Starkiller: The Clone Wars
Arrival: Part Two
Galen walked purposefully on to the bridge of the ship. Nearby several of the bridge crew saluted him while the rest kept about their work. Out of the viewport he could see the expanse of the Coruscant military docks, the whole place a bustle of activity as ships were loaded up with men and munitions, ready to take the fight to the Separatists.
"Nice of you to join us, boy," Kota called from the front of the bridge. "Would I be correct in the assumption that you were inspecting the main cannons?"
"Obviously," Galen chuckled as he moved up beside his Master. "Those things are huge."
"Indeed they are," Kota said with a predatory smile. "I must admit to a certain feeling of excitement over being able to use some truly heavy ordnance."
"I know what you mean, Master," Galen agreed. "Having a Star Destroyer should make for an excellent change of pace."
"That it shall," Kota chuckled. "Are the gunnery decks all stocked and ready?"
"Yes, Master."
"Good," Kota nodded to his Apprentice before turning to the ship's Captain. "Take her away, Captain."
"Yes, General," the man replied before he started shouting orders for the bridge crew to make ready for take off.
"Back into the fray, boy," Kota grinned. "Think we'll show Skywalker and the 501st how things are really done?"
"Undoubtedly, Grievous won't know what hit him," Galen said confidently.
"That's the spirit, boy!" Kota let out a deep laugh. "Captain, how long till we can make the jump to Lightspeed?"
"We just need to clear the planet's gravitational field," the Captain responded. "So just a few more minutes."
Galen watched with interest (the jump to hyperspace always remained fascinating to watch, no matter how many times one had gone through the process) as the cruiser cleared Coruscant's gravitational pull and prepared to enter Hyperspace. A few moments later, the stars seemed to elongate towards them as the cruiser catapulted forwards at faster than light speed.
...~SW~...
...~SW~...
Being in Hyperspace was boring. Almost crazily so.
Galen spent the spare time practising his meditation, and thus becoming increasingly frustrated when he would slip into nonsensical visions. Currently, he was remembering the colour red, back pain, and the smell of decay. It was neither pleasant nor useful.
"Ah, shavit!" he swore as he stood up from where he had been sitting cross legged in his quarters. I may as well go find Master Kota, he thought as he headed for the bridge. We should be exiting Hyperspace soon.
True to form, Kota was found standing at the helm of the bridge, reading what was most likely an intelligence report on a holopad.
"So what exactly are we expecting when we arrive?" Galen asked as he stood beside his Master.
"If you had been at the briefing you would know," Kota pointed out, eyes not moving from the holopad.
"I was busy trying to meditate, just as you instructed, Master," Galen replied easily.
"Hmph! Make sure you don't miss the next one," Kota scowled as he put down the holopad. "Truth is we don't know what to expect, the transmission High Command received from Skywalker was very brief. All we know is that General Grievous is laying siege to Bothawui."
"So we should be ready for immediate engagement?" Galen questioned.
"Indeed we should," Kota agreed. "You'll be in charge of a squad of V-19s to be deployed in the event of a space battle."
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable being a pilot; I prefer to get up close and personal," Galen frowned. "Dogfights aren't really my thing."
"Even so, you'll do it," Kota said firmly. "I need you out there to lead the men while I get this Destroyer over to rendezvous with General Skywalker's fleet."
"Fine, fine," Galen gave in with a half hearted shrug before deciding to change the subject. "So anyway, why do you think Grievous is attacking Bothan space? I thought he was focusing his attacks on the outer rim."
"He was. But it was inevitable that the Confederacy would target the Bothawui," Kota said, his face marred by a grim expression. "The Bothan spynet is the most detailed information network in the galaxy, if Grievous gains access to it then he'll be able to outmanoeuvre our forces with ease."
Galen looked pensively out of the viewport at the blurry blue light of Hyperspace. Both he and Kota remained silent in contemplation for a few moments before the clanking of boots alerted them to the arrival of one of the bridge officers.
"General, the Captain wishes me to inform you that we will be exiting Hyperspace shortly," said the clone; one of the staff that had been foisted upon Kota in order for him to get his hands on a Star Destroyer.
"Acknowledged," Kota replied, not turning from his position looking out of the viewport. "Have all hands report to battle stations. I have a feeling we'll be coming in hot."
"Yes, Sir!" the clone responded with a crisp salute before rushing off to relay the order.
Less that five minutes later, Galen watched as the ship came out of Hyperspace... right into a torrent of laser fire coming from a Commerce Guild support destroyer... which they were currently on a collision course with.
"Oh frak," Galen muttered at the same time as Kota bellowed, "Take evasive action! All batteries, open fire!"
"General! We have two Banking Clan frigates advancing on our starboard flank!" one of the clones shouted from across the bridge.
"Blast! They were waiting for us," Kota cursed as he looked out of the viewport towards the approaching Separatist ships. "Focus fire on the destroyer, then make full speed towards Skywalker's fleet," he shouted back at the bridge crew. "Galen, take the fighters and stall those frigates."
"Yes, Master," Galen acknowledged as he sprinted away from the bridge, just managing to catch an elevator down to the hanger bay as he heard Kota's bellowed command of, "Divert power to the starboard deflectors, I want to put that destroyer between us and the frigates!"
A few minutes of irritatingly slow elevators and frantic running later saw Galen meet up with the team of fighter pilots that had been assigned to his command.
"All right gold squad, you're with me," he shouted as he moved over to his Delta-7 starfighter. "We'll be making a precision strike on those frigates while the rest of the fighter squadrons delay the enemy advance."
"Commander, without support from the Venator we won't be able to penetrate the shields on those frigates," one of the pilots said nervously while getting in his V-19.
"The NTB-630 bombers will be attacking their shields," Galen informed the squad. "We'll be focusing on damaging their docking rings, its the point with the weakest shielding."
"Yes, Sir!"
"All right then, lets move out," Galen ordered as he activated his engines and headed for the hangar doors.
Once past the huge blast doors, the carnage of the space battle was apparent to anybody in a starfighter. Laser bolts were flying between the Venator class Star Destroyer and the now critically damaged Commerce Guild support destroyer. The republic ship was now manoeuvring into position behind the Separatist ship in an attempt to use it as cover against the swiftly approaching enemy frigates.
"Gold squad, form up behind me. Loose formation," Galen barked into his communicator.
Swerving beneath the support destroyer, Galen lead the squad away from the skirmish with the remaining Separatist forces from that ship and aimed himself towards the oncoming frigates. Thankfully, his sensors indicated that several other squads were forming up around him as they made towards their next target.
"Red and Black squads, make sure you keep their fighters away from our bombers," Galen ordered as they approached firing range.
"Roger that, Commander," Red leader confirmed. "We have vulture droids incoming!"
"Gold squad, increase speed. We need to break through their fighters," Galen commanded as he flicked the necessary controls in his cockpit. "All other fighters, engage!"
On his command, the Republic forces opened fire. A barrage of laser blasts went hurtling towards the droid fighters which in turn returned fire on the Republic forces. Soon Galen's vision was filled with the bright lights of blaster fire as he led Gold squadron through the Separatist forces, all the while calling out to the Force to guide him on a safe path through the deluge of laser bolts.
"Look sharp, Commander, we've got tri-fighters coming in on our tail," the voice of one of his pilots crackled over the com channel.
"Roger that, Gold leader. Take Golds six and seven to intercept," Galen responded.
"Yes, Sir!" came the barked response.
Flicking his gaze down to his scanner, he saw the three friendly ships break away from the main group to engage the tri-fighters.
"Ok boys, we're moving into range of the frigate's point defence cannons," Galen informed the squad. "This is where it gets ugly."
No sooner had the words had left his mouth, a barrage of laser fire was unleashed by the frigate's defence turrets. Galen swung his ship in a sweeping motion to flank around the foremost Separatist ship, weaving in and out of the streams of blaster fire.
"Frak! R4, see if you can boost the deflector shields!" he ordered his astromech. Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of his squad mates explode as laser fire ripped through his shields and tore through the V-19's hull.
"Golds two through five, launch missiles at the docking rings!" He shouted. "The rest of you break off, we've got enemy fighter's coming in!"
Ignoring the resounding chorus of 'yes Sir' from his squad, Galen suddenly changed direction, moving to engage the enemy fighters that were closing in with half of Gold squadron doing the same.
Changing to attack speed, Galen started opening fire on the droid forces moving against him. Ducking, weaving and rolling in a seemingly random pattern, he let the Force flow through him, guiding him past the blaster fire and missiles in an unending dance of death. Every way he turned there was another fighter to be shot down, and every time he shot one, another would swoop in to attack him in its place.
Seeing that, despite his best efforts, he had already lost five of the ten ship Gold squad (Gold leader and the survivors of the attack on the frigate having returned earlier). Incensed, he called the bomber squadron over the com channel.
"Where the frak are you guys!?" he bellowed as he rolled out of the way of a vulture droid's missile.
"Sorry for the delay, Commander," came the apologetic voice of one of the bomber pilots. "Seppies had us pinned down but we're on our way now with a fighter escort from the Resolute. ETA two minutes."
"Get here in one!" Galen barked back over the channel as he wheeled his fighter around. "All Gold units, disengage! I repeat, disengage! Lead these fighters into firing range for our reinforcements."
"Roger that, Commander!"
From there Galen, along with the rest of Gold squadron, manoeuvred themselves so as to retreat from the Separatist fighters. Diverting power to their rear deflectors and thrusters, the small strike force started leading the enemy on a route that would ultimately leave them outflanked by the approaching Republic forces.
"Gold squadron, come in," a voice buzzed over the com system. "This is General Skywalker, do you copy?"
"Roger, General. This is Commander Marek, we could use a hand over here," Galen replied. Checking his scanner he saw that the lead fighters of the reinforcements were two Jedi starfighters; presumably Skywalker and his Padawan.
"Acknowledged. We're moving into firing range now."
Galen banked to the side, avoiding a stream of blaster fire from a vulture droid at the same time as the incoming Republic forces opened fire. The area around him was thick with blaster fire, but thankfully, the CIS fighters were swiftly being overwhelmed by the Jedi led flanking attack.
"Bombers are clear for the attack run!" Skywalker's voice buzzed over the intercom. "Marek, take your remaining force and cover those bombers. I'll mop up the remaining fighters."
"Acknowledged," Galen replied as he relayed the message to what was left of gold team.
Forming up around the bombers, Galen soon found himself once again facing the point defence lasers of the Separatist frigates.
"Stay focused boys, we're on the home straight now!" he called over the com channel as he weaved between streams of laser fire. As he rolled out of the way of another turret that had turned to aim at him, he saw the first group of bombers unleashing their payload on the first frigate.
"Shields are down, Sir!" one of the pilots informed him.
"All forces, target their bridge!" Galen shouted over the open channel. On his order, all nearby forces (including some of the reinforcements who had strayed closer to the frigates) turned and unleashed a massive barrage of fire on the bridge of the first frigate.
After that point, the battle was relatively simple. The first frigate was effectively disabled with the loss of its bridge, leaving it to be picked off by the next Republic cruiser to get in range. The process was repeated on the second frigate, and soon after Galen found himself heading towards a cluster of Republic Star Destroyers.
"Galen, this is Kota," his Master's voice buzzed in over a private com channel. "Rendezvous with me aboard the Resolute. Just follow Skywalker if you need directions."
Heeding his Master's advice, Galen moved himself to follow behind the other two Jedi fighters as they moved in to land.
...~SW~...
...~SW~...
Galen landed next to one of the other Jedi starfighters. Going through his post flight checks, he saw as the other two Jedi (not bothering with their own checks) climbed out of their own ships.
Skywalker, he had seen before, albeit not directly; the holonet often covered his more heroic exploits in as dramatic a way as possible. As such, Galen was unsurprised by the Jedi Knight's tall, well built frame and serious demeanour.
What he hadn't expected, however, was the scantily clad Togruta. Her tight fitting top and leggings combination seemed to show more skin than it covered, with the back being almost completely bared and large diamond patterns cut out on the legs. It a rather odd look for a Jedi... not that he was complaining, mind.
Finishing with his checks, he popped the canopy and hopped down, making his way over to where the other two Jedi were leaning against one of the starfighters, apparently waiting for him.
"You took your time, were you having trouble with your ship?" Skywalker teased him with a smirk.
"Aww, play nice, Master," the Togruta butted in, also smirking in a teasing way. "I'm sure it's not his fault that he's not as awesome as us."
Galen scowled at the Padawan. Flicking his gaze over to Skywalker, Galen couldn't help but notice an unusual feeling spread through him now that he was in the presence of the Jedi Knight.
Sure, the feeling could have been coming from the Padawan, but somehow he knew that the unease he was experiencing was being caused by Skywalker. The whole thing was making him think of his visions, thus giving him the strangest desire to meditate.
"I think you'll find that I'm plenty 'awesome,'" Galen said lamely, his concern over his unease taking priority over the ability to think of witty comebacks.
"Smooth," the Togruta deadpanned, arching a marked brow at him. "I'm Ahsoka, by the way, in case you were wondering."
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm Galen, Galen Marek," Galen said, managing to break himself free of his thoughts and focus once more on the Apprentice in front of him. He stuck his right hand out while his left rubbed the back of his head in a nervous gesture.
"Nice to meet you, Galen," Ahsoka replied with an easy smile. She then clasped him by the forearm (rather than the expected handshake), a greeting that had been popular amongst warrior cultures such as the Mandalorians, and now presumably, the clones.
"Well then, now that you two have gotten acquainted, why don't we head up to the bridge for our super important strategy meeting?" Skywalker said jovially as he pushed off the starfighter and headed towards the nearest elevator.
"Your Master seems... strange," Galen said to Ahsoka as they followed Anakin. To put it lightly, he added as an afterthought.
"Nah, that's just Skyguy trying to look cool," Ahsoka chuckled. "He only ever operates in one of three moods; clown, serious, or moody."
"Sounds a bit like my Master," Galen smiled at the comparison. "Maybe it's got something to do with them being old."
"I heard that," Anakin called from ahead of them.
"You were meant to," Ahsoka shouted back at him. "You seem like an all right kind of guy, Galen. Shame that you suck at space combat..."
Galen shot a scowl her way. As he glanced at her he took the time to look over her features while she was still grinning. Her white and blue patterned lekku and montrals could only be described as 'dainty' when compared to those of full grown Togruta, while her facial markings (especially those over her eyebrows) seemed to give her face a more human appearance. Then there was the teeth. The incisors seemed more or less the same as a humans, but her canines were much sharper and she appeared to have serrated molars. Togrutans, it seemed, were carnivorous by nature.
Moving his gaze to look straight ahead (he didn't want to get caught staring), Galen walked along side Ahsoka in a comfortable silence till they reached Anakin.
Soon enough they found themselves in the briefing room surrounding a hologram of the planet Bothawui being projected into the centre of the room. Also in the room with them were General Kota, the Captain of his Star Destroyer, several ranking officers from the militia, Admiral Wullf Yularen, a few other officers, and several high ranking clones from the 501st legion.
"As you can see here, Grievous' forces are deploying their ground forces to attack the capital," Yularen was saying, waving a stick at the hologram to show where the droid fleet was amassed. "Fortunately, the Bothan's anti-orbital defences have prevented the Separatists from being able to attack from orbit. However, given the size of Grievous' force, it is clear to us than a prolonged engagement on the planet will result in an enemy victory unless we can force them to quit the field. General Skywalker."
"Thank you, Admiral," Skywalker said as he stepped forwards. "As we all know, the Separatists are here for one reason, the Bothan spynet. Now, for obvious reason's we can't let them get within a mile of accessing that data. Therefore, our strategy necessitates us engaging Grievous' forces before they are able to lay siege to the capital city."
"With all due respect, General," a blond haired clone interrupted (wait... what? Since when do clones have blond hair? Galen thought confusedly to himself). "Without the defences within the city, we simply don't have the resources to engage the Seppies."
"I know," Anakin said simply. "Which is why we have Master Kota here."
At that point, Kota stepped forward to address the assembled officers. "The key here, is going to be delaying the Separatist's advance," Kota said, his face serious as he slipped seamlessly into his role as General. Unlike Skywalker, Kota's appearance and professionalism matched his rank perfectly. "I and the militia are specialists in defensive and trench warfare, and as such, it will be my men that lead the defence against the CIS forces."
Gelan did a mini fist pump just out of sight of the others; it was always good to have Kota be put in charge of a mission. Despite him being a military genius, Kota was often overlooked for truly important missions because of his objections to the clone army (much to Galen's annoyance).
He cast a swift look around the room, just to make sure that nobody noticed his out of place action. As his eyes flicked around those assembled, he caught the gaze of Ahsoka, who was looking at him in amusement with one brow raised. Galen flushed in embarrassment.
"Now, while the majority of our forces will be focused on stalling the Separatists, an elite strike team will be sent to capture Grievous and neutralise the droid command structure. Which brings us back to General Skywalker," Kota continued, seemingly calm and stern to the room (although Galen noticed his Master flick him an amused look. Apparently Kota had noticed Galen's jubilation on his behalf).
"Thank you, General," Skywalker stepped forward again. "The strike team will consist of myself, General Kota, our Apprentices, Captian Rex, and a small squad from Torrent company. According to the Bothans, General Grievous is currently still on his flag ship with the Separatist fleet."
"Their fleet outnumbers us three to one," one of the flight officers butted in. "We won't be able to get him there."
"Which is why we need to wait for him to go down to lead the ground assault himself," Anakin responded, levelling a baleful glare at the officer. "Which we are certain he will. The spynet is of critical importance, and once he realises that his droids are being engaged away from the city, he will have no choice but to lead an assault himself in order to get the information before we are able to get more reinforcements."
Kota stepped forwards once more. "While all this is happening, the fleet, under the command of Admiral Yularen, will move into a position where they can fire on the droid's ground forces while being covered by the Bothan's anti-orbital weapons. This will act as the catalyst that forces Grievous to make take control on the ground; he cant afford to lose too many forces while the anti-orbital weapons stop him from moving his fleet in on the city."
"Hold on, Master," Galen stopped the older Jedi, having come to a sudden realisation. "If we start using our ships to engage their ground forces, then the Separatist fleet will have no choice but to engage us in space."
"Indeed," Kota said grimly. "This is a high risk plan. Once the CIS fleet commits to an attack while in range of the Bothan's anti-orbital defences, they will have no choice but to attempt an all out assault or risk defeat."
"But that's an engagement we would lose," Ahsoka spoke out, looking slightly shocked at how the plan was unfolding. "Even if we took down most of the Separatist fleet before they beat us, they'd still have enough ships to siege the Bothawui capital."
"It's a high risk plan, Ahsoka," Anakin said gravely. "If we don't defeat Grievous then we will lose the battle. But if we do – and I assure you, we will – then we will have neutralised the entire threat to this sector."
"But couldn't the droid forces just keep on fighting after Grievous goes down?" Galen asked, it seemed a fatal flaw in the plan if they could.
"Normally, yes," Kota admitted. "However, seeing as we will have the droid army already engaged on the ground, with their General dead and their fleet severely damaged and separated from their ground force; the CIS forces will lack the leadership to coordinate their split forces."
"So their only option would be to fall back, or risk blowing the entire operation," Anakin finished.
"We're relying an awful lot on luck here," Galen said uncertainly.
"I agree with Galen, this plan is shabla," Ahsoka said, nodding emphatically.
"Language, Ahsoka," Anakin frowned. "Look, I know you all have your reservations, but this is the only shot we have to win this battle. We don't have the time to make up a different plan or wait for reinforcements. If we don't act now then it will be too late, and the Separatists will have access to the Bothan spynet, in which case we may as well give up anyway."
"The 501st will never give up, Sir!" the blond clone barked from nearby.
"I agree with Captain Rex," Yularen put in his bit. "I'll not shirk my duty to the Republic."
All around the room there were choruses to much the same effect. Patriotism and pride doing much to erase any doubts. Galen looked over at the other Padawan and caught her eye. With a nod to each other, they made their decision.
"We're in," Galen said for the two of them.
"Let's show those tinnies what we're made of," Ahsoka said with a feral grin.
Kota looked over the two Apprentices, pleased that they had come around to his way of thinking. After all, when it came to fighting, believing you had the ability to win was half the battle. "All right then, everyone. Now that we're all agreed; let's get down to work!"
...~SW~...
...~SW~...
Author's Note
Thanks for those who have read this far. How did you find the space battle? Also, what do you think of my introduction to some of the Clone Wars characters? You know what... you should leave a review to tell me what you think ;)
I'd just like to clarify that this story takes place roughly 1-2 years into the clone wars (so about 21BBY) that makes Ahsoka 15 and Galen 17 (originally born 19BBY and dying 2BBY).
Next up: General Grievous and the battle for Bothawui!
Thanks again,
blddmn