Star Wars - The Clone Wars - Secret Missions #1 - Breakout Squad

by Ryder Windham

  “I have been given an assignment,” Ambase said. Anticipating Nuru’s next question, Ambase added, “During my absence, you shall continue your training here at the Temple.””

  Nuru lowered his gaze to the floor.

  “Do not be disappointed, Padawan. My mission may be dangerous. As capable as you are, you are still too young for combat. You understand that, don’t you?”

  “Yes, Master,” Nuru said. Raising his eyes to meet Ambase’s, he added, “But I still wish I could go with you.”

  Ambase studied the boy’s expression, then said, ““You'’re concerned that I ... might not return?””

  Nuru nodded. “Just as Master Skaa did not return from Geonosis.””

  Ambase sighed as he thought of the terrific battle chat had begun the Clone Wars.

  “I miss your former Master, too,” Ambase said. “We lost many friends on Geonosis. But if we are to honor their sacrifice, we must do what we tan to help preserve and protect the Republic. Which is why I must go.”

  “Thank you for coming to tell me,” Nuru said. “When Master Skaa left for Geonosis, he did so without saying good-bye to me. I realize that it may have made no difference if he had, but-—”

  “If there had been more time,” Ambase interrupted, “Master Skaa would have said farewell. You know that.””

  Nuru was silent for a moment, then said, “When do you leave?”

  “Immediately. A clone squad is waiting for me now.”

  “I look forward to your return, Master.”

  “As do I, my Padawan,” Ambase said. He clapped the boy on the shoulder, then turned and walked off, moving past the other young Jedi trainees as he headed for the holographic training area’s exit.

  As Ambase walked away, Nuru looked at the other trainees. He knew that five of them had recently lost their first Masters, too. Watching Ambase’s departing form, he wondered if he would ever see the Jedi again. And then, unexpectedly, he felt a sense of impending doom.

  Nuru knew that the Force - —the universal energy that gave the Jedi their power - could sometimes speak to a Jedi.

  He was certain that this was such a moment. He no longer wondered whether he would ever see Master Ambase again. He was certain that Ambase would never return to Coruscant.

  Unless he had some help.

  Nuru grabbed his hooded robe and ran to the nearest Jedi trainee, Nat Lariats, a female Nautolan with fourteen long tentacles extending from the back of her head.

  “Here, Nat,” Nuru said as he handed his training lightsaber to her. “You can have this.””

  Confused, Nat said, “Why are you giving it to me?”

  “Because I already built a real one,” Nuru said. Reaching into one of his robe pockets, he withdrew another lightsaber, which he promptly clipped to his belt. Before Nat could ask any more questions, Nuru pulled on his robe and ran after Ambase. But as he ran, Nuru kept his distance.

  He didn’t want Ambase to know he was following him.

  “Look alive, Breaker and Sharp!” Captain Lock called from across the hangar in the Jedi Temple. “And say hello to your old pal!”

  Breaker and Sharp were standing beside an old freighter that rested in a wide hangar within the Jedi Temple. They were already suited in their armor, except for their helmets, which they held at their sides. Both troopers turned to see Captain Lock approaching from across the hangar, with CT-5177 at his side, walking without any apparent discomfort,

  Breaker smiled. “Good to see you on your feet again, CT-5177.”

  CT-5177 responded with a nod.

  Gesturing to CT-5177, Lock said, “I think the medics set a new record, the way they patched him up good as new.” Then he gave an expectant look at CT-5177 and said, “Go on, tell them the nickname I gave you.”

  CT-5177 winced slightly, then muttered, “Chatterbox.”

  “Ha!” Sharp laughed. “That’s a good one!”

  “I don’t get it,” Breaker said. “CT-5177 hardly ever talks.”

  Lock smirked. “It’s called irony, Breaker. Chatterbox is an ironic nickname.”

  Before Breaker could ask Lock to explain the meaning of irony, Ring-Sol Ambase entered the hangar. Seeing the silver-haired general who would lead their mission, Lock and the three clone troopers snapped to attention. Ambase came to a stop in front of them and said, “Captain Lock?”

  “Greetings, General Ambase,” Lock said. “The freighter you requested is ready for departure.”

  “And the rest of the task force?”

  ““Already on board, sir. A complement of two additional four-man squads and two pilots.”

  “Very good,” Ambase said. “I would like to express my appreciation to the trooper who found the circuit board. Is he among them?”

  “Breaker’s right here. General,” Lock said as he aimed a thumb at Breaker.

  Ambase bowed his head to Breaker and said. “You are to be commended for realizing the board was an unusual design. I was informed that you study technology as a hobby?”

  “Yes, General.”

  “Most interesting,” Ambase said before turning for the freighter’s boarding ramp. “I’ll brief the entire team on our way to the destination.”

  Breaker was the last of the troopers to follow the Jedi into the freighter. He was about to raise the boarding ramp and seal the hatch when he saw a blue-skinned boy dressed in Jedi robes, running fast across the hangar, coming straight for the ramp. As the boy came up the ramp, he waved his fingers at Breaker and said, “You never saw me.”

  ““I never saw you,”” Breaker said, his mind clouding under the young Jedi’s power. The boy slipped past Breaker and quickly concealed himself in a nearby utility closet.

  Without any memory of the boy, Breaker raised the ramp, shut the hatch, and then proceeded through a low-ceilinged corridor to the main cabin, where the other troopers and General Ambase were already strapped into their seats. As Breaker strapped himself in across from Ambase, Ambase looked at him and said, “That’s strange .,. I just had the feeling that my apprentice is nearby.”

  Breaker smiled and said, ““I can assure you that you’re the only Jedi on board, General.”

  A moment later, the freighter lifted off, and flew out of the hangar. It rose away from the Jedi Temple, climbing over the spires of Coruscant’s highest skyscrapers until it left the atmosphere and proceeded into space.

  The Duros bounty hunter was seated at a table in his shabby hotel room on Coruscant. His broad-brimmed hat tilted back on his head while he cleaned his blaster pistols, as the compact holoprojector activated.

  The bounty hunter lifted his red-eyed gaze to the air above the holoprojector as the device suddenly produced a flickering blue-light image of a cowled figure.

  It was the Sith Lord Darth Sidious.

  “Cad Bane,” Darth Sidious said, biting the words off with his grating rasp. “I require your services.”

  “I’m all ears,” Bane said, which was something of a joke, because his bald, blue-green head was smooth at the sides. His hands continued their work on the pistols while his eyes remained fixed on the hologram.

  “A freighter has just left the Jedi Temple,” Darth Sidious said. “It is bound for Kynachi, and carries a Jedi General with a clone trooper task force.”

  “What do you want of me?”

  “That depends on who survives.”

  “Jedi, huh?” Bane said. “My fee just went up. A lot.”

  “You will be well compensated,” Darth Sidious said. “Go to Kynachi immediately. I will contact you with further instructions.”

  The hologram flickered off. Less than a minute later Bane left the room, taking his guns with him.

  “Is something wrong, General Ambase?”” Breaker said.

  Although Breaker was not an expert on the emotional behavior of any life form, he had noticed the way that Ring-Sol Ambase had been staring out the freighter’s viewport, watching the brilliant cascade of lights as the freighter traveled through hyperspace. His brow
was furrowed, which Breaker believed was an indication that the Jedi was concerned or irritated.

  Right after the freighter had made the jump into hyperspace, Ambase had briefed the clone task force about their mission: They were to serve as his emergency backup while he investigated the KynachTech facility on Kynachi.

  During the briefing session, Ambase had not exhibited any obvious concern about the mission. Now, as he looked away from the viewport to face Breaker, he said, “It’s my apprentice.”

  Confused, Breaker said, “You’re… worried about him?”

  “Even though we’re already many parsecs away from Coruscant, I still have the strangest feeling that he is close by.”

  Suddenly, there came a thudding sound accompanied by laughter from the main cabin, where Sharp and three other clone troopers were engaged in a contest to see who could do the most push-ups while wearing all their armor. The thudding sound came from the chin areas of the competing troopers’ helmets, which struck the deck as they lowered themselves, and the laughter came from those watching them.

  Ignoring the noise from the main cabin. Breaker faced Ambase and said, “The freighter was thoroughly inspected before we left the Jedi Temple, General. No one boarded except us.”

  Ambase nodded. “You assured me of that earlier. Still, I have this nagging feeling of his presence. I wish I could explain it.”

  Hoping to help, Breaker said, “We can’t send any transmissions while traveling through hyperspace, but when we reach Kynachi, would you like to contact the Jedi Temple and confirm that your apprentice is all right?”

  “If a transmission can be sent without jeopardizing the mission, I would appreciate it.”

  “We’ll make it a priority,” Breaker said. He was about to return to the main cabin, but then he caught himself and said, “General, if you don’t mind my asking, why didn’t your apprentice join you on this mission?””

  Fixing Breaker with a quizzical expression, Ambase said, “You are a curious fellow, Breaker. But no, I don’t mind you asking. My Padawan, Nuru Kungurama, is still quite young and has never seen combat. I only recently became his Master, after his first Master died at the Battle of Geonosis. Unfortunately, my duties as a General have prevented me from spending much time with Nuru.”

  Reflecting on this, Ambase said, “I wonder ... this feeling I’ve been having since we left the Temple. Perhaps it is the Force itself at work here, trying to tell me that I should have brought Nuru with me.”

  “The Force, General?” Breaker said. “I really wouldn’t know anything about that.”

  “Jedi are not the only ones who draw their power from the Force, Breaker.” Ambase said. “The Force flows through all living things. Even you and your fellow clones.”

  “I’m glad you think so, General.”

  Just then, a red light flashed on and off at the edge of the viewport.

  Seeing the light, Breaker said, “Time to strap in again. We’re about to drop out of hyperspace.”

  They returned to the main cabin, where Captain Lock studied a navigation console while the other troopers settled into their seats and secured their helmets.

  Sharp said, “Hey, Breaker! You should have seen it. Chatterbox came in second place. Knuckles did more push-ups than any of us.”

  “Told you he’d win,” said another clone. “Knuckles does push-ups in his sleep.”

  “Yeah?” Sharp said. “I bet Chatterbox would beat him at a quiet contest. Chatterbox doesn’t even snore!” This comment brought on another round of laughter.

  “All right, cut the chatter,” Captain Lock said. Turning to Ambase, he said, “I’m going up front with the pilots. Be right back.”

  While Lock headed for the freighter’s bridge, Ambase lowered himself into his seat. Belting himself in, he surveyed the identical troopers.

  Although it remained something of a mystery how the Kamino cloners had been commissioned to create an army to serve the Republic, Ambase could not help but admire the clones’ courage and camaraderie.

  “Which of you are Knuckles and Chatterbox?” Ambase asked.

  “I’m Knuckles, sir,”” one of the troopers said amiably as he secured a set of polarized macrobinoculars to his helmet. Chatterbox raised a black-gloved hand and casually saluted Ambase.

  ““I'’m sorry I didn’t see your contest,”” Ambase said with a smile. “When this mission is done, perhaps you’ll have a rematch.”

  The troopers responded with enthusiastic nods.

  There was a shuddering sensation as the freighter exited hyperspace and the sublight engines kicked in. The freighter was still shuddering as it emerged in realspace, in orbit of the planet Kynachi. But before the shuddering could stop, the entire ship was rocked by violent explosions.

  None of the troopers showed a trace of fear as their bodies jolted against their seats. Reacting quickly and automatically, they placed their helmets over their heads, checked their seat belts, and braced themselves.

  “We’re under attack!” Captain Lock’s voice sounded over the freighter’s comm. “Kynachi’s surrounded by what looks like a Trade Federation blockade! Droid fighters incoming at—-!”

  Lock’s words were cut off by a second explosion, which was followed by a rippling series of smaller blasts.

  There was a roar of wind. Alarms blared. Lights flashed. Every man on the freighter knew the ship’s hull had been breached. Breaker grabbed an emergency breath mask and handed it quickly to Ambase, who drew it up over his face.

  Sharp consulted a sensor in his helmet. “General Ambase? We’ve lost communication with Captain Lock and the pilots,”

  All the seated troopers turned their helmeted heads to the Jedi General.

  “To the escape pods,” Ambase said. “Now!”

  Ambase and the clones scrambled out of their seats. Another series of explosions rocked the freighter, knocking some of the troopers off their feet. An inner wall blew open, launching wide chunks of metal that crushed and killed two troopers instantly.

  The power of the blast sent Knuckles tumbling down the corridor that led to the main hatch, where he saw a utility closet door fly open and a young, blue-skinned boy fall out.

  Knuckles didn’t recognize the boy or know how he got on board, but he immediately assumed he was a Jedi by his robed attire and the lightsaber on his belt. “Hang on!” Knuckles said as he grabbed for the boy, whose cheeks were puffed out as he held his breath in the rapidly thinning air. The boy clutched at Knuckles’s armored forearm and held tight. Knuckles braced his weight against the corridor wall, then flung himself back into the main cabin, taking the boy with him toward the escape pods.

  Laser fire hammered at the ship, cutting through the hull and killing another trooper. Ambase, Sharp, and four more troopers raced into one escape pod and the pod’s hatch slid and a blast shield shut behind them.

  Breaker was about to follow Chatterbox into a second pod when he saw Knuckles approaching with a boy clinging to his arm. Although Breaker had no recollection or his earlier encounter with the boy, he instantly recalled his conversation with Ambase, and suspected that the boy was Ambase’s Jedi apprentice.

  Breaker gestured to the pod’s open hatch. “In here!”

  While Knuckles moved forward with the boy and air whipped at their bodies, Breaker suddenly realized that Ambase’s pod had failed to jettison. He looked to a viewscreen beside the sealed blast shield. On the viewscreen, he saw Ambase, Sharp, and four other troopers within the pod.

  “Controls are jammed,” Sharp said via his helmet’s comm unit. “Can you release us?”

  Another bombardment of enemy laser fire struck the freighter. Breaker kept his balance as he threw open the cover to the emergency control box above the hatch to Ambase’s pod. Breaker saw a neatly severed cable, and realized in an instant that someone had cut power to the pod’s automatic release larches.

  Nuru was still holding his breath as he clung to Knuckles. As they approached Breaker, Nuru sighted the nearby viewscreen, w
hich displayed his Master seated in the disabled pod. Knowing better than to open his mouth, Nuru called out with his mind: Master!

  On the viewscreen, Ambase’s expression went wide with surprise. He turned his gaze so that he appeared to be staring straight through the blast shield that separated him from his apprentice. Padawan?!

  Breaker was oblivious to the silent exchange between the Jedi. He pushed aside the severed cable in the control box. Without any idea of whether the manual release would even work, he wrapped his fingers around a lever and pulled down on it hard.

  There was a muffled explosion as the disabled pod’s separator charges detonated. The pod rocketed away from the freighter, whisking Ambase and his fellow passengers toward Kynachi.

  Knuckles hauled Nuru into the open escape pod, where Chatterbox quickly slapped a breath mask over his face. Breaker was about to follow Knuckles into the pod when he saw another trooper stumble toward him from the shambles of the main cabin.

  The trooper was clutching at his midsection. His armor was severely scorched, but jagged blue markings were still visible on his helmet.

  “Captain Lock!” Breaker said. “We thought we’d lost you.”

  Lock gasped. “Better luck … next time, Breaker.”

  “Someone tampered with the auto-release systems, sir,” Breaker said as he broke open the control box above the remaining pod. “You get in. I’ll stay behind to release the pod manually.”

  Still clutching at his side. Lock lurched closer. He came to a stop when he arrived beside Breaker, peered into the pod, and saw the boy wearing a breath mask, sitting beside Chatterbox and Knuckles.

  “Where,” Lock stammered, “did this jedi … come from?”

  Knuckles said, “I found him.”

  Lock wheezed. “Lucky you.”

  “Sir,” Breaker said. “Get in before we-””

  Lock shoved Breaker into the pod, then stepped back as he hit a button to seal the hatch and blast shield. He didn’t know whether his helmet’s comm unit was still working, or if Breaker and the others could hear him, but as he reached up to access the controls for the pod’s manual release, he said, “Until I’m dead … I’m the one … who gives the orders.”