Welcome to the Jungle

Part 2 of my Star Wars fanfic series. Enjoy

Welcome to the Jungle

Felucia was an uninhabitable planet. This part of the jungle had nothing but leaves the size of houses and chockfull of flora and fauna designed to eat and digest anything in their path. The apprentice wiped sweat from his brow for the millionth time. Aside from the humidity and sheer moisture of the place, the terrain was just unspeakable. All the obstacle courses in the entire galaxy could not have prepared him for this jungle. And this was just the beginning.

Of the jungle was terrifying, the command post was nightmarish. The gray super-structure loomed over giant boulders and trees, sticking out like a gray sore thumb amidst the ambient colors of the Felucian jungle. Unlike your common droid factory, this post was not designed for production but control. It was here that the Seperatist leaders relayed their commands to this post and in turn it would give the droids their mission. This command post relayed missions to droids for this entire sector, covering some three dozen planetary systems. What’s more, because this post is older that the newer ones in the Inner Rim, the command center had a trace which could lead to the identification and location of whoever sent the command. And whoever gave the orders was either a politician or a business mogul, so having the finger pointed at them was unacceptable. So they thought this post was safe, hidden deep in the dangerous jungles of Felucia. What they did not count on is a political treaty which pushed the planet into Republic hands. That would explain the legions of clones which have been slowly but surely edging closer to the vital command post. The clones knew what their price was: the Jedi had attacked the planet with all their might in hopes of deciphering the vital data. If they arrested the Seperatist leaders, the resources for the droid army would dwindle significantly. Count Dooku, the leader of the Seperatists, had already anticipated the loss of that post and had ordered his General Grevious to shut down and destroy the facility. But Grevious had argued that the droids could still maintain their facility. And now it was too late. The droids could not hold off the clone army whilst the facility is being shut down. And so a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious called in a favor from another Sith Lord: Darth Mortris. The latter had in turn dispatched his apprentice on a unique mission: to infiltrate and sabotage the command post. The data records were to be destroyed and the self-destroyed sequence to be activated. The apprentice had to slip through a battle between the Clones and droids.

The apprentice pulled up his hood, covering his features. His jungle robes were not the billowing over preferred by his master and the majority of Sith; he rather preferred the close fitting version, with no extra cloth to snag or billow in the wind giving away his position.

He ducked behind some sentry droids and quickly disabled them. He used the Force to leap towards a barred window and used his lightsaber to cut through the metal. He checked his holographic map once more: to the right was the barracks and eventually the front door, leading to the battlefield outside. He headed to the left and, a few patrols later, he was on his way to the reactor room. That was where the bombs went. Once the changes were set, he headed for the ventilation shaft. He crawled around the tunnels and was soon atop the control room. He’d need to destroy all the machines in this room, droids or otherwise.

He patted his lightsabers, making sure both were still there. After what happened with the turrets, he decided to adopt twin lightsabers. But he made sure to hide one of them giving the impression he uses one weapons, giving him a trump card in case of difficulty. He clutched one and used the Force to push out the ventilation door. The metallic grid crashed into a monitor, shattering it. The apprentice followed suit, landing in the midst of a room full of droids, crouching like a jaguar awaiting the prey. There was a second of silence until the droids computed this sudden eventuality. The apprentice broke all silence with the ignition of his lightsaber.

“Destroy him.”

“Roger, roger.” Blaster shots rocketed around the room, trying to catch the dark figure with a red lightsaber. The apprentice weaved around the droids, letting them shoot down their own companions. His lightsaber made short work of the rest. Sheathing his weapon, he activated the self-destruct sequence and unleashed a barrage of Force lightning in all directions. Hard drive after hard drive exploded and soon the room was a pile of charred silicone and metal. He climbed back into the ventilation shaft but took a different path. He had to go to the main hanger and steal a starship or fighter back to the transport ship awaiting in the stratosphere. He had landed thanks to tan automated glider; an arcane method but unexpected. And if something is unexpected, one does not look for it.

He arrived at the hanger where a small battle was taking place. The droids were soon overwhelmed by the squad of clones.

“General Stal. We have secured the hanger,” radioed in one of the clones.

“Jenna and I are on our way, commander,” was the reply on the intercom. This was bad. If a Jedi Master and Padawan made it here his escape would be all the more difficult. The apprentice decided that he needed to get on that ship and leave immediately, before the Jedi got here. Igniting his lightsaber, the apprentice dashed towards the clones, cutting down two before the others had time to react. Deflecting blaster fire from the others, the apprentice unleashed lightning once more killing another clone. He saw one trying to flank him and used the Force to pull the clone towards his lightsaber, impaling him. Using the dead clone as a shield, the apprentice ran towards the remaining clone and rammed the two clones together. The living one sprawled on the ground, his weapon lost. As he scrambled on his feet, the apprentice applied the Force on him. The clone felt pressure around his neck and was soon hovering in the air, his feet dangling uselessly.

“Let him go.” The scream came from the smaller of the two figures, both wearing the white and tan of Jedi robes. Two humans, one male one female, strode in. The female had her lightsaber ignited; a beautiful lavender blade illuminating her features. The man had his lightsaber in his hand, unignited.

“I said, let him go!” yelled the female again as she raised her blade.

“Calm yourself, Jenna. We are dealing with a monster who does not respond well to reason or civility,” said the man. The Jedi Master glared at the apprentice.

“But I suggest you do release the clone, Sith.” He spat out the word like a bad taste. The apprentice eyed them curiously; he had expected someone more . . . impressive. The man looked frail and the Padawan could barely stop twitching. She reminded him of his companions during the Sith selection process. She reminded him of a fearful pup.