Doom,ARC troopers Karma and Karnage, and the Null clones are here. Did they also take Fordo's lead and listen to Fives? It's incredible that a group of human soldiers engineered by the Kaminoans to be uniform in thinking are capable of self-thought.
"Wait until the others see who joined my cortege. "
Finally, after what felt like a run in a maze, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bail Organa entered a large room that served as the ship's foyer. The Force adept's eyes grew wide as he recognized the occupants of the room. However, his shock at seeing one in particular caramel-skinned Jedi chatting with a small green withered alien in a cream-colored robe. As soon as the envoy entered the room, all eyes turned onto them. Bail Organa cleared his throat to speak.
"Thank you for lending your Patriot's brigade militia as an escort, General Kota, but my personal guards would have sufficed. Nevertheless, I am pleased to say that Master Kenobi has been successfully delivered to us."
As Bail spoke, the Jedi Master's eyes were transfixed on every individual that happened to be present, most of them Jedi he had served alongside in the war.
"Master Windu! Master Yoda!"
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