"You must be Samus. It's muffled since we're in space like this, but I can still recognize you from the call we shared a few moments ago. Thanks for finding us out here. It almost went down to the wire.", Commander Wolffe said, greeting me. I had to fly toward them since they were still grounded on the pod. Master Plo also was with them, and he's just as you'd imagine. It was even more weird seeing those bony protrusions of his. It was almost as if I was looking at a squid.
"The bounty hunter that Little 'Soka referred to. Thank you for coming to our aid. We don't have time to waste. You seem to be alone, where is your ship?", Master Plo questioned, also greeting me. His voice was pretty deep. Do keep this in mind that I was currently in my Gravity Suit, which was a vibrant purple color. Since we were in the darkness of space, it was hard to see me approach them at first, but once I was close enough, they immediately greeted me.
"It's nearby. Commander Tano is waiting for you all. There should be enough to bring everyone on board. If you need to salvage any datapads from the pod, now's the time to do so. I'll discuss the plan with you all once we've gotten back on my ship.", I said, explaining the situation to them.
"So there is a plan after all. It isn't just an extraction mission?", Commander Wolffe mused, wondering what I was referring to.
Step one was complete. I'm sure these guys do have plenty of intel on the superweapon the Separatists used on them, yes. But I was specifically tasked to get real time data. And being up close and personal was the best way to do that. As far as my mission went, it was only halfway done.
"Not anymore. Get what you need, and make it fast.", I said to the clones.
"You heard them boys. We still have precious cargo inside this pod, if you'll excuse us.", Commander Wolffe said to the two other clones.
Seeing the clones head back inside what remained of the pod, they began to work around what they could salvage. They had data in there that I'm sure the Republic very much needed. Adding that to what I was going to do, they should have an easy time taking the Malevolence down. I don't know if I'll be there during that clash. But one thing for sure was, reality definitely hit me here. What I saw used to be thousands and thousands of clones who were a part of Master Plo's fleet.
And now, only four, including Master Plo, remain alive. I couldn't remember exactly how many clones there were in a fleet like this, but the number wasn't small. That's how dangerous a weapon the Separatists were currently using. And the worst part? They wanted no one alive. I wanted to feel sorry for them, but I need to remind myself these guys are in the middle of a war. You can't come out victorious without some form of sacrifice. There were still a full three years of this fighting. My mind is probably going to grow numb to it all.
As far as Master Plo went, he assured me that he had the ability to take both himself and the clones with him back to my ship. I didn't need to ferry anyone over, as much as that would have been an interesting experience. Master Plo was an excellent force user, and knew his way around the Force. Once the three clones managed to secure what data they could scrap, they secured it onto their bodies. Channeling the Force inside his body, Master Plo began to use Force as he intended.
Not only did he levitate himself, he pushed the three clones along with him, feeling very floaty. Seeing the clones struggle to remain still while moving like this brought a smile to my face. It was clear they weren't used to something like this. I joined them, triggering my Space Jump Boots. Every so often, I would jump, allowing my thrusters to exude out some energy, which propelled me forward. I might have gotten used to this weirdness, but boy was it weird alright. Normally you'd feel a sinking feeling with the existence of gravity, but that doesn't exist here. I needed to time my thrusters so I wouldn't fly away too quickly. I'd just float around until the thrusters activated again. Still, I was able to make it back to my gunship.
"Here we are.", I said. We arrived at nothing, but where I was standing, or I guess floating in this instance, was the latch that allowed me to head back inside. The clones looked confused.
"I can definitely feel Ashoka here, but I see nothing. I take it that it is some form of technology that is at play here.", Master Plo said, feeling his reserves drain away with each passing moment. I could see he was trying to breathe less and less. I knew that mask filtered out gases. Its reserves system likely isn't large, he probably doesn't have much left to use.
"Let's head on inside before I explain anything further.", I said to the four, causing them to nod their heads. After saying that, I reached toward my helmet. "Adam if you would.", I issued Adam.
[Unlocking hatch. Welcome back, Samus.] Adam responded, directly inside my helmet. And just like that, they saw a sole latch become visible, while the rest of the ship remained cloaked. With what power Master Plo had remaining, he used the Force to send the three clones inside, and quickly followed them. I could tell he was tired. I had one final look around my immediate area, and saw nothing but destroyed debris. No droids or anything. For now, victory was ours.
Near the same time...
The Malevolence was indeed still lurking around the Abregado System. It soon arrived at the same area where it once stood against Master Plo's fleet. This massive spacecraft was classified under the Subjugator-class. And was it massive alright. It was said that this particular heavy cruiser was the largest craft ever designed to be used in the Clone Wars. You can't get much bigger than this. Equipped with hundreds and hundreds of laser cannons and other types of artillery, it could launch devastating attacks no matter what stood in their way. The result? The entire destruction of Master Plo's fleet.
There were only a handful of these used throughout the entirety of Clone Wars, and it was a question as to why its flagship was used so early on. Anakin made it a focus to destroy the flagship as his topmost priority to make sure the Republic would still be left standing. That fight hadn't happened yet, it was soon to come after seeing the Malevolence arrive in the Abregado System once again.
And it wasn't idle either. It could be seen actively scanning its surroundings, making the bridge busy. You guessed it, this ship was entirely operated by droids.
Inside the bridge while several droids were currently assigned at their posts trying to get different readings of the area, one particular droid turned its head. A sole terrifying and imposing figure stood not too far back, watching the ongoing scene. Its body was massive, and towered over all the other droids as if it was looking down at them. Its entire body screamed the word, "menace". It was composed of grotesque formations of cybernetic enhancements and machinery that twisted all over its body into god-knows-what, but you know what? It worked. Whatever designs that took place caused this droid to become one of the most powerful droids in all of the Separatist Army.
Who else could this be but General Grievous? With each step that he took while pacing back and forth, they appeared deliberate, acting as if these steps held purpose. Cathunk. Cathunk. The rhythm was steady. It was like a predator who was in the midst of stalking their prey.
The operator droid who was in charge of managing the bridge wasn't sure if it should do a report, seeing General Grievous walk round like this, keeping its many arms folded behind one another. But the droid knew if it didn't do a report, it'd get his head cleaved off in one fell stroke, only to be replaced by a droid who knew how to do the same thing. You see, General Grievous held an iron grip over his command. If something went wrong, he'd tried to make it right, without exception. He was definitely one of the most feared enemies the Republic faced early on in the Clone Wars.
"General, it looks like we lost contact with our hunters.", The operator droid said.
"Good. Good. So those Jedi still have some strength left in them as they wait for their demise.", General Grievous responded.
But here's the thing. This ship wasn't solely assigned to the droids, and General Grievous. One single life-form who looked over all of them who was also working with Chancellor Palpatine behind the scenes stood not too far away, also hands behind his back. This person was the very same person who Samus saw on that hologram back on Rugosa, albeit for a very brief moment.
This was Count Dooku, the de facto leader of the Separatist Army.