Fugitive: A Star Wars AU Story

Ch.13:Ultimatum

"Oh my, where am I?"

Obi-Wan came to in a black room that was guarded by a blood-red pulsing ray shield . Slightly disoriented, the Jedi Knight lifted his head and gazed at what he deduced to be his prison cell. The walls, made of the black igneous rock materials, signified that he was stuck inside a Separatist prison cell in Mustafar. The volcanic planet would make sense as the Jedi had avoided it like the plague due to Dark Side energy being abundant here. The question was why would the Seps make their base here? After what he had learned transpired, the Jedi were no longer a threat to them.

So why do they need me here? What do they hope to gain my having me present?

Glancing across the transparent ray shield,Obi-Wan spotted Captain Kardo across from him in a similar cell. The Special Forces commander had his red and blue helmet resting on his lap as he leaned back against the rocky interior of his cell. It occurred to him that there were other prisoners scattered about the vicinity. His suspicions were confirmed when security droids patrolled the rough halls of the base.  Then the reason of his presence in the base hit him like a lightsaber strike to the chest.

Do they want to sell me back to the Republic that betrayed me in order to further their interests? I must attribute my critical mistake to a lapse of judgement on my part.

---

As the Separatist leaders bickered amongst themselves inside the Mustafar base,  Vruh'Kang leaned against the bronze walls, observing everything from behind his tan Ubese mask. Whirling his blaster in his left hand, he kept his eyes glued on General Grievous as the Supreme Leader of the Confederacy attended to the Separatist and Trade Federation representatives. Soon enough, the cyborg general would pay the bounty hunter for his services. Either way, he'd get his money one way or another. 

"It's boring enough waiting here for something to happen, wouldn't you agree?"

Glancing to his right, Vruh'Kang spotted a man dressed in red Mandalorian armor with blue marking on the torso approaching him. Two security droids scattered as he arrived in front of the Ubese.  This Mandalorian was in fact a Shi'ido bounty hunter known as Sha'ar , also in the payroll of the Seps. 

"Yes, you do speak some sense." Vruh'Kang stretched his arms. "Just so you know, I am only in this for the money. As long as I get payed, I have no objections for any task we might be required to do."

"Ah yes, the good old credits." Sha'ar chuckled. "That is my sole reason for living my life after all."

"Surely, you have no other purpose?" Vruh'Kang tilted his head to the side.

"Of course, but my main drive to get out of bed every day and travel across the galaxy from Wild Space to the Core is cash."

"What else would I expect from you?" Vruh'Kang asked. "Besides, you were only tasked with guarding this base while I had to risk my neck in order to save the lives of the Separatist Council."

"I'm quite aware of that." The Shi'ido shrugged." I would have given up 2 shiploads of credits to be in your shoes."

"I know." Vruh'Kang shook his head. "Now, Grievous is going to ransom the Jedi and those clone troopers to the Republic and maybe we could get paid and get off this rock."

"Getting paid handsomely," Sha'ar surmised. "Now that is something I can work with." Then the armor-donning bounty hunter took out his datapad and tilted his visored head. 

"What did you see now? More Kri'Gree on sale?" Vruh'Kang joked.

"No, it appears that the Galactic Republic is no more. In its place is now the Galactic Empire."

"No way!" Vruh'Kang wondered what this meant for them as bounty hunters. "Surely, they would have plenty of opportunities for us bounty hunters."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. What concerns me is that will they move against the Separatist worlds after they finish off the Jedi? I mean, the Empire was just born out of the Republic and is still composed of the same military force."

"We can only see. For now, let's just worry about our cash."

---

"Sir! This just came in a few secondss ago!"

From where he was seated at his desk, the newly christened Emperor glanced up as Fox and Theyer walked into the room. The Commander of the 65th Coruscant Guard set down a hologram message for the Emperor. General Grievous immediately came up in a bluish hue. Draped in his trademark cloak, the cyborg general began issuing a pre-recorded ultimatum.

"Chancellor Palpatine, I have an offer you can't refuse. If you haven't heard already, your Republic Starfleet at Utapau has been wiped out by my forces and as a result of that slaughter, I have the commander of your Special Ops team as well as his soldiers in my possession. Not only that, but I have a Jedi as well. If you want either of them back, I recommend you release all our prisoners and concede Kashyyyk to our forces. Moreover, stop engaging our remaining planets.I will be awaiting your answer. Choose carefully as the existence of your government may depend on it."

As the hologram ended, Palpatine turned to face the clones.  Theyer glanced at Fox, then at the Senate guards, before turning his gaze upon the Emperor.

"Sir, shall we send a force to liberate our brothers?"

Darth Sidious cackled as he leaned over his desk. "That won't be necessary. I will arrange for my apprentice Darth Vader to take care of Grievous and the rest of the Separatist Council. As for the Jedi, he can hold his own. I have taught him myself. Now is the time for him to prove himself, to prove that he is worthy of the Dark Side of the force."

---

As soon as his dark Jedi starfighter entered the red atmosphere of the planet of Mustafar, Anakin Skywalker received a holographic message from Palpatine.

"My apprentice, the time has come. You will wipe out the Separatist Council and their leader, the dreaded General Grievous, thus ending the war once and for all. I also want you to eliminate a Jedi that survived the purge and is located within the base. I will leave how you handle the imprisoned clones up to your discretion. Best of luck, Lord Vader."

As soon as the message ended, Anakin entered the dusty and volcanic world. He soon found the landing pad and instructed R2 to land on it. Once he made contact with the rocky ground, the fallen Jedi exited his starfighter with R2 in pursuit.

"No, R2, stay with the ship."

Ignoring the astromech's chirping protests, the newly christened Darth Vader made his way to the obsidian base that housed his targets. It was time to prove his worth to the Emperor.

Happy Star Wars Day, everyone! May the Fourth be with you, always!