Precognition Fail
Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 10:57am by Jedi Knight Enchelei Dardana
Mission:
Episode 1 - All Roads Lead to Nowhere
Location: Forward Republic Camp, Nexus Ortai, Hertae Sector, Reena Trade Route, Mid Rim
Timeline: Day of Order 66, concurrent with events on Coruscant and Utapau
"It is day four of the Campaign to retake Nexus Ortai. As has become the norm, I am to take the scouts with me to ascertain enemy numbers and positions before we formulate a plan for this stage of the battle." A yellow-skinned hand, decorated along the wrist with dark markings tapped on a Versafunction88 data pad. "I find myself again fascinated with this new race that was created to fight the war against the Separatists with us. Or was it for us? Some days I can't tell the distinction. Keepers of the Peace and slaves, fighting a war so that the masses can sleep peacefully, knowing someone else is doing the dirty work. Mustn't think such thoughts, I can almost hear Master Wu chastizing me through our bond."
"The Troopers are men of high focus and skill, yet they disturbingly lack individuality. Save for a few individual clones who had had the opportunity to work Jedi or other naval personnel. Captain Burner, Master Wu's Second-In-Command for example. A burning fire under the icy veneer." The woman sat haunched over at a small desk in the Command Tent. She sighed, leaning her head into her hand.
She could feel their signatures in the Force, they were quite clearly distinct, yet the essence of what made a person was...not there? Or not developed? The newly knighted Jedi shook out of her reverie and looked up, observing the troopers moving about their business outside.
Lieutenant Shard, the ARC Trooper assigned from the Special Ops Corps sat on the other side of the tent, engrossed in his own data pad. Shard was almost the polar opposite of Burner. The ARC Trooper was warm, friendly, chatty and from what Master Wu said, quite clever. He was also fiercely independent, though from her understanding most if not all ARC's shared that trait.
One couldn't help but wonder if it was engineering or evolution that produced such traits.
"Who's on recon with me today, Shard?" She called over to the ARC Trooper.
Shard had his thick black hair in a standard cut most clones sported and a neatly trimmed goatee. With dark skin and honey brown eyes, he painted quite a picture. On top of that, he threw on a cheeky grin as he looked over at her.
"That would be me, Blackie, Len and Vas, General." Shard replied.
Enchelei couldn't help but grin back, "should be easy going then."
"Too right, General Dardana." Shard nodded resolutely, "this time we are taking the planet back from those kriffin' Seppies."
It was almost infectious, his enthusiasm, she realized. Enchelei got up from her chair and shut the data pad down, attaching it to her belt. As she straightened up, she felt a strange, niggling sensation in the back of her mind, her stomach twisting.
Something was off, but she couldn't tell if it was her own feeling or if it was coming from Master Wu, or the Force itself.
Looking outside, she saw the Echani/Thyrsian hybrid marching over to her in an obvious hurry.
"Enchelei, come with me, please." He motioned for her to follow him, not stopping his brisk pace as he stepped around the tend, towards the direction of the landing zone.
"Master?" She called as she followed after him with a jog. "What's going on?"
White hair billowing in the gentle wind, the ever calm Master spoke, "I've received a communication from the Sector Fleet, there are strong indications that a Separatist group is heading for Benja-Rihn." He said as he detached his own data pad from his belt and tapped on it.
Benja-Rihn was a planet of the sector in Enchelei's charge, Sevastol. The planet held a secret that the Jedi wanted to keep just that. Secret. The Temple of Tet-Ami.
"I hadn't found any intel to support this before I left," Dardana said as she fell into step with the hurrying master.
Wu shook his head, "an unexpected development."
Something was definitely off. She could feel a panic and a rush underneath his calm demeanor.
"Master..."
"Go, we will be fine. We can take this planet back without you." He placed a hand on her shoulder as they reached the landing site where her Barloz class freighter was waiting. "I've sent instructions ahead to R4."
R4-D8, her fairly new astromech.
"Master, are you sure? This is highly unusual." Enchelei pressed as she squeezed his hand.
Zhu-Shan Wu smiled down at the Mirialan woman. "I am proud of you, Enchelei Dardana. You will make a great Jedi Master. Go..." he said handing her the data pad he was holding.
As she looked down, out of her sight, to the side, Clone Captain Burner received a holo call, a hooded figure issuing instructions. Sergeant Aster received the same message.
"RUN!!" The text on the pad said.
Just then she heard the distinct whirr of a lightsaber being drawn, followed by blaster bolts, followed by deflection of the same blaster bolts. The pad dropped to the ground as Enchelei quickly drew her own sabers, green blades engaging in a defensive fan, typical of a Jar'kai modification of the Form III, Soresu.
"The Jedi have betrayed the Republic and have been targeted for execution! All units, fire!" Troopers quickly pooled out of what they were doing, blasters ready and firing.
"What the kriff is going on?!" Enchelei yelled over the blaster fire as the two Jedi ran for cover at the nearby crates.
Dardana exctended her hand, pushing out with the Force, sending a portion of the Troopers flying backward. It served only to ease onslaught but a little.
"Enchelei, go!" The Jedi Master reached out with the force, pulling more crates and throwing them into the clone troopers.
"Master, I am not leaving you here!" Enchelei growled as she ducked behind their cover.
He ducked behind the cover too, grasping her upper arm roughly, "you must, or we both die! I will hold them off! Go! I will find you!"
By now more troopers had arrived at the scene, firing their blasters.
Dardana nodded, feeling through their bond what he wanted her to do. She drew upon the struggling Force around them, and stood up at the same time as Wu, using all her strength in the Force to push as many away from them as she could.
A stray shot shot her lightsaber, making the hilt explode, burning her hand. Wu stood, light saber drawn in a defensive position.
"Master!" Enchelei threw her remaining lightsaber to him and soon, a green blade joined his blue blade.
Zhu-Shan Wu walking away from her into a flurry of blaster fire was the last she saw of him before making a mad dash towards her ship, pushing out with the Force blindly.
"R4, we need to go now!"
The druid buzzed and chirruped in reply from the cockpit as she ran in and sat in the pilot's chair, frantically initiating liftoff. Safety procedures were the last thing on her mind right now, she would deal with any damage or aftermath after they jumped to hyperspace. They needed to do so the moment they broke orbit, before Master Wu's Venator Class Star Destroyer fired upon them, no doubt helmed by the clones who had taken over.
But why? What had happened? How...the Jedi didn't betray the Republic!
"Stop! Stop! Stop! Focus!" She told herself, flicking switches. "R4, we need the nav computer ready the moment we break orbit or they will shoot us out of the sky!"
"Chirp! Bleep! Whirr?"
"I don't know! The clones just turned on us and attacked us!" Enchelei maneuvred the ship upwards.
"Bleep! Bleep! Static!"
"He stayed behind to cover our escape." She replied thickly, willing the fear and the tears away.
A sad bleep.
"I know. I know...is the computer ready? We'll be breaking orbit in thirty seconds!" Enchelei urged.
"Chirp! Bleep! Chirrup! Chirp!"
It wouldn't be ready in time, the nav computer. "I'll try, this ship is not made for combat. Just hurry!"
Enchelei didn't even know where Master Wu's ship, the Shimmering Blade was in orbit relative to them, but she didn't want to wait to find out. She readied herself to dive into evasive maneuvres immediately, to give R4 the time it needed to calibrate the computer.
"Bleep bleep?"
"Benja-Rihn. I have to get to the Temple and seal it. Fierfek!" Enche cursed as a shot from the Shimmering Blade skirted across their starboard side.
Dardana took the ship into an evasive maneuver, the old vessel groaning under the stress. The Shadowdancer could take a few punches, but it was not made for combat. Especially missing a gunner who could fire the turret while Enchelei flew the ship.
"R4?!"
"Static!"
"Hurry!"
The shot impaced the hull this time, adding a shake and a few sparks behind their seats to the groans. The Mirialan sent the ship into another maneuver.
Alarms were going off in multiple systems, warnings flashing across the screens. Enchelei would normally be out of the seat by now troubleshooting and bypassing systems to isolate problems. This was not a normal situation. So, she prayed to the Force and to the Spirits that the Mirialans worshipped that the nav computer would be ready soon.
"Bleeeep!"
"Oh, thank the Force!" Enchelei reached over to the hyperdrive handle and pulled it down.
Inertia bound her to her seat as the stars elognated around her, then the hyperdrive kicked in, and the Shadowdancer jumped to Hyperspace.
