Chapter 2
Eriadu City
A gunship hovered softly a few inches from the ground as Grand Master of the Jedi Order Akku Tejji jumped out. Several Republic commanders in white battle armor with red shoulder pads greeted him and immediately showered him with facts about the city's defenses. It seems there are nearly nine thousand Republic troops and twice that number of militia and calls for evacuation, hundreds of thousands of civilians still remained, crowding the hastily constructed underground bomb shelters. Food was getting scarce, despite months of storing and rationing. Laborers and droids were now drilling tunnels into the sewers to use it to smuggle food and supplies in from the outside. But that's just one of the problems plaguing the defense force. Shells for the cannons were also running low and without the cannons, the defenders can't hold back Imperial tanks. The Imperial Army has deployed a series of anti-transport projectile launchers around the city and that prevented Republic ships from landing. The situation here was worse than Akku had imagined.
"I'm not here to help you win this battle commander," Akku said. "I'm here to make sure you have minimal loss of life when you retreat."
"Retreat? With all due respect general I think we are beyond the point of retreat," the commander replied. "There is no way we can break that blockade."
"There is always a way commander. You just have to look hard to see it," Akku said. "When the Sith breaks our defenses, have your men organize themselves into squadrons of no more than five. Use Imperial uniforms and attempt to sneak past their defenses into friendly territory. They can't kill everyone."
The commander thought for a moment but could not figure out a better plan. "You know that might actually work."
"Of course it will work," Akku smiled. "Now take me to General Erris at the first defense line."
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Imperial Command Ship Terminator, orbiting planet Eriadu
"This is your last chance Captain," Garruk said to the holographic figure of Freedo. "Surrender now or perish with your fleet."
"I'm sorry I cannot do that Admiral," Freedo replied. "My orders are to fight until the end and that is exactly what I am going to do."
"Then you leave me with no choice Captain," Garruk muttered as the hologram of Freedo disappeared. He turned to an Inquisitor standing silently at the corner and the Sith nodded at him. Dalfarus himself had retreated from the bridge to meditate, leaving one of his minions to watch over the operation. "You may begin the assault," Garruk said to the bridge command crew.
The Imperial ships began to move. The smaller destroyers and frigates raced towards the Republic blockade while the cruisers provided fire support from the back. The smaller and more agile Imperial destroyers easily tore through the first line of Republic ships, wreaking havoc among their fleet until Freedo deployed frigates to counter. The even smaller Republic ships simply flew under the destroyers and fired salvo after salvo of lasers at the unprotected fuselage. Garruk watched as dozens of his destroyers went up in flames but he wasn't concerned. As soon as the first wave of ships was destroyed, another wave went in to take over. "Deploy our own frigates," Garruk ordered. "Pull the destroyers back and let the frigates do their work."
The Republic ships went up in flames as the newer and better armed Sith frigates took over the battle, steering it away from the Republic's favor. The enemy however countered by launching wave after wave of fighters. The small and nimble ships dodged the laser cannons on the frigates and used proton torpedoes to bring to them down. The line of frigates quickly collapsed and the fighters moved on to take out the destroyers. Destroyers, however, were armed with point defense laser cannons designed to tackle small fighters but it wasn't enough. The Republic pilots were well trained and dodged the laser blasts. Garruk watched as one fighter swerved around, dodging bolts and fired a pair of proton torpedo that struck the destroyer's engines. The large ships exploded and its stern snapped away from the hull. Despite the combined firepower of the Imperial fleet, several more destroyers went up in flames. It became quite obvious to Garruk that some of the fighter pilots were Jedi.
"Sir enemy dive bombers approaching," one of the officers announced, watching a computer screen.
"Where are our fighters?" Garruk barked. "Get our fighters into the air now!"
Several minutes later, wave after wave of Sith interceptors flew out of the cruisers and battleships. The two fleet of fighters clashed, leading to explosions everywhere. The Republic dive bombers weren't built for dogfights and quickly withdrew, giving the battlefield to their fighter escorts. It was absolute slaughter. Having exhausted most of their weapons and power attacking capital ships, the Republic fighters stood no chance against a more rested opponent. Enemy fighters dropped like flies but small rogue squadrons did manage to get past Imperial fighters. "Divert all power to the shields," Garruk ordered as he saw a dozen fighters coming his way. "Increase forward firepower."
The Republic fighters opened fire with everything they got: missiles, proton torpedoes, and lasers. Most of it was blocked by the shield but the Terminator rocked as several missiles struck the hull. The computers began beeping as it displayed the damage report on the ship. "Sir our forward stabilizers are damaged," the ballast control officer reported. "Our nose is diving fifteen degrees past normal."
"Magnetize," Garruk ordered. The damage wasn't severe but Garruk wasn't going to fight with a ship that was listing. "Divert power from the forward stabilizers to the rear ones. Level out the ship. And I want engineers down there to fix it at once!"
Garruk turned his attention back to the battle. The first wave of Republic fighters were beaten back and Imperial ships were once again attacking. It was time to take the battle to another level. "All ships advance. Concentrate fire on the Republic capital ships. Knock out their cruisers!" Garruk said. Without capital ships providing fire support, the smaller frigates and destroyers could easily be destroyed. The large ground cannons still had not fired and Garruk wondered if what they were waiting for. He isn't going to wait and find out; no he needed to end this battle as soon as possible. The Jedi were cunning and Garruk felt uncomfortable fighting them. The Admiral sighed as the Terminator plowed through the debris towards the Republic blockade.
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Eriadu City
The first defense line of Eriadu City was nothing more than barricades made out of rubble and foxholes. The main weapon was the large cannons, which fired high explosive projectiles that kept back previous assaults. There were also several smaller laser cannons, heavy repeating blasters, and mortars scattered around the area but the primary defense was still the thousands of troops and militia. Their orders were no longer to hold Eriadu City, but to kill. Kill and cause so many Imperial deaths that it would paralyze their operation on the planet for weeks if not months. It was suicide but their sacrifice is supposed to save the planet, a planet that cannot be saved. But now Akku is bringing a new order, an order to survive. To live in order to fight another day and he would begin with the first defense line.
Commander Erris is the top commander in the region. She was only 22 years old but was a very powerful Jedi Knight. When Master Koch died in a bombing two weeks ago, she was put in charge of the defense line. She was tall and attractive, with big blue eyes and blonde hair. But her looks were deceiving and when it came time to battle, she fought fiercely. Akku was confident she could hold off the Sith if they played fair but not when dealing with an army that outnumbered them three to one. The female Jedi turned and smiled as Akku walked into the makeshift bunker that served as a forward command post. "Master Tejji," she said, "what brings you here?"
"To see how the battle preparations are going," Akku replied as he looked around the room. The bunker was nothing more than a hole underground covered held up by a concrete frame with a sandbag roof. It was hastily built and Akku knows it would survive a bombing. "And to hear about your plans for an evacuation."
"Evacuation?" Erris asked, surprised. "With all due respect Master Tejji there is no possible way to evacuate from this kind of encirclement."
"There is always a way," Akku said. "Think…..how would you evacuate an army in normal encirclement?"
"Well the wisest thing to do would probably have everyone split into groups and try to sneak out."
"Exactly what I had in mind! But if we want to break this encirclement we would have to be a bit…creative. Have our soldiers dress up as Sith commandos, civilians, anything but our own military uniforms. Tell them to scatter across the city and try to break checkpoints at night. We won't be able to save everyone but at least some will survive."
At that moment one of the commanders who was standing outside walked in carrying a hologram projector in his hand. "General, Captain Freedo sent word that the Imperial fleet have begun their offensive," the soldier said.
Akku nodded his acknowledge. "Tell the Captain to hold the blockade at all costs. Do not let a single Sith transport enter the atmosphere. Charge up the planetary guns and open fire at any ship that gets past the blockade."
Erris opened her mouth to say something but at that moment a large explosion shook the ground and collapsed portions of the bunker. Akku, Erris, and a handful of survivors ran out into the streets. Dozens of Sith bombers were flying low, dropping powerful explosives on the defenses of the city. Republic anti-air batteries responded, filling the sky with the explosion of flak shells. Several bombers went up in flames and the rest retreated. The Sith had finally begun their offensive.
"BATTLE STATIONS!" Erris shouted over the rumbling of Sith tanks. Both she and Akku had their blue lightsabers ready for battle. Infantry troops were rushing into foxholes and bunkers as snipers took position in the nearby buildings. Militiamen mounted heavy blasters and helped cannon crew load up the large weapons.
"This is it," Akku said as he readied himself for the largest battle for Eriadu City.
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The ground shook as Zen, Kristina, Neo, and Marcus proceed through the sewers. The continuous shaking meant only one thing, the Sith had begun their attack on the city. And that would help them tremendously because with all the fighting and confusion, no one would pay close attention to them. Of course they can't just march into the Governor's Palace wearing their current clothes, which stank of sewage but finding a few Republic uniforms won't be hard. They had lost track of time and it felt like hours in the sewers but Zen knew they were getting close. As they walked the tunnels became narrower and narrower, which meant they were close to downtown. The Governor's Palace is located in the middle of the city and the current sewer they're in should lead them directly to the bottom of the palace. Then it's just a matter of finding a way into the basement.
"The Governor is one sneaky bastard," Neo said. "From what I know he built an escape tunnel from his basement directly into the sewers for emergency purposes. If we can find it then we should have no problem getting into the Palace."
"Of course he has one," Marcus said to no one in particular. "They all have one."
"Well we still have a way to go," Zen said, reading a small datapad that displayed the map of the sewage system. "We should be under the third defense line now. I say another mile and we'll reach the Palace."
"Come on then, don't waste anymore time," Kristina said. "We need to get there before the Sith breaks through."
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Imperial Command Ship Terminator, orbiting planet Eriadu
Deep inside the Terminator, Dalfarus sat in perfect calm, oblivious to the battle going outside. Here in his meditation chamber was a sea of tranquility. Made out of a rare and very special type of metal, the room was a conduit for the vast amount of Force energy floating around. Here, the Force would be trapped, acting as a reservoir until Dalfarus needed to access it. Force-feeding, as this was called, is an extremely complicated and delicate art and few in the Galaxy know of it. Even the smallest mistake in the spell can cause an energy overload and destroy the caster. But Dalfarus had mastered this, he had help, but he has mastered it. And using Force-feeding, Dalfarus can take in massive amounts of raw Force energy and not die. It has sustained his body for nearly two hundred years, allowing him to live without food or water and never run out of energy.
The room itself was quite simple. There were no light, as the strange purple glow of the walls illuminated the room brightly. There was a single door, Force locked so no one can get in. Two Inquisitors stood guard outside; making sure the room was perfectly sealed. In the middle of the room was a mat, where Dalfarus knelt to meditate. The exterior of the walls were inlaid with triple layers of durasteel, making the room completely soundproof. Dalfarus had this room specially built when he took over the Terminator and then had all workers killed so the plans and the materials would never fall in the hands of anyone else.
The body of the Sith Lord glowed in purple light as Force energy was absorbed into his body. His body was functioning, but his mind wasn't for Dalfarus's mind had transcended into another level. The Sith Lord was now in another world, inside a wide valley surrounded by green hills. The plants here were strange, gigantic flowers the size of trees, grass as tall as a human. There were three suns in the sky, but it felt cool and refreshing and the entire land was basked in sunlight. As Dalfarus walked, he came to a clearing devoid of trees and grass. A figure stood in the middle; a man with long silver hair and dark coat. He turned and smiled as Dalfarus entered.
"Morphis," Dalfarus said. "It's been too long."
"So it has," the man named Morphis replied. "So it has."
"What are you doing in my head again?" Dalfarus asked.
"You called me here Dalfarus," Morphis said simply.
"I didn't ask you to come into my head when I'm meditating."
"No? You seem quite interesting in Zen Tian my friend. Care to tell me why?"
"What do you know about Zen?" Dalfarus asked darkly.
"Everything there is to know. I know you failed to bring him to your control once and so now you are devising a very complex plan to do it again. I also know you wish to use his power to destroy your enemies."
"So what if I want an apprentice? A right hand man? An assassin to do my work? Isn't that what we do Morphis?"
"You do. You seem to forget Dalfarus, I am not Sith."
"Oh no, you're beyond a Sith," Dalfarus replied sarcastically.
"ENOUGH WITH THE HUMOR," Morphis roared and for a moment his eyes turned red. The sky darkened and his voice turned monstrous but he quickly calmed and recomposed himself. "You waste his talents Dalfarus doing petty crimes for you."
"You believe he is the Chosen One?" Dalfarus asked carefully.
Morphis thought carefully for a moment and smiled again. "No," he said. "He is not the Chosen One. He is beyond the Chosen One."
"You speak of him like he is some sort of god," Dalfarus scoffed.
"Don't doubt me Dalfarus," Morphis replied. "Zen Tian is powerful, but more powerful than he have imagined." The mysterious man turned away from Dalfarus and looked on to the horizon. "You know of Infinity and the Infinite Prophecy Dalfarus. Zen is the answer to that prophecy."
"Infinity is a myth Morphis, the prophecy is a myth."
"It is not Dalfarus. I was there when the prophecy was drawn. Zen is the one."
"That still doesn't explain why you're here Morphis."
"Your desire to have Zen as your apprentice brought me here. I am here to offer you advice and to warn you."
"Well go on then."
"My advice to you lies in the girl Kristina. If you truly want Zen to fall to the dark side, she will be an essential tool. What you must do with her I will not tell you for I think you are smart enough to figure it out on your own."
"And your warning?"
"My warning to you is that you are playing with powers far beyond your imagination. I may have taught you Force-feeding and granted you immortality but watch where you step Dalfarus. The power of Infinity can destroy you, the Galaxy, and life as we know it."
The last sentence began to echo as the figure of Morphis faded into the light. The light grew brighter and brighter, until Dalfarus had to shield his eyes. Suddenly the Sith Lord woke up; he was in his chamber. The spell was finished and Dalfarus felt the Force retreat back to the reservoir in the walls. The Sith Lord coughed and stood up, feeling a bit dazed. Why had Morphis come? Why now? Was everything he said about Zen true? Dalfarus felt the need to find out, on his own. It was time he looked at things with his own eyes rather than hearing reports about it. If the Infinite Prophecy is true, then Dalfarus may have a potential demigod under his control and could very well establish himself as the new Emperor. Morphis also had a point about Kristina; it seemed Dalfarus underestimated her role in all this. Before he could make a move on Zen, he would first need to capture Kristina. The Sith Lord walked out of the room and approached one of the Inquisitors standing guard.
"Prepare my shuttle. I am going to the surface," Dalfarus said.
If any of you are confused by this chapter, fear not! I will explain everything in due time. Review please :)
