On the planet of Magloran in the Anorelga system
8 ABY
Equipped with no armour at all, simple scraps of metal and leather; we exited our small space ship. My rifle was handmade, just like my pistol and knife. Our ship was hijacked from a bunch of trandoshan smugglers, and it had not been easy. Our vantage-points had been good, and our execution of the assault had been close to flawless. Still, eight of our forty men were killed in action, and ten more were wounded so we had to leave them behind. They were now denied the glory of completing this first mission, this last trial, our first steps into a much larger world. The first guys out eagerly secured the perimeter. The ship had been equipped with impressive scanners, and no signs of intelligent or dangerous species had been detected within four kilometres range. Our pilot had given us the "all clear" before we landed. I checked my power-cell again, and it dipped just below seventy percent. Being denied the glory of killing in the last fight only made me more eager for the next engagement. If I was given the chance, I would soak the ground with the blood of my enemies. The blood of my clan's enemies.
"Perimeter secure." Marrigous said, and his voice filled out earplugs. He was in command of squad four, the backup detail. Their job was to reinforce us and protect the ass of the assault groups. No one answered him, but instead did a weapons check.
"Squads one through three. The target lies beyond the mountain to our west. It should be eliminated by tomorrow night. Follow the orders from your chosen leaders, and this mission will be a success. Cael out." The leader of squad one said on the main channel before he turned his attention to his squad. The men still alive after the hijacking were divided into three squads with six men each, and squad four had four men. My own officer, Pald Jassin, signalled for third squad to assemble around him. He was a strong man with a weapon to rival his strength. In his boldness he had chosen to not make a close-quarter weapon. He was confident he could kill anything if it came close enough. When everyone were present and accounted for, he started giving out orders.
"This is what happens men." He said, as the moon came out from behind a cloud and bathed us all in a pale light. "Our target lies just beyond that mountain," he pointed at the mountain in question, and turned back to us. "We are taking the northern flank, formation wedge with Erdal and Shaz on the far north." That was me and our shotgunner. "Eta tomorrow by midday. I want radio-silence until the target is in sight. Everything is a target out here, but do not engage unless you have to. Is that clear?" He asked and looked at every one of us nodding back to him. "Good. For Clan Kayze." He said, and we echoed his words so low that only we could hear it. The other squads were still talking when we assumed our positions. I was on the left with Shaz, one hundred metres to the left of the squad. Between us and the mountain lay miles of thick forest. The fauna in this region was mainly herbivore and the predators small, so the wildlife would not be posing a threat to us. Still, I kept my safety off. The steady humming of the ship faded as the crew turned off the engines.
"Permission to speak sir. Over." I said into my microphone as Shaz checked his shotgun again.
"Granted." Jassin replied.
"Will squad four set up any defences while we're away?" I asked, and Jassin promised me he would check up on it. "Understood. Erdal over and out." We waited for another five minutes before every squad was fully restocked and ready to go. By then, squad four had decided to deploy two automated turrets close to the ship towards at the opposite end from where we were. They had some grand ideas of a minefield as well, but the lacked the explosives to make an effective minefield. I shook my head for a few seconds before we were given orders to march. I did my best to memorize the path we were following, and always I looked to the mountain when the roof of leaves for once opened up long enough. I could not let my eyes linger for too long on the mountain and stars. We were out here without sensors, proper communications or any good intelligence. We only knew our target and location. Our enemy could be everywhere. We had been walking for six hours under radio silence, and a weak sense of tiredness had slowly come over me.
I took a wide step to the left to avoid a hunter's snare. We had encountered a few, but they were few and far between. All of them were empty.
"Not a popular part of the woods eh?" Shaz asked rhetorically, breaking a silent streak of two hours.
"Doesn't seem like it brother." I replied, and looked around a little. There were no signs of any activity at all. A few leaves fell in the distance, and a few birdlike creatures sang in the early hours of the morning. They had short beaks, and underneath their feathers I could clearly see scales. They would be of no protection against blaster-fire. I took aim, but stayed my hand. Jassin would cut my head off slowly if I opened fire.
"See anything?" Shaz asked and crouched.
"Just mucking about. Nothing to worry about." I replied, and he stood back up. "Just a bird." I muttered slowly, and kept walking as a slow breeze rolled in between the trees. It carried no scents I could pick up. Shaz had a keener nose than mine, but he did not smell anything noteworthy either. The sun rose in the east behind us, but gave us little warmth as it could not break through the canopy. We moved so silently, not even the animals sensed us before we were only a few metres away, and we did our best to not scare the birds either. I doubted the enemy would be on the lookout, but it had never done any harm to be careful. My clan was not strong enough yet to face a large army. My brothers and I were the first generation of warriors from Clan Kayze, named after our valiant ancestor Scarrath Kayze, who had been a crusader under The Mandalorian Wars close to four thousand years ago. His armour was a sacred relic, guarded safely on board our mothership by at least a full platoon of war droids, or so I had heard. I was almost ashamed at the thought. We were too few warriors even to guard our own relics. I corrected myself a second later, and was even more ashamed. We did not even have any warriors. I bit my tongue to not fling out a curse. I got a small nutrient-bar out of my pouch, and took a few bites. When I was half-done, I handed the rest to Shaz whom eagerly ate the rest of it. Our earpieces crackled to life suddenly.
"Halt!" Jassin ordered, and we stayed put.
"Cover," I mouthed at Shaz, and we found cover behind two trees and a bush. He took the safety off his shotgun, and we both watched the forest around us with a sudden eagerness. My eyes darted back and forth between the thick tree-trunks. We waited in silence. If there were enemies about, Jassin would have told us.
"Squad one encountered some hostiles, but they were taken without casualties or alarm." Jassin informed us three minutes later. The entire squad stayed silent. "Squad one took a few prisoners it seemed, and they are leaving behind one man to guard them. Hang on… I am receiving new orders. Keep moving, I will inform you later Jassin over and out." He said, and we followed his orders, but our advance was more careful now. Neither Shaz nor I spoke. We were both tired, but we stayed on our toes. At least half an hour passed before we had the mountain on our right, and in the distance, I could see smoke rising up in the air a hundred metres before it dissipated. It had to be the village.
"Jassin! Do we have eyes on the village? Over." I asked, breaking the radio-silence. It took Jassin a few seconds to reply.
"Squad one left a man on overlook in the mountain. No reports has come from him yet. Keep radio-silence. Over and out." He answered.
"Not in a talkative mood is he?" Shaz asked sarcastically. The more tired he got, the grumpier he got. I nodded. Suddenly a new message buzzed in.
"A change of plans Erdal. I want you two to scout around the left side of the village. Orders from the leader. Over." Jassin said, and I sighed.
"Aren't we tired enough already?" Shaz growled.
"Is Shaz complaining again?" Jassin asked, and I laughed.
"He is Jassin. We will scout ahead. Should we engage or avoid targets? Over."
"Avoid targets, return fire if necessary. Report to me when you're done. Jassin over and out."Jassin said, and his signal stopped.
"Seems like we're not tired enough." I answered Shaz, and felt the backside of my very tired shins. I looked around, and found a rock about half my height. Before having a quick look around, I sat down and took a deep breath. Shaz sent me a questioning look. "Five minutes won't matter much will it?" I asked him, and he nodded approvingly. We both got our canteens out. It did not take a sharp nose to smell the watered-down alcohol from Shaz's canteen. "You ought to drink something else with that. Have you eaten anything today?" I asked. Having Shaz drunk on a stealthy patrol did not seem like a good idea. He held up a piece of haarshun bread. I poured a little water on it, broke it in half, and we both started eating. It was part of yesterday's rations. The food-stores on the ship had been near empty and the selection was meagre. In the end, we had eaten some of it, and saved the rest for later. It had at least saved us a day's rations. I kept my eyes on the clock, and did my best to restrict the pause to only last five minutes. When the break was over, we moved on despite Shaz's complaints.
Not that conversation had flourished on this mission, but now it died. Carefully we snuck between the trees in a circle about sixty metres from the treeline. We followed a small path until we reached the treeline around the village. Silently we followed it. Every hundred and fifty metres or so, we stopped and had a look at the village. It was relatively large with more than forty huts. The village-people were up and about, doing their farmer-business and none of them seemed armed. We repeated the procedure before we finally spotted something of interest. Armed troops were suddenly crawling along the border of the village. Small tents had been erected some time ago and was surrounded by barriers and a sensor-fence. I could not see a munitions-stockpile, but I knew there had to be one there. Overall, it looked like a defendable compound. The soldiers wore freshly manufactured uniforms, and their emblems said they were part of a regiment I had not even heard of before. All in all, I counted two squads about to leave the compound for patrol-duty.
"That is one well equipped fem-trooper." Shaz said, and I sighed at him. We had an imperial outpost in front of us, and all he thought about was a fem-trooper.
"Just shut up." I replied quietly. He was starting to get on my nerves as he always did.
"No seriously, look!" He said, and pointed. Reluctantly I turned my head and looked. At the far south corner of the compound, I spotted a fem-trooper and the rest of her crew behind an E-Web turret. A weapon like that could easily tear through even a light-tank if it was given a quarter of a minute with uninterrupted fire. We both scanned the perimeter of the base, but saw no other heavy weapons. I did a headcount and took notes before we moved on again.
"Do you think we have enough men to take that base?" Shaz asked when we were at a safe distance. We walked slower and with more caution than ever.
"Men, no. Mandalorians, yes." I answered.
"Such a bloody patriot." He replied, and we both snickered a bit. None of the patrols had seemed to be heading in our direction. We still moved very carefully nonetheless. I did not bother screwing on the silencer I had brought along. If we met a patrol now, a silencer would not be of any use at all. A firefight would still be louder than a crashing speeder. We managed to remain undetected through our entire patrol, and we never had any close calls either. All in all, I was very pleased with our work when we returned to Jassin.
"Recruits Shaz and Erdal reporting in sir!" I said when ceremoniously when we linked up with the rest of our squad. Jassin had left some signs that only we mandalorians were supposed to know about. The squad had not been on the lazy side it seemed. They had found a small secluded and sheltered grove and set up a small camp. It was well camouflaged and hidden, complete with lookouts and firing-positions. Some of the lucky bastards had managed to get some sleep while we were out.
"Good. Anything to report?" He asked from inside his little shelter.
"Yes sir. A small compound with at least a full trooper-company and an engineering squad with an E-Web turret. Sensor-fences surround it and they have patrols on duty." As we delivered the news, a worried look came over Jassin's face.
"Did you manage to identify their insignias?" He asked, scratching his chin.
"I have never heard of them before sir, but their armour was too shiny to have seen any serious action." I answered matter-of-factly.
"At least that is something." Jassin muttered. "You two are dismissed for now. Get some rest." He ordered just before he called for Mica, the squads designated runner. In the distance, we heard his orders and he took off. He was to run to squad one and relay our intelligence to them.
"You forgot to mention the fem-trooper." Shaz joked, and we laid down in an unoccupied shelter. They were small and made of wood, but that was all the luxury we needed. We had slept in far worse anyways.
"Not worth mentioning," I replied. "At least not until we've seen her face."
"True," Shaz replied. He took his helmet off and I undid my mask. "We better get some sleep though. If I know Rackay right, he will be planning some shit soon." Rackay was the leader of Squad One, and thus in charge of the mission. He was an uptight recruit with experience as a raider before he came to Clan Kayze.
"True." I replied and shut my eyes. The singing of the birds was not enough to keep us awake, and we only stirred when someone asked us if they should fill our canteens. The grey trees had branches filled with large green leaves, giving us excellent cover from the sun. While Shaz and I slept, gears were put into motion. The squads assembled in silence and without detection. When the others decided to wake us, none other than the Second in Command from squad one kicked us back to life. Aiden Saraz was his name, and he too was an experienced raider.
"Get up. Jassin and Rackay wants to see you."
"Yes sir!" We both replied almost at the same time. We jumped to our feet. The sun was still shining from its highest point in the sky when we marched to the centre of the camp. All squads had assembled here in a circle around the three officers. Jassin impatiently waved at us and we sped up.
"You wanted to see us sirs." All eyes were on us. There was a certain tension in the air.
"Yes. You both scouted the village and spotted a Remnant compound armed with a stationary heavy turret and forty soldiers at camp?" Jassin asked. Shaz and I nodded. On the ground before us, they had drawn the village according to the maps we had seen before the mission.
"There were also patrols, but we did not try to figure out their routes." I added.
"Draw the compound for us please." Jassin ordered. Shaz stood still as I bent down and grabbed a stick. I filled in the compound as best I could, marked the turret and the entrances and exits before I stood back up again.
"Firezones?"
"Don't know them sir." I answered.
"Doesn't matter much anyways." Rackay said, and turned towards the rest of his men. "This is the Imperial Remnant we're going up against. I'll bet those smugglers we were fighting had more experience, but these men are more prepared." He started walking in circles, measuring every man among us. "However!" An artistic pause ensued, "… We have the element of surprise, and we will make the most of it. Shaz, Erdal, you two will guide our troops into position. Everyone else but officers and second in commands will prepare for an immediate assault." The assembly dispersed, and only officers plus Shaz and I remained.
"Since you two have had eyes on the target, you're our scouts." Rackay turned and said once everyone was out of earshot. "Squads one and two will take up positions on the southern and northern side of the village respectively. Squad Three however, "He turned to Jassin, "will split up and engage any returning patrols or reinforcements." Jassin nodded in agreement. He had no other option anyways.
"And where will we wait to intercept?" Jassin asked, sourly. He was not happy to be denied his share of the glory.
"You will divide into three squads, two men each. Your goal is to delay the enemy, not defeat them. These two men here however." Rackay pointed at us. "Will attack the turret." My heart jumped into my throat. Taking an E-Web head on was almost suicide! "The other squads will take up position about one hundred and fifty metres behind the entry-points into the village. Understood?"
"Yes sir." Everyone from Squad Three sighed in unison. The next half hour Rackay spent planning the attack with squad one and two. They were going to attack the village and work their way southwards to take the compound. No prisoners.
Two lightyears away
"How are my recruits faring?" Orsin Kayze asked. His voice sounding slightly dampened from within the silver-helmet he wore. A display came to life on the bridge of his frigate The Restoration. Behind him, droids were scurrying back and forth between their posts. The bridge was dark as the ship was kept on minimal power. No reports had been sent back since the squads had touched down and started moving. Still, only about a day and a half had passed and they were only recruits after all. The mighty figure folded his hands behind his back. They would have to return victorious or not at all. No distress signals came from the planet either. Kayze hoped for the sake of his recruits that they were just biding their time. For now, he waited patiently.
Back on Magloran
Everyone was in position. The regiment now identified as The Pentastar Volunteers 15th regiment, and we were facing Executor Company. From their idle chatter we had been able to piece together information regarding their movements on the planet. There was a larger compound over seventy kilometres to the south, but they would not be able to get here in time to help this detachment.
Shaz and I lay in cover behind two large rocks, overlooking the compound from the east. We had both been equipped with scoped rifles and shotguns. Trying to calm my nerves, I took several deep breaths, but it did not seem to help at all. Shaz kept a close eye on his wristwatch, eagerly awaiting the time for our attack.
"How long?" I asked, clicking the safety off on my rifle.
"Twenty seconds." He answered, and looked down the scope of his rifle. "We spare the femtropper though." He suggested and took aim.
"Agreed." I answered quickly. I switched my aim from her to the man standing next to her. He had his back turned towards us. The last mistake he would ever make.
"Ten seconds." Shaz said, and in our minds, we both started counting down. A single drop of sweat ran down my forehead. Shaz was already prepared to relocate as we had agreed. I would hold the position here and he would flank right. "Five." I steadied my breathing, counted down, and fired. The red bolt raced through the air and hit the trooper square between his shoulder blades. He fell down dead, and a commotion arose like none other I had ever seen. Troopers ducked and dived as Shaz unleashed a flurry of bolts onto the enemy encampment while I kept the crew of the E-Web away from their heavy weapon. A few of the well-trained soldiers returned fire after no less than ten seconds, but their short E-11 blasters were far too inaccurate to hit us at this range. One of them held his head up too long, and he jumped back with a seared hole through his helmet. The femtrooper rushed towards the turret, and I kept my aim centred at her.
"Sorry!" I shouted, and pulled the trigger. She went down with a bolt in her left shoulder, and stayed down.
"Displace!" Shaz shouted. I did not spare him a single glance as he slid down from the rock and ran through the bushes. Enemy fire was still concentrated on me, and it was intensifying, which was under the circumstances good. A gunner managed to take up position on the E-Web behind the shields. I had been done for if Shaz had not started firing again. A hail of bolts rained down on my would-be killer and he fell dead to the ground before he could pull the trigger even once. I breathed a sigh of relief before I resumed firing. The stone I lay on grew hotter as more and more laser hit it. Leaves and even branches rained down on my head as enemy fire chopped them down. Deciding to play a little trick, I took aim again, and fired a few shots until an enemy shot hit the rock really close to me. I stopped firing then, and it timed perfectly with Shaz's relocating.
"I got him!" someone shouted as I hid from view. Peering over the rock, I saw the white soldiers shift focus towards Shaz. An officer took my bait and sent out a small group of five men to flank Shaz from my side. Smiling with glee, I took aim at the soldiers running out into the open. A quick burst sent two of them screaming to the ground. The rest ducked and cowered behind their fallen comrades or behind whatever miniscule cover they found.
"Time for some mercy-killing." I whispered. My heart was thundering in my throat, and my hands were shaking from the adrenaline. My first shot missed by maybe an inch, but the next hit home in a wounded trooper's head, and his screams stopped. His hands let go of the grass he had ripped out of the ground in agony. The rest were dispatched easily. The last one tried to run back behind the grey barrier he had jumped over, but he went down with a shot to the back of his thigh, and a follow-up shot landed in his neck. My sense of time twisted and turned until I did not know whether I had laid there for ten minutes or an hour. Smoke started to rise from within the village itself, but there came no messages or orders on our intercoms. Without a single word of warning, Shaz burst through the bushes on my right and threw himself down next to me.
"What is the situation?" I asked as the impact of a laser-bolt sent brown bark raining down on us.
"First squad is making good progress!" He shouted into my ear. "The Imperials have sent reinforcements sent into the village though!"
"Mean's they're doing good!" I shouted back with a grin. A sudden surge of pride came over me as Shaz met my smile. This was what being a Mandalorian was all about. The heat of the combat, and the honour gained from it. To test my mettle against opponents and emerge victorious was all I cared about now. "Still up for the femtrooper?" I asked Shaz.
"Mhm!" He replied and nodded, and without any further words exchanged between us, we went back to battle. The Imperials were indeed in deep trouble. More and more soldiers were sent into the village and only a handful remained to oppose Shaz and me.
"I'm almost out of ammo for the rifle!" He shouted, and I checked my power-levels as well. My situation was the same as his. About fifteen shots left if I was right. "Shotgun time?"
"Wait a little!" I shouted back. "I'll cover!" I said and switched to single-shot while Shaz emptied his blaster into the grey barriers, leaving black marks wherever he hit. Discarding his rifle in favour of his shotgun, he jumped over the rock and out of safety. The enemy was still far outside the range of his shotgun, and it was my job to get him safely within range. White helmets either ducked down fast enough to avoid being shot, or received a red bolt. The E-Web stood empty, and no crew was in sight. Their screams however were easily heard though. No imperials showed their heads for a good while, but I fired a few rounds where I knew some were hiding. Measuring Shaz's distance to the target, I counted my shots. Three shots left, and he had thirty metres to go before the imperials were within effective range. "Thirty, twenty-five, twenty," I slowly counted in my head. Letting my scope wander over the barricade and known enemy positions, I waited patiently. Once again, I had to get my breath under control, and my heart slowed a little. Red bolts suddenly raced towards Shaz, throwing the earth around him up into the air. He shouted a curse, and broke into a sprint. Shifting my aim quickly, I was not steady enough to fire an accurate shot, but the brave trooper fell down behind the barricade again. "Fifteeen, ten, five!" I counted loudly and fired my last bolt, just as an officer no less rose up from his cover. The black half-cape was caught in the wind and flew up; obscuring his vision for the short second it took my bolt to strike true. He jerked and fell backwards slowly, trying desperately to stay on his feet. I threw my rifle to the ground as a series of loud bangs echoed across the open plain. Shaz was within range. I wiped the sweat off my forehead in one swift motion, and got my shotgun out. Shaz had looted a grenade from one of the fallen troopers and he lobbed it over the barrier. Frightened imperials scurried away. Those who were stupid enough to stand up received a deadly blast from Shaz's shotgun. I jumped over the cover and started running. On the way, I crouched down and grabbed an E-11 blaster from a dead trooper. The blaster was almost fully charged, and as I ran, I fired on full auto. The recoil was manageable, but the accuracy was terrible. Still, it served its purpose. Shaz kept the enemy down, and I pulled out my knife and pistol. My new weapon hung on my back, knocking against my utility-belt as I sprinted.
"Clan Kayze!" I shouted as I rushed past Shaz and launched myself over the barricade. The imperials were caught off guard and I tore through one of them with my knife before two more fell to my blaster. A single bolt caught my shoulder, making me drop the pistol. A cloud of small metal hit the man's helmet, but did injure him. Seizing the opportunity, I yanked the knife out his fallen comrade and launched myself straight into the dazed man, ripping his helmet off in the process.
"You failed." I said into his ear, and shoved my knife through his throat. He gargled and spat blood in my face. I wiped the warm liquid off as Shaz shot the last imperial. All around the camp lay troopers slain by our hands. It was a surreal moment, and I had to take a step back to take it all in. The dead were beyond my ability to count at the moment. Bodies in white armour lay strewn around on the ground, on tables or against the barrier. Their tents were shot to ribbons or had been knocked over in the chaos. The man I had stabbed still gargled in his last moments of life before his eyes flickered and the light left them.
"Did we do all this?" I thought, and took another step back. My reverie was broken when I stepped on my pistol and nearly slipped. I picked it up, and checked if I had damaged it in any way. Shaz got his pistol out and started rounding up the wounded. A few still had the strength to beg for mercy, but their prayers fell on deaf ears. Shaz yanked them to their feet and herded them out onto the plain we had just charged across.
"I shot the femtrooper!" I shouted to Shaz as I tried catching my breath. I had not noticed before how exhausting this attack had been. Shaz stayed his hand for a moment and flipped a wounded soldier over. "Shot her in the shoulder about ten metres from the E-Web." I went on as a red flash ended the man. He had been too hurt to save. Sounds of battle came from the village, but we could not help our men there in any way. With no information on how the battle went or even where our soldiers were, none of us would risk it. There was no need to even discuss the subject. I holstered my pistol and sheathed my knife. The E-11 would be my weapon for the rest of the day. Working my way towards the E-Web, I kicked chairs and containers out of the way. No more than four times did I have to put down an imperial, and none of them had the strength even to beg for mercy. Five more were sent Shaz's. As the sun slowly went down on the horizon, bathing the camp in a yellow light as it did so, I came across a trooper crawling towards the barrier. Judging by the pitch of the grunts, I had found the femtrooper. After a quick kick to the side, I flipped her over and proved that I was right. Why they made their armours sporting two gravity-well projectors, I had no idea, but I cast that thought aside. "Found her!" I shouted to Shaz. In a futile attempt to resist me, she tried pulling a blaster at me. I kicked that away too and kicked her in the head afterwards. Her helmet of course took the blunt of the kick and I pulled it off. A dazed and confused face came into view.
"Your kind of girl Shaz!" I shouted as his footsteps came closer.
"Brunette?"
"With brown eyes and fair skin my friend." I answered, and I could literally hear him grinning. Her eyes searched desperately after something to focus on. I sat down on her stomach, securing her arms under my legs. She growled in pain and her eyes found mine. Fury mixed with fear when she realized whom and what she had on top of her. She looked around for a weapon or help, I did not know, but I grabbed her by her chin and forced her to look at me. "Name, rank and regiment." I demanded from her. I assumed it was the only thing she would reveal willingly to me at the moment.
"Lave Melia, Trooper second class, Pentastar Volunteers 15th regiment." She snarled. Immeasurable hate gleamed in her eyes.
"She seems like a lot of trouble." I said and looked up at Shaz. He watched her with a certain gleam in his eye. I moved my hand to my knife and pulled it out. "Should I spare us the trouble?" I asked, and she instantly started shaking beneath me, and I looked back at her. Fear was now the dominant emotion in her eyes. In my peripheral view, I saw a trooper slowly starting to move.
"I'm on it." Shaz sighed, not pleased with having to leave our prey. In a moment of sadism, I saw an opportunity that surprised even me. I leaned down towards her and held the knife close to her face.
"You're scared of this aren't you," I stated more than I asked. Her eyes fell nervously on the shiny blade. She did not want to admit to fear so I stayed on the offensive. "My friend, Shaz," I said and twisted her head so she looked at him. "Is a lot worse than me." I twisted her face back towards me. Her face was growing pale with fear. "Fortunately for you, he respects me enough to listen to me. If it was up to him… Well, you'd wish you were dead." Taking an artistic pause, I looked deep into her brown eyes. "I can keep you alive and make your life liveable, but that means you have to behave. Is that understood?" I asked, and pressed the cold blade towards her cheek. She tried to mutter something, but it came out as intelligible garble. "I did not hear you Trooper Melia." I said, and pressed the blade down harder.
"Y-Yes sir." She stuttered, and I took the knife away. With a satisfied grin, I sheathed it audibly as Shaz returned. Stepping off her, I gave Shaz a reassuring grin.
"Stand up trooper! We haven't got all day!"
Aboard The Restoration, three hours later
The reports were coming in now. One by one, the squad-leaders submitted their reports giving praise to the survivors and the honoured dead. The forces of Clan Kayze had been victorious and it was not a bad victory either. The planet of Magloran was an agricultural world, but the village they had just taken, grew medicinal herbs of medium value. The planet overall was very lightly defended, and of low value to The Pentastar Alignment. The clan might receive some light retaliation, but they could hold the planet. A small imperial base remained, and there were many outlying villages on the planet, but they would all come under his rule, one way or another.
"Bring the ship back to full power and plot a hyperspace-course for Magloran." Orsin Kayze ordered. More and more displays crackled back to life, and the lights came back on. He pressed a few buttons on the display and watched as the ship slowly came back to life. It was an old cruiser with old equipment, but that was all he needed. Almost all of his fortune was spent on this ship and the contents of its cargo-bays. Magloran would be a success. The fighters and the one bomber came online, but they were pilotless. Instead, they were controlled by slave-circuits with reasonable programming. As long as no distress signal was sent within a week, Orsin Kayze was sure his plans would work out.
"Run a diagnostic on the war-droids." He ordered as the navicomputer finished completed the course. "And prepare the ship for hyperspace. Launch when ready." The hangar doors and all protective shields were raised as the diagnostics came in. One hundred war-droids, fully equipped, stood ready and deactivated in their containers. Kayze threw a last glance into the vastness of space before the ship jerked and the stars turned to bright streaks around the ship. Magloran would fall and from it, Clan Kayze would rise again.
