Jedi Insurgency 139

Holding onto the safety harness within a LAAT, Corvus was flanked by Jax, and the other members of the Bad Batch. For this mission, they had grabbed Tech to pilot the ship. Dressed in his all black, cloaked, and masked James Bond uniform, they were ‘officially’ playing for Team Empire today. To spice things up, he had also picked up a local cameraman & a journalist to show off how righteous the Empire was. 

Flying through the night sky, hundreds of other LAAT's filled the air like a swarm of angry hornets, they constantly landed, and then returned to their Venators for more reinforcements. 

“You sure stirring up the Banthas nest was wise, General? Would've been much easier if me and the boys, y'know.” Hunter said through his helmet's comms, and drew a line across his neck with his thumb. 

“I thought you would learn by now, Hunter, the General loves his drama.” Crosshair sarcastically remarked, and rolled his eyes. 

“Duh! We gots to make a big entrance! General's got his priorities right!’ Wrecker slapped a fist onto his thigh, making a loud sound. 

“Cheer up, Captain, live a little!” Echo smirked, and took an elbow in the side for the trouble. 

Hunter scowled at first, but couldn't hide the smile that soon came after. 

Corvus, meanwhile, shrugged his shoulders, neither confirming, nor denying the accusations. 

“What can I say, Hunter, killing Jar Jar, and recording it is too simple, too easy. Why not frame him as a hero to the Gungans, and as a message to the Empire? His death will put every Imperial Senator on notice. That not even the most ardent Palpatine supporter is safe! Furthermore, the people of Theed had already undergone some severe trauma yesterday, an invasion of the palace will be a PR nightmare! The government is still new to this whole Empire thing, and people are on the fence! I say, give them a push to our side.” 

“Heh, that's why I respect you, General. Always staying on target.” Crosshair drily laughed. 

“You were calling him a drama queen a second ago.” Echo pointed out. 

“Semantics.” Crosshair replied, rolling his eyes. 

“What are you going to do about Master Kenobi, Master?” Jax-who was also dressed in a masked, dark apparel-quietly spoke up from behind. 

Corvus felt his spine chill, and he wanted to slap himself on the forehead. There was nothing more classic in this universe than having a Jedi meddle where he shouldn't! 

“Good one, Ghost, ya stumped'em good!” Wrecker's bear-like palm slapped the teen on the shoulder good naturedly. 

“You leave Kenobi to me. As for the rest of you, you know what to do.” Corvus finally got out. 

“I feel the need to remind you all that we have arrived.” Tech's voice came up through the comms. 

“Thanks for the ride.” Hunter rapped his knuckles on the side of the LAAT, and jumped off. 

“Happy hunting, gentlemen.” Tech signed off. 

Advancing forward, hundreds of clone troopers ran past him, and poured into the palace. There were even a couple of the tiny ‘chicken-walkers’ from the Clone Wars era, the AT-RT. Men were shouting, and the distant sound of blasterfire met his ears. 

Approaching a command post, the pair of Nabooian journalists he had recruited were silently filming everything, and he stopped before a clone Commander, and saluted. 

“Name and designation trooper.” Corvus drolled. 

“CC-F355Y, Commander Ferry, at your service, sir!” Ferry saluted back, and shouted. 

“Commander Ferry. Report. The situation regarding Queen Neeyuntee, what progress has been made?” Corvus asked in a modulated voice. 

“Agent Bond, the intel you provided was sound. The Queen has been kidnapped. We confirmed visual ID of the suspect.”

Corvus tilted his head slightly, and sensed some hostility from the man? Didn't like having a political officer bossing him around, hmm? 

 “And?” 

“Jar Jar Binks, sir. The Gungan senator. He’s leading the abduction effort.” Ferry replied in a professional tone. 

“Tell me something I don't know, Commander. If that is the extent of your analysis, than why does the Empire bother paying your kind?” Corvus asked in a dismissive, somewhat venomous way.  

“There’s more, he’s not acting alone. We’ve confirmed he’s aided by a Jedi.” Ferry said in a monotone that one couldn't find fault with. 

Yet Corvus sensed through the Force that the clone's blood was boiling. ‘Good, good, let the hate flow through you. We both know that the Empire isn't paying you!’ 

“A Jedi?” He took a step closer, his masked face nearly touching the clone’s visor. “Tell me, Commander…was it him? The scoundrel who ruined the Emperor’s designs? Is it Revan?”

Ferry shook his head once. “Negative, sir. Reports suggest-”

“Reports!” Corvus shouted, and roughly shoved Ferry back. 

A few clones in the operating center glanced at them, and quite a few of them gripped the foregrip to their blasters extra tight. 

Corvus grinned deeply under his mask, and when one trooper's gun barrel slightly rose towards him, he drew a pistol from his holster, and shot him in the chest without even looking. 

The trooper fell back, and collapsed in a heap, whilst the female journalist who was tagging along shrieked in shock. Everyone was on edge at the sudden act of violence, and it looked like a full blown fight might erupt at any second. 

“Insubordination, Commander. Is unacceptable. The ISB knows that Revan has been spotted on Naboo, do not attempt to try and deceive me!” Corvus spat, and whipped out a holoprojector in his palm. 

Seconds later, scenes of Revan generously healing the residents of Naboo began to play. 

“This vile Jedi who goes around healing strangers, is a terrorist, and a traitor. These so-called acts of charity are a danger to society, and must be stopped! Now I ask you again, Commander, what progress has been made?” Corvus icily asked. 

Ferry must've been swallowing bile, because he took a good 10 seconds to death stare at Corvus, before his training snapped him out of it. 

“An unknown Jedi-an accomplice of Revan's-is holed up in the cinema. We have attempted to apprehend him-to discover the whereabouts of Revan-but he keeps disappearing.” Ferry reported through gritted teeth. 

“Is that a hint of malice I hear in your voice, Commander?” Corvus toyed with his gun, and then looked up into Ferry's eyes. 

“No sir.” 

“Good. See to it that that man is treated. My blaster was set to stun. Such mercy shall not be afforded to the next trooper who raises a blaster in my direction again.” Corvus stated, sharply saluted, and then began to march towards the palace entrance. 

Ferry behind him reluctantly saluted, and saw him off with murder in his heart. 

Corvus darkly chuckled to himself. He reveled at the seeds of chaos that he had sewn. Playing the role of a pompous, jackass, openly ‘superior’ Imperial was a great way to open the galaxy's eyes to how the average Imperial officer conducted themselves. Currently acting as a spy, it was important for him to not only cause sabotage, but to spread propaganda, and misinformation. Many nations collapsed not because of external threats, but due to infighting. Countless Chinese dynasties, and the Roman Empire were examples of how corruption, greed, and internal strife could lead to destruction. 

Palpatine may be the most charismatic demagogue in the galaxy, but he wasn't all knowing. Stuck on Coruscant, and forced to micromanage dozens of factions lest he find himself backstabbed, the old prune could only watch as Corvus struck at him on all fronts. 

His only regret was that he couldn't [Mind Trick] the clones to remove their chips. Palpatine had sent out a memo, and now they would no longer accept such orders. Perhaps he could still get it to work, but he feared he’d cause permanent brain damage to them. The sad reality was, the majority of Jango clones were destined to be his enemy, the brainwashing was that strong. 

Shaking his head, he figured he'd have to settle for a PR victory. 

Climbing the beautiful palace steps, he glanced back, and admired the giant victory arch that went down the boulevard. In the Phantom Menace, this was where the parade in the film's epilogue took place. For him, this would be the start of another conspiracy. 

Dramatically flipping his cape over his shoulder, he spoke into the camera: “Citizens of the Empire, behold your protectors.” He raised his arms grandly, and the camera panned out over his shoulder, and took aim at a squadron of ARC-170's roaring overhead. 

“Today, we shall expose the treachery of the Jedi. Follow me.” Corvus explained, drew his pistol, activated a personal shield attached to his belt, and then ran inside. 

Smoke entered his view, and the occasional Royal Guard or clone trooper corpse was slumped on the floor during his advance. Whilst he felt pity for them, he steeled his heart, and continued forward. 

Following the sound of shouting, and the flow of men, he eventually came across a dimly lit area. Most of the lights had been shattered, and a pale beam of moonlight spilled in through a blasted hole in the ceiling. The troopers who had gone ahead of him entered a narrow corridor just out of sight. Flashes of blue burst around the corner, and an explosive sent a wave of pressure at them, making the cameraman wobble.

“Yeargh!” A wilhelm scream sounded out, and a clone soldier was roughly slammed into the wall. Dust fell down on top of him, and a second later, Yon came out of the dark like a predator on the hunt. 

The short, black haired teen rammed his lightsaber into the trooper's chest, and then flicked it behind his back, deflecting several shots. His movements were deadly and precise, each bolt he deflected ended one life. He then transformed into a blur of motion. Cutting through one barrel of a rifle, he advanced up that trooper's arm, then through his chest. Without wasting any movements, he flowed like water, and made short work of the squad that preceded Corvus. 

Yon then glanced at them, and looked like he was about to say something, but Corvus sent a pulse through the Force. ‘Play along.’ 

His Padawan-for all his bluster and negativity-wasn't stupid. In the split second that he had shown recognition on his face, Yon bounced back, and took a defensive stance at ‘Bond's’ approach. 

Corvus felt proud at how far Yon had come. Back at the Temple over five months ago, he struggled to decimate a squad, and that was only due to a desperate madness bent on survival & revenge. Now, he was cold, and calculating. He was truly developing into a Jedi Shadow. 

Shaking his head, he flicked his finger at Jax. “Show this Jedi that the Empire is not without its own scientific achievements. That the hokey religion of the Jedi Order is nothing but a fraud.” 

With that, Jax stepped forward, and unclipped a lightsaber. Crimson red burst to life, and the pair began to duel.

Corvus grinned, pleased that the lightsabers he had seized from the Dark Acolytes on Ilum were finally being put to good use. Looking at his disciples fight, it almost felt real. They were rivals, and hadn't had a good spar in quite some time. The intensity of their blows were quite serious, and really showcased where they had improved. 

Watching them go at it, Corvus imagined he felt like Palpatine when Dooku & Anakin were dueling above Coruscant in Episode III. 

Of course, he didn't have much time to enjoy the spectacle, as a new opponent made themselves known. 

“Hello there.” Obi-Wan announced himself with his saber drawn. 

Corvus ignited a red blade in response. 

“So much for the Rule of Two. First Ventress, then Savage. You Sith are oh so predictable. And that all black ensemble, how unoriginal.” Obi-Wan tutted. 

“Take care of Binks. Kenobi is mine.” Corvus ordered the members of the Bad Batch through his voice modulator. 

Hunter nodded, and then took the camera crew with him down a side hallway. 

Obi-Wan tried to intervene, but Corvus jumped in his way. 

Locking blades, Corvus almost took a cheeky swipe to the knee, and only just evaded the attack. 

“My, my, they are learning!” Obi-Wan taunted. 

As for Corvus, he couldn't even get a word in edgewise as one of the few Jedi Masters who deserved to sit on the Council picked apart his technique as easily as a man plucked flower petals. The only saving grace was that Kenobi excelled in Form III, Soresu, a defensive form that capitalized on an opponent's fatigue and mistakes. 

However, this was still the man who threw hands with Prime Anakin just a handful of months ago! The bearded Jedi was so fast, so dangerous, that Corvus didn't even have enough time to explain himself! 

Obi-Wan Kenobi was trying to kill him!