Chapter 9: Escaping a doomed planet.
Calo Nord, one of the galaxies most feared bounty hunters, was pointing his blasters at us. He had his reputation for a reason, his aim was supposed to be near perfect and hold a huge range of shields and grenades. In his hands, I can see two blaster pistols, and they were pointed at Canderous and me.
The man on his side was Davik Kang. While in his 50's easily, his reputation wasn't one you doubted. I've read far too many reports about Davik's brutality. Cutting limbs off, dropping people from cargo ships that were in the atmosphere, rumours circulated that before the planet wide quarantine, he would often space people from his own ship! His purple armour didn't detract from the threat I know he posed.
Thankfully, we had a small army to face them. We had Jax, I hadn't actually seen much combat from him, but given he's come this far, I know he can handle himself. Next to him was Carth Onasi, a legend. I've seen the reports, duel-wielding blasters or blades, he was a force to be reckoned with and not one I wanted to face any time soon. Bastilia, the legendary Jedi, what had her special I haven't a clue, but given Malek wants her dead or captured made one thing obvious, she was important. Mission, she's a great hacker; I just hope she is capable to holding a blaster as she holds a security spike. Zaalbar, the walking carpet. If this Wookiee lived up to his people's reputation, he would be an unstoppable force. Then there was Canderous, a Mandalorian who was holding a blaster that looked longer than his arms.
Then there was me. A Sith, in both senses of the word, with a single goal. Not Republic victory, not escaping Taris, but to kill Darth Malek. In my hands, was my rifle. Its' weight didn't feel like much to me now, I'd had this weapon for so long. It was pointed at Calo.
"Well, what is this? Thieves, in the hangar" said Davik, looking very unimpressed at us "I should have guessed this would happen eventually. Calo, we've got to deal with them"
The midget didn't even look at Davik, keeping his eyes trained on Canderous "I've been looking forward to this for a long time"
That's when the hangar shook, catching everyone by surprise, me as well. I looked out the hangar, and spotted what I thought was impossible! The city looked like it was under attack from orbit! Blaster shots were wiping out buildings like a swatter when used on a fly. I heard a gasp right beside me, and saw Mission covering my mouth. I could see it in her eyes; she couldn't believe what was occurring before her very eyes.
"Damn these sith!" I heard Davik yell "They'll wipe out the whole city. Calo, we must be quick, kill them and let's find some place to take cover until this all goes away"
I turn my head back to Calo, who had already started firing his blasters. In Davik's hand, I spot he is holding a blaster rifle. I raise my rifle, and fire a shot straight at Davik. It was a direct his on his chest, but my bolt made something red around him flicker! He had an energy shield?!
"Shit! They've got energy shields!" I heard Jax yell, as he fired both his blasters in a barrage at Calo Nord. Carth was doing a similar action towards Davik. Mission and Zaalbar were firing a blaster pistol and bowcaster respectively, towards Calo. While Canderous let it rip with his huge blaster cannon, spraying more shots than I could count at Davik, with most hitting their target, but being pointless due to the energy shield.
I see Calo fire a barrage of shots in my direction, easily 12 bolts, I knew the chances of me dodging them was almost 0. I drop to my knee, right as someone leapt in front of me, with blades of yellow. Bastilia! The Jedi spun her lightsaber, and the shots he fired reflected onto the ground, saving my life.
"Thanks Bastilia" I call out, as I take aim at Davik again. I fire three shots in quick succession, all of which hit his shield, which seems to falter.
"Concentrate fire on Davik!" comes an order from, of all people, Mission! The Twi'lek had seemed to notice what I did, and with his energy shield starting to fail, he would surely go down if we all shot at him. I notice the shift in fire, with only Carth and Zaalbar firing at Calo, while everyone else shifted to Davik. I kept my eyes and sights aimed at Davik, firing another blast that missed his arm by an inch, when I felt something slam into my armour!
I feel the burning sensation on my chest, as I look at Calo. He was still firing at me! Another wave of 6 shots hit my Echini armour, and put holes in it. I was safe, but at this rate, I would go down. I did a roll of the left, meaning Calo's next bombardment missed me. I shifted my fire to the legendary bounty hunter; I had to keep him down. But in doing so, I see another barrage of 12 bolts coming toward me, but it's too the left. I look, and it wasn't hard to spot their target. Mission! The Blue Twi'lek was standing up and wasn't even looking at Calo, an easy target. I stand up and take a leaping step in front of Mission, my back to the Twi'lek as I feel another 12 shots slam into my armour. This time, my armour melted under his fire. I felt the burning in my chest as a least 1 shot hit my clothes under the armour, and I feel my legs falter under me. I fall, and within moment, feel the ground under me. I heard a scream, probably Mission, but it was blurred.
I look up, and see Mission crouching beside me, and something flashing yellow in front of me. The pain in my chest wasn't going away, until I felt something jammed into my leg. I knew it instantly, a Bacta injection. Having had one many times before, I already knew what would happen, and almost instantly, it kicked in. The pain in my chest slowly vanished as a painkiller kicked in. I looked up, seeing Davik lying on the ground, and Calo holding up what looked like a grenade of some kind. Wait, grey, with a red band around it. A Thermal Detonator!
Right at that moment, something from the ceiling came down, and crushed the midget. I hear a gasp from someone close, and another voice "That's what you get, you stupid midget!" I follow the voice to its source, Canderous, who was holding his giant cannon with a single hand. Almost trying to show off.
"Jason, are you going to be ok?" I hear Jax ask, as I notice that everyone was surrounding me. I look at their armour and load and beyond, it looked like I was the only one that actually got shot!
"Y-yeah, I'll be ok. My armour took the brunt of the damage. Come on, let's get going. We need to get out of here" I see Jax holding his hand out for me, and I grab it, letting him help pull me up. I see the other quickly rush into the ship, but one stays behind. Mission, she was still staring at Taris as the orbital bombardment was tearing the city apart. I place my hand on her shoulder.
"Mission, come on, we've gotta go! We'll die if we stay here" I say to her, and I feel her move. She starts running to the Ebon Hawk, and I quickly join her inside the ship.
A shudder later, and I feel the engines take off. And the ship was moving into orbit. I walk towards the cockpit, and see Carth flying it alone. Jax and Bastilia were standing behind him, almost watching the republic captain fly alone.
I sit down in the other seat, looking over the controls. It didn't look too hard, and I start up the ships external scanner. That's when it started beeping and flashing red.
"That doesn't sound good" said Jax, pointing out the obvious.
"No shit. The codes mean we escape without the cannons targeting us. But we've got Sith Fighters incoming. I'm picking up 8 different ship signatures" I say, flicking more switches, turning the alarm off. I quickly scan over the controls, and find the power module to the gun turrets.
"Jax, get on the turrets. You need to by us time till we get the hyperspace coordinates punched in" ordered Carth, as he ran off out of the cockpit. The Republic officer looked at me with his brown eyes "Jason, I need you to activate the shields and monitor them. Make sure they don't get any hits on the hull"
I see what Carth wanted, and press the button accordingly, heard the hum of the ship powering up its' shields. I look back at the radar, seeing the 8 red blimps that were the Sith Fighters quickly closing in on the ship. They were getting closer.
"Sith fighters, they are 300 metres and closing" I relay to the Carth, as the ship seems to speed up. Carth was trying to push the Hawk in her first run; he truly was the legend many made him out to be.
"250 metres. They are powering up their weapons" I report again, seeing another flashing light.
"Where are the shields at?" snaps Carth
"Still coming online!" I yell back.
"What do you mean? You sure you started them up right?"
"Yeah! I am, they're one of those older designs I think"
"Fuck!" yelled Carth, finally breaking the yelling match we'd been having "Jax? The shields aren't up yet, and they'll be on us before they are up. How are the gun turrets going?" Carth linked his radio to the ships comm system, meaning we should be able to hear Jax's reply.
"I'm here, but I can't fire. Are the blasters working?" was his reply. I see Carth glare at me again. I check the button I'd pressed before that said 'Weapon Power Module' supply. It was glowing green.
"It should be working; I can't see a reason why it wouldn't. Have you powered up the turret?" I ask back.
"I...Aww, I see, my bad" was Jax's reply before I see streaks of red bolts being fired ahead of us...Wait, ahead?!
I look back at the Radar. In all the commotion, I'd forgotten about it, assuming they'd attack from behind. I saw all 8 of the red blimps coming, from directly in front of us!
"Jax, you've got to take most of them out! Our shields still aren't up" calls out Carth as I see the green bolts coming towards us. Carth acts, spinning the Hawk to the left, meaning most the shots missed. The check the radar, now only 5 sith fighters were on our case. But we couldn't let them fire at us, not yet. With our shields still saying they were off-line, we could only take so many shots before the hull gets breached.
Another blimp down, but they were coming around. They were behind the ship, and now our best hope was in Jax's ability to shoot them down before they shot us down. Carth moves the Hawk into another steed dive.
"They're still on our tail! I can't shake 'em" complains Carth, as he does another spin to try put more distance between ourselves and the fighters harassing us like bees. "Shields?"
"The light is still red! Bastilia, find that T3 and get him to see what the hell is wrong with the generator" I yell back, finding the main computer. My hands go towards it, as the ship rocks. I see green bolts fly around the ship, and the rocking means we were hit! I spin my chair to the left, checking the ship monitor to see for any hull breaches, thankfully, there were none.
"We've been hit! Jax, take out those fighters now! We won't be able to take another barrage like that!" called out Carth, pulling the ship into a steady flight to let Jax have easier shots. A barrage of rounds later, and the last sith fighter exploded.
"That's it. The hyperspace coordinates are punched in. We're on our way to Dantooine!" declared Carth. The light in front of us went blurred, and tell-tale sign of hyperspace travel.
I let the breath I had been keeping in, out. I could even feel that relief in the Cockpit. We had managed to escape Taris, the sith. We were alive and safe. But, that does bring in the next biggest question.
What the hell were we going to do now?
Carth was the first to break the silence
"I can't believe, it's gone. Taris I mean. The whole planet..." said Carth, saying what we were all thinking. "Why are we headed to Dantooine?"
"There is a Jedi enclave there. It is a place of both physical and spiritual healing. We will be safe there" replied Bastilia, standing at the back of the cockpit.
"Are you kidding me?" protests Carth, standing out of his seat "You saw what the sith did to Taris, there wasn't a building over three stories tall left standing. T-they turned the planet into a giant pile of rubble"
"There are many Jedi on Dantooine, including some of the most powerful in the order. Even Malek would think twice before attacking this place" countered Bastilia.
I stand up "I'm going to go check up on Mission. Taris was her home, and, if we're taking the blow hard, I'm sure she is too" I declare. There wasn't a reply from anyone else as I leave.
Taris, an entire planet of people, wiped out. The scale of such an attack, on civilians no less! Malek truly had fallen; such an attack against a military would have been seen as just another casualty of war. But such an attack. Malek was truly a coward, he didn't challenge Revan to a proper duel, and now this again. How many times would Malek show his weakness? Sure, he was there at Malachor V, Revan, hell, I was there! But that was a military victory, a necessary act to end the war! All Malek did then was murder a planet of civilians, and I could feel it.
I turned another corner, and sitting on one of the beds, was Mission. She wasn't crying, which was a start. But her eyes that used to tingle with life, appeared drained. The poor girl was probably in shock, and I don't blame her. I remember the first time I watched a planet being wiped out; the Mandalorian war machine was ruthless.
"Hey, Mission, you ok?" I say, breaking the silence of the crew quarters. The Twi'lek looked up at me, almost not noticing I was there. Her once full brown eyes had lost their spark, she was suffering.
"Listen, Mission" I say, walking and sitting down next to her "I know, it isn't easy. Watching it, and your home world at that. You're probably in shock, but I promise. We'll get revenge. Ok? Even if me, Big Z and you track Malek alone. We will stop him, I promise you" I feel energy rise around me, and I sigh. I was about to break the rule that had kept me alive since Malek took over the sith. I called upon something I buried years ago, and I felt it run through my veins as if it had never left.
I wave my hand in front of Missions face, and her eyes slowly close "Now, sleep Mission. Rest your head and let ill thoughts leave your mind. You have done well, and Malek will pay for his actions"
The blue Twi'lek did just that, lying down and almost curling up into a ball as she slowly drifted into sleep. I stood up, looking at her. She was so young, and to feel such heartbreak within her, it couldn't be ignored. Not by the Jedi, and certainly not by myself. As soon as it had arrived, the power I felt in me slowly vanished, until I could sense of uncertainty in its place. The perfect cover, but perhaps, it will not be enough. The Jedi enclave was a dangerous place for anyone who had their gift, Jedi, sith or otherwise. With their powerful masters, perhaps they might see through the veil. And if that occurs, then my part in vengeance would truly be gone.
Jedi do not execute their prisoners, I know that much. But, that leaves another question unanswered. What do they do, to those they capture?