Star Wars - The Clone Wars - Secret Missions #3 - Duel at Shattered Rock

by Ryder Windham

  Nuru’s musings were interrupted by a loud beep. All eyes turned to the main hold’s comm.

  “That’s the hypercomm signal,” Gunn said. She tossed down her cards and went to the comm. “Someone’s hailing us.” She looked at Breaker and Sharp. “I switched off the hyperspace transponder so no one could track us. Did either of you clowns activate it?”

  “No,” Breaker said as he stepped beside Gunn. Pointing to the comm’s data display, he looked to Nuru and said, “Commander, we’re receiving an emergency transmission from Coruscant.”

  Nuru leaned forward on his seat and said, “Open it.”

  Gunn pressed a button on the console. Two low-resolution holograms materialized in the air above the comm. Everyone in the Harpy’s hold recognized the flickering images as Jedi General Yoda and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.

  “Uh, Captain Gunn here,” Gunn said sheepishly, not sure how she should address either the Jedi Master or the elected leader of the Galactic Republic.

  As Nuru rose to his feet, he felt a clinking sound at his hip. He kept forgetting that he now had two lightsabers—his Master’s as well as his own—clipped to his belt. Bowing slightly at the holograms, he said, “Master Yoda. Chancellor Palpatine.”

  “Ah, Nuru Kungurama,” Palpatine’s voice crackled. “Thank goodness my pilots were able to locate Captain Gunn’s ship. We knew it was likely you’d return to Coruscant by the Namadii Corridor.”

  Nuru suspected he was about to be questioned about the mission to Chiss space. He said, “I regret my meeting with the Chiss ambassador was not very successful, Chancellor. We—”

  “That discussion will have to wait,” Palpatine interrupted.

  “A new concern, we have,” Yoda added.

  Palpatine gestured to his left, and a hologram of another man materialized. Palpatine said, “Allow me to introduce Commissioner Langu Sommilor, a representative of Kynachi.”

  Sommilor appeared as a lean man with thinning gold hair. “Greetings, Nuru Kungurama. I’m sorry you left Kynachi before I could personally thank you for bringing an end to the Techno Union’s ten-year occupation of my world.”

  “You give me too much credit, Commissioner. Without my companions, I could not have …” Nuru’s words caught in his throat. Forgetting all protocol, he said, “Master Yoda, has Master Ambase been found?”

  Yoda’s hologram appeared to shudder slightly. “Still lost, Ambase is.”

  Sommilor added, “I have many volunteers looking for Ambase on Kynachi, but so far we have found no sign of him.”

  Palpatine said, “Young Kungurama, be assured we are making every effort to locate your Master. He will be found.”

  Nuru frowned. He was unable to hide his disappointment.

  “The reason for this communication,” Palpatine continued, “is to inform you that Commissioner Sommilor is also traveling the Namadii Corridor. Kynachi intends to ally with the Republic, and the commissioner is coming to Coruscant for a special meeting with the Senate. Unfortunately, Republic Intelligence has reason to believe the Techno Union will attempt to stop the commissioner from reaching his destination. The Jedi Council informed me that no Jedi were readily available to escort the commissioner, but then I thought we might manage to contact you before you returned to Coruscant.”

  Turning to Yoda’s hologram, Palpatine added brightly, “It’s remarkable how things worked out, isn’t it?”

  “Hurmm,” Yoda muttered without enthusiasm.

  Sommilor said, “I’m traveling in a Suwantek Systems freighter that will be refueling on the planet Vaced in approximately six standard hours. Can you and your squad meet me there, and then escort me to Coruscant?”

  Nuru looked at Gunn. Gunn said, “Last I checked the navi-computer, Vaced was still ahead of us, less than five hours away. We could get there before the commissioner.”

  Returning his attention to Sommilor’s hologram, Nuru said, “I am at your service, Commissioner,”

  “Thank you again, Nuru Kungurama. I look forward to meeting you on Vaced.”

  Palpatine smiled. “And I look forward to meeting you all upon your arrival at Coruscant. And, Nuru, I greatly anticipate your full report about the Chiss ambassador.”

  Yoda nodded to Nuru. “May the Force be with you and your allies.” The holograms flickered off.

  Rising from the hologame table, Knuckles stretched his arms. “Well, so much for our recreation hour.” He shut down the game. “Better luck next time, Cleaver.”

  “But I was winning again,” Cleaver said as the holomonsters vanished.

  Knuckles looked at the comm console. “Good timing on the chancellor’s part, wasn’t it?”

  Nuru said, “What do you mean?”

  “If the chancellor and General Yoda had contacted us later, we might have already passed Vaced. We would have had to exit hyperspace at some other point on the Namadii Corridor and then double back to Vaced to meet the commissioner.”

  Chatterbox cleared his throat, then said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

  Everyone looked at Chatterbox. Gunn said, “What are you jabbering about?”

  The usually silent trooper cleared his throat again. “General Ambase was lost on Kynachi. We’re traveling through hyperspace with you, Ambase’s apprentice. A ship from Kynachi is trailing us on the same hyperlane. Both ships are bound for Coruscant.” Chatterbox shook his head. “Too many coincidences.”

  Gunn scowled. “That’s the most words I’ve heard out of you. Ever.”

  Ignoring Gunn, Nuru said, “You think we’re being set up?”

  Chatterbox nodded.

  “But who’s pulling the strings?” Knuckles said with a broad shrug. “If it’s Overseer Umbrag and his Techno Union cronies, they’ve been doing a sloppy job. We defeated them at Kynachi and helped chase them out of Chiss space. So who else could be messing with us?”

  Breaker was watching a scope on the соmm board as he responded, “Probably whoever planted a tracking device on the Harpy.”

  “Huh?” Gunn said. “What tracking device?”

  “Look here,” Breaker said, gesturing to the scope. Nuru and Gunn moved closer to view the data display for the Harpy’s communications systems. “Watch for the blip.”

  Gunn said, “I don’t see any—”

  “Wait,” Breaker said. A moment later, a tiny green circle flashed on the data display. “That’s the third blip in the past minute. It s an intermittent broadcast signal. I can’t pinpoint the source, but it’s definitely coming from somewhere on the Harpy.”

  “Well, I’ll be fried,” Gunn muttered.

  Knuckles tapped the side of his head. Looking at Nuru, he said, “The Black Hole Pirates. Maybe they slapped the tracker on us.”

  “Here’s another possibility,” Breaker said. “Maybe the Techno Union planted tracking devices on every grounded starship during the occupation of Kynachi. If that happened, they could be tracking Commissioner Sommilor as well as us.”

  “Also by tuning into our transmissions,” added Gunn. “Blast! That could explain how Umbrag wound up following us straight to Chiss space.”

  Nuru said, “According to the chancellor. Republic Intelligence believes the Techno Union will try to stop Sommilor, but…” Nuru shook his head. “I’m not convinced the Techno Union is responsible for the transmitter. Like Knuckles pointed out, if they’re trying to manipulate us, they don’t seem to be doing a good job.”

  Knuckles said, “Should we send a warning to the commissioner?”

  “No,” Nuru replied. “Not unless we can determine that it’s safe. Tracking devices might not have been the only thing planted. For all we know, sending a warning transmission could trigger a concealed explosive.”

  Breaker asked, “How do you want to proceed, Commander?”

  “We’re going to carry out our orders and see this mission through. And we’re going to be very, very careful. Breaker, you’ll reset the navi-computer to exit hyperspace at Vaced. The rest of us will search the s
hip’s interior for the tracking device.”

  “But what if the transmitter isn’t inside the Harpy?” Gunn asked. “What if it’s on the hull?”

  “Then we’ll search the hull after we land on Vaced.”

  Breaker exited the hold and went to reset the navi-computer. Nuru said, “Sharp and Chatterbox, you search the starboard hold and maintenance bays. Knuckles and Cleaver, you cover the port side. I’ll look here, and Gunn will look aft.”

  “Excuse me. Commander,” Cleaver said. “What does a tracking device look like?”

  “It could be a small box or compact case, probably with a magnetic back so it can be easily attached to a bulkhead or other surface. It might be camouflaged.”

  Cleaver looked up at the maintenance access hatch on the ceiling and said, “I have found something.”

  “Really?” Nuru asked. “What is it?” Cleaver reached up and grasped a metal box that was magnetically secured to the hatch’s frame. Pulling the box away from the frame, he said, “Is this the transmitter?”

  Gunn laughed. “No, Cleaver. That’s a tool kit. See?” Taking the box from the droid, she slid back the box’s lid to show him the tools inside.

  “Oh,” Cleaver said. Gunn sealed the tool kit and placed it back up against the frame.

  “Come on, Cleaver,” Knuckles said. He headed out of the main hold with the droid at his heels.

  Chatterbox, Sharp, and Gunn exited the hold, leaving Nuru behind. As Nuru began searching every nook of the nearest bulkhead for a bidden transmitter, more thoughts raced through his head. Maybe there isn’t a traitor on board. Maybe some devious enemy was somehow responsible for sending us to the black hole sector. Maybe…

  Maybe I have absolutely no idea who I can trust anymore.

  Nuru sighed. He wished he could ask someone for guidance. He touched the second lightsaber at his belt.

  What would Master Ambase do if he were here right now?

  And then Nuru swallowed hard. Ever since leaving Kynachi, he had held firmly to his belief that Ring-Sol Ambase was still alive. But now, as the Hasty Harpy carried him toward an increasingly uncertain future, he wondered if Ambase might really be gone forever.

  “Ring-Sol?” said Count Dooku. “Can you hear me?”

  The Jedi Master Ring-Sol Ambase was lying on an elevated pad in the makeshift medical chamber, an eight-walled room with a single window. He opened his eyes to see Count Dooku, the former Jedi and current leader of the Separatists, standing at his bedside.

  A dark-haired clone trooper wearing a gray tunic with matching pants and black slip-on shoes stood against one wall. Two super battle droids were positioned on either side of the clone, their blasters aimed at his torso.

  Dooku smiled at Ambase and said, “Good morning, old friend.”

  Ambase’s eyes shifted to the window, which offered a view of the same gray sky he had seen earlier, the last time he was conscious. “Morning?” he muttered, and immediately realized that a breath mask no longer covered the lower half of his face. “Where?”

  “Still at my retreat in the Bogden system,” Dooku said. “You’ve been here for over a week.”

  Memories crashed like waves through Ambase’s mind. The destruction of his freighter in orbit of the planet Kynachi. Blacking out in a gas-filled escape pod that also carried five clone troopers. Awakening in the eight-walled room with Dooku. The clone trooper who claimed he and Ambase had become separated on Kynachi, and also that he had no memory of finding Ambase or leaving Kynachi. The holorecording that appeared to confirm Ambase’s Padawan apprentice, Nuru Kungurama, had been a stowaway on the doomed freighter.

  Ambase cleared his throat. “Dooku … what do you want?”

  “You are not my prisoner, Ring-Sol. I only brought you here because you needed help desperately.” He gestured to the medical regulators and diagnostic machines on the other side of the bed. “All readings indicate your pulmonary system has improved.”

  “You kept me … alive?”

  “Perhaps you don’t remember, but I did promise your safe return to the Jedi Temple. However, you are hardly fit to travel. I believe it would be best if you remained here for a few more days.”

  Ambase had no reason to believe Dooku was telling the truth. He kept his expression neutral.

  Dooku patted Ambase’s shoulder. “When you are strong enough, a nonmilitary transport will be waiting to deliver you to Coruscant. But, Ring-Sol … I hope you understand that no one is safe in the Republic. You remember what I told you about Darth Sidious?”

  “Yes,” Ambase rasped. “I … remember.” In fact, Dooku’s assertion that a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious was controlling members of the Senate had not been news to Ambase. Like other Jedi Masters, he had reviewed Obi-Wan Kenobi’s report about Dooku and the Battle of Geonosis. And like Obi-Wan, Ambase could only guess whether Dooku was lying.

  “And you also recall the holorecording?” Dooku continued. “The one this trooper recovered from the freighter that was destroyed at Kynachi?” Dooku gave a slight nod toward the captive clone.

  Ambase glanced at the clone. “You told me your name is … Sharp?”

  The clone responded with a nod.

  Dooku said, “While the recording presented no proof that your apprentice sabotaged the freighter before it reached Kynachi, it is my understanding that you were unaware he had concealed himself in a utility closet near the engineering station. Evidently, he not only survived the ship’s destruction, but assumed command of your troops.”

  Ambase wondered whether the clone had talked too much to Dooku. He shot a glance at the clone. The clone grimaced.

  Dooku shook his head sadly. “I cannot imagine any good explanation for Nuru Kungurama’s actions and I admit I fear the worst. The Sith Lords are manipulating the Jedi Order as well as the Senate. We have to allow the possibility that the Sith have turned Jedi apprentices against their own Masters.”

  Nuru? In league with the Sith? Despite Ambase’s Jedi training tо suppress emotions, he felt a rush of outrage at Dooku for suggesting the possibility.

  Dooku placed his hand gently on Ambase’s shoulder. “By the Force, I hope Nuru is innocent of any wrongdoing. For if he is not …” Dooku withdrew His hand. “Make no mistake of my goals in this war, Ring-Sol. The Sith must he destroyed.”

  Hearing this, Ambase felt something even more unexpected. A small stab of fear.

  “It recently came to my attention,” Dooku continued, “that Nuru has seized Bilbringi Depot. It may be just a rumor, but …” Distracted, he looked to the room’s only doorway and saw a small droid with an antennae extending from the top of its head waddling into the room. The droid came to a stop before Dooku.

  “Excuse me. Master,” the droid said. “Your presence is required on Landing Pad three.” The small droid then turned around and waddled out.

  Dooku backed away from Ambase’s bed. “I have to attend to a tiny matter, and then I shall also prepare a transport so you may depart when you wish.” He signaled the super battle droids, who stepped away from the clone and filed quickly out of the room. As the droids clanked away, Dooku faced the clone and added, “You may remain with your commander, but the droids will be just outside.” And then Dooku strode off, his cape flowing like a dark wave behind him.

  The clone watched the doorway and listened for a moment, then raised one hand to casually pinch his earlobe. Ambase had no difficulty comprehending the clone’s gesture. The Separatists are probably listening.

  Ambase studied the clone’s swarthy features. The clone was identical to the others in the Republic’s army. Despite the clone’s appearance, Ambase silently questioned his identity and origin.

  Can clones be brainwashed? Can they lie? Or is this man even a clone? Could he be a surgically altered Separatist impostor? The Jedi could not think of any way to prove the man had been a member of the ill-fated task force sent to Kynachi, let alone that he was the trooper named Sharp.

  Ambase looked to the window. “We’re in
the Bogden system?”

  “I can’t say for certain, sir,” the clone replied. He moved to the window and rapped his knuckles against it, “Feels strong, like transparisteel.” Transparisteel was a completely transparent metal alloy commonly used for starship viewports as well as windows for buildings that required heavy security.

  “What’s outside?”

  “Landing pads. Three ships. It’s raining hard. I think one ship is Dooku’s solar sailer. Another looks like the Kuat transport that we were in when the battle droids found us. It appears some astromech droids are repairing it now.”

  “What about the third ship?”

  “I don’t have a clear view of it, sir. Too much rain.”

  Ambase flexed the fingers of his right hand. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen my lightsaber? Or my utility belt?”

  “No, sir. Like I told you earlier… One moment I was searching for you on Kynachi. The next thing I know, I’m waking up behind the controls of a crashed transport with a bump on the back of my head. I found you unconscious, strapped into a bunk in the hold. Then the droid commandoes arrived.” The clone rubbed the back of his head. “If the droids took your lightsaber, I didn’t see them do it.”

  “How did we get from the crashed transport to this place? Spacecraft?”

  “No, sir. The droids brought us here directly in an airspeeder.”

  Still looking out the window, Ambase said, “Of all the worlds in the galaxy, we somehow wound up on one where Count Dooku has a hideout.”

  The clone rubbed the back of his head again. “If only I could remember what happened on Kynachi.”

  Ambase looked at the clone. “I hope you haven’t been … mistreated.”

  “No, sir. The droids have me in a nearby cell. They tried questioning me, but I didn’t talk.”

  “But Dooku learned Nuru was at Kynachi.”

  The clone grimaced again. “I didn’t tell him, sir. The Separatists got our freighter’s log when they captured me. When Dooku viewed the log’s holorecordings, he recognized Kungurama immediately.”