Chapter 12: The Phantom Nemesis(2)

Mace was shrouded by his robe, wearing his hood up, his arms folded beneath the heavy sleeves of his garb. But though his eyes were hidden, they remained fixed on the Supreme Chancellor, watching with a silent intensity as the Jedi Master lingered in the alcove behind the Roonian Senator's currently fixed platform. He did not blink, and did not watch with only his eyes.

Despite this being the very heart of the Republic, Mace had long sensed a hidden darkness here. At first, he had thought it to be a general sense of the flow of things, but the more and more he moved to and from Coruscant, the more certain he became that this pall of shadow was something more local than he had first guessed. The Darkside was everywhere, strengthening despite the efforts of his order, and the many sacrifices they had made for the Republic.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor's vice grip over power in the Republic only grew more and more entrenched. The courts had been slowly but surely filled with his supporters, and while they railed against him now, the Senate was largely in his favor when it came to the handling of the war. And now with this new threat, yet another opportunity was being presented before Palpatine, one which he could leverage to gain even more power, not just in the clone war, but in all wars.

He questioned again whether or not he was making a mistake by going along with Anakin's plan. Would the Order's actions save the Republic, or thrust it further into the hands of the Supreme Chancellor? Mace was not sure, but he put the thoughts aside as he felt a light touch on his shoulder.

"It is time." The hooded Padawan said.

Mace nodded, turning and leaving his place to be occupied by the messenger as he departed to meet with the others. He took a speeder back to the temple, and from there flew his starfighter up to one of the many orbiting Golan Defense Platforms which guarded Coruscant. He docked and dismounted his craft, going to the preordained place, shuttle bay 66.

He kept his hood up as he moved through the station, showing his credentials to the droid attendant who approached him, and entering the bay. The place was packed with refugees from Axum and Anaxes, those who had managed to escape before the outsiders had managed to enclose the system completely.

A surprisingly large number of civilians had managed to escape, but even so, that only meant that the refugee crisis which was now developing was only becoming more exacerbated. Nearly every single bay on this entire station, and many other stations besides, were packed even more densely than this one was. There were easily five thousand in this room alone, and Mace stepped carefully as he moved around huddled, shrouded forms, makeshift campfires, and rough, temporary dwellings.

He found the exact place in moments, his unnaturally keen eyes locating the sign above the maintenance door, drawn in white the dull silver of the bay walls. The spread wings of the order. He moved there, knocked twice, and entered. Within the confines of the abandoned maintenance room leaned and stood the robed and hooded figures of Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master Quinlan Vos, Master Shaak-Ti, Master Plo koon, and former padawan Ahsoka Tano.

The center of the dimly lit room had been cleared of everything but a wide table, on which sat two holo-imagers, each one projecting their own holograms. One was of the Planet Axum, the sphere rotating slowly, with several points across its surface highlighted prominently. The other was a figure, a Weequay male dressed in the recognizable motley of a pirate. Windu frowned, but said nothing as he approached.

"...Took a lot to get this, and let me tell you, it was not cheap! Lost more men on this job than I did trying to kidnap that Echani Princess a few years back." The pirate was saying.

"I know, I know, and we are thankful, Hondo." Said Ahsoka.

"Thankful? You better be more than thankful!" The Pirate snapped.

"You will be properly compensated for your services to us. I will make sure of that." Said Shak-Ti, who loomed behind Ahsoka, her hood also raised.

"Well, as long as the Jedi in the room says so. I know how honest you tend to be." He said with a laugh.

"Of course," Mace interjected.

"What we offer you will be entirely contingent on how useful what you have to offer turns out to be. So for both our sakes, I hope whatever it is you have to show us is worth it."

The little hologram turned to regard him hatefully.

"Oh you trust me, it's worth it!"

Mace nodded.

"Then why don't you go ahead and show us."

Hondo seemed to step back and looked around.

"Aren't we still waiting for Skywalker?" The Pirate asked.

Mace looked around, his eyes finding Obi-Wan. The armored jedi shrugged, his face suggesting chagrin. Mace shook his head, Anakin was late to his own meeting.

"Proceed, we will brief him when he arrives." Mace said.

Hondo squinted at him, and withdrew a datapad from his ensemble. He tapped away at it a few times before stowing it again.

"OK, with that out of the way." He said, pressing a button on his wrist.

The globe which represented Axum glowed and expanded.

"We managed to ping a whole mess of targets for you in the last few weeks. Smugglers have been having a field day, the new "Imperial" authority is still completely clueless as to how Hyperdrives work, and they don't seem to understand that small ships can carry them. That being said, they are lethal, and they shoot first and ask questions never."

He pressed another button on his wrist and the globe spun and zoomed into a particular location. Displayed before them was a city, Azure city, a massive district in the urbanized landscape of Axum, and one of the wealthiest.

In the center of the image was a pyramidal, flat topped building which was clearly of a different architecture than the city surrounding it, made of gray stone braced with blackened iron in place of the gleaming steel of the buildings around it. It bore stacks upon stacks of gun emplacements, and already was adorned with many skull and angel themed depictions.

"This is one of many fortresses that the outsiders have been building around the planet." Said Hondo.

"It's only been a few weeks, and they've already built this much?" asked Master Plo.

The Pirate nodded.

"They appear to deploy most of the building from space, mostly assembled before it even touches down. They drop in these big boxes and pods, and when they land, the workers on the ground put the rest together. And let me tell you something, these outsiders, they don't take breaks! They have cyborg slaves, or something similar, and those freaks never stop working! It only takes them hours to start adding the skulls."

Vos raised his hand.

"As interesting as their work ethic might be, I gotta ask where this is going. You said they are putting these bunkers up all over the planet. So I guess my question is, what makes this one so special?"

Hondo smirked, shoulders rising in an internal wave of self aggrandizement that Windu could feel, even standing lightyears away.

"Well my perceptive jedi employer, the special thing about this base is that I am 90% sure that this one is the main one! And by that I mean, the one from which all coordination from around the planet is directed."

Mace rubbed his chin.

"Interesting, what leads you to believe that?" The Jedi Master asked.

"We have been intercepting their radio communications. After Anakin gave us the translation matrix for their language, it was not a problem to start figuring them out. Like I said, unless this is a very convincing misdirection, and I do not think that it is, this is the main place. Take this place out, and you decapitate their planet wide C&C."

"That's a good start," Murmured Obi-Wan.

"But even getting that far won't be easy. What do we know about their orbital defenses?" He asked.

"Well, not much, but that's half because we know next to nothing about how their ships work, and half because there isn't much to know." Said the Pirate.

"Explain." Mace insisted.

"They only left three ships behind, well, four really. One of the big ones, about five kilometers long, and two of their smaller ones. You know, the ones that only dwarf your ships by double their size."

"And the Fourth ship?" Asked Ahsoka

"It's a Providence Class Dreadnought. I think it was Admiral Trench's flagship before Anaxes got left to the outsiders. It's docked and secured to the side of one of the smaller ships. I have no idea what they are doing with it."

Mace's eyes snapped up at that, and he found the gaze of master Obi-Wan already directed towards himself.

"The Bomb."

"The Bomb!" They both said, eyes widening in realization and shock.

"Bomb?" Hondo asked, but the two jedi shook their heads.

"Best not to discuss that here or now. But we will need to take care of that ship first. Before anything else." Obiwan said.

Hondo shrugged at that.

"If you ask me, three ships should be too few to withstand the Republic Fleet, but I heard they took next to no losses at Pzob, so maybe it is enough. I don't know. What I do know is that, from their initial invasion of Axum, we can easily see that they never shrink away from a good old fashioned orbital bombardment! Heh, if you plan to fight on the surface, I'd make sure they were tied up, just to be safe." He suggested.

"We will do even better." Said Mace.

"We will show them that their technology and strategy are pointless in the face of the force."

Several of the other masters were nodding at this, a few even smiled.

"And how are you planning on doing that?" Asked the Pirate.

Then it hit him, and his wrinkled face stretched into an unfriendly grin.

"You are going to board them, aren't you?"

Mace said nothing, not denying the statement.

"Well, if you were, I may have some special...merchandise that could help you with that."

"And just what would that merch be, Hondo?" Ahsoka asked, arms crossed but a bemused smile playing across her lips.

"Oh, just some modified space rocks a couple of verpine friends of mine were looking to get rid of. I could sell them to you for cheap, eh, as long as you don't mind mynocks."

Ahsoka smirked and looked at the others, who gave her their opinions without speaking a word aloud.

"We will talk about that after this meeting. But they need to be made available fast Hondo, or no deal, no matter how cheap!" She said.

"But of course! If you were to pay this very second, I could have them in your possession immediately! Eh, not that I'm trying to rush your purchase or-" The Pirate started.

"Enough. Moving on, once we neutralize their fleet in Orbit, we will be limited in the number of objectives we can strike and neutralize. I think we are all in agreement that this main bunker must be disabled and placed under our control. That being said, I do believe we will have the numbers to engage one more objective. What do you have in that regard?" Said Mace

"Well," the Pirate said hesitantly.

"Only two worth considering, in my humble opinion." He said, pressing a button on his wrist, and causing the hologram to shift, changing to the view of a massive, shining temple made in the style of the outsiders.

It appeared only half finished, but its central mass was mostly complete, and gold and silver filigree were being added along with statues and ornaments of the kind the outsiders were being more and more known for.

"They've got something shiny and important hidden away in there." Said the Pirate.

"According to some of the people on the inside, they had an altar there first, with some big thing placed there, but no one was allowed close to it. Over time the altar became a chapel, and then a church, and, well, as you can see, more and more. Now it's basically a fortress, and it is almost as heavily guarded as that main fortress from before."

"So, what do they get in there?" Vos asked.

The scoundrel shrugged his holographic shoulders.

"I have no idea, but whatever it is, it's important. Even if it is just some religious artifact, it could be worth more than the planet itself to seize it and use it against them, or at least to bargain with in the future. My inner pirate cannot look upon such an obvious mark and not, well, mark it."

"And what else did you find?" Shaak-Ti asked.

At this question, Hondo did seem sober.

"You told me I was dealing with human supremacists. I'd never heard of the Pius Dea before, but then again, I've never been one for history books. But I did my research before I sent my people in...and it did not prepare me for what they were doing."

He pressed another button, and the hologram shifted to a compound. Every face darkened, and a few even gasped, as the view panned and moved closer to reveal what was happening. The camps were full with mostly aliens, though some humans could also be seen. The image changed, moving between scenes of the inside and outside of the horrid place.

Men, women, and children were enslaved. They were being tortured, abused in every way a mind might conceive. Starved, forced to work in fetters, humiliated and scorned by the unrestrained cruelty and depravity of their jailors. These compounds were not just alien internment camps, they were all purpose death camps.

"This is just one location out of hundreds. I haven't really been able to notice if any one is larger than the others, since the occupancy rates fluctuate so much. But anyone who speaks out against the occupiers, gets caught committing crimes against them, or if they simply are not human, they get sent to one of these."

"We have to stop this!" Ahsoka said, slamming her hands down on the table, eyes sickeningly fixed on the abject cruelty on display before them.

Mace nodded.

"What is the point behind this? Are they drawing power from this somehow?"

Firing squads, living mass graves, forced labor, gas chambers, death by dropping, death by mass drowning. It was almost as if the outsiders were themselves desperate in the execution of their nihilistic genocides. The only saving grace in all of this was that Anaxes and Axum were, by and large, human dominated worlds. Watching the murder go on, Ahsoka realized that if this had not been the case, they may have chosen to simply ruin the planet from orbit in place of this horrific occupation.

"There isn't any." Hondo said, a note of depression edging his normally chipper or indifferent tone.

"They don't even bother to appropriate their possessions before killing them most of the time. They burn or bury you with everything you had on your person. Wasteful...Not to mention curel, terrible, and unspeakable evil!" He said, adding in the last bit when Ahsoka shifted her glare from the hologram to him.

"You have to understand, I'm not the most reputable businessman myself. Naturally I have a high tolerance for the unscrupulous. But even for a man like me, this is, in every way, inexcusable. It's not even understandable. If they were not dedicating so much manpower to doing this, we probably would not have been able to get nearly as much information as we did."

Mace nodded again as the hologram shifted from a depiction of the horrid acts, to the crest and symbol of the Crimson Razors.

"Give us the location of all of these sites. After we have liberated Axum, our first point of order will be to free these people as quickly as possible." He said.

"Except for the camp we are going to liberate during our initial attack, right?" Ahsoka asked, turning to face the Jedi Master.

He narrowed his eyes at her impertinent glare and shook his head.

"We cannot prioritize the liberation of a single one of these camps over our struggle with the new Pius Dea. If that temple contains something they revere, then it will save billions if there is any way we can use it as leverage, to say nothing of what it could teach us about them while it is in our possession."

"That's-That's outrageous!" Ahsoka said.

"The temple will still be there when the fighting is done, you can have your prize then!" she contended.

"We do not know that. It would not surprise me at all if these radical Dea members would choose to destroy their own sacred artifact before allowing it to fall into our hands." Mace countered.

"He does have a point." Hondo's hologram was added from the table.

"Intercepted messages have at least hinted to us that if the planet's defenses fall, they intended to detonate the structure to keep you from "Desecrating their Holy Gains". That is part of the reason I mentioned it first."

The Jedi master nodded his head towards the pirate.

"Precisely, we must seize it before they realize the battle is lost. That will be the only way to ensure we obtain it, and whatever it represents. Besides, these camps shall certainly remain after the battle, so I'd suggest you heed your own words."

The former Jedi grit her teeth.

"But the people in those camps won't be." she hissed.

"This is not up for discussion." He hissed back.

"With all respect, Master, you are being ridiculous! We are the Jedi, we shouldn't prioritize-" She started.

"WE are the Jedi," Mace corrected.

"You are a concerned, and appreciated citizen of this Republic, but you are not a member of this order, or of this council." He said.

Ahsoka grit her teeth even harder, hands clenching at her sides, but she said nothing. Instead she took a breath, exhaled, and began to walk towards the door.

"Well, since I'm not part of this order, I suppose I shouldn't be party to its decisions." she said, pressing the access button to the side of the door, and making to leave.

"Ahsoka…" Shak-Ti started to say, but a raised hand from Windu paused her, and the former Padawan walked out.

Before the door could close, however, two more robed figures ducked in. One pulled back her hood to reveal the puzzled face of Jedi Master Aayla Secura.

"What was that about?" She asked as she and the other came closer.

"A difference of tactical opinion." Mace said dismissively as he turned to fully face the new arrivals.

He gave Secura a smile and nod before looking at the one who stood beside her. Whoever he was, he was no jedi, that much Windu could sense.

"And you are?" He asked.

The clone pulled back his hood with a stern, but friendly expression.

"We've met before General." He said.

"Commander Bly!" Mace said, genuinely surprised.

"I certainly was not expecting your involvement in our orders less...official actions."

Bly stepped forward, standing nearer to Windu, and rubbed his own chin as he seemed to take on a posture of intense consideration.

"Correct me if I am wrong General, but does this 'less than official' action involve invading Axum ahead of the Republic vote in order to force a dedicated, proper counter attack on these religious zealots we are letting run rampant?"

Windu blinked.

"Well, in a word, yes." He said.

Commander Bly smiled.

"Well what a coincidence then! It just so happens that I have a particular fondness for invading, counter attacks, AND I've never had the privilege of visiting Axum before. Now I won't have to after the war."

The Jedi cracked a smile and clasped the clone on the shoulder.

"Then it's good to have you with us, I just hope you can keep up."

"By myself Sir? Not a chance, but luckily, I won't be on my own." The clone said.

"The entire 327th are willing to join our cause." Aayla said.

Mace rubbed his chin.

"Commander, you understand that you are risking a court martial by doing this. You and all your men. We are not acting in our capacity as Generals of the Republic, but in our role as Jedi knights. You are not a Jedi, and this could be seen as desertion or worse."

The commander's face stiffened, but he nodded.

"I understand that sir, and I assure you, I would rather face a thousand court martials before letting my General go into battle without her army, especially if it's to drive out invaders. I know where my loyalties lie, and I am, as I have always been, a Soldier of the Grand Army of the Republic! All my men are!"

Windu gave him a sharp nod.

"Then I'll question it no further. Though I cannot promise that Anakin will approve of this alteration to his plan."

"What alterations?"

All turned at the voice, seeing two more robed figures enter the room. Anakin drew back his hood to reveal himself, face branded with his customary cocky smile.

"Commander Bly and the 327th Star Corp have just…" Master Obi-Wan started to say, though his voice trailed off as the second figure drew back his hood.

Shak-Ti shook her head, bemused, while Vos chuckled, despite himself, and Plo tilted his visored face.

"Captain Rex." Mace Windu said.

"Can I assume that this explains your lateness, young Skywalker? And, can I go further and assume the whole 501st will be joining us as well?"

Anakin's grin grew wider.

"Nothing gets past you Master Windu...where's Ahsoka? I thought she would be here."

"She is waiting with the others in the bay outside." Windu said.

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's get out there!"

"We are in the middle of devising our plan, Anakin. Do you want us to fill you in?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No need," Said Anakin, raising his hand to show off a holo-displayer disk he was holding.

"I've been having Hondo send me the meeting while we moved to get here. It seems pretty clear to me what we should do." He said.

Windu gestured towards the table.

"This is your plan, by all means, inform us."

"Hondo, get those space rocks of yours here ASAP, we are going to need them. Also, you know those assault pods you use to board ships? We are going to need all of them."

The Pirate nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, sure, but I expect to be paid in full!"

Anakin then turned to Master Windu.

"Their strongest force will be stationed on their largest ship, which we will need to neutralize. That I will leave to you and Master Obi-Wan. Meanwhile, I will take the 501st back to Trench's Flagship, and finish what we started. We will neutralize the bomb and make sure it cannot be used, at least, not remotely."

He then turned to Masters Vos and Aayla.

"Master Quinlan Vos, you will be given the main force going to the ground. You are the most familiar with urban infiltration and assault, so we will be depending on you to take their main bunker."

Vos smiled, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyes alight.

"Groovy."

"Master Aayla Secura, you will take the 327th and capture that Temple simultaneously."

Aayla nodded, standing straight and determined beside her trusted commander, who saluted as she answered.

"We can do this."

"What about the last ship?" Asked Master Plo Koon.

"That's where you come in Master Plo. You and a detachment of Pilots will engage them in starfighters. It's just one ship, and you will be flying with other Jedi, but if it does turn out to be too much, retreat back to Coruscant and get help. We will figure something out to hold off while you get back."

The Jedi master seemed to think for a moment before nodding.

"Very well."

"OK, let's go! I'll fill you all in on everything else on the way." Anakin said, turning back around towards the door.

"What's the rush, Skywalker?" Mace asked, coming to stand beside him.

The impetuous Jedi Knight grinned fiercely.

"The word just came in, a few minutes before I arrived." He said.

Mace lifted an eyebrow.

"Then…" Mace ventured.

Anakin nodded.

"The Separatists just started pulling back all their forces, abandoning their weeks of gains. The Pius Dea have reached their borders, and they are likely learning some hard lessons even as we speak. Now is the perfect time to strike, both our enemies are distracted with each other! We can retake Anaxes and Axum in hours if we strike now!"

Mace nodded, eager to be on with it, though subconsciously grateful that Master Yoda would be staying behind to guard and watchover most of the order's padawans and jedi of lesser rank. Yet, as Anakin stepped out into the crowded bay, and leapt atop a tall stack of crates, Windu could not help but feel optimistic about their chances.

Anakin drew his saber and raised it high, activating it. The act was like the lighting of a beacon, and in response, nearly five thousand hidden jedi tossed off their disguises, and lifted their own sabers in answer.

"For master Mundi! For Axum and Anaxes! For the Republic!" He called.

"For the Republic!"

Answered the Unified might of the Jedi Knights of the Republic, Guardians of this Galaxy for over 24 Thousand Years, and now prepared for war in such a manner as had never been seen since the Days Ruusan.

The Chosen one smiled. He would give them victory, even in death, he would give the Republic its Victory.