Star Wars: The Rogue Knight

Republic Cruiser Requiem

High orbit over Coruscant

It took us ten hours to assemble a regiment with their equipment for transport. On the face of it that was a great achievement. However, the ground forces with the exception a few select formations were not combat effective at that time. I knew that we'll be dealing with some kind of virus so I was not going to send down men who didn't have good enough training and equipment for surviving in environment where such an WMD was released.

I hoped that we will be able to do something about their readiness by the time we reached Naboo. I had the feeling that I won't need all forces straight away but that was no reason to slack. The problem wasn't in the clones individual skills. It was just that most of them hadn't received any training at combat manoeuvres above the platoon level – all but three companies were quite green boys rushed from Kamino once their basic training was over. It was less than ideal but it was better to have them than not.

On more positive note, I had managed to pull through a promotion for Pellaeon. He was a brand new commodore in overall command of my space forces. Those consisted of three Venators – my Flagship Requiem, Victory and Onderon, five Acclamators, including Leveler and Dauntless as well as six frigate escorts.

Those were the combat ready sh.i.p.s which were ready for deployment. At least on paper my fleet was supposed to be much bigger, but such a force took a long time to assemble given the state of the war. Most of the new sh.i.p.s and ground forces were going as replacements to the formations engaged on the front lines.

For the moment my command was assigned to the strategic reserve, which also acted as a reinforced guard for Coruscant. That explained why I was called on to clean up the mess on Naboo, besides the obvious fact that I was available. There simply were no other a viable force at the moment and no one was able to pry the various system defence forces out of their home systems otherwise the state of the war would be much better for the Republic. Just Kuat's heavy capital sh.i.p.s could have made a huge difference. The same went for Corellia, but the latter was currently neutral.

I just got to the bridge with my small staff and Clone commander VC 541 'Vic' - the man in charge of the Clone troopers which we drafted for the mission to Naboo.

"Are we ready to depart?" I asked calmly, without showing any of the weariness I felt in my tone. The scramble to get everything ready was exhausting even when I could lean on the Force to rejuvenate my body.

"Yes, General. My men are on board. However, only one battalion and two reinforced companies are combat effective as we speak. We'll need at least a week for the whole regiment to be ready, sir." Vic reported.

That was worse than the reports I got so far. Joy.

"Concentrate to the units that could be prepared fastest. We may not have that long." I ordered. "Commodore, take charge of the Task Force. We are leaving." I turned to Pellaeon.

"Yes, sir!" Pellaeon gave me a salute and went to follow my orders.

"Lieutenant Veers, I want you on the ground with me on this op. I want to judge your abilities for myself." My attention shifted to my new protégée.

"Yes, sir!" Maximillian straightened up. "I won't disappoint you, General!"

"Carry on, men."

=RK=

City of Theed

Naboo

The journey to Naboo was barely long enough for us to have another battalion ready for combat. By the time we made orbit I had on my disposal two infantry battalions or to use the GAR lingo legions – a thousand men formations that were prepared for deployment. There were also two armor companies with walkers and one scout platoon. The rest of my ground forces would need at least two more days before I would consider sending them in combat, with the last battalion being more or less a lost cause after we cannibalised it for men and equipment. I hoped that it was going to be enough.

A few minutes after arriving in the system I was in a LAAT descending towards the city of Theed. The movies didn't do it justice. The city was built on a large plateau around a waterfall. As we approached, Theed was lit up by sun-rays from the east bathing it in golden shower. The combination of the sun, the domed architecture and warm pastel tones topped by green made by a stunning vista. It was one of the most amazing things I've seen and I've been to three different universes.

We landed at what appeared to be the same hangar seen in the Phantom Menace, where we were met by captain Typho, a female gungan and C-3PO. I introduced myself and my companions – Piett and Veers. Not seeing the senator I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

"Let me guess, Captain. Senator Amidala went ahead by herself." I grumbled. As if dealing with a CIS research lab containing who knew what nasty surprises wasn't complicated enough.

"Senator Padme can't be stopped when she makes up her mind." the droid added his two cents. Why didn't she take that blasted machine too? Then the CIS might finally get lucky and do us all a favour by blasting it to many tiny pieces.

"Captain, I recommend that the next time she goes suicidal you stun her." I grumbled. "Where exactly did she run to?"

"This is Peppi Bay. Padme sent her here. She is the last person to see them." Typho introduced the alien woman.

"Them? Did she for a change decide to take guards with her this time?" I asked with forlorn hope.

It did not matter what was my opinion about Amidala and her antics. Hell even what Sidious thought about her was not that important in this situation. She was the Senator of Naboo, a former Queen and personal friend of the Chancellor. If she got herself killed on my watch it won't be good. I was sure that Sidious would use such an opportunity to send me and my forces somewhere we won't be able to make too much trouble while using her death to further his agenda... I would have done the same in his shoes. I hate politics...

"Representative Binks is with her." Typho admitted with a straight face.

Of course he is. Getting rid of him should be achievable. I hoped. That bloody thing had the Emperor's own luck!

"Am I wrong to assume that you are searching for them?" I asked. "She doesn't have a proper security detail, does she?" I sighed. Probably not. Not with Padme's luck. She undoubtedly was already captured and needed saving. Bloody royals.

"Considering what happened we decided to wait for your arrival, General." Typho sounded even less happy to tell me the next bit of good news.

"Please enlighten us. I can't wait." My sarcasm was not lost on the captain who winced. "Ensign Piett, talk with the lady and arrange the last known location of our missing Senators to be scouted from orbit."

"I'm on it, sir!" Firmus saluted and went to talk with the Gungan woman.

Typho led us to a small ready room nearby which was dominated by a large holo-display in the form of a table. In its centre laid the head of B-1 droid. He pressed couple of buttons and a holographic representation of a humanoid man floated over the table.

"This is Dr. Nuvo Vindi. He was a famous doctor who disappeared years ago." The captain intoned in a grave tone.

The resident mad scientists started a monologue about having enough Blue Shadow to start filling bombs with it. I winced. I was familiar with that kriffing disease. It was a nasty piece of work even by Sith standards. That right there should tell you something about the virus.

"If this abomination is released in enough key places, it can easily cause a Galactic Pandemic that will make the war look like a children spat." I spat. That was the last thing we needed to deal with. The only good thing about Blue Shadow was that in order to be most effective it needed bodies of water to spread through. Otherwise, it was a short lived horror.

It would be a nasty shock to world like Coruscant. On Naboo? If left unchecked for even a short period of time it might wipe out most of the population and considering how much water was on this planet, the whole world would be in quarantine for months, perhaps years before the virus could be eradicated. A quarantine that must be enforced thus depleting the Navy's meagre reserves.

"I'll have my sh.i.p.s scan the area. Let's hope that the Senator has not revealed that we suspect about the virus." I sighed. If she was captured, the CIS garrison would be on alert.

I contacted Pellaeon who sent the frigates to sweep over the eastern marshes from orbit. Five minutes later we had the location of the lab and its rough plans which showed three separate entrances as well as an area with increased radiation. That was most likely the armoury where the bombs were being assembled. Fortunately in order to keep a low profile the base didn't have jammers running which would have made getting detailed scans impossible. It wasn't really surprising – planet-side the ECM couldn't be missed.

The CIS facility had at least ten disc shaped rooms and something which looked like a shaft leading to the surface. They all were connected with tunnels.

"This could get ugly. Veers I want you leading teams of demolitions experts to the armoury. You are to disarm all bombs you find there. I'll go after our friendly WMD expert." I glanced at the lieutenant who had his helmet in the crook of his left arm. "And don't forget that we are dealing with a bio weapon. I want the armours of all my men sealed tight."

Before we headed for the marches, I left Piett back as a liaison to Typho and the rest of the locals.

Amidala and the gungan menace were most likely captured and thus costing us the element of surprise. If we were lucky for once, they were simply lost and we would have more enough time to search for them. Or if we f.u.c.k.e.d up they were dead anyway as well as most of the population of Naboo.

=RK=

CIS Bio-weapon's lab

Eastern Marshes

Naboo

I had no illusions that the perimeter of the Separatist's base was anything but seeded with copious amount of sensors. I had only a handful of clones who were trained for stealth insertions. If I had a squad or two of Republic Commandos I would have led them in covertly so we would know what exactly we were dealing with. In such a case we would have done our best to seize the part of the base where the bombs were located and hold it while my main forces assaulted the place. That was a luxury we did not have.

The attack began with an air strike by squadron of Torrent's which screamed in from orbit and launched missiles at the southern part of the base – as far from where we believed the bombs and the virus were located as possible. The evening which had just descended over the marshes was illuminated by a crescendo of roaring explosions that shook the enemy facility to its foundations.

I was in the back of a LAAT with the first wave of our assault. Next to me a healed Cat and his men were ready to rappel to the ground the moment we were over the target. The leading gunsh.i.p.s unleashed AP missiles at the tunnels which were our chosen entrance points. On five separate places the ceilings of the base's corridors were breached. Seconds later a transport stopped above each of the new entrances and Clones were rappelling down after throwing in Ion and smoke grenades.

I was the first out of my LAAT and didn't bother with rappelling down. I just jumped out and for couple of seconds enjoyed the sensation of free falling. The sensation would have been much better if I was not encased in my sealed armour, which was now painted with an expensive "smart" paint that changed colour depending on the environment. I wanted eventually all my men to have such a camouflage but at least for now that was too expensive to contemplate. Five thousand credits only for my armor and a kit which would repair the coating if it was damaged by enemy fire. When you consider that I wanted all my ground troops to have it you suddenly start talking about real money.

A moment after jumping I called on the Force and enveloped myself with an energy field that absorbed most of my momentum. Just before I hit the ground, I pumped even more power in the sheathe around me. I landed lightly and the energy around me discharged in a shock-wave that threw away everything within the tunnel. Behind me a pair of synthetic ropes fell in the corridor and Cat and his men rappelled down.

The chatter of my other units deploying in the facility sounded in my ears.

"This is Veers! We are pinned down by destroyer droids!"

"Vic, vector AT teams to the lieutenants position. All units advance." I ordered and after making sure the tunnel was clean for the moment I closed my eyes and concentrated on the whispers of the Force.

I could feel the somewhat dull presence of the clones. I could see where Veers was taking cover at an intersection. He was waving an AT team, which had just jumped in behind him to deal with a trio of droidekas. The shielded wardroids were turning that path to the armoury into a shooting gallery.

Ah. There. About a hundred meters from where I stood were three people, two of whom were familiar. Yep. Amidala and Jar-Jar got caught. Again. Number three must be my target. I ran in that direction followed by Cat and ten clones. The rest of his men were fanning out to secure our rear. The next LAAT would get in enough troops so they could push for the other entrance of the armoury. Or make themselves a new one.

The only resistance I faced were two B-1's and a single Super Battle droid. Needless to say, those machines were unable to even slow us down. I deflected blaster bolts at the two flimsy clankers and cut in two their big brother as I passed by it. One of the clones shot the SB in the face when he ran over it. Just in case I guess.

I found the Doc and his captives behind a blast door which was made mostly by a transparent material. I guess it was more for a virus containment than for stopping a determined assault. There were a bunch of droids standing at attention behind him too.

There weren't enough of the clankers to make a difference.

It took me five seconds to cut a circle in it and jump through. My men were right behind me.

"Senator. We should stop meeting like this." I quipped at Amidala, who sent me a disgruntled look.

The Senator and Jar-Jar were on the ground, next to some kind of generator. They were tied to something that was looking like a big Tesla coil attached to said power source.

"Another step and your friends are dead!" sneered Vindi.

He pressed down a switch he was holding and his captives were shocked by arching bolts of electricity.

"Throw down your weapons!" he shouted. Vindi sounded like he actually expected us to comply.

"Idiot." I shook my head in exasperation and used the Force.

The mad doctor screeched when I used telekinesis to snap his left arm like a twig and shut down the current coursing through his captives.

"Kill them!" he gasped an order to the droids in the room.

I was already charging forward and was amongst the machines, before they could open comply. I telekinetically blasted the droids on my left at the nearby wall and deflected few shots from the faster droids on my other side. Cat and his troopers wasted no time and cheerfully started blasting the distracted clankers to little pieces.

I diagonally slashed through the torso of a B-1 druid, send back couple of shots to another which few back disabled and slammed my lightsaber to the hilt in the c.h.e.s.t of a Super Battle droid which was about to mow down my men with its wrist mounted dual blaster. I flourished my blade which was embedded in its torso and the droid fell to the ground in four glowing pieces.

The skirmish was over as fast as it began. The machines were down and only three of my men were wounded, none of them critical. However, their armours were breached. Which was very bad considering that in the commotion Vindi had his hale hand around a vial of blue gas. I should have stunned the bastard. I knew better than to underestimate crazy scientists.

"It's too late, fools!" Vindi shouted and threw it at the ground.

Before the vial could hit the metal floor and shatter I caught it gently with the Force. The doctor just grinned at me dementedly and looked at his shattered left arm. There was a metal brace around it with a prominent red button, in a circle around which were small lights glowing crimson. The first one blinked out.

"Time is running out!" he taunted.

"General we found the bombs! They are all active." Veers called over the comm.

"Start disarming them." I snapped.

I stared at the mad man who had his head protected by a transparent crystal dome. I could see it in his eyes. There was no way to remotely disarm the bombs.

"In the unlikely event we are unable to stop all the bombs you'll be taking some of your own medicine." I said and used my powers to shatter the bubble protecting him.

"Commander Vic I want all of my men whose armor was breached to evacuate back to the decontamination areas set up on the Assault Sh.i.p.s. Veers, disarm the bombs and check if they contain vials of the virus. We can't afford to miss ever one of those things. Lieutenant Cat, get Senators Amidala and Binks out of here."

"Wait a minute! I am going nowhere until I know that Naboo is safe!" snapped Padme.

"Stun her if you have to." I Ignored her protests and headed out while dragging Vindi using the Force.

I knew that there was something important I was forgetting. I was wondering what it was when I sensed a movement in a side corridor. I found there a ridiculous looking, small droid which was clutching a bomb in its manipulators. Ah. That was it. I plucked the bomb from its clutches and sent a lightning bolt at the little bugger. I watched with satisfaction as its circuits fried under the onslaught and then its plating started melting. He'll unleash a virus on my men, won't he? Serves him right!

I disarmed the bomb and retrieved the vial. Well that was done.

I was such a fool to think that it would be that easy...

=RK=

Near the City of Theed

Naboo

A figure cloaked in a black mantle leaned on a tree overlooking the river that passed through the capital of Naboo. He observed the opening stages of the assault over the research lab before Republic jamming cut off the feeds. He waited for five minutes before sending a signal to one of a few heavily shielded against detection listening stations spread around the facility. They were connected with the lab by landlines so the jamming was not an issue. With that done the man whose face was hidden by a black mask went to a speeder bike parked nearby. He retrieved four spherical devices from a compartment at the back of his ride and went to the river. He pressed two buttons on each of the small drones and threw them in the water. The current would do the rest.

He returned to his speeder and activated a holocomm which was built in it. A figure whose features were hidden by a hood appeared.

"Phase one is done my master." rasped the man on Naboo.

"Well done. We shall have our vengeance."

The man was long gone by the time the drones detonated on the outskirts of the city. Soon Theed was engulfed by a blue mist. He never knew he was a mere pawn serving two very different masters.

=RK=

CIS Bio-weapons lab

eastern marshes

Naboo

I was near a LAAT landed on the surface above the enemy base along with my captive. We were waiting for Cat, who was escorting a protesting Amidala to one of the gunsh.i.p.s. She had decided to comply without needing to be stunned but was making it clear how displeased she was with the poor lieutenant. That's when hell went lose. All the warning I got was a mere flicker through the Force signifying I wasn't really in any notable danger.

Subdued thumps sounded throughout the facility. Ear-piercing alarms started blaring. I turned my head to the nearest hole in the ground which was leading to the underground base. That didn't sound good.

"Veers, report!" I snapped.

"Some kind of internal detonations, general. The containment procedures on the base are going in effect. There is blue smoke coming from the vents!" He reported.

"Get out of there! Now!" I ordered.

"General! We have a serious problem over here!" Piett shouted over the comm.

"What's happening? We are little busy ourselves." When it rains it pours.

"There are waves of blue mist coming over the river passing through the city!" shouted my aide.

"God damn it! Piett please tell me that you have your kriffing helmet on and your armor is sealed."

"Uh... Yes, sir." He stammered.

"Good man. I want you talk with Typho and confirm if the mist is the Blue Shadow." I switched to another channel. "Commodore Pellaeon, I trust that you are monitoring the situation on the ground. All hell is breaking loose over here. I have confirmed release of Blue Shadow at my location and possible one at Theed. On my authority from this moment on Naboo is under quarantine. You are to deploy your forces as you deem fit in order to enforce it. No one is leaving this world without my permission."

I turned my attention to Vindi.

"As for you." I telekinetically raised him in the air. "Where is the antidote?"

"You are mistaken, Jedi. I was hired to revive the virus and make it airborne. There is no cure!" he chuckled.

I snorted.

"You are the one mistaken, doctor. I am no Jedi." I raised my right hand so he could see purple lightning dancing between my fingers. "You will tell me everything even if I have to tear it from your mind piece by piece." I hissed.

Lighting cracked and Vindi screamed.