Operation Roulette

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Star Wars

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

In this installment we get to see the Murkhana raid. Here is Chapter 20. Enjoy!

{ } Signifies an alien language

…

Last time:

21 BBY

Core Worlds, Kuat Sector, Planet Kuat Shipyards, Republic Ship Intrepid

Jedi General Uzumaki was on the Flag Bridge with the other officers that were going to be in on the Murkhana raid. Captain Wilhuff Tarkin came over to greet the blonde and said, "It's been a long time General Uzumaki. I have to say that you removing that fool of a General Ezzo Mirin restored some of my faith in the Jedi Order."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I was under the impression that you didn't have any faith in the Jedi Order Captain Tarkin."

Wilhuf smirked. "Let's just say I know you and General Skywalker know how to get a job done. Most Jedi aren't as tactically or strategically sound as you two."

"We Jedi were trained to be peacekeepers; that doesn't always equate into being a good General." stated Naruto.

"And I wholeheartedly agree with you." said Tarkin. "Just what are you planning to do at Murkhana?"

"We will all be discussing that during our planning session Captain." replied Naruto. "That's why you were invited. We're all going to be on the same page when we hit that planet. Confederacy ships will be coming in quickly to protect that world so we will have to strike first, strike hard and strike fast. No matter how we do it, Murkhana's Holonet System has to be removed from the equation."

…

Chapter 20

Year 21 BBY

Core Worlds, Kuat Sector, Planet Kuat Shipyards, Republic Ship Intrepid

Jedi General Naruto Uzumaki locked horns with Captain Wilhuff Tarkin almost immediately on their overall strategy. Tarkin said, "We need to conduct a full planetary bombardment that will send the people of the Murkhana System back into the stone age. These individuals need to be punished for their impunity against the Republic."

Naruto was less than thrilled with the idea as was everyone else. "What is needed is a surgical, pinpoint strike against the HoloNet facilities on Murkhana. It would be preferable because we want to take back planet Murkhana with its ecosystem intact at a later date."

The argument went back and forth for a while until finally; Naruto pulled Tarkin aside and said in a low tone, "The Republic will not stand for such an atrocity Captain Tarkin. I read about what you did to those pirates when you were in the Eriadu System. You want a repeat performance here. It's not going to happen. Your lust for destruction and causing fear in others stops here and now… or there will be consequences you cannot even fathom."

Wilhuff Tarkin hated it! 'Uzumaki saw right through me!' he thought. 'The Supreme Chancellor's secret mission for me to carry out has been stopped dead in its tracks.' The fact was the destruction and brutality that Tarkin wanted to commit were totally unnecessary given the situation. 'Chancellor Palpatine's plans to hunt down every person in the sector that had anything to do with the HoloNet would require thousands of executions and rendering the planet MurkHana into a wasteland. The Jedi won't allow it and Uzumaki gives me the chills.'

After visiting with Tarkin, Naruto's said, "My plan was to have the Intrepid and the Defiance take out the CIS naval forces on the side of the planet opposite of the HoloNet relay. This will draw the Confederate Navy away from protecting the target. Then the Resolute will drop out of hyperspace fifteen minutes later; only on the side of the planet with the HoloNet relay along with the nearby headquarters of the Corporate Alliance and destroy them utterly."

Naruto's strategy was quick and clean with minimal casualties and Captain Tarkin had to admit that tactically and strategically it was sound. That didn't mean Wilhuff had to like it though…

…

Outer Rim Territories, Tion Cluster, Murkhana System, Planet Murhana Orbit

The Republic Ships Intrepid and Defiance jumped in out of hyperspace and caught the Confederation of Independent Systems fleet completely by surprise. The CIS Navy was spread out around the planet Murkhana and the two Star Destroyers and their starfighter compliments swept in hard and fast to take out as many ships as they could.

The Confederate Fleet was scrambling to mount a defense against the surprise onslaught to protect Murkhana from attack. Fifteen tense minutes later the Star destroyer Resolute dropped out of hyperspace right on top of the target and launched her fighters. Mere minutes later the Holonet relay and the Corporate Alliance Headquarters were nothing but flaming wreckage and the CIS Propaganda System would take a decade to rebuild.

"Primary and secondary targets have been destroyed." said General Skywalker from his Y-wing bomber. "Let's get out of here."

Then the confused Admiral in charge of the CIS fleet made the mistake of splitting up his harried forces to attack the fleeing Resolute while the Intrepid and the Defiance reversed course and made good their escape. All three Star Destroyers and their fighter wings made off suffering minimal damage in return.

It was a textbook hit and run raid and an outstanding victory for the Republic Forces…

…

Outer Rim Territories, Tion Cluster, Republic Ship Intrepid, Flag Bridge

Naruto was once again speaking in person to Captain Rom Franz, Captain Wilhuff Tarkin in Command of the Defiance, General Anakin Skywalker and Captain Wullf Yularen*① in Command of the Resolute. Naruto had given the odd order of silent running so the group was gathered physically rather than by hologram.

Naruto said to the group, "We were given four weeks to carry out this operation and we accomplished our goal in six days. I'm sure it's obvious to all of you that the Confederacy has more than one HoloNet station dotting the systems along the Perlemian Trade Route*②."

"The heart of the HoloNet operation was Murkhana but there are plenty of others." continued the blonde. "I suggest we hop randomly from system to system and wipe these out before they can be upgraded and function in place of Murkhana. Any lone CIS vessels or other military targets of opportunity will be taken out as well obviously. These will be surgical, precise strikes coming from nowhere so the Confederacy won't know what hit them."

Anakin half smiled and said, "So for the next twenty-two days we are essentially privateers?"

"Precisely." said the Rentasian. "I was given carte blanche over this operation and the total disruption of CIS communications in this area is my goal. Once the enemy is bogged down and isolated we can bring in heavier fleets to make landfall and take the systems back. Does anyone have a better suggestion? I'm open to ideas."

"Now this I can get behind." said Tarkin eagerly as he looked at a map of the Perlemian Trade Route.

Captain Yularen asked, "How are we choosing our targets General Uzumaki?"

"We follow our instincts." replied the whiskered blonde. "We all have different skillsets and tactics. I propose each time we make an attack that a different one of us chooses the target to make it even more chaotic and unpredictable than it would be if we chose to use a computer algorithm. There is at least a half dozen systems in the Tion Cluster alone that are potential targets."

"Alright, who goes first?" asked General Skywalker. It was obvious that everyone in the room was excited about the idea.

General Uzumaki answered, "Captain Tarkin goes first. He's the most eager."

Wilhuff was surprised but excited at the prospects, nonetheless. He thought for a moment and said, "We strike at the Dellalt System, It's the furthest off the Trade Route and an ideal place to hide something like a relay station."

"Let's look at a map of our target then." said Naruto…

The next day the three Star Destroyers hit the Dellalt System. There they not only found a partial Holonet relay but an orbital drydock with several damaged CIS vessels in it. The entire facility was quickly destroyed and the three Republic ships as a trio, singly or in pairs proceeded randomly from system to system after that...

…

Outer Rim Territories, Thanium Sector, Felucia System, CIS Flagship Invisible Hand

Three weeks later; General Grievous was aboard the Providence-Class Dreadnought Invisible Hand listening to Count Dooku's instructions on how to proceed. "For the past several weeks, a squadron of Republic Star Destroyers has been demolishing our facilities all along the Perlemian Trade Route without any apparent goal other than to disrupt and destroy anything and everything they can find."

"What about our spies in the Republic?" asked Grievous. "Surely they know something of this Operation."

"Unfortunately, they don't." replied Dooku. "No one seems to know. We estimate there are six or seven Venator-Class ships hiding in the area surrounding the Tion Cluster. They attack in random numbers in random places. Some systems have been hit more than once; others haven't been touched."

The Kaleesh General asked, "Have they been striking anything in particular? Have we reinforced the area?"

"We have tried to bastion our forces there but we are losing ships as quickly as we replace them." said the Sith Apprentice. "The Tion Cluster has become a bleeding ulcer for the Confederation of Independent Systems General Grievous. I want you to hunt them down and destroy them."

"As you wish my Lord." said Grievous as Count Dooku's image faded out. The cyborg General looked at a map of the Perlemian Trade Route to see what had been hit and what hadn't. It was a mass of red dots that seemed to zigzag in the most bizarre of ways. He turned to one of his intelligence droids and said, "Give me a strategic analysis droid."

"There is no apparent pattern or logic about the movements of the Republic forces." said the droid. "Unable to compute or predict the enemy's next move."

Grievous pondered for a moment and said, "Then we will go to the Murkhana System where it all started first. Perhaps there are some clues there."

The massive Invisible Hand jumped out of the Felucia System mere minutes before the Intrepid, Resolute and Defiance jumped in. Naruto had made the call to rendezvous in Felucia before heading back to Republic Territory.

The blonde thought to himself, 'This is our last port of call. Morale is high but the troops are tired from these non-stop operations. Ammunition and fuel are dwindling as well. I'd attack Felucia but I have a feeling we've worn out our welcome in CIS Territory. It's time to go home.' He turned to Captain Franz and said, "I believe it's time to head home Captain. We've had a good run but we're running out of targets."

Captain Rom Franz turned to Barriss Offee and Clone Commander Checker and they all nodded in agreement. "Should we light up the ship sir?" asked Captain Franz.

"End silent running." said Naruto. "Signal the Resolute and the Defiance to head for Coruscant. We've done enough during this operation." All three Star Destroyers lit up and all their electronics came online making them seem to appear from nowhere on the Felucia System early warning sensor screens. The Commander at the CIS base on Felucia nearly had a coronary as he sent out a distress signal to General Grievous for help…

…

Hyperspace, CIS Flagship Invisible Hand

Grievous was pacing around the bridge in his usual manner when his chief communications droid said, "Alert! Three Venator Class Star Destroyers have appeared in the Felucia System!"

"WHAT?!" roared Grievous. "We just left there! Turn this ship around! Lay in a course for Felucia before the enemy can strike."

…When the Invisible Hand came out of hyperspace in the Felucia System was untouched and the three Republic ships were long gone…

…

Hyperspace, Republic Ship Intrepid

"I'm glad that mission is over Master." said Barriss. "It seems that everyone feels the same way."

Naruto grinned. "I'd call our little operation a success. If nothing else, we've discovered the whereabouts of the missing General Grievous and that he's on the Invisible Hand. After months of looking for him we intercepted that distress call from Felucia. Military intelligence should be happy with that."

"I agree." the padawan said. "Did you ever come up with a name for our month-long campaign?"

"I did." replied the blonde. "It's after the fact but I've named it Operation Roulette."

…

Core Worlds, Corusca Sector, Planet Coruscant Orbit, Republic Ship Defiance

Captain Wilhuff Tarkin was giving his report to the astonished High Command. "…And since the entire Tion Cluster is in disarray, I propose we strike while the iron is hot and start taking territory back along the Perlemian Trade Route." said Tarkin to his superiors.

One of the Chiefs of staff asked, "This Operation Roulette… How much of it was your idea Captain?"

"I will be frank; it is not the way I would have handled it." reported Tarkin. "But General Uzumaki's lightning raids were brutal and effective against the CIS forces that we faced. I proposed more traditional methods like planetary bombardment but the fact is we probably would have damaged planet Murkhana alone and left. General Uzumaki's plan left the entire Tion Cluster virtually defenseless."

"Then the next operation will be to take the Tion Cluster." said Fleet Admiral Tredal. "We are in a position to take the offensive this time."

…

Planet Coruscant, Galactic Senate Building, Supreme Chancellor' Quarters

Later that same day Sheev Palpatine got the memorandum on Operation Roulette and was shocked. The war was destabilizing quickly in favor of the Republic. 'Damn!' thought Darth Sidious. 'Who could have pulled such a thing off without being caught? The original plan was to devastate Murkhana and…'

That's when he saw who had headed up the Mission. Palpatine face palmed. "Jedi General Naruto Uzumaki." groaned Palpatine. "I should have known." 'Why do these things keep happening? Every carefully constructed plan I make gets a wrench thrown into it. No wonder Dooku couldn't counter the boy. He is invisible even to me.'

That was when Captain Tarkin reported in. Palpatine asked, "What happened out there Wilhuff? Things did not go as we had planned. Murkhana was supposed to be in ruins."

Tarkin said, "Jedi General Uzumaki chose to pave a different path for the Republic. He's recommended that the Navy and the Grand Army of the Republic take the Tion Cluster and the Joint Chiefs of Staff agree. We are in position to end this destructive war earlier thanks to Operation Roulette. Despite my initial misgivings, I believe that for once the Jedi were actually right."

'For the love of all that is evil; I'm losing Tarkin!' thought Sidous. 'He doesn't know that I control both sides of the war and I can't afford to tell him yet. The equilibrium I've tried so hard to maintain has been shattered by a fellow Sith Lord…' Sheev thought as he mentally shed anime tears.

While Palpatine was having a minor meltdown, Tarkin concluded his report by saying. "Jedi General Uzumaki has given us a golden opportunity Supreme Chancellor. Operation Roulette was a smashing success!"

The Sith Lord thought sarcastically to himself, 'Woohoo. Rah rah. Yay democracy. Go Team Republic.' Then he asked Tarkin, "So what do you think of young General Uzumaki?"

"In spite of my views on the Jedi I like him Chancellor. He seems to be destined for great things." said Tarkin.

'I think I'm going to puke.' thought Palpatine. He smiled unnaturally at Captain Tarkin and ground out, "Yes… I like the young man too."

"Are you… feeling all right Supreme Chancellor?" asked Wilhuff. "You look a little green there."

Sheev did his best to look sunny and said, "I think I just need a little fresh air." 'Curse you Naruto Uzumaki! You are going to drive me insane!'

…

Grand Jedi Temple, Jedi Creche

Naruto was holding his little daughter Natasi as she took a nap in his arms. He was gently running his fingers through her downy lilac hair and he smiled softly as she slept. He whispered, "My baby girl, I love you."

Jedi Master Tera Sinube came in and saw the warmth between father and daughter. He couldn't help but smile at the scene. He said, "Master Naruto, the High Jedi Council awaits you. I hate to ruin the moment but you really should go."

The whiskered blonde gently placed his daughter on her bed before leaving to see the High Jedi Council. He had missed Natasi every day that Operation Roulette had been going on. When he came back to the Temple the first thing he did was check on his precious daughter. He thought to himself, 'Will it be this hard every time I go away..?'

The blonde proceeded to the Jedi Temple central spire where the High Council was. When he arrived; he saw his Padawan Barriss Offee standing there waiting for him before the pair went in to give their report.

…

Jedi High Council Chambers

Naruto and Barriss came in and bowed before the Jedi Council. Yoda said, "Quite an adventure you had, Master Naruto. Young Skywalker and Tano; greatly enthused they were."

Naruto and Barriss sweat dropped…

Obi-wan was obviously amused. "Hearing about it from them… It sounds like you went joyriding."

Now Naruto and Barriss were having mutinous thoughts about Anakin and Ahsoka...

Mace Windu added, "We'd like to hear about your Operation Roulette Master Uzumaki."

The blonde said, "Though I am curious as to what exactly Anakin and Ahsoka said, Operation Roulette was an attempt to shut down the communications along the Perlemian Trade Route in the Outer Rim. Murkhana was one of many HoloNet relays that needed to be shut down. Given we accomplished that in six days I took the opportunity to knock out all the communications in the Tion Cluster."

Ki-Adi-Mundi said, "You also disrupted shipyards, convoys and naval operations across an entire sector."

Barriss replied, "With all due respect Masters, we only struck at Confederate Military targets and kept civilian casualties to an absolute minimum."

"The point is you never consulted the High Command or the Jedi Council." said Mace Windu. "This is highly unorthodox."

Naruto replied, "Orthodox or not, the mission was given to me to handle as I saw fit. I was following those guidelines. The fact that we struck military targets in the process of destroying Dooku's HoloNet was simple logic. I did not contact High Command or the High Jedi Council for fear of our transmissions being intercepted."

"You were said to have made a masterstroke of strategic thinking." said Master Mundi.

Naruto frowned, "I never made such a claim."

"But your subordinates did." said Plo Koon. "Captain Wilhuff Tarkin praised your acumen in battle very highly. Now Fleet Admiral Tredal wants to meet you. He has indicated that he would consider you a good candidate to sit on the Republic Strategic Command as a Jedi Advisor."

"Captain Wilhuff Tarkin is a wild dog waiting to get loose." said Naruto. "He wanted to bombard the targets on Murkhana into rubble along with most of the civilian population. I had to keep a chain on him to stop him from getting out of line. Praise from him is not something I appreciate or want."

"Yet his words seem to hold a lot of weight with the Admiralty." said Mace Windu.

"He has powerful political connections with even the Supreme Chancellor." explained Naruto. "I dealt with him years ago when I was still a padawan under Master Bultar Swan. He is no friend of the Jedi Order and why he would praise me at all is highly suspicious."

"Nevertheless, we can't exactly ignore Fleet Admiral Tredal's request." said Obi-wan.

The blonde said, "I thought Jedi Master Even Peill*③ was already at the Republic Strategic Command. He serves on the Jedi Council. Why would they want me?"

"They want you because you are considered more militant Master Uzumaki." said Plo Koon. "You also have proven time and again to be a superb battlefield commander whether you admit it or not."

The Renatasian wanted to face palm. "What is it the Council would have me do?"

"Meet Admiral Tredal, you must." said Yoda. "Examine the situation, hmmm?"

Naruto smirked. "You all want me to see who is pulling the strings behind Tredal and the Republic Strategic Command."

Mace Windu nodded. "There is a great darkness there. Be careful Master Uzumaki."

"What about Barriss?" asked the blonde. "I can't take her with me on this job."

"Young Offee will travel with Master Luminara Unduli once again in the interim." said Master Mundi.

Barriss nodded at Naruto. "I will be fine Master."

Naruto smiled weakly. "I know you will Barriss. Keep Master Uduli safe."

"May the Force be with you." said Master Yoda.

…

Federal District, Republic Center for Military Operations, Strategic Planning Amphitheater

The next day, Naruto was at the Republic Strategic Command in the Federal District. It was full off the top military minds from across the Galactic Republic. Naruto saw how many of them there were and immediately came to the conclusion that there were too many of them to make a cohesive unit (much like the Galactic Senate) and that there were too many politicians among the ranks. He also concluded that the Jedi shouldn't be involved in this quagmire. That took all of fifteen minutes to figure out.

After being introduced to a bunch of people that obviously had no interest in him.; Naruto crossed paths with Jedi Master Even Piell and the two spoke briefly. Piell said in a low voice, "I've heard you've come as my replacement in the Republic Strategic Command."

Naruto replied, "Not if I can help it. I want no part of this mess."

Master Even explained, "You may not have a choice in the matter." and proceeded to point out individuals of note such as Fleet Admiral Kail Tredal. Naruto was introduced to the Fleet Admiral who said, "Jedi General Uzumaki Naruto; you not only captured the gravity well projector, but you are the mastermind behind Operation Roulette. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The blonde replied, "Likewise Admiral. I'm curious as to why I was invited to come here though. It seems that you have too many people as it is."

The Fleet Admiral looked thoughtful and said, "We all have our place here. The overall strategic situation is handled by the Joint Chiefs of Staff which I am head of. There are three officers from the Republic Navy and three officers from the Grand Army of the Republic. The is also an Advisor from the office of the Supreme Chancellor and an advisor for the Jedi Council. Between the nine of us we decide our overall strategies."

"So Master Even Peill is on that particular board?" asked the blonde.

"That's correct, for the next two weeks I want you to take Master Piell's place in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We're going to be discussing the invasion plans for the Tion Cluster and the surrounding area."

Naruto looked over at the Advisor from the Office of the Supreme Chancellor and saw none other than Sate Pestage*④, one of the Supreme Chancellor's Advisors. He was cut from the same cloth as the late, great Janus Greejatus and visibly cringed when he saw Naruto looking at him with an evil smile.

Naruto didn't realize it, but Sate Pestage was one of those 'in the know' about Naruto supposedly being a Sith Lord. Pestage was terrified. He'd been ordered to muddle the minds of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and buy time for the CIS to gather a defense. Alas, Sate was too worried about Naruto murdering him to be concerned with messing with the minds of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

For his part, Master Uzumaki sensed that Pestage was some sort of Dark Side Force user and was deathly afraid of something but the blonde didn't realize it was him. As Naruto was introduced to each of the Joint Chiefs, he concluded that they all seemed to be perfectly normal, hardline military types that wanted to get the war over with.

For the next week Naruto was content to watch the Chiefs of Staff plan the Tion Cluster Invasion without making many suggestions. "What do you think advisor Uzumaki?" asked Admiral Tredel as they finished for the week. "Thinks have been going like clockwork; wouldn't you say?"

Naruto's eyes sparked with chakra as he looked over at Sate Pestage and he said, "It looks like everything is going according to plan Admiral. With the Forces we have assembled I'd even say we could hit the CIS Forces in the Tion Cluster ahead of schedule."

Sate Pestage was going to say something about not being hasty but Naruto asked him, "Wouldn't you agree Advisor Pestage?"

Sate folded like a house of cards and said, "I-I agree totally Advisor Uzumaki." 'He's going to gut me just like he did Janus Greejatus!' thought Pestage.

Naruto smiled at the quivering man and said, "Somehow, I knew you would. 'I'm going to catch you yet Pestage.'

…

Senate District, Senator Padmė Amidala's Apartment

The blonde finished his first week of duty with the Republic Strategic Command and decided to see his friend, Senator Padmė Amidala regarding Advisor Sate Pestage's track record. 'She has access to things I don't.' thought the blonde.

Padmė was very happy to see Naruto again and asked, "How did you end up at Republic Strategic Command?"

The blonde shrugged. "I just got unlucky I guess. I'll be stuck here on Coruscant for a little while."

She smiled warmly and said, "That's not an all-bad thing. We could… spend some time together."

Naruto asked as he leaned in, "Are you sure you'd want to be seen with a rogue of a Jedi?"

The Senator leaned in and answered, "I've come to appreciate your roguish qualities."

Their lips met in a kiss that quickly turned fiery. It wasn't long before Naruto forgot why he'd come there to begin with. All that he had in his mind was Padmė…

…

*①: Wullf Yularen - is a male human who serves as a high-ranking officer in the Galactic Republic Navy. He is the Captain of the Star Destroyer Resolute.

*②: Perlemian Trade Route - The Perlemian Trade Route is a super-hyperoute which included the planets Felucia and Taanab. See Wookieepedia for more information.

*③: Even Piell is a male Lannik Jedi Master who served on the Jedi Council during the Invasion of Naboo and in the Clone Wars. Considered brusque, bellicose, and even gruff, Master Piell is nonetheless respected for his immense courage. See Wookieepedia.

*④: Sate Pestage is a male official who serves as a Senior Advisor of Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine who sometimes acted as a bureaucrat, emissary or a dignitary in Palpatine's name and one time was associated with Janus Greejatus.

Well, it seems that Naruto has fallen off the wagon along with a certain Senator from Naboo. Trouble is brewing for Sate Pestage as well. And the Invasion of the Tion Cluster is on against Palpatine's plans. What else could go wrong for our poor Sith Lord? See you next time. Blue out. 3/16/24