Cat and Mouse
The first time my father truly fought alongside an Avenger was at the Battle of Christophsis, with the War Machine. The two with the insight of then Admiral Wulf Yularen clashed with the Separatist Admiral Trench. While the battle was of great importance, the true impact was the trust that was built. Trust is the foundation of any relationship. And without the Avenger’s trust in my father, the Galaxy would be a very different place.
-An excerpt from The Fight for Justice, by Luke Skywalker
September, 2015
It had been two months since the Avengers' arrival to the Galaxy far, far away. They had aided in many battles and it was a vast improvement for the Republic. Everywhere they went, casualties went down. Victory was achieved, and achieved swiftly.
But the War also escalated in response to their arrival. There was a new battlefront almost every day. Just as there was today, on the planet of Christophsis.
The Republic world was under a full scale invasion, with a Separatist blockade looming above. Senator Bail Organa and Pietro Maximoff were busy providing aid to the civilians and Clones. Pietro, being fast as he is, was responsible for evacuating people from incoming attacks. But even he had his limits.
The sounds of battle were heard on Bail’s end, as he contacted the Republic reinforcements. “Separatist forces have overrun our position! And we’re out of food, water and munitions! Our situation is desper-!” The transmission cut out.
“Senator Organa?! Senator Organa?!” Anakin tried to no avail.
“General, another cruiser’s been hit,” a Clone officer reported.
Anakin contacted the lead pilot out there. “Rhodey, what’s the situation on your end?”
War Machine was flying a Delta-7 starfighter the Jedi had provided. Alongside him was a squadron of V-19’s. They were pursuing two remaining bombers of a Separatist squadron. The Avenger shot the right one’s left engine, causing it to crash into the other bomber.
“Any bomber they’ve thrown at us is now gone.”
“Well, at least one thing is going well. But if Master Kenobi and Captain Rogers don’t get here soon, it’s gonna be one short rescue mission.”
The enemy command ship moved to engage the Venator. It was a Providence-class Dreadnaught, but with markings that looked like spider eyes on the front.
Yularen stepped forward to give orders. “The command ship is bearing down on us! Full forward shields! Incoming fire!”
Countless red blaster bolts were launched from the Separatist ship. The Resolute shook from the impact.
“This isn’t gonna be easy,” Anakin noted..
Admiral Trench sat on his command bridge, playing with his swagger stick, and stroking one of his mandibles.
“Fire all forward cannons. Cut off those Republic supply ships.” The harch stood up and stepped forward. “Separate them from their escort cruisers. I smell fear.” His mandibles tisked. “And it smells good.”
Lasers pounded on of the supply ships. It was too much for the small vessel, and explosions littered its hull.
Seeing this, the Avenger contacted Anakin. “Anakin, one of the supply ships is down! If we don’t take this guy out fast there won’t be a rescue mission.”
The Jedi looked to Yularen. “Overfire all reactors! We’re gonna blow right past this guy! Whoever he is.”
One of the bridge officers stood up. “General, a Republic cruiser is coming out of hyperspace, behind us!”
Anakin turned in that direction. “Obi Wan.”
The Negotiator emerged from hyperspace. It stayed close to the planet’s moon.
Obi Wan, Steve, and Cody examined their projection of the battle.
“General Skywalker has engaged the enemy.”
Obi Wan sighed out, “That’s nothing out of the ordinary. Especially since I gave him a direct order not to.”
“Well, then that ship we brought will be perfect for him,” Steve joked.
“Yes, I suppose that’s true.”
Back with Trench, his tactical droid informed him that, “The Republic ship is not breaking off its attack.”
“Hold the line. Intensify forward deflectors.”
The Invincible continued to have the advantage in this fight.
“Anakin, I want you to withdraw.”
Anakin whirled around at his old master’s hologram. “Withdraw?”
“We’ve brought a new toy that might give us the advantage,” Steve explained.
“With respect General, now might not be a bad time to regroup,” Yularen pointed out.
Seeing that the Admiral was right, Skywalker made his decision. “Tell the transports to fall back to Obi Wan’s position. We’ll cover their retreat as they escape behind the moon. I don’t like this. I hope Obi Wan knows what he’s doing.”
Trench smiled as the Republic fleet withdrew.
“They are escaping! Should we go after them?”
“No! Our orders are to blockade. Not chase. I have won this round. Recycle the shields. And let the cannons reset to a full charge.”
“Roger, roger,” two B1’s said before bumping into each other.
Trench sat back down in his seat. “The enemy will return. And when they do, we shall be ready.”
_____________________________________________________________________________
As their shuttle flew to Kenobi’s Venator, Rhodey and Anakin started a conversation to pass the time.
“So there’s no hover technology on Earth?”
“Tony’s dad tried to do it decades ago, but it didn’t work.”
“Huh. What else is different?”
“Well we don’t have space travel like yours. At all. We have tickets that can leave our atmosphere, and that’s pretty much it.”
“Sounds like you’re far behind.”
“Yes and no.” He pulled out his iphone for Anakin to see. “This is a multi purpose device capable of making calls, taking pictures and videos, storing data, and accessing our version of the Holonet.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that. But I’m still convinced our technology is better.”
“Yeah? Just wait till Tony makes a better version of everything here.”
Yularen wasn’t paying any attention to their conversation. The recent battle was still on his mind. There was something familiar about today. The ruthlessness of whoever commanded the enemy, he felt like he’d experienced it before. As the shuttle landed, Wullf decided he’d look into this before returning to battle.
Anakin and Rhodey walked out to see Obi Wan and Steve standing in the middle of the hanger.
“Well, here we are. Tell us about this new weapon.”
“You’re looking at it,” Steve said plainly.
Rhodey immediately understood. “Ah, I see what this is,” he said jokingly.
“Looking at what?” Skywalker didn’t like being the only one out of the loop.
“Two steps forward and you’d actually be kissing it.” Kenobi then knocked on what appeared to be thin air. The Jedi Knight was surprised to hear the sound of hitting metal. Obi Wan nodded his head to a Clone, who proceeded to press on a tablet. There was a large bluish glow, and a ship Anakin couldn’t recall came into view. “It’s a stealth ship.”
The ship was shaped like a pencil. But it was the size of a submarine. And judging by its capabilities, it functioned as one too.
Anakin gave Rhodey a smirk. “Bet there’s nothing like this on Earth.”
“Actually there is.”
“Oh come on!”
“Did we miss something?” Steve asked.
“We’ll fill you in later,” Rhodey said cryptically.
“So I assume scanners can’t detect it?” Skywalker asked.
“As far as we know. But this is the first real field test,” the Jedi Master explained.
“That’s encouraging.”
“We figured you’d be up to the challenge. This mission requires the best pilot. And that’s you,” Steve stated.
“Thanks. So we can move undetected and take them out from behind. That’s a pretty small ship to destroy a whole fleet. Are there more?”
“No,” Kenobi answered. “This is the prototype, and you won’t be on the offensive. I need you to run a mercy mission down to the planet’s surface. The ship can carry enough supplies for Senator Organa’s headquarters.”
“Oh, I’m still the delivery boy?! We don’t need the whole fleet, I can do this myself.”
“Anakin, slow down and do what I tell you,” Kenobi said calmly. He leaned against a stack of crates as he explained. “It’s more important to save lives than destroy ships. I need you to continue the mercy mission.”
Anakin folded his arms in resignation. He knew his master was right.
As this went on the two Avengers spoke on the search for their missing members.
“Has FRIDAY found anything on them?” Cap asked.
“No. But from she can tell with the Republic’s resources, their not on any Republic world.”
“So their either in Neutral or Separatist territory.” He really hoped it was the former.
“Or Hutt Space.”
Both men groaned at that.
“You know what, I’d rather they be in Separatist territory than Hutt Space.”
“That place looks like shit. I hope we never have to go there .”
_____________________________________________________________________________
Yularen sat at his desk in the quarters provided for him. His computer showed pictures of enemy command ship. He zoomed in on a symbol on the hull. It was revealed to be a spider’s face. Images of Admiral Trench then appeared on the screen.
“Impossible. It can’t be him.” He contacted the hanger, and the hologram of a Clone appeared. “Tell General Skywalker to hold his departure!”
“Yes, sir!”
The Republic Admiral made his way to the hanger.
Meanwhile, the copilot Blackout sat in the cockpit preparing the ship for the mission. Suddenly, all the screens turned a solid red.
“What the-” the copilot was cut off by an electric shock coming from the terminal. The Clone screamed in pain before falling to the floor unconscious.
Just outside, Admiral Yularen met up with Skywalker, who was with Colonel Rhodes.
“Thank you for waiting, sir. I’m sorry to hold you up.”
“No apologies, Admiral,” Anakin said with respect. “What have you got?”
The two began to walk into the ship, with Rhodey following.
“Something about this morning’s engagement struck me as…familiar. So I did a bit of research.”
“And?”
“I believe the opposing commander is none other than Admiral Trench.”
Anakin stopped walking.
“Wait, who’s Admiral Trench?”
“He was an Admiral for a corporate fleet years before the War. But wasn’t he vaporized at the Battle of Malastare Narrows?”
They resumed walking towards the cockpit.
“That’s what I thought too. But the tactics employed. The efficiency of the droids’s maneuvers. And then there’s this.” He handed Skywalker a tablet showing a symbol of a menacing spider head. “The last time I saw that symbol…well, let’s just say I lost a lot of good men that day.”
“Alright, so how dangerous is this guy?” the Avenger asked.
“I have seen his work first hand. A corporate fleet was blockading Malastare. A fleet led by Trench.That’s why I recognized the tactics…He tore our ships apart. We barely escaped with our lives.” Yularen shook off the bad memory. “In the end, a Jedi led task force moved in to settle the matter. Trench’s ship was destroyed, and we assumed he went down with it.”
Anakin thought it over. “Are you sure it’s him?”
“It’s possible. Not every captain goes down with his ship.”
“Well, we may be in luck then, Admiral. My orders are not to engage Trench. Just to deliver supplies to Senator Organa and Pietro Maximoff.”
Rhodey wanted to see how this ship worked, so while they were talking, he headed for the cockpit.
“With all do respect, General. I do not believe we will have a choice in the matter. If it is indeed Trench, he will come for us.”
“Us?”
“Yes. I am volunteering my services as consultant, General.”
“Welcome aboard,” Anakin said without a second thought.
“We need a medic!” the two heard Rhodey scream from the cockpit. They ran over to see him leaning over the copilot, who was groaning in pain and had smoke coming off of him.
A medic came by and brought the copilot to the infirmary. Some mechanics were brought to fix the terminal. Rhodey was now Anakin’s copilot. When they learned just how experienced he was (138 combat missions) they immediately brought him in. Plus his teammate was stuck on the surface, so why not bring him.
“Everyone’s on board! We are, go!” They heard from the terminal.
Anakin and Rhodey flew the ship out of the hangar and into Space.
“So, what’d you do before the War, Admiral?” Rhodey asked.
“Well, Colonel, I was an officer in the Judicial Forces for many years. Afterwards, I served in the Republic Senate Bureau of Intelligence for a time. I was actually appointed out of retirement when the War started.”
“I’ve been in the United States Air Force since I graduated from MIT. So about thirty years.”
“That’s quite the reputation. Which is why I must ask, why do you take orders from Captain Rogers?”
“Well Steve actually has more experience than me.”
“How?” the Jedi questioned.
“Well he fought in a war with more combat. Plus he’s a lot older than me.”
“Wait, what? How old is he?”
“He’s over a hundred years old.”
“What?!” both Republic soldiers exclaimed.
“You’ll have to ask him about it. It isn’t my place.”
Before they could question further, they remembered where they were. “Right. Okay, engage cloaking device!” Skywalker ordered.
As the ship moved past the moon, it became invisible to the Separatists. Much later than they originally planned.
_____________________________________________________________________________
“I cannot calculate why the Republic fleet has not launched another attack,” the Tactical droid informed Trench.
Trench groaned in frustration. “What is the status of the assault on Christophsis?”
“Resistance is crumbling, sir. I estimate a half rotation before it is over.”
Trench tisked. “We need to add some pressure on those who were sent to rescue our enemies on Christophsis.” The harch chuckled. “Send the remaining Hyena bombers to hit Senator Organa on the surface.” He tisked again. “That should draw those cowards out behind the moon.”
The Hyena bombers in the hangar were activated one by one, their eyes glowing red. They took off and made their way to the planet below.
On the surface, Organa listened to Pietro’s bad news. Things were only getting worse.
“I just handed out last ration bars. We’re officially out of food.”
“If those supplies don’t get here soon-”
The Alderanian was cut off by a loud alarm.
“Senator, we’ve got incoming!” one of the clones announced.
A squadron of bombers flew above them, dropping bombs in their wake.
The world grinded to a near halt before the bombs could reach the ground. Pietro put on his headphones, and the song Sweet Dreams began to play. He listened to the opening music as he cracked his knuckles.
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
Pietro ran towards a group of clones standing guard at the defensive line. The bomb was just above their heads. He carried them back to where Organa stood, one at a time.
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused
One of the bombs was beginning to explode in the middle of a group of medics and their patients. Some were already being lifted off their feet. The Avenger moved the beds with the patients far from the explosion, and went back for the medics just as the fire was about to touch them.
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
Pietro looked at the bombers that were slowly moving over the command center. He ran up the side of a building and leaped from it to one of the attackers.
Hold your head up, keep your head up, movin' on
Hold your head up, movin' on, keep your head up, movin' on
Hold your head up, movin' on, keep your head up, movin' on
Hold your head up, movin' on, keep your head up
The impact pushed the bomber towards another one. He looked underneath it to see a bomb ready to fall to the ground.
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused
Maximoff grabbed the bomb and hurled it towards two others.
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
Using his super speed, Pietro leaped from one bomber to another. He stepped on their heads when he reached them.
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
The Avenger landed on the last bomber in a way that caused it to flip over backwards, changing its course. He rode it like a surfboard as it fell to the ground.
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
The world began to move normally again and the following events happened all at the same time. Bail suddenly was surrounded by clones that weren’t there before. Some bombers crashed into each other, while others into their own bombs. There were many explosions with debris falling on unoccupied spots. Pietro backfliped off the bomber he was riding just before it crashed. He turned to his stunned audience with an explosion occurring behind him.
“I did not see that one coming,” one of the clones said.
The Senator was the first one to recover, and quickly ordered a call with Master Kenobi.
______________________________________________________________________________
“We’ve just spoken with the Senator. They’re in dire need of our help. Continue with your mission to the planet’s surface. We’ll deal with Trench.” Obi Wan’s hologram told Anakin.
Yularen immediately went against it. “General Kenobi, with all do respect, you do not have the resources to engage Trench openly. He wants you to attack! You’ll be walking into a trap!”
“Steve, we have to trust Yularen on this! He’s fought this guy before. He knows how he thinks!” Rhodey told his friend on the other end of the call.
Steve frowned in thought.
“They’re right, Master.”
“Anakin, I’ve got enough problems without you being one of them. Deliver those supplies to the surface. I’ll worry about Trench. Just stay on course, and-”
“The tactic won’t work.” The young Jedi looked to his companions. “Prep torpedo tubes one through four. Fix range on Trench’s command ship.”
“On it!”
“Sir?!”
“You heard me, Admiral.”
“What are you doing?!”
“We need to destroy Trench! And this ship has the best chance of doing it.”
“I want those supplies on the surface now!”
“Don’t worry, we’re on-” Skywalker was unable to finish his sentence as the transmission abruptly ended. “Rhodey, did you-”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Then who did it?”
On the Negotiator, Obi Wan stared at the holotable confused before turning to see Steve’s finger on the off button.
The captain who had been silent during the call finally spoke. “He’s not a Padawan anymore. Let him do it his way.”
Kenobi did not expect this. Then his shoulders sagged as he realized the Avenger was right. He needed to stop micromanaging Anakin’s every action. He wasn’t a Padawan anymore. A good Master teaches their students all they know, but encourages them to form their own methods. While he was worried about Organa and Maximoff, he was mostly worried about Anakin. Even though he would deny it, he loved him like a brother. And it would tear him apart if he lost him. Then there’s what it would do to Padme.
Steve saw how tense Obi Wan was and put a hand on his shoulder. “I know it’s hard making tough decisions like this. I can’t make tough decisions like this. But we have trust that they can handle this. And if they need our help, we’re not too far away.”
Obi Wan relaxed a bit at that. Steve was right. Anakin could handle himself. And if he couldn’t, Yularen and Rhodey were with him.
On the Invincible, tge tactical droid told it’s COOL, “Tge Republic fleet is holding position.”
“This is unusual.” The Separatist tisked. “What can they be planning?”
Anakin turned the ship towards the Invincible. “Prepare to decloak on my command. Pred torpedo tubes one through four.Fix range on Trench’s command ship,” the Jedi ordered the crew.
“You realize our torpedoes may not be enough?!” the Admiral questioned.
“All I want is for Trench to think about us instead of the people on the planet below.” Then he smiled eagerly. “It’s time to introduce ourselves.”
The crew made preparations for the attack.
“Activate the turbo charges.”
“Release torpedo safety.”
“Ready to divert power.”
“Shield regeneration on standby.”
Trench was utterly confused. “Hmm. Something odd…is going on out there.”
“Ready torpedoes. Lock on to primary target,” Anakin ordered. The crew did so. “Disengage cloaking device.”
The electric blue glow encompassed the ship as it became visible.
“There, a cloaked ship!” Trench realized.
“Fire!” the young Jedi ordered.
Four torpedoes were launched from the ship. The flew right for the command bridge.
“Torpedoes locked and closing,” the tactical droid informed.
“Activate the shields!”
The torpedoes exploded on impact with the ray shield, and the bridge shook, but was otherwise unharmed.
“Foolish Republic scum! Your puny torpedoes are no match for my thermos-shields. Prepare to fire all cannons!”
“Well, that did little good,” Yularen noted.
“Rhodey, reclaiming in nine, eight…”
Four torpedoes were fired from the invincible.
“Six. Five…”
Rhodey saw them coming and immediately launched the flares.
The torpedoes took the bait as the ship recloaked and flew away.
“Fire a spread of lasers!” Trench ordered.
Countless red blaster bolts flew in their direction.
“Incoming!” Rhodey screamed.
“I see it!” Anakin responded.
The Jedi expertly flew through the laser fire, letting the Force guide him to safety. Eventually the danger ended.
The crew sighed in relief.
“Scanners are coming up negative. We missed.”
“Yes.” Trench tisked. “But we have learned something. No clone would have been able to fly through that many lasers. We are dealing with a Jedi.” He tisked again. “Patch me into the comm channel, open frequency.”
On the stealth ship, the clone Spark noticed a beeping on his terminal.
“Whatcha got, Spark?” his CO asked.
“There’s an open communication signal coming from the enemy.”
“Better tell the general.”
Yularen massaged his forehead. “Now that they know we are here, what’s your plan?”
“I’ll think of something, Admiral. In the meantime, I’ve got Trench right where I want him. Thinking about us.”
Spark ran into the cockpit. “General, there’s a transmission on the open frequency. It’s the enemy.”
“Put it through,” he ordered.
The hologram of Admiral Trench was seen by everyone on board.
Rhodey was completely baffled. Never in a million years did he think he’d be fighting a spider.
“Hello, ugly,” Anakin noted.
“I am Admiral Trench. If you are listening Jedi, you’ve made a bold move and a grace mistake.” Yularen glared daggers at the Separatist that killed so many of his men. “I appreciate your decision to face ship-to-ship to play this little game. It’s been so long since I’ve had a worthy opponent. You have an impressive new vessel but I warn you, I have dealt with its kind before. Your technology will not save you, and your frinds on the planet below shall perish as a result of your failure. The people of Christophsis and her resources…shall join the Separatist Alliance. Turn back now. Retreat while you can, for I am your doom.”
The message ended.
“He said he’s dealt with this kind of ship before,” Yularen noted.
“How?” the Jedi asked.
“Are we sure this is the first stealth ship? Maybe the ship that defeated him on Malastare was another stealth ship.” Rhodey questioned.
“Call Obi Wan. Let’s see what he knows.”
With Trench, “I calculate the Jedi will not turn back as you request, Admiral.”
“Of course not. I do not expect him to.” He tisked. “He’ll attack again. A stealth ship could have passed our blockade easily. This Jedi chose to attack .”
Obi WAN’s hologram was now talking to the group of three. “You’re right, Rhodey. There are records of Trench’s battles and a few against ships with cloaking devices.”
“What have ya got?”
“It seems in each case, he used tracking torpedoes to hit the ship somehow whether it was cloaked or not.”
“Then he knows a way of detecting us,” Yularen said.
“Tracking torpedoes? Hmm. What class ship was he fighting?” Anakin questioned.
“Mostly cruiser-to-cruiser. Nothing as small as your ship.”
“Well, no ship this small usually has a cloaking device.”
“Back on Earth we have metal detectors for finding lost equipment. They work by tracking the magnetic signature. I bet Trench is doing the same thing.”
“Thanks, Obi Wan. Hold off your attack until we destroy Trench.”
“Do what you will. Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
That threw Anakin off a bit. He expected his Master to discourage his plan. Instead he was doing the opposite.
“Thanks. And don’t worry, I will.” Then he ended the transmission. “Admiral, prepare to disengage cloaking device and fire.”
Pressed a few buttons before ordering the crew, “Battle stations!”
“Regenerary check.”
“Navigation check.”
“Guns check!”
“Torpedoes check!”
“Shields check!”
“Admiral, we are ready and waiting.”
Yularen nodded. “Your move, General.”
“Fire!”
The ship decloaked and fired four torpedoes at the Invincible.
“There she is!” Trench shouted.
Rhodey recloaked the ship.
“Lock us onto that ship’s magnetic signature.”
The torpedoes hit the shield, and once again, the Invincible only shook.
“Magnetic signature locked.”
“Arm tracking torpedoes and fire on my command.”
“But sir, we cannot fire unless we lower our shields.”
“Lower shields and fire!”
“Lowering shields.”
Four torpedoes were launched from the Separatist dreadnought. They were heading right for stealth ship.
“They’ve lowered their shields,” Rhodey informed the pair.
“General, I really hope you know what you’re doing.”
“So do I, Admiral.”
Anakin flew the ship around and towards the Invincible.
“General, cloaking device is active, but they’re locked on to our magnetic signature!” one of the crewmen exclaimed.
“He took the bait! Turn off the cloaking device! Divert all power to the engines!”
The engines glowed brighter and stronger as the ship decloaked. The torpedoes were right behind them as they flew towards the Invincible.
“They are heading right for us.”
Trench’s eyes widened as he realized what the Jedi intended to do. “They can’t! Raise the shields!”
“We cannot. The shields are still recharging.”
The stealth ship barely touched the bridge as it flew by, sparks flying from the contact.
As Trench stood near the glass walls of the bridge, he closed his eyes, accepting defeat. He knew there was no escape this time.
The torpedoes struck the Invincible, ironically enough, littering its hull with explosion, seemingly destroying it.
The crew cheered at their victory.
“That’s the way!”
“We did it!”
“Ha Ha!”
Kenobi’s hologram smiled at his former student with pride. “Good job Anakin. We’re beginning our attack on the Separatist fleet.”
“Have fun. We’ll be delivering the supplies to the surface, Master.”
______________________________________________________________________________
The stealth ship was now parked at Organa’s command center. The clones were unloading the supplies. As Rhodey, Anakin, and Yularen emerged from the ship, Bail came to meet them.
“General Skywalker, Colonel Rhodes, I don’t know how you did it but you’ve saved a great many lives today.”
“Hey, I didn’t do much. It was all him,” Rhodey praised.
The Jedi sent the Avenger a grateful look. As he began to walk off, Anakin called out, “Hey, Rhodey.”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for trusting me.”
“You’ve earned it.”
Then he turned to the Admiral. “Well, looks like we make a pretty good team.”
“I must admit, I am a bit surprised by the reckless nature of your tactics. Though I cannot argue with their results.”
Anakin chuckled, “Well, you’ll find I like to do things, eh, differently from time to time.”
“Indeed. The Chancellor mentioned as much. Though he insisted it was the highest compliment.”
______________________________________________________________________________
On the stealth ship, the terminal glowed pure red again, but this time, the schematics of the ship’s cloaking systems were displayed.
Hmhmhmhmhm. You’re an interesting ship.