Project Ares Gold Edition

Chapter 36 - Rallying the troops

Across the galaxy

The two hours were hell incarnate, clone troopers around the galaxy turned and fired their weapons on the same people whom they swore to fight alongside. There were thousands of Jedi across the galaxy, now there were only a few dozen and they were dropping fast. Luckily, some units did not execute the order thanks to them removing their inhibitor chips. However, these clones were by far in the minority. Outgunned a thousand to one, the clones were scattered throughout the galaxy.

Pillar of Autumn - Dathomir

Onboard the Pillar of Autumn, everyone went into overdrive as soon as they heard the news. Fordo's ARC troopers were sent out almost immediately to go look for any Jedi survivors in some of the biggest theatres in the war, but so far they had found nothing.

Back on the Autumn, everyone else was preparing the ship for war, if there was even the slimmest chance that the Autumn's location was compromised, then there would be a fleet of Venators here in a matter of hours. Everyone's hearts skipped a beat when a fleet of two Venators alongside three Arquitens cruisers jumped out of hyperspace and was moving straight towards the ancient battleship. On the bridge, Fives was thinking that this would be their last few minutes, but just as he was about to give the order to engage, a transmission came through.

It was from Rex, turns out that the Intrepid had rendezvoused with the Triumphant, the flagship of the 104th. But unfortunately, only a fraction of the Wolfpack got their chips removed by the time the order went out. So with no other option, Plo Koon and Commander Wolffe had to take what troops they could and leave with only one out of six ships. As for the extra Arquitens, nearby forces of the 501st that were on a humanitarian mission had also heard the call and luckily already had their chips removed.

Despite their loses, there was a workload like no other ahead of them; starting with cataloguing their inventory and manpower. Next was getting the fleet to a location where no-one would find them. But for now, all the officers went over to the Autumn to confer on what has just happened. Welcoming everyone aboard the Pillar of Autumn, Fives watched as Ahsoka ran over to both Rex and Plo and gave them a massive hug, they were family to her after all. As for the rest of the 104th and 501st members getting of their shuttles, they all shook hands, some even hugged it out as they came to terms with the fact that everyone they knew outside this ragtag fleet was probably against them now.

With Chief, Fives, Ahsoka, Plo, Wolffe, and Rex all gathered around the massive hologram projector, they had to figure out what was going on. Getting Fives to explain the purpose behind the chips once more just to get everyone on the same page, Chief then asked Commander Wolffe to bring up the locations of all the major battles throughout the clone wars that featured heavy clone and droid presence. "Chief, you've lost me here, droid presence?"

"Yes, if there is still droid forces in that region, the clones will need to continue with the fighting for now, meaning that we can rule out which units are least likely to be looking for us." Chief explained to the 104th commander, they needed to know what the odds were against them and where the could run to for now. Bringing up the map of the galaxy, the group saw how most of the Republic forces were engaging in zones in the Mid Rim, but there were some units that even stretched out to some parts of the Outer Rim.

In the weeks leading up to the Battle of Coruscant, Grevious had launched a massive campaign against the Mid Rim colonies and planets to draw forces away from his real target and lessen strain on the CIS Outer Rim defences. This obviously diverted most of the Republic's navy to reclaim those worlds and rebuild fortifications and establish humanitarian aid, but with Order 66 now in effect, chances were that all clone forces would move to predetermined rally points like Coruscant, Kamino, Kuat, Eriadu, and Anaxes before deploying at Palpatine's discretion.

Assigning Rex to rally the men aboard the Intrepid and get them ready to move, Chief also gave a similar assignment to Wolffe regarding the Triumphant. They needed everyone to be on the same page and working completely in sync, otherwise this whole operation would collapse in on itself within days. Telling General Plo Koon and Commander Tano to brainstorm any sanctuaries or hidden bases the Jedi might have, Chief left the now crowded bridge to the Jedi's discretion, ordering the men to follow their directives. They needed to go somewhere that was not listed in any GAR files and something preferably buried deep in the Jedi archives and far away from any military presence.

Settling on one of Yavin's moons, Plo explained to the Spartan that the moon was relatively well hidden from long range scanners due to Yavin being a massive gas giant and interfering with the scans. The only way anyone would know that they were there was if they physically went to the system and performed a more intense short range scan. Not to mention that the planet was also fairly far away from any current conflict areas with the nearest estimated military force being some private contractors doing mundane jobs for the Senate. Agreeing on the location, Chief told the crew on the bridge to set course for Yavin 4 and sent an encrypted message to the Jedi Temple stating that they are there to help.

Pillar of Autumn - Yavin 4

Over the next couple of hours, Chief's luck couldn't have been better; Fordo along with Thorn, Shaak Ti, Mace Windu, and a group of younglings managed to steal a shuttle and pilot their way to the fleet. Commander Cody along with Obi-wan and a handful of troops commandeered an Arquitens class light cruiser and picked up Master Yoda on the way. The Alpha-class ARC troopers were also successful in their rescue attempts; rescuing Aayla Secura and Commander Bly on Felucia before the 127th got the order to engage. But that was pretty much were the good news ended. According to Shaak Ti, Anakin Skywalker turned to the Dark side and was now under the control of the Sith Lord Palpatine. Windu had severe nerve damage from Force lightning along with a missing hand and was currently in a coma. All other members of the Council were presumed captured or most likely dead. 

This was definitely a decisive win for the Sith, having eliminated over 90% of the Jedi and taking control of one of the most efficient militaries in galactic history. Not to mention also acquiring Anakin Skywalker as an apprentice, everyone knew just how powerful he was, either via stories or in Chief, Yoda, Windu, Kenobi and Ahsoka's case, having actually seen it in action. And the fact that Skywalker was now against them sent chills down everyone's spines. But Obi-wan had faith that he could appeal to Anakin's heart and turn him back to the Light, but he needed help from Ahsoka, Rex and someone else one Coruscant that he didn't want to mention yet. Getting the go-ahead from the Grandmaster with much caution, Kenobi, Tano and the 501st Captain left for the hangar.

At this point Blue Team was dying for an assignment, being cooped up in the Autumn for weeks at this point with no communication with the outside world. Chief said that Blue Team will go back to Coruscant to gather intel on Palpatine. Including his true inner circle, potential future plans and what he was doing regarding a good chunk of the 501st deserting. Getting the green light, they would travel with Kenobi via the Forward Unto Dawn.

In the meantime, the rest of the fleet would lay low with the exception of the Fordo and his ARC troopers who would keep on looking for more survivors. Given how emotions were running high for all the Jedi onboard, Commander Cody was placed in charge of the fleet until a permanent command structure could be established. The Jedi needed a break from leadership, having been in charge and stressed with the responsibility to lead for years now with little to now breaks, they needed to regroup and take a few days off to recollect themselves.

As Blue Team got ready to go on basically another suicide mission, Shaak slipped into Fives' barracks room. Holding him tightly in her arms, the Jedi Master made him promise to come back to her. "Yes Ma'am." Fives said before placing a kiss on her forehead. Heading out to the hangar, Chief was already waiting with Blue Team as the love-struck ARC trooper got on the transport. Following Obi-wan, Ahsoka and Rex's arrival, Blitz and Streak fired up the engines as the Dawn departed for Coruscant, the most heavily defended planet in the galaxy at the moment and the heart of Palpatine's new regime.