Shadows of the Past

Chapter 5

Enarc's orbit

'This is the planet?Sabin asked skeptically.
'Yes... welcome to Enarc, a desolate world razed by the Republic in the waning days of the Clone Wars! Grievous presented the world to the rebells in the cockpit.
'Then why are we here? Kanan asked with his tone up.
'You shall see. In short, we are enlarging our ranks.
With that, the General left the room, his desire to answer questions no longer present. Kanan rolled his eyes and followed him with Ezra while Herra mantained the ship in orbit.
'Aren't we going to land? Grievous asked as he realised they were going into a room he hadn't visited yet.
'We will, but we need backup in case anything happens. We wil use the small ship this one has.
'Small ship? This is interesting... Grievous mused as he entered the confined space of the spaceship's own cockpit. Only Ezra and Kanan were there with him. The older Jedi started up the navigator and detached, speeding towards the atmosphere.
'Where are we going to land? Kanan asked flying over the desertly land.
'You are on the right track. Prepare to land after a few minutes pass.
'Alright...
The Spectre continued to fly over until the desolace disspeared, taken by a small hill with a large metal door at it's base. As told, Kanan lowered the ship until it hit the ground and opened the exit.
'Let's go!

Grievous was the first to exit and analyzed the surroundings cautiously while the other two were going out.
'Everything seems fine.
'Okay, now that we are on the surface, what are we searching for?
The General sighed and walked slowly to the metal door, pointing his sharp long finger at it's painted sign. The hexagonical symbol of the Confederacy.
'This is a an old droid stronghold!
'Yes, and lucky for us... it is still intact! Grievous confirmed him while igniting his red lightsaber. Kanan did the same if only to be ready for any sign of hostilities. The cyborg noticed it right away but only chuckled as a response.
'You are truly pathetic. I am working in your favor and you still consider me an enemy.
'You will always be my enemy!
'Kanan...
'No Ezra, he must understand. Every sane person wouldn't entrust him with anything, not after what he had done!
Grievous finished up carving a round circle into the wall. He took a step back and kicked it, sending the cut part flying inside.
'Now, if you will follow me. I suggest you ignite your weapon as well, boy. This place is still hostile to Jedi, I'm afraid.
With that, Grievous entered the darkness that was inside the droid base. Kanan did the same with Ezra keeping their lightsabers open for any danger. The walls were rudimentary but dust had taken a hold of the place, Kanan noticed. They continued to walk in silence, the clasping of the General's large talons being the only sound they heard again and again. After a few minutes, they reached a large room with a console inside. Grievous approached the closed screen and typed a code on the dirty keyboard. Nothing happened.
'Are you sure this thing still works? Kanan asked while looking at the grim walls.
'Your impatience... is disturbing! Grievous managed to say before the screen lighted , and the room seemed to take life. No more cloaked in the shadows, the opposite side of the room showed a few glass pannels that pointed at a large hall before them with thousands of droid bodies aligned and deactivated.
'Wow! Ezra said while gasping surprised. He hadn't seen so many droids in the same place in his life.
'How are they still here? Kana asked suspicious.
'They aren't many, comparing to what the Empire holds and they remained an asset. Few people if any besides me know of this base.
'Are you going to activate all of them? The blue haired boy asked enthusiastic.
'Of course, though this is but a little battalion. The Confederacy had hundreds of thousands of them...
The cyborg took satisfaction in the awe Ezra was showing. It was amusing to see the padawan look at the droid army with hope , in opposition to the successors of the Clone Army. It gave him a good mood to see Kanan so dissapointed also.
'It is a shame there are only 2500 droids inside the base, but they will have to do for now.
He clicked a button and a large sound was heard going slowlt towards the hall, then all the droids raised their heads and jumped off their recharging place.
'All commander units report to the Command Centre! Grievous ordered swiftly through the console microphone.
'I don't like this idea... Kanan said watching all the B1 droids moving to take positions in formations.
'It would be... but before the General finished his sentence, the commlink on his frist started beeping. He opened the frequency quickly:
'What is it?
'General, an Imperial shuttle exited Hyperspace and is landing near your position.
'Well well, it seems someone has been tracked!he shouted angrily.
Glaring at Kanan, he asked:
'Did you use your holocomm recently?
'I ... did...he admitted embarassed.
'Now it doesn't matter! Ezra intervened. It's just an Imperial ship.
'Fine, go and greet them then! I want to see my legacy, not fight some pests!
Grievous turned to them and walked to the glass pannels.
Kanan sighed and went to the exit . What he saw at the other end of the large corridor made him gasp. The two inquisitors, and on top of that, a cloaked figure walking behind them.
Kanan took a few steps back and closed his lightsaber.
'We must get out of here.
'And why, prey tell, would we do that? Tbe cyborg asked annoyed. What Imperials appeared?
'Three Inquisitors.
While Ezra was shocked with fear, the opposite reaction came from the cyborg.
'Finally, a challenge worthy of my status.
'What? No, maybe Ashoka faced two of them but they may overcome us! Kanan tried to reason.
'No, we will stand and fight. You can also run to my army below in case you feel frightened, Jedi padawan! He chuckled mockingly. However, I want to have the element of surprise with me. Remain steady and don't despair.
With that, he jumped high in the air and attached himself to the ceiling. While it wasn't a tall room, the darkness was giving Grievous the element of surprise. He clasped his cloak to his magnetic bolts and slowly crawled over the entrance, waiting.