**Chapter 725: Sabotage from Within**
**Umbara – Captured Air Base Command Station**
**Clone Wars: Year 2, Month 10, Week 1 (Day 5)**
**Scene 1: Strategic Impasse**
Dagon Marek stood in the dimly lit command station overlooking the captured airfield, his durasteel mask reflecting the glowing blue tactical displays. Five days of brutal fighting on Umbara. The ridge had held. The air base had fallen. Yet the capital remained an impregnable fortress behind its planetary shield.
Admiral Pellaeon's hologram flickered above the holotable, his face etched with frustration. "It seems the CIS is desperate to hold this planet. They've reinforced the blockade with five Dual Hemisphere-Omni Support Vessels, twenty Munificent-class frigates, eight Providence-class dreadnoughts, five Recusant-class heavy destroyers, and three Lucrehulk-class battleships. They've formed a narrow atmospheric blockage directly over the capital. We haven't lost any more ships since we're staying out of effective range, but the capital is now incredibly well secured."
Dagon's gloved fingers drummed on the table. "And the bombardment option?"
Pellaeon shook his head. "Too risky. The weapons factories and main reactors for the other Umbaran cities are all interconnected beneath the capital. A full orbital strike could trigger planetary fragmentation. We'd win the battle and lose the planet's industrial value."
*So a long, bloody ground war is the only conventional path,* Dagon thought. *Unless…*
He remembered the original timeline's details. Those Umbaran long-range missiles packed roughly fifty kilotons of firepower each — enough to rival early nuclear weapons or cripple capital ships. Perfect for turning the enemy's own weapons against them.
"Wrath Shield: Speed mode. Stealth mode," Dagon commanded quietly.
The armor shifted with a low mechanical hiss. Plates streamlined for maximum agility while stealth systems engaged — sensor bafflers, light-bending camouflage, and dark side cloaking that made him nearly invisible to both technology and organic senses.
Bacara stepped forward. "General?"
"I'm ending this tonight," Dagon said, voice a metallic whisper. "Hold the air base. Prepare the fleet for cleanup once the missiles start flying."
Before anyone could protest, he blurred into motion, racing toward the distant capital at superhuman speed.
**Scene 2: Umbaran Capital City – Command Bunker**
General Ennodius paced the fortified command center deep within the Umbaran capital. Five days. Five grueling days since the Republic invasion began. Nearly 100,000 Umbaran soldiers lost. Four outer cities had already fallen to the relentless Republic onslaught. The final reports from doomed units all mentioned the same horror: a demon in shifting armor wielding impossible power.
At least there were no sightings of those monstrous Nebula-class or Resurgent-class vessels. Maybe it wasn't the cursed Dagon Marek himself. Still, the Republic fleet's disciplined refusal to close range troubled him, as did the mysterious absence of the enemy's largest super star destroyer.
"Sir," a sensor officer reported, "we've detected multiple triggers on the front gate perimeter sensors, but scans come up negative. No thermals. No visual images."
"Republic jamming," Ennodius growled. "Contact the fleet. Possible attack incoming."
A guard captain hurried in. "Sir, a priority message from the missile command center. General Farr-Nees requests your immediate presence."
Ennodius frowned but nodded. "I'm on my way."
**Scene 3: Missile Command Center**
General Farr-Nees was already pacing when Ennodius arrived, his gas-pressurized armor hissing with each agitated step.
"We have problems," Farr said, voice tight with panic. "Several squads have been mysteriously eliminated near the hover train control center. No bodies. Just… silence."
"It must be the demon of the shield," Ennodius muttered. "We should gather our forces for a push on the air base. Break their foothold."
"Are you mad?" Ennodius snapped, pulling up the planetary holomap. "We still have at least 180,000 soldiers, but they're spread across the capital, underground bunkers, and the fleet. We can't risk a major counterattack or a prolonged siege right now. Remember — the planned CIS offensive, *Spear of Light*, is only two months away. We just need to hold."
Alarms suddenly blared across the command center.
"Sir, unknown intruder detected!" an officer shouted. "We believe he has stealth capab— ahhh!"
The transmission cut with a wet gurgle.
"Sir, multiple sections are reporting movement, but scans still say— wait, near the entrance!" another officer cried.
The blast doors exploded inward. A red crossguard lightsaber ignited in the darkness, its ominous hum cutting through the chaos.
"Open fire!!!" Ennodius roared.
Seventy elite Umbaran command staff drew weapons. Blaster bolts filled the room. But the intruder moved like a ghost. Wrath Shield in full Stealth-Speed fusion made Dagon a blur of black and crimson. His crossguard blade carved through armor and flesh with surgical precision. Spiked whips lashed out, flinging officers into walls with bone-crushing force. Spike projectiles punched through gas masks, triggering instant asphyxiation in the pressurized suits.
In less than forty seconds, the entire command staff lay slaughtered — bodies crumpled amid shattered consoles and pooling blood.
**Scene 4: Dagon's POV – Missile Command Center**
Dagon deactivated his lightsaber, the red blade vanishing with a snap-hiss. The room reeked of ozone and charred flesh.
"That was easy," he muttered. "Now let's see here…"
He moved to the central targeting console, Wrath Shield's gauntlets interfacing with the Umbaran systems. His technical knowledge from both worlds allowed him to bypass remaining security protocols quickly.
"Targeting… sensors… reload missiles. At least ten minutes before the rest of them figure out what's happening."
Dagon smiled coldly beneath the mask. Dozens of long-range missile silos across the capital suddenly came alive. Targeting solutions locked onto the CIS blockade in low orbit.
He initiated the launch sequence.
**Scene 5: CIS Blockade – Separatist Supply Ship**
Aboard the heavy-duty Separatist supply ship, Super Tactical Droid SL-1-MI (nicknamed "Salami" by the few organic officers who dared) stood on the bridge.
"Sir, we have detected numerous missile launches from the city," an OOM-1 command battle droid reported in its flat monotone.
"Ready fighters. Where is the target?" Salami asked, red photoreceptors narrowing.
"Uh, sir… they appear to be heading up. Correction — toward us."
A nearby Munificent-class frigate erupted in a brilliant fireball as the first wave of fifty-kiloton missiles slammed home. Secondary explosions rippled across the formation.
"Raise missile defenses! Activate scramblers!" Salami ordered, mechanical voice rising in synthetic alarm. "Prepare to retreat to hyperspace!"
A Lucrehulk-class battleship took five direct hits in rapid succession. Its massive hull cracked, drives failing as it began a fiery descent toward the capital's outskirts.
Chaos consumed the blockade. Providence dreadnoughts fired desperately at their own missiles while Munificents broke formation in panic. Dual Hemisphere-Omni vessels attempted to scramble signals, but the Umbaran missiles had been specifically designed to counter such measures.
"Damage report!" Salami demanded.
"Three Munificents destroyed, one Providence crippled, Lucrehulk *Dominance* is lost!" another droid reported. "The planetary shield is interfering with our coordination!"
Salami's processors raced. "This is sabotage. The Dragon is on the surface. All ships — disengage and jump to rally point. Inform Count Dooku that Umbara is compromised."
As the surviving Separatist fleet limped into hyperspace, leaving burning wreckage in orbit, Dagon stood atop the missile command tower watching the fireworks.
The capital's shield remained intact for now, but their primary defensive trump card had just been turned against their allies. With supply lines severed and the fleet in retreat, the Umbaran leadership would soon fracture.
Dagon activated his comm. "Bacara, Pellaeon — the blockade is broken. Begin final preparations. We take the capital within forty-eight hours."
He looked out over the glowing city below. Five days of hard fighting. Thousands dead on both sides. But the Dragon had once again bent the battlefield to his will.
Umbara's shadow technology would soon belong to the Republic.
And the necessary monster marched on.