The Wolf Pack

Chapter 62

Sketcher was fairly sure the Pack was jinxed. There was no other explanation. Every time they had Commander Foreas with them longer than a month things always went to shit. He had had his doubts about the 104th at first and Kriari's command had been at the top of that list, but he had since grown to respect and even like her.

But that didn't mean trouble didn't follow her everywhere. It was as if the Force acted as a catastrophe magnet and she had yet to figure out how to turn it off.

Sketcher wasn't angry, but he was annoyed.

He was annoyed because Wolffe had been right. Admiral Zapal was a traitor and had been targeting the ship's main systems as an incredibly efficient saboteur. Efficient, but not subtle enough for Wolffe not to notice.

All targeted systems had been alerted and were in the process of undoing Zapal's extremely thorough work. How he managed to make so much damage in such little time was beyond all of them.

The entire cruise was put on high alert, but no alarms blared, no soldiers marched, no clones formed up. No, they wanted Zapal to believe he still was in control of the situation and the plan was to ambush him once the "inspection" was over and they all had a clear idea of what his aim was. He had only scheduled an inspection for the 104th.

He was after something, they just didn't yet know what it was.

Sketcher was pretty sure they would be able to subdue and interrogate the traitor without any casualties. He was one man in a cruiser full of clones and two Jedi. There was nowhere for him to go.

That is until he excused himself into the restroom. It was then that everything started going downhill. The man had taken the chance for privacy and had come out of the room fully decked in mandalorian armor.

Zapal killed the two clones standing guard as he made for the main hangar and attempted to flee. Although they had been prepared for a fight, none of them had anticipated a mandalorian, one of the very people that had given the clones what little sense of belonging and culture they had.

Kriari and Plo Koon were also taken aback, not expecting the resistance in battle only a mandalorian could give a Jedi.

It was bloody, violent and the worst battle Sketcher had seen since he watched Kriari fight off Asajj Ventress. Mandalorians were truly something to be afraid of. Zapal cut through the lines of soldiers as if he saw every opening, every flaw in their formation. When faced with the man, visor to visor, helmet to helmet, Sketcher felt as if he was dueling a Force sensitive. He felt doomed.

But he refused to die by the hand of a traitor, he refused to be another number in the Chancellor's speech, another name on Kriari's skin. No, today was not the day he died.

As he and his brothers fought Zapal head on, fists and knees and blaster fire, he realized just how alive he was and just how much of this moment was of his choosing. He had chosen to defend the Pack, he had chosen to tear apart the traitor who threatened his home and his family. This was his fight.

"This is our turf, you sunnova bitch." He grunted as he kneed Zapal on the side of the helmet, where he knew the control systems were.

The man stumbled back, hurriedly taking his helmet off as the thing continued to overheat from the inside out. Zapal watched Sketcher with both rage and disgust as he raised his fists to his face and spat both blood and what might have been a shattered tooth at the clone's feet.

"Everything you have, Mandalore gave you, boy. You should be glad we are trying to reclaim our history, our culture."

Sketcher took his helmet off as well and holstered his blaster, raising his fists to mirror the man.

"I'll be glad to continue our warrior culture under the command of General Plo. So do me a favor and turn yourself in for interrogation quietly. I hate violent conservative pieces of shit like you."

"So you would rather be a dog to the republic than a man to Mandalore?" Zapal laughed.

"No, I would rather be a free man choosing to defend his family than a scumbag killing my own for political differences."

"Free? You? A free man?" Zapal threw his head back and laughed, loudly and sarcastically. "You are neither free nor a man, clone. And you will now die like the dog you are."

Zapal went to unsheath his vibroblade but froze. Before he could realize what was going on, the man collapsed to the floor like a boneless sack of meat. Behind him stood Plo Koon, peaceful and calm as ever.

"Go to the infirmary, Sketcher. And take Happy with you, he is still alive around the corner."

Sketcher watched his general intently, just now realizing that he hadn't seen him since the battle started.

"Kriari and I got stuck in a shield generator, when we broke free she started taking the wounded to the infirmary and I came after our guest."

"Right. Thank you, Sir."

Sketcher turned to leave but stopped when his General addressed him once again.

"You are a soldier, Sketcher, but if you ever wish to be just a man, let me know."

The clone did not have to ask for clarification, he knew exactly what his General meant and the fact that he had offered such a thing nearly made Sketcher swallow hard.

"Thank you Sir. But there is nowhere in the galaxy I'd rather be than fighting by your side."

Even if there had been, Sketcher could not have lived with that.

…

The bridge was dark except for the blue light of the holo images of the jedi council. Their faces were somber as they illuminated both General Plo Koon and his two Commanders.

"And you say there was no information you could salvage?" Asked Master Windu.

"No. The Saboteur took his own life while in captivity to avoid interrogation." Answered Kriari, unbothered by the displeased looks of the council when she didn't address Windu as Master.

Wolffe was still doing his best not to smile at her, and Plo Koon just stood silent with a hand against his mask pensively.

"I suppose there is no other option, someone must make the trip to Mandalore. Their neutral position could be seen as treason if word gets out about this."

"Agree I do. Someone who would not be perceived as a threat we must send."

All heads turned to Obi-Wan at this. It was no secret that he had been assigned a mission to protect Duchess Satine when he was still a Padawan.

"I would be honored to take on this assignment, but I would like to request my Padawan's presence for this particular trip."

Kriari could feel Wolffe tense behind her, and her Master's placid Force signature stuttered for a second.

"May I inquire as to why, Master Kenobi?" Asked Plo.

"Well I will need as much insight as I can get on this saboteur of ours and I believe Kriari, observant as she is, might have some very welcome information. That and I would like her to be present for the negotiations, she has been having her saber do the talking for far too long "

"It would be my pleasure, Master. But I do feel inclined to point out that Zapal had been a mole long enough to reach the rank of Admiral within the GAR. It's not just the lower ranks being infiltrated, and that is a cause for concern."

The Jedi council said nothing, but Kriari saw several members nodding to themselves in agreement. She knew she still wasn't out of the woods with the lot of them but she had expected them to at least be reasonable enough to agree on certain matters, even if it was her bringing them up.

"Kriari, my child, why don't you go get ready for your travels? I believe the Council and I have several things to discuss."

Kriari knew her master well enough to know this was him giving her time to say her goodbyes, and she gladly took the opportunity her master gave her. She bowed to the Jedi Council and then exited the bridge through the blast doors, with Wolffe at her heel.

Break was over, it was time to go back into the field.