Star Wars – The beginning of the regiment
Chapter 2
Exed, Mid Rim
GAR ship, Blazing Run
It had been almost 6 hours since the regiment left Coruscant. With all those recognized hyperspace lanes and with the help of the hyperdrives, 90th Wing still took this long to get here.
Dest was beginning to wonder if the Republic forces on Exed were still alive. The original mission was to support the Republic forces, but in those 6 hours, the situation on Exed had gotten worse. Both Generals Rill and Poreel agreed to change to objective of the mission to rescue. Dest was able to see that both generals had no military training and don't know how to execute a military operation. It fell onto Dest to hammer out the details of the rescue operation.
To be fair however, Dest himself had no combat experience. This mission would his first and he was quite anxious about it. Fortunately, liaising with a clone commander of the fighter squadron, he managed to plan out the mission just 40 minutes before arriving to Exed and managed to inform his officers in his regiment of the plan within 15 minutes.
With a few minutes to go, all the required gunships had been primed and ready to go. Dest signaled the fighter squadron, which will be their escort to the surface, to get ready too. General Poreel was in the same gunship with Dest. It was not necessary for the general to take part, but the reasoning the Jedi took part was because the regiment was under his command and he should be with them. For Dest, that would the first step of being a leader.
The Republic fleet finally arrived at Exed's orbit. As hangar doors began to open, the gunships started to float and closed its doors. Once hangar doors were fully opened, off they went.
Dest just hoped the Republic forces were still alive down there.
GAR ship, Blazing Run
4 hours before arriving on Exed, in a quiet corner on the bridge
"Surprising, isn't it, Master Poreel?"
"Yeah, who would have thought the Republic would have new ships and a full-fledged army for our immediate use."
"What surprised me more was that we became leaders of this army."
"I wonder if Sifo-Dyas really saw this happening."
"He didn't tell anybody of what he did, Poreel. He ordered for the clone army without the Republic's and Council's knowledge and consents."
"He did warn the Council of the conflict, Rill, vigorously. That's why the Council threw him out. If we did listen to him, we would be better prepared for this conflict."
"What he saw, Poreel, was open to interpretation. The problem with the visions of the future is that the future is not written in stone. If there was a right thing happened some time ago, this conflict may not happen at all and the clone army would be a waste."
"Are you implying that we didn't do the right things, Rill?"
"Who is to say that we didn't do the right thing? We may have done it right, but may not be enough or too much of it."
"And what Sifo-Dyas had said turned out to be true. This situation is shrouded in mystery, Rill. These ships and this army took a long time to be created and nobody notices. The Republic will eventually afford this bill, of course, but the cloners didn't even contact the Republic about their progress or even a request for additional funds. And this conflict starts just as the clones finish training? That is more than a mere coincidence."
"Stay focus, Poreel. This war is the immediate concern, not how we got the clones."
"I know we should prioritize this war, but we don't even know how to operate one. We even had to let Dest to handle the operation of this mission."
"Speaking of which, where is your Padawan, Poreel?"
"My current one is still at the temple. I'm here to pick up my former one."
"You mean, the one that resigned 6 years ago?"
"Yup, that's the one."
"Why?"
"The Council saw fit to reinstate him to the Jedi Order."
"Is that even possible? He resigned based on what he considers moral grounds."
"After he left, he joined the Judicial Department. Graduated 2 years ago, apparently right now he is a corporal. The Council felt that his experience could help in commanding the army better."
"So they want his military experience, not his skills in the Force."
"Yeah. Hearing the Council's decision made me lean towards what my former Padawan stood for."
"It is not our place to question them, Poreel, but you should have brought along your current Padawan. She should get some experience in this too."
"I don't want her to be influence by my old Padawan. I feel that he still has anger issues on the Jedi Order," said Poreel, remembering that Rill's Padawan had followed Captain Berrel to learn the reins of handling a ship.
"His anger issues might be less now since then. If he still is, he wouldn't have joined the Judicial Department."
"I won't be too sure about that, Rill."
"Just hope I'm right though."
There were a few moments of silence.
"Is the situation on Exed really changed?" asked Poreel.
"I know you're worried about him, but we have no reason not to believe in the Republic Intelligence."
"I didn't expect the Separatist to attack at full force though. Just hope the Judicial forces stay alive until we get there."
Exed, Mid Rim
Inside the leading gunship
Dest felt fortunate that the Jedi understood the operation procedures of the mission. There were 7 gunships heading to the location of Republic forces. Due to the flying skills of the pilots and the help of the fighter squadrons, all 7 were able to enter the atmosphere. With the communication link still opened, Dest heard that the squadron had lost 3 fighters escorting the gunships.
The plan was to use 4 as cover and the other 3 to evacuate the survivors. Dest just hopes that the plan goes well.
The gunships finally broke through the clouds and the sound of the turbulence was very loud even though the gunship doors were close. He was surprised that the Jedi had no reaction upon the loud turbulence. There was no fear in the general's eyes and his face was serene, even though he was trying to balance himself from the shaking.
Another minute passed before the shaking stopped. From his HUD, Dest could see the location was 2 minutes away. He then informed the general and opened a communication link to the Republic forces about their imminent arrival. Dest received a response from the survivors. He then quickly ordered his men turned off their rifles. He saw the Jedi took out his lightsaber, preparing to activate it.
As planned, 4 gunships secured the area and the other 3 picked up the survivors. Dest's gunship opened the bay doors and laser shots came in from the port side. They quickly fired back at the droids.
Dest finally received an all-clear signal from the pilot, knowing that all the survivors were safely aboard the 3 gunships.
The gunship slowly rose up, closed the bay doors and quickly moved from the battlefield. Dest felt a slight exhaustion and took a few deep breaths. Once his heart beat slowed down, he noticed a clone brother was sitting on the floor with his back to the wall and his helmet taken off. The eyes were closed. The Jedi had already checked his pulse. There was sadness in his eyes.
"He didn't make it."
Dest looked down to see any wounds and found a blaster wound directly at the heart. He checked the wound and found that the shot had penetrated his armour. A direct shot.
"Commander, how many soldiers did we lose in this mission?"
Dest nodded, "All squad leaders, sitrep."
By the time Dest received all the reports, the gunships had already entered turbulence. He then used hand signs to tell the Jedi there were 3 casualties, including the one in their gunship.
As soon as the gunships arrived in orbit and the turbulence gone, the Jedi then stood up. "So, 3 soldiers died, including this one?"
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you, commander." The Jedi was lost in his thoughts after that.
Exed's orbit, Mid-Rim
Republic ship, Blazing Run
They finally arrived at Blazing Run. After they got out, Dest checked the time; it was 33 minutes from start to finish. Most of that was travelling time. General Poreel mentioned about reinstating a former Jedi, but he never said who it was or how the Padawan looked. Dest certainly had to wait until the general decided the right time.
The commander then hooked up with the leader of the fighter escort. From him, Dest found out that the fighter squadron had lost another 2 fighters and this was just escorting. For those who were fighting directly against the enemy, he was sure there would be more casualties.
Blazing Run had begun firing its cannons. The commander never thought that the sound would be quite loud. Fighter squadrons had begun to come in and there were fewer fighters now. It took 2 long minutes to turn to another direction and a lot of damage on the hull, but as soon as the ship turned, Blazing Run jumped into hyperspace. Dest always found odd that every time that a capital ship got in and out of hyperspace, there was always a slight jerk.
"All 3 ships had safely jumped into hyperspace, sir," a crewmember called out.
"Good, I want damage report on each ship," General Rill ordered.
"Yes, sir," replied the same crewmember.
Rill felt Poreel's presence on the bridge. He turned and saw Poreel leading a Judicial officer wearing a tactical gear. The Judicial officer gave an awkward salute.
"To tell the truth, I'm not really sure how to do this since the Jedi are now directly involved in the military. I'm Jedi General Mallus Rill and this is my associate Jedi General Hij Poreel, in case you don't know."
"I'm Lieutenant Laras Woom of Judicial Department's Reconnaissance Battalion. Even though it is not official yet, the battalion had been absorbed into Republic Intelligence, in case you don't know. And yes, it is quite awkward to have the Jedi Order to lead us militarily."
"Now that is over, let us discuss the matter at hand. What did the Judicial Department doing on Exed? As far as I know, Exed is the only habitable moon in the 3-planet system, and the moon doesn't have any significant resources. Though the system is quite near to 2 hyperspace lanes."
"Being insignificant was the main point in Exed. The reason we're there was because Republic Intelligence had received a Republic distress signal from the surface."
Both generals were surprised by that. "We didn't know there was a Republic presence on Exed."
"Not officially."
"What do you mean?"
"There was a Republic radar station on that planet, manned by a small garrison of the Judicial Department's Reconnaissance Battalion."
"We don't even know about it. Isn't that illegal?"
"Tensions had been high for the past year between the Republic and the Separatist. Republic Intelligence is not stupid enough to believe that the tensions would not lead to war. Thus, we established a few radar stations on neutral, uninhabited systems."
"Don't you need permission to establish one on a neutral system?"
"Permission takes too long. Besides, the systems are not being oversight by any sort of government. So we took this opportunity to build it ourselves."
"What else does the Republic keeps from the public?" asked Poreel.
"Doesn't the Jedi Order keep any secrets from the public, general?"
"Fair enough," replied Rill. "When did you receive the signal?"
"2 days ago. We were supposed to be investigating the reason for the signal and apply any immediate assistance before calling in for any further help."
"What happened next?"
"By the time we got there 40 hours ago, we found the radar station destroyed and the entire garrison killed. There were damaged battle droids and a destroyed tank surrounding the station too."
"So you went searching for the Separatist forces?" asked Rill.
"We did. We found them in an open field 33 kilometers south of the station. We didn't even make contact with them at all when their tanks suddenly fired at our position."
"They knew you were coming?" asked Rill.
"It seems so, general."
"If they know, they should have destroyed your ship already before landing your team here."
"I don't know the reason, but they did later, general. After they fired on us, I contacted our transport but it was under attack when I called, then I suddenly lost contact with the ship. I can only assume that a Separatist ship attacked them."
"There were 4 ships when we came to your rescue. The Separatist wants us to know that they are there on Exed," Poreel concluded.
"They are spreading us thin to achieve easier victory," said the lieutenant, following what Poreel was heading. "I humbly suggest, generals that we let them be and concentrate on more important positions."
"I'm sure that they are dividing and conquering, but….," said Poreel as he activated the map surrounding Exed.
"But what, Poreel?" asked Rill.
"The system doesn't have anything special. The only significant thing was its proximity to the 2 hyperspace lanes. One connects the Outer Rim to the rest of Mid Rim while the other connects to a direct lane to Coruscant."
"Your point, Poreel?"
"I agree about the divide and conquer strategy, but if we let them, they might use this as their staging point later in the war."
"There are more strategic points in other parts in the galaxy, Poreel. No matter how good we are in the Force, we can't never fully see what will happen in the future. This system may be use in the future, but the percentile of it being used is miniscule compared to other systems closed to the lanes."
"I say we call for reinforcements and turned back and fight just to be sure."
"Are you serious, Poreel?"
"Of course, I am."
"Anyway, we should report this to the Jedi Council," said Rill.
It was 20 minutes later that the Jedi Council made their decision.
"Well, that ends it all. It is not a bad thing to pull back to Coruscant, Poreel. Besides, the mission objective had already changed to rescue."
Poreel sighed in disappointment.
"If that is all, generals, I will take my leave."
"Lieutenant Woom, there is one more thing I want to discuss with you," said Poreel, as he pressed some buttons on the datapad. "Here it is."
The lieutenant took the datapad and read it. "Corporal Liss is a Jedi? And right now he is promoted?"
"By special dispensation, he will be a Jedi again, officially, but instead of a general or a commander, he will be a military attaché to the Jedi Order with the rank of captain. He will no longer be under your command, lieutenant. As you can see, this order is issued by the Chancellor's office and seconded by the Jedi Council. "
"When will this be official?"
"Officially, in 3 weeks. Unofficially though, his role as a military attaché had been requested to be immediate. I'm sorry for giving this news, lieutenant."
"Do you want me to tell him, general?"
"No, I'll tell him. I'll follow you to meet him."
At the mess hall, Poreel finally met with his former Padawan.
"Corporal Kolla Liss?"
One of the Judicials responded. "Stand before me please."
A young human came up to the general. The features were still familiar to the older Jedi, but the features were distinctively mature.
"I'm a general now, Corporal Liss. These are your new orders concerning your new role in this war."
The young man read the orders. "Is that easy now, isn't it, master?"
"I afraid it is, my former student."
"Am I to work under you or somebody else?"
"The Jedi Council will decide that."
"So, I have to report to them?"
"Yes, you do."
"Unusual time, master. For the Jedi to become military leaders."
"Desperate time requires desperate measure. We'll be back to Coruscant in less than 5 hours. I suggest you get ready before you head to the temple."
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