In the briefing room of Tipoca City, Obi-Wan Kenobi stood before the holographic sandtable, his fingertips tracing the blue light representing the battlefield. "Master Rancisis's fleet will launch a surprise attack when the Separatists land. They can't defend both their ships and the landing at the same time. Warrior Secura and Master Twi'lek, lead the first fighter squadron. Anakin and I will handle the second squadron. Our priority is to take out the robot landing craft. Stay out of the orbital dogfights. The other Jedi will accompany me to the planet's surface to defend Kamino's cloning facilities."
"Does this deployment even make sense?" Trei Joy frowned, his blue-skinned Jedi Master's voice tinged with skepticism. "Can't the city's energy shields withstand ground attacks?"
Obi-Wan was about to explain when a figure in armor suddenly spoke in a weary tone: "Tipoca City's shields, like those of the other cities, can only defend against aerial bombardment. They can't block ground penetration. The Separatists will drop massive numbers of battle droids before Master Rancisis's fleet arrives. These machines can easily slip through the shield gaps and wreak havoc on the ground."
The speaker was Solo Victor.
Obi-Wan silently recalled how Yoda had arranged for Solo to reinforce Kamino at the last minute.
Solo tapped several platform markers on the holographic sandtable. "If we had heavy artillery deployed at these positions, we could inflict serious damage on the robots during their initial landing."
"Master Yoda assigned Master Kenobi to command this mission," another Jedi interjected. "This means he has a clearer understanding of what needs to be done..."
Rick Dagon, a Human Jedi Knight born on an obscure planet in the Unknown Regions—a planet so remote it didn't even have an official name.
The warrior who had used an unknown Dark Side technique on the Geonosis battlefield and subsequently underwent a long period of recovery.
But rumors circulated that, just before he was to be dispatched to the Sector Army Corps, he fled the Temple, claiming he had experienced visions through the Force.
The Temple was rife with rumors of his betrayal, much like the rumors surrounding Quinlan Vos.
Meanwhile, a holographic image of Quinlan Vos flickered intermittently beside Lancis.
When Dogen returned to the Temple, he brought with him a holographic recorder belonging to the ancient Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma.
It was from this very recorder that the information to destroy the Dark Reaper was found.
However, by the time the holographic recorder was delivered, Obi-Wan and Anakin had already dealt with the Sith weapon.
Dogen was discovered and brought to the Coruscant Temple by Master Duda Abila, a regular Jedi Explorer. His duty was to roam the far reaches of the galaxy, seeking out new planets, species, hyperspace lanes, and all other unexplored and unexplored phenomena.
More precisely, he was a Jedi Explorer's Apprentice. According to rumors, he encountered Grievous during an expedition with his Master. Grievous severed both of Dogen's legs, and his Master sacrificed himself to save him, falling under Grievous's blade. After returning to the Temple via shuttle, Dogen underwent the investiture ceremony and was promoted to Warrior rank.
Solo reviewed information about this Jedi on the Holonet, but much of it felt off.
Geonosis.
Grievous.
Sith power.
This character, who hadn't been mentioned at all in the original story, caught his particular attention. Moreover, from the moment he met Solo, Dogen had been displeased with this "armor-clad, overly enthusiastic" Jedi.
"Warrior Dogen, Master Yoda had his reasons for sending Master Victor," Anakin suddenly interjected. Ever since he first met the Warrior who had saved Padmé in London, he'd wanted to thank him, but he'd held back. Now was the natural time to speak up in his defense.
Solo glanced at Anakin in surprise, then tapped the "Hyperspace Ring" icon on the holographic sandtable. "When the Separatists destroy the interceptors' Hyperspace Rings and we can't even chase them, then you can go talk to Master Yoda about 'reason'."
"Warrior Victor!" Oppo Rancisis's holographic image flickered. The Thisspiasian Jedi clearly didn't want to cause internal strife before the battle. "Our fleet is strong enough to prevent the Separatist Alliance from escaping, so I suggest you focus more on the ground operations."
Solo nodded silently to the Master and returned to his seat. Obi-Wan noticed the Twi'lek woman gently elbow him in the ribs.
"Perhaps if you hadn't relied so heavily on external aids like your armor and focused solely on training, you wouldn't have been beaten so badly by Ventress!" Dogen's gaze landed on Solo's armor, his tone dripping with mockery. "Then you could have focused more on the missions assigned to you."
"This armor isn't just for looks!" A cold smile appeared on Solo's face. "Thanks to it, my limbs are still attached. What if we run into Grievous out there..."
The words instantly ignited Dogen's fury, and the briefing room in Tipoca City nearly filled with the hum of activated lightsabers.
Obi-Wan clearly saw Dogen's fingers tighten around his lightsaber hilt, his knuckles turning white.
The atmosphere in the briefing room instantly froze.
Tang Wei, the Kaminoan representative, stood in a corner, his nervous gaze darting between the two men.
Aayla Secura quietly stepped forward, seemingly trying to ease the tension.
Trei Joy frowned, clearly displeased by the sudden conflict.
"Take a deep breath, Warrior Dogen," Solo said, suddenly standing up and walking toward the exit. "Our 'guests' have arrived."
No sooner had the words left his lips than a sharp alarm blared through the entire briefing room.
Tang Wei's fingers flew over the console. On the holographic sandtable, red dots representing the Separatist fleet rapidly approached Kamino's orbital path. "The Separatists have entered orbit! Over eighty warships detected!"
"Finally, we get to fight," Anakin said, his excitement palpable. He activated his lightsaber, its blue blade slicing through the air as he charged out of the briefing room.
The other Jedi followed closely behind, leaving only Obi-Wan, Tang Wei, and Lancis's hologram behind.
Lancis shook his head, his voice tinged with worry. "This dispute... I fear it will lead to far greater troubles in the future."
With those words, the holographic image disconnected.
Obi-Wan gazed at the empty briefing room, a sense of unease rising in his heart. Through the Force, he could vaguely sense that this seemingly ordinary pre-war conflict was entangled in more complex causes and effects, perhaps destined to unleash unforeseen waves in the future.
Outside the window, the oceans of Kamino churned. Solo stood on the metal gangway, feeling the Force flow through him. He slowly channeled it into his muscles, easing his tension and accumulating energy for the impending battle.
Throughout the war, Kamino had been of strategic importance to the Republic.
It was here that the Republic's clone troopers were mass-produced, much like how Rottani mass-produced the Republic's Hailfire-class fighters and ground vehicles. Kamino was the Republic's Achilles' heel.
Seizing or destroying Kamino's Cloning Center would inevitably lead to the Republic's collapse.
Since the Confederacy of Independent Systems' military forces were primarily composed of robots, and their factories could produce millions per hour, they held a massive advantage.
The planned strike on Kamino should have drawn a thick line through the Republic's war prospects.
If the Confederacy hadn't been a puppet in Darth Sidious's scheme, this might have actually happened.
Palpatine orchestrated the Clone War to scatter the Jedi across the galaxy, lulling them into a false sense of security regarding the Clones' obedience.
The Sith were merely biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike their ancient enemies with maximum devastation.
Knowing the war was destined to end in the Republic's victory, the Sith arranged for news of the impending Separatist fleet invasion to reach Quinlan Vos, the Jedi secretly operating as a double, perhaps even triple, agent within the Confederacy.
It was from him that Jedi Knight Aayla Secura recently received intelligence about the impending attack and submitted it to the Jedi Council for review.
The Council took this matter seriously, summoning over a dozen Jedi to Kamino, the Clones' homeworld, including Solo.
Of course, Solo understood he was heading into a meat grinder, where robots and Clone Troopers would slaughter each other relentlessly, without mercy.
But frankly, Solo never imagined he'd be sent to Kamino.
After returning to Donovia with Ahsoka, they boarded the *Dingyuan* to change into spare armor and immediately set course for Kamino.
"Now it's time for the Separatists to taste the heat," Solo said, taking a deep breath and activating his communicator. "Ahsoka, lead the Clone infantry company and secure the entrance to Factory Three. I'll be there shortly."
Ahsoka's resolute reply came through the communicator: "Roger, Master! We'll accomplish the mission!"
Solo turned and strode toward the landing pad, his armor gleaming coldly in the light.
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