"It isn't just that, General Grievous. We managed to pick up a signal belonging to a sole ship that's lurking nearby. It only lasted for a brief moment before it went off the radar.", The operator droid said. Hearing that, General Grievous laughed. He looked onward at the bridge before him, menacingly.
"Hahaha! So those Jedi think they have found some help, have they? It is no use. We destroyed their entire fleet. Where is there left to run?", General Grievous retorted. His eyes glinted, and did his iconic laugh. And yet, the person standing behind him seemed to not mind his actions one bit.
"You know this can't happen, General. I made it perfectly clear that I want no one alive. Track this ship down, and destroy it. We mustn't let this information escape from our grasp.", The man said, calmly approaching him from behind. He let his hands remain behind his back.
If one had a close look, a sheathed blade could be seen at his waist, a lightsaber. He appeared quite old. This man was Count Dooku, who oversaw all operations of the Separatist Army. He had fallen to the dark side after witnessing corruption spread throughout the Jedi Temple, and constantly struggled to maintain order. From his eyes, at least. He was a very proud man who had a desire to shape things to his will. With this sense of disillusionment, Chancellor Palpatine found the opportune time, and triggered his downfall. Not only did Count Dooku leave the Jedi Temple altogether, he joined the Sith, and became Darth Tyranus.
Albeit not directly, you could see indications of Count Dooku's fall during Tales of the Jedi, and his full exposure came during the Phantom Menace. He had grown exceedingly powerful during this last decade, and now, he leads an entire army against the Republic.
"Worry not, Master. Like I said, there is nothing to fear. Whoever secured that Jedi will meet death at our hands. All troops, attention!", General Grievous suddenly called out to the droids in the bridge who were with him. "They want to run? We'll make it so they don't have any areas to run to. Prepare the ion cannon for another round!"
""Roger-Roger."", The droids said, all speaking in unison with a nod of their head. With their new orders obtained, they got to work. General Grievous turned around to look at Count Dooku.
"Failure is not an option, General.", Count Dooku stated, before he turned around, and vanished deeper inside The Malevolence. Leaving the bridge, General Grievous was left to his own devices. Seeing this happen, General Grievous turned back around, and saw the bridge once again.
"Hahahaha!", General Grievous simply laughed, showing how menacingly he looked. A cold look appeared in his eyes, showing no remorse. A hint of anticipation also appeared, waiting for the ion cannon to be unleashed one more time.
Meanwhile, back inside my gunship, every single room started to blare with a bright red light, causing whatever was currently happening inside it to come to a standstill. Ahsoka was the first to react, she raised her head up high, not expecting this to happen so suddenly.
"What's going on?", Ahsoka questioned.
[The mystery weapon the Separatists are using suddenly left hyper space and is closing in on our position. Thanks to the latch being unlocked, they were able to pinpoint where we are. We've thus engaged cloaking again, but we need to be ready for evasive action.] Adam stated, causing worry to appear in Ahsoka's eyes.
"Well that doesn't sound good at all. I know we have to gather data for Master but this isn't what I had in mind!", Ahsoka exclaimed, seeing the sirens continue blaring around the gunship.
"It looks like we can only place our trust in Samus's hands for now, Little 'Soka. I've already read the report on how this bounty hunter performed with Master Yoda, so I think they have the skill to outrun General Grievous. Plus this ship is much smaller, not like our star destroyers.", Master Plo said, who was with Ahsoka in the main chamber.
Some time had passed since I had initially rescued what remained of Master Plo's fleet. The three clones who were with him are currently receiving medical treatment by Adam, who is quite the multitasker, by the way. As long has his AI had enough computing power, he can divert his attention to multiple tasks at once. Pretty neat, right? So while the clones are receiving their medical treatment, Master Plo used a few moments to meditate, and regained some of his strength. Not all of it returned, but it was enough for now. Ahsoka and Master Plo reunited shortly before this, and Ahsoka gave me her thanks.
I just didn't think we'd meet our enemy so soon like this.
"I need to go, Master Plo. I'm still bound by a contract with Samus. Courtesy of Master.", Ahsoka said, shaking her head in defeat.
"I shall await the good news. Any more data we can collect, the more successful we will be when we decide to launch a counteroffensive against General Grievous. I shall go and report to General Skywalker that we made it out alive.", Master Plo said.
"Understood.", Ahsoka said, before departing toward the cockpit. A hiss of an automatic door being opened soon followed. Master Plo was soon left alone.
"It looks like we are not out of harm's way just yet.", Master Plo said, only to reach into his clothing and pull out his personal hologram. Tapping it a few times, he saw a familiar face on it.
"Greetings, General Skywalker.", Master Plo said. It was none other than Anakin Skywalker who appeared on the other side. He was first shocked to see Master Plo, but then smiled, and greeted him back.
"So you managed to come out of that mess alive, Master Plo. I didn't think you'd kick the bucket that easily.", Anakin said, responding with a grin.
"I do not go down that easily, General Skywalker. But time is of the essence right now. I get that you tasked this bounty hunter with retrieving additional data so we can devise some countermeasures for what we're up against, but I'm afraid we might not be able to get this data to you so easily. They spotted us first. General Grievous should be on that ship, and I am not sure if our new friend has what it takes to go up against a flagship on their own. They decimated our entire fleet when we tried to take them head on.", Master Plo said, causing Anakin to frown.
"We need that data at all costs. It looks like we can only place our faith in Samus's hands for now. I'm not saying for you to take them head-on again, we just need to see what they can do. I'll bring this up with Master Obi-Wan to see if we can persuade the council. If General Grievous is truly on that ship, then we cannot stand by while they run amok.", Anakin replied.
"You do know I'm right here, Anakin. I'm not deaf.", Obi-Wan's voice said in the near distance of the hologram. All of a sudden, it distorted, only to reveal two figures now. "I am relieved to see you make it out of that mess, Master Plo. We'll take care of things on our end. Just make it back alive."
"May the force be with you.", Anakin simply stated, before cutting off the hologram.
After successfully reaching out to Anakin's fleet who were still protecting their supply lines in the nearby Bith System, a look of relief appeared in Master Plo's eyes. They weren't being jammed or anything, so he decided it was good to send out a communication now. If General Grievous was already preparing for battle, then it didn't matter if they tracked it or not. This way, he was able to notify the rest of the Republic of these new developments. After pausing in silence for a moment, he looked back to where Ahsoka ran off to, the cockpit, and then back to a nearby window, which wasn't big. But it allowed him to get a good look outside. A massive shadow casted itself over the ship, he knew exactly what it was.
"We aren't out of the woods just yet. I'll see how you handle it from here, Samus. You've rescued a Jedi one. If you complete this mission, you'll be rescuing a second Jedi. The council will not remain silent on such a feat.", Master Plo said to himself.
As for Ahsoka, she found herself back in the small cockpit, and found me. I had a serious look in my eyes, even though it was hidden behind my helmet. I had never taken off my Power Suit, considering I was still on the job. Rescuing Master Plo and his troops was just one task. Now comes the fun.
"Master Plo said he's going to reach out to Master, Samus. Just what in the world is happening---?", Ahsoka tried to say, but was unable to finish her current sentence before realizing we were being swallowed by a gigantic shadow. The wreckage around us was still here, but we were no longer alone. Ahsoka's mouth went agape seeing how big a ship The Malevolence was, who was now within our vicinity.
"It looks like your enemy came to us first. This should be the ship that destroyed Master Plo's fleet.", I said, without turning my chair around.
"Please don't tell me you're planning to go up against that ship. I mean, it's massive! Just what can one single ship do against a beast like that!?", Ahsoka exclaimed, still shocked to see the difference in size. It was like tossing a single penny into the pacific ocean. That's how puny my gunship looks. It was a couple miles long. You heard me. MILES. Not feet or meters. That's placing over forty football fields in a row. Even if I end up evading, several minutes will likely elapse while just going around the side of The Malevolence.
But still. I looked at this ship, full of confidence. I cracked a smile.
"Only one way to find out."