Clone Wars: Underground - Chapter 11
Moff Tarkin strode on deck and was met by his chief of communications.
“Sir, the ship that intruded on the docking bay was a freighter that does not fit the description of any Imperial supply ship.”
“Find the ship. Check landing manifests.” Tarkin ordered promptly.
“Sir, they could have gone anywhere. It could take a considerable amount of time.”
“Did you notice anything different about the ship they left on.” The tightness in his voice made the officer stiffen. He knew it was a test.
“Uh, sir?”
“It had a Republic Army tag on the hull. The captain was a supply runner for the Republic.”
Tarkin waited.
“I can run an official request for recent touchdowns of ships with the GAR supply code. That should narrow the ship considerably.”
“That ship and its captain have participated in criminal acts and I want a warrant out for them.”
“On it, sir.”
Tarkin nodded and called his second in command.
“Mardin. The miscreants who forced themselves aboard were with clones. What do you make of it?”
Commander Ferr Mardin looked perplexed. He was a straightforward and committed officer but at the moment he looked almost troubled by the news of the break in. The turbolift came to a stop and they exited to a small conference room.
“I believe they’ve been compromised. They have forsaken their loyalty. What I don’t know is why.”
“Clones are unstable animals. With the Republic and its weak morals gone, it’s no surprise that some have become defective.” Tarkin surmised with cold calculation.
“The clones were trained with those morals. They would feel conflict with Imperial correctness.”
“If they are allowed to roam free, the Imperial Navy could potentially lose a large percentage of their labor force.”
“While I believe that the loss of clone forces would ultimately be for the benefit of the Imperial forces in general, we cannot allow renegade insurgents to amass their own forces and steal Imperial property.” Tarkin concluded.
“Yes sir.”
“I will be taking my division to deal with rising resistance on Kashyyyk.” Tarkin said in his usual formal tone. “I trust you can deal with these traitors.”
“It will be done.” Mardin stated confidently. “I already have a plan.”
“Very good. You will take the Arbiter.”
Mardin’s expression lightened a shade. The Arbiter was a newly commissioned destroyer assigned to Tarkin’s command. Mardin would be the first to take her out in service to the Empire.
“We will prevail.” He did his best to keep his excitement out of his voice.
“Of course, you know I’ll expect a full report as soon as the traitors are rounded up.”
“Yes sir!” Mardin was already itching to get underway. He saluted as the Moff left him to his preparations. The first thing he did was to comm the communications officer on the bridge.
“Officer, halt your search for the traitors. Send everything to the Arbiter. They’ll take over.” It was actually unnecessary to look for the ship. Mardin already knew its name, registry, and captain. He still had to make it look like they were continuing the search for now. There was a little piece of information that he had and Tarkin didn’t. Mardin didn’t want that information getting out.
Mardin boarded his shuttle. The trip was short, the Arbiter was already in orbit over Coruscant. He landed in the newly commissioned Star Destroyer, his Star Destroyer. He went straight to the bridge.
“Officer, your name.”
“Maisley, sir.”
“Maisley, stop running the scan for the Republic Supply Runner and look up docking records for the Red Ladalum. “Right away, sir.”
Moments passed and his reply came.
“The Red Ladalum, a supply runner during the Clone Wars, has just docked at a spaceport at Obroa-Skai.”
“Do we have anyone there?”
The officer checked his records. “There’s a clone commander by the name of Wolffe investigating the disappearance of a commando in the same system.”
“Very good. Let’s pay them a visit, shall we?”
“This is the place. Keep your eyes open.” Rex’s tone was as it always was, military. He strode with purpose and caution down the ramp followed by Fives, Burnout, and Kisha. Ty was still working on hooking the military computer up to the Ladalum. Brenni followed, noticing how Kisha was getting along comfortably with the ex-military clones. Kisha fell into line with a relaxed demeanor that defied her usual rebellious teenager attitude. No one had their armor on. Rex wore a cap and everyone else took precautions to appear as different as possible. Burnout had started on a beard that was filling in, and Brix looked distinguishing enough with his missing hand. Despite their precautions to look as civilian as possible, they all still moved like a cohesive military squad. Brenni almost laughed at the sight of “civvies” pretending like they were not infiltrating an enemy base, or in this case, the local marketplace.
“We should split up.” Fives said after seeing the attention the tightly knit group was attracting. He turned to the others and nearly knocked over a woman coming up next to him.
“Uh, sorry there, ma’am.” He stuttered.
She looked directly at them. Then at each member of their team. She was Theelin, humanoid with lavender skin and deep crimson spots peppering the sides of her face and trailing down her neck. On her head, each temple sported three small, rounded spikes. She had deep rose-colored hair that curled around the spikes and down her shoulders. She was so slight of build that Fives was surprised that he hadn’t knocked her over completely. Most of all, her large, blue eyes centered her delicate face and drew him in almost immediately.
“Hello there. Can I help you?” Burnout called smoothly pushing past Fives.
Surprisingly, the woman smiled brightly and let out a small laugh.
“Come with me, brothers.” She said in a sweet voice. “I might be able to help you.” Fives raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Rex. Rex was also at a loss. Surely, they were in no danger from such a harmless looking creature, but it could also be a trap.
They followed the woman to the far side of the market. Her satin skirts swirled around her with each step she took. Kisha was mesmerized. She’d seen beautiful women before. She was used to the highly maintained look of the women on Coruscant, sometimes trying out different clothing and makeup styles with her friends. This woman, however, had none of that. She wore no makeup nor were her fingers manicured or her expressions sophisticatedly mature. Coruscanti women seemed to pride themselves on being able to feel bored by everything. It was a sign that you were so beautiful that attention bored you. This woman smiled easily, her expressions not hidden in the least. They were far from Coruscant and in the center of a local market selling local produce and spices. Everything smelled fresh and vibrant. It was how Kisha thought of the woman they were now following. Vibrant.
They turned down a less busy street lined with sunbaked sandstone buildings. Bright banners and flowers decorated the yellowish stone homes. She stopped in front of one of the entrances. It was decorated with blue and gold paint in the pattern of diamonds outlining the door. The window was open and a white curtain drifted lazily in the wind. She keyed a code and the door slid open.
“Come in.” She said in her cheery tone. Everyone filed in after her. The inside of the home was simple and bright, with as much natural light inside as outside. She turned towards the kitchen. “Hun. Hun! We have guests.” She said so sweetly Kisha thought she could taste the sugar in her voice.
“Be right there.” Came the reply and instantly everyone’s focus was on the kitchen. The voice was without a doubt that of a clone.
“I’ll be a hutt’s son if old Wolffey’s been playing house out here.” Fives muttered. Rex gave him a warning look that didn’t faze him at all. In fact, it felt down right nostalgic.
“They’re not with the Imperials.” The Theelin woman added.
A broad-shouldered man came ambling from the kitchen. He had a smile plastered on his face which widened when he saw Rex.
“Captain Rex!” He boomed in a jolly manner. “Never thought I’d see you here.”
“Excuse me, I don’t think I remember you.” Rex stammered under the slap across the back the other man gave him.
“Naw, we never met. Just saw a holo of you reminded me of who I was once.”
“I’m so lost.” Burnout sputtered.
“Dear, why don’t you introduce yourself?”
“Right, love.” He tuned back to the group. “I’m CC-5576, Gregor. This is my beautiful wife, Zerall.”
“Gregor was injured in an explosion back on Abafar. I was working there at the time. I took care of him until the Republic came to retrieve him. They deemed him unfit for military service and gave him a job on Coruscant.”
“Can you believe she came all the way to Corrie looking for me? We met and decided to get out of the city.”
“I wasn’t fond of Coruscant and Gregor was kind enough to relocate.”
“Been here ever since.”
“By “re-locate”, you mean desert your post?” Rex clarified.
A tiny cry put an end to the explanation and Zerall brushed past her visitors to a hovercradle in the corner. Rex realized it was a child’s cry and Zerall was cradling an infant in her arms.
“Oh, that’s Temia.” Gregor said as if he were adding on an important detail he’d forgotten.
It was clear to Rex and Fives that Gregor had indeed suffered some kind of injury. He was too carefree and unfocused to be war-trained soldier. He also had a scar on his head.
“Your chip?” Fives asked, pointing to his head.
“What chip?”
“He keeps forgetting.” Zerall chimed in. “When I was caring for him after the explosion, he had hit his head and an electrical component from his helmet actually came loose on the inside and cut him. I found some odd-looking tissue and removed it. Although I never found any chip.”
“So you don’t know about the inhibitor chips?”
“Oh yeah! Wait, no. What’s that?” Rex quickly explained the chips and their function and that they had all removed theirs.
“Okay, so I’m good then.” Gregor concluded.
“Yeah. You’re good. But now we’re looking for another Commander, name’s
Wolffe. Have you seen other clones around?”
Gregor furrowed his brow. “Oh yeah, that guy. He’s been lookin’ for me I think.”
Rex raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t know why. I don’t work for the Republic anymore.” Gregor seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact the “Republic” was actually the “Empire” and that they still considered him as their property, and it was quite likely that they were tracking him down. Rex took a deep breath and let it out.
“You think you can help us find him?” Fives asked.
“Oh sure, but I gotta be careful. I’ve got a family to take care of.”
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