Shadows of the Past

Chapter 7

The Trident

'Commander Sato, we have an upcoming transmission from Enarc.
'Put it through solider!
Ashoka, standing a few feet away turned to face the holoprojector. Instead of a large image of an adult, Ezra materialized, clearly not happy.
'Yes, Ezra. Did you find the Separatist outpost? The Commander asked concerned.
'Yeah, we did... although we have been attacked by the Inquisitors.
'Was anyone hurt? Ashoka asked quickly.
'Not really... the fight didn't last long. The General killed one of them and the others ran for their lives.
'Impressive! Sato exclaimed.
'Whatever, we reactivated the outpost and we found that this is actually an old factory of some sorts... but, the problem is, Kanan got in a fight with the General and...
Ashoka widened her eyes, prepares to hear the worst.
'Is he...?
'No, but he is locked in the brig for... insulting him...Ezra finished his report.
The Togruta Jedi sighed and closed her eyes annoyed. The Commander was confused.
'Well, tell him to release him.
'I can't! He says he is one of the leaders of the rebels and he must be respected, and ... Kanan didn't do that.
'We will arrive with the fleet to secure the orbit in case of an Imperial attack. Be safe Ezra!
'Yeah, be safe too...
The hologram faded, leaving Ashoka angry.
'They are like two bickering children!
'Could be... we will see the situation first hand when we arrive there.
'I can't stand this...
Ashoka threw her hands in the air exasperated and exited the room puffing. She had known the mission wouldn't go without internal conflicts, but that cyborg was just too well used to command droids. Having organic people under him that may comment his actions weren't well noted, she observed. Though she couldn't exclude Kanan's fault in that. Not the politest Jedi still alive. One thing that caught her attention was the fact that the Inquisitors knew of their ordeal and escaped. No doubt they had reported back to their master.
'Ana... he will come himself to check if the General is alive... she grunted to herself.
The next moment, a slight push coming from the air indicated that they had jumped in Hyperspace. She hoped that Vader won't be there before the Rebel fleet.

Enarc

'Sir, the set of instructions you gave us has been completed with utmost precision! The yellow stripped Supertactical Droid informed his master.
The Kaleesh was sitting on a chair in the Command Centre, with his elbows on the seat's support, thinking. He raised his head slightly and watched the droid waiting for his approval. A hint of curiosity got him as he noticed his underling was feeling nervous. Did the droids had time to impart runors of him being cruel to them or what was the matter? He had seen one of his models before, Kalani, which proved to be extremely competent as a General, but he had not heard of them having secrets.
'ST-747, it is an unusual question to ask to a mere droid, but do you have something on your mind?
'General, there may be something that is not working well in my computer.
'What would that be? I order you to answer!
The ST droid remained silent for a moment, almost making Grievous believe it was nothing he remarked, but the unit spoke:
'The Tactical and IG-100 units that I have encountered before shared with me informations about your behaviour. I find it controversial to see them false.
'Really? And what behiavour were you expecting? He asked standing up.
'Violent and furious behiavour, sir. But it seems the informations were false.
'Interesting...
He walked to him, but while still keeping a hunched over position, he still towered the ST droid.
'In truth, the droids were right. But in the meantime of your deactivation, I have changed. Now, inform me about the prisoner's whereabouts.
Grievous' golden eyes were sudennly filled with a cynical light as he awaited the report.
'He is calm. Doesn't speak with the B1 units guarding him.
'Hm... a shame. Release him.
'Yes, sir.
The golden droid turned and walked away while Grievous looked at the status of the factory. In one day, 400 droids had been assembled and 20 Vulture Droids. While the factory was small, his army was slowly but steadily raising their ranks. One problem that he oversaw was the fact that the resources will be depleted soon. He desperately needed a capital ship, a carrier or something. In a week or so, they will be left on the planet with no means of transportation.
'Hehehehe...
But he had the means of transportation delivered to him...
A few minutes passed until Kanan two droid entered the room, the atmosphere between them cold. Kanan was frowning and grimaced when he noticed the General standing on the chair.
'Satisfied with my imprisonment?
'Why, of course... you deserve nothing less, my fellow solider. He purposely accentuated the last word.
To his unpleasant surprise, Kanan reacted calmly and didn't retort back.
'Fine. I have recieved a message that your protector is coming. We should greet them properly with what we acomplished here.
'You mean, Ashoka and the rest of the fleet is on it's way here. Good. She will keep your madness in check at least.
'Get out! The cyborg thundered.
'As you wish, General!the Jedi grinned and exited the room.
The droids followed him outside, and the cybort remained alone, staring a console. In his anger, he hadn't noticed the red screen popping up. Planetary sensors had picked up a signal coming from deep space. No doubt, an incoming fleet going to exit hyperspace.
'The transport arrives! He grumbled to himself.
As expected, the orbit was filled with 5 Star Destroyers, each one going to surround the planet in the corners. A blockade was over due. It seemed though, to the General's advantage, that they didn't plan on a plantery bombardment. A direct assault was most likely. He quickly pressed one of the console's commands and opened up the comm over all the factory.
'Message to all units from General Grievous. We are under attack, battle stations!