**Chapter 387**
**Scene 1 – Valiant-class Star Destroyer Sovereign, Shipyard around Lantilles**
It took us ten hours to assemble a full legion with their equipment for transport.
On the face of it, that was a great achievement. Ten hours to load thousands of troops, vehicles, supplies, and support elements onto a battle group that had been scattered across repair docks and resupply stations. Most commanders would have called it a miracle.
But I knew better.
The ground forces — with the exception of a few select, veteran formations — were not combat effective. Not yet. I knew we would be dealing with some kind of virus, a biological weapon. I was not going to send men who lacked proper training, sealed armor, or the right equipment into an environment where a WMD had been released. That would be suicide.
I hoped we would be able to improve their readiness by the time we reached Naboo. I had the feeling we wouldn't need the entire force straight away, but that was no reason to slack off.
On a more positive note, I had managed to push through a request for five additional *Valiant*-class cruisers under my direct command, loaded with rhodium-enhanced and proton torpedo warheads. The ships were:
- *Sovereign* – Grand Captain Wilhuff Tarkin (my flagship)
- *Knull* – Captain Firmus Piett
- *Silencer* – Jedi General Stella
- *Retribution* – Jedi General Kayla
- *Endurance* – Jedi General Flare
- *Hood* – Captain Gilad Pellaeon
These were the combat-ready ships available for immediate deployment. At least on paper, my fleet was supposed to be much bigger, but such a force took a long time to assemble given the current state of the war. Most of the new ships and ground forces were being funneled as replacements to formations already engaged on the front lines.
For the moment, my command was assigned to the strategic reserve, which also acted as a reinforced guard for Coruscant and the 12th Sector. That explained why I had been called on to clean up the mess on Naboo — besides the obvious fact that I was available. There simply were no other viable forces at the moment, and no one was able to pry the various system defense fleets out of their home systems. Otherwise, the state of the war would have been much better for the Republic. Just Kuat's heavy capital ships could have made a huge difference. The same went for Corellia, but the latter was currently neutral.
I stepped onto the bridge with my small staff and Clone Commander VC-541 "Vic" — the man in charge of the clone troopers we had drafted for the Naboo mission.
"Are we ready to depart?" I asked calmly, keeping any weariness out of my tone. The scramble to get everything ready had been exhausting, even when I could lean on the Force to rejuvenate my body.
"Yes, General," Vic reported. "My men are on board. However, only one legion and two reinforced battalions are combat effective as we speak. We'll need at least a week for the whole corps to be ready with the new volunteer units, sir."
"Concentrate on the units that can be prepared fastest," I ordered. "We may not have that long." I turned to Pellaeon. "Grand Captain, take charge of the Task Force. We are leaving."
"Yes, sir!" Pellaeon gave a crisp salute and moved to carry out the orders.
"Lieutenant Veers, I want you on the ground with me on this op. I want to judge your abilities for myself." My attention shifted to my new protégé.
"Yes, sir!" Maximilian Veers straightened up immediately. "I won't disappoint you, General!"
"Carry on, men."
As the bridge crew sprang into action, I glanced at Nox, who stood quietly near the tactical station.
"Nox, you're with me. Guard Ahsoka and Zule."
"Master?" Ahsoka and Zule questioned almost in unison, both looking surprised.
"No. I am still your Master, so you will still follow orders," I said firmly, leaving no room for argument.
The two padawans exchanged a quick glance but nodded. They knew better than to push when my tone turned that serious.
**Scene 2 – City of Theed, Naboo**
The journey to Naboo was barely long enough for us to bring another battalion to combat readiness.
By the time we made orbit, I had at my disposal two infantry battalions — or, to use proper GAR lingo, legions — thousand-man formations that were prepared for deployment. There were also two armor companies with walkers and one scout platoon. The rest of my ground forces would need at least two more days before I would consider sending them into combat, with the last battalion more or less a lost cause after we cannibalized it for men and equipment. I hoped that would be enough.
A few minutes after arriving in the system, I was in a LAAT/i gunship descending toward the city of Theed. The movies hadn't done it justice. Theed was built on a large plateau around a magnificent waterfall. As we approached, the city was lit up by sun-rays from the east, bathing the domed architecture and warm pastel tones in a golden shower. The combination of sunlight, elegant Naboo design, and lush greenery created one of the most stunning vistas I had ever seen — and I had been to three different universes.
We landed at what appeared to be the same hangar seen in *The Phantom Menace*. We were met by Captain Typho, a female Gungan, and C-3PO. I introduced myself and my companions — Piett and Veers. Not seeing the Senator, I rolled my eyes in exasperation.
"Let me guess, Captain. Senator Amidala went ahead by herself," I grumbled. As if dealing with a CIS research lab containing who-knew-what nasty surprises wasn't complicated enough.
"Senator Padmé can't be stopped when she makes up her mind," the droid added his two cents. Why didn't she take that blasted machine with her? Then the CIS might finally get lucky and do us all a favor by blasting it into many tiny pieces.
"Captain, I recommend that the next time she goes suicidal, you stun her," I grumbled. "Where exactly did she run to?"
"This is Peppi Bow," Typho introduced the alien woman. "Padmé sent her here. She is the last person to see them."
"Them? Did she, for a change, decide to take guards with her this time?" I asked with forlorn hope.
It did not matter what my personal opinion about Amidala and her antics was. Hell, even what Sidious thought about her was not that important in this situation. She was the Senator of Naboo, a former Queen, and a personal friend of the Chancellor. If she got herself killed on my watch, it would not be good. I was sure Sidious would use such an opportunity to sideline me and my forces somewhere we couldn't make too much trouble, while using her death to further his agenda. I would have done the same in his shoes. I hated politics.
"Representative Binks is with her," Typho admitted with a straight face.
Of course he is. Getting rid of him should be achievable, I hoped. That bloody thing had the Emperor's own luck.
"Am I wrong to assume that you are searching for them?" I asked. "She doesn't have a proper security detail, does she?" I sighed. Probably not. Not with Padmé's luck. She was undoubtedly already captured and needed saving. Bloody royals.
"Considering what happened, we decided to wait for your arrival, General," Typho sounded even less happy to deliver the next bit of news.
"Please enlighten us. I can't wait." My sarcasm was not lost on the captain, who winced. "Ensign Piett, talk with the lady and arrange for the last known location of our missing Senators to be scouted from orbit."
"I'm on it, sir!" Firmus saluted and went to speak with the Gungan woman.
Typho led us to a small ready room nearby, dominated by a large holo-display in the form of a table. In its center lay the head of a B-1 droid. He pressed a few buttons, and a holographic representation of a humanoid man floated above the table.
"This is Dr. Nuvo Vindi. He was a famous doctor who disappeared years ago," the captain intoned in a grave tone.
The resident mad scientist began a monologue about having enough Blue Shadow Virus to start filling bombs with it. I winced. I was familiar with that kriffing disease. It was a nasty piece of work even by Sith standards. That right there should tell you something about the virus.
"If this abomination is released in enough key places, it can easily cause a galactic pandemic that will make the war look like a children's spat," I spat. That was the last thing we needed. The only good thing about Blue Shadow was that, in order to be most effective, it needed bodies of water to spread through. Otherwise, it was a short-lived horror.
It would be a nasty shock to a world like Coruscant. On Naboo? If left unchecked for even a short period, it might wipe out most of the population. And considering how much water was on this planet, the whole world would be in quarantine for months — perhaps years — before the virus could be eradicated. A quarantine that must be enforced, thus depleting the Navy's already meager reserves.
"I'll have my ships scan the area. Let's hope the Senator has not revealed that we suspect the virus," I sighed. If she had been captured, the CIS garrison would be on high alert.
I contacted Pellaeon, who sent the frigates to sweep over the eastern marshes from orbit. Five minutes later, we had the location of the lab and its rough plans, which showed three separate entrances as well as an area with increased radiation. That was most likely the armory where the bombs were being assembled. Fortunately, in order to keep a low profile, the base didn't have jammers running, which would have made getting detailed scans impossible. It wasn't really surprising — planet-side, ECM couldn't be missed.
The CIS facility had at least ten disc-shaped rooms and something that looked like a shaft leading to the surface. They were all connected by tunnels.
"This could get ugly," I said. "Veers, I want you leading teams of demolitions experts to the armory. You are to disarm all bombs you find there. I'll go after our friendly WMD expert." I glanced at the lieutenant, who had his helmet tucked in the crook of his left arm. "And don't forget we are dealing with a bio-weapon. I want the armor of all my men sealed tight."
Before we headed for the marshes, I left Piett behind as a liaison to Typho and the rest of the locals.
Amidala and the Gungan menace were most likely captured, thus costing us the element of surprise. If we were lucky for once, they were simply lost and we would have enough time to search for them. Or, if we fucked up, they were dead anyway — as well as most of the population of Naboo.
**Scene 3**
"Nox, continue the search," I ordered. "I am going to see what I can do with the current Blue Shadow Virus in the water."
"Uh, sure," Nox replied, looking slightly confused but nodding.
I walked to the edge of the river where the virus had been detected. Placing my hand just above the surface, I focused with total concentration. A soft white glow spread from my palm, flowing outward across the water like liquid light. The healing energy moved through the river, purifying it, removing the deadly blue strain at a molecular level. I also extended the healing to the wild Shaaks grazing nearby, soothing their bodies and removing any contamination.
Peppi Bow, the Gungan woman, watched with wide eyes as the river cleared before her. When I finished, she bowed deeply.
"Mesa thank you, General! You saved mesa herd!" she exclaimed before hurrying off to tend to her animals with renewed joy.
I allowed myself a small, tired smile. One small victory in a galaxy full of horrors.
The real fight was still ahead — in the swamps, in the hidden lab, and against whatever madness Dr. Nuvo Vindi had begun