Chapter 9: Preparations for War
Cris stared through the viewport at the massive republic blockade slowly orbiting around the Sith home world of Korriban. He was finding it hard to believe that his sister wanted a Sith lord to accompany them on their mission. Cris thought it was insane teaming up with someone so dangerous, but Helen had said that there is a few reasons why this Sith should accompany them, and the fact that he was dangerous was one of them.
Either way, it still made him nervous thinking he would have to share a ship with one of the most evil beings in the galaxy.
As his ship neared the planet he began feeling clammy and cold. Cris realized this was probably an effect of the dark side. He read about Korriban back in the academy and learned that the planet had been ruled by the Sith for centuries, which is why the planet was so strong in the dark side of the force. Even people like Cris were said to feel the power ebbing from the planet.
All of this knowledge just made him even more nervous.
As he neared the blockade the hailing light flashed on. Cris flipped a switch and a voice crackled across the communicator.
"This is the Republic frigate Defender, please state your business in this system."
Cris spoke loud, trying to sound more confident than he really was, "Defender my name is Cris Terrek. I am sure the Jedi council has already contacted you on this matter, but I am here to retrieve an important individual from the planet surface."
A moment of silence. "Yes, we have been notified. Your ship registration number seems to check out... You're clear to pass. Be careful down there kid."
"Will do" he said before disconnecting the line.
He pushed on the accelerator and the ship responded with a burst of speed. His small shuttle blew through the Republic blockade and into the Korriban atmosphere.
Several minutes later Cris broke through the planet cloud cover and found himself looking at a harsh and desolate surface. Cris wondered how any being could live on such a world. It was then Cris spotted the Sith academy at the end of a large valley, the valley of the dark lords.
Cris turned the steering yolk and his shuttle swivelled in the direction of Korriban's most populated location.
Not exactly an ideal vacation spot, Cris thought with a little laugh.
As he drew closer to the academy a large hangar door opened on the side of the massive building. Cris took an uneasy breath before initiating the landing sequence.
The shuttle slowly entered the hangar and settled down on a dusty, grey floor. Cris glanced around the hangar and saw it was almost completely empty, save several speeder's, a gutted Sith bomber and a single robed man striding toward his ship.
Cris keyed open the small landing ramp and waited for the man to make his way aboard the ship. Cris heard the clack, clack, of boots on metal behind him.
Cris turned to greet the man, but quickly recoiled when he saw his face.
The Sith's face was contorted hideously by the dark side of the force. The man looked like the living dead, his skin was grey and cracked, his eyes a dark red, and his teeth pointed like a Kath hound's.
Cris had trouble finding his voice, "uh... Are you lord Trepid?"
The man nodded under his dark hood and took a seat beside him, staring patiently out the viewport.
"Okay" Cris said under his breath.
The shuttle lifted off the ground and headed back into the brown sky.
"So, uh, Lord Trepid. Why did you agree to join this team anyway?"
The Sith Leaned back in his seat, watching the clouds as they gained altitude.
"My brother" Trepid said at last, "He was killed by the creatures who had invaded your world."
Cris scratched his chin, "How did you know I was from Vespae?"
"Your feelings betray you" said Trepid, "And the fact that your Republic friend told me that she was assembling a team of people who have fought these "Covenant" before."
"I see." Cris said quietly, "So what happened to your brother?"
The Sith growled inhumanly, "I told you, he was killed by those creatures. That is why I will be able to bear being on a ship with Jedi," he spat the word with distaste, "so I may avenge my brother, Darth Conqar."
Cris nodded. His parent's were also killed by the Covenant during the invasion. But unlike Trepid he had given up on revenge a long time ago, realizing it left a person in more pain than they began with.
"I've waited ten years for this." Trepid mumbled.
"Well that's good I guess" said Cris as they flew past the blockade. "We're going to need your skills if we're going to pull this off."
"Then it is a good thing you chose me for this mission," said Trepid. "Because I doubt you could have found a more skilled Sith in the entire galaxy."
Cris raised his eyebrows, hoping his sister had made the right decision to bring a Sith along on such an important mission.
Kalleem stood in An Unknown Truth's hangar bay, watching as his soldiers boarded the Phantom drop ship, which had become common place among the Covenant in the past few years. Currently his ship was en route to the Human star system along with the rest of Rilka 'Dalisee's legendary fleet, and was expected to arrive in the next several hours.
Back when his mentor had engaged the heretics of the Republic, his forces had command over many of the new prototype weapons designed by the Prophets. Unfortunately that technology still required some work and hadn't become as wide spread as the drop ships.
Among his small group of forces were several Jiralhanae. They were large, fairly primitive creatures. But where they failed with intelligence they easily compensated with their strength and savageness.
Commonly Sangheili and Jiralhanae despised one another. The Jiralhanae had no concept of honour and were regarded as inferior to the Sangheili. While Kalleem still believed this, he realized that the Jiralhanae could end up being fairly useful in his mission. Like Unggoy he could use them as cannon fodder to give him and his Sangheili brothers the time they would need to retrieve the location of the Destroyer.
Floating behind the large Jiralhanae was also two gaseous Huragok. Apparently these floating creatures were artificially created by the Forerunners before the activation of the Halos. They were primarily used to repair damaged equipment aboard Covenant battle ships. But it was also believed that the Prophets worked closely with these creatures in order to understand the Forerunner Technology they happened to discover. Kalleem knew he might need them to retrieve the data hidden inside the Silent Cartographer.
"I still don't understand why you decided to bring them along." grunted Talis' Zunamee, nodding at the Jiralhanae.
The young Sangheili was Kalleem's first mate aboard An Unknown Truth. Several years ago the young Sangheili had applied to join his crew. Kalleem had accepted, yet he was unsure as to why someone would want to apply to his ship. After all there were probably many other infamous Shipmasters in the Covenant willing to take aboard such a willing candidate. It was odd that Kalleem hadn't recognized it at first but eventually he discovered that Talis happened to be Salleema's son.
"I have my reasons" Kalleem told him, "I must tell you Talis. Before your father died he passed the mantle of Shipmaster to me. And now that I too must leave I have decided to pass it to you. You have risen through the ranks faster than any warrior I have ever met, and because of that you deserve this honour more than any other."
Talis's eyes sparkled with gratitude, "Thank you shipmaster, I am honoured."
Kalleem gripped Talis's shoulder, "it seems fitting does it not? That the ship your father commanded is now to be commanded by his own son."
"But shipmaster, won't you want command over your ship when you return?" Talis wondered.
Kalleem laughed, "To be honest the Hierarchs promised me that I would be the one to utilize the power of the Destroyer once it's recovered. I couldn't think of a greater honour could you?"
Talis gave a little laugh, "Probably not."
Kalleem stepped away to look at Talis, "I would recommend returning to the bridge, Ship master. After all someone has to run this ship and it sure isn't going to be me."
Talis smiled, "Good luck Ship master, may the gods lead you to victory."
They surly will, thought Kalleem.
Jason watched as the massive buildings blurred past the viewport, mesmerized by their many different designs. It was very early in the morning, and already the galactic capitol was bustling with activity.
"Why are we heading to the military base so early?" Jason asked his master who was driving the speeder, "I mean the fleet doesn't leave for another three hours."
Jason stifled a yawn as Keelu turned to look at her old apprentice, "Helen wants to assemble the team so we can go over the mission. We want to be prepared from the moment we arrive in the Abian system."
"Master you know better than anyone why I can't fight. I was corrupted by the dark side once, and if I ever fight again then nothing will be able to save me."
Keelu shook her head, "Jason I've known you since you were thirteen years old, and I can tell you aren't someone who could easily be corrupted by the dark side."
Jason looked away from his master, she just didn't understand. "But master I was corrupted. I killed that Sangheili out of cold blood, and I used the power of the dark side to extract the information on the Covenant. I've been at risk ever since."
Keelu sighed, "Jason you had experienced the destruction of not only one but two worlds, which is pretty hard on someone, especially someone like you. The Sith Guerrilla war and the battle against the Covenant are events that no boy your age should have taken part in. You were angry and hurt and you couldn't help yourself, so in reality you weren't corrupted. But today you are no more at risk at falling to the dark side than I am. If you fight, you won't be lured to the dark side because you have resisted it's corruption before, you resisted the power it offered you and sought redemption in exile. You are afraid Jason, that's all, you're afraid of the pain war brings. But your not alone Jason."
Keelu finally set the speeder down on a landing platform outside the military base "Every person on this team has felt the pain of war, even me and the Sith Lord. And even though our hearts are heavy with loss we continue to fight, for peace, because we know we can't be selfish in a galaxy that needs people like us so desperately."
She stepped out of the speeder and walked toward a door at the end of the landing pad, leaving Jason in the speeder.
It seemed everyone knew what was wrong with him except himself. First Helen, then his own master. He knew they were both right. He was being selfish, and he was afraid of war and loss. But he just couldn't draw on the courage to rise to the occasion. He had risen to the occasion many times in the past, but why not now?
Shaking his head he climbed from the speeder and followed in Keelu's wake. He entered the base, soon realizing he had no idea where he was going. He stretched out with force and located Keelu's presence moving through the building.
He followed and eventually reached a conference room at the far end of the base. Once again, Jason hesitated before entering. He could just walk away and never have anything to do with this mission. No, he thought, I may not fight but that doesn't mean I should abandon these people. Feeling a little bit of his courage return, he keyed open the door.
All heads turned as the door opened. Helen stood at the head of the table, her body hunched over several data pads. She smiled sweetly at him, "I'm glad you decided to come Jason." it seemed he wasn't the only one who thought he might dessert.
He stepped into the room and found a seat next to his master. On the other side of the table Jason recognized one of the Sith he had encountered at the peace treaty signing, Darth Trepid if memory served him right. Sitting next to him was a man Jason figured was Helen's brother, after all the two did look remarkably alike.
The man smiled at Jason before reaching across the table.
"Cris Terrek" he stated. Jason clasped his hand briefly before pulling back.
"So Helen told me you were the guy who saved us." he said brightly. Jason nodded and looked away, slightly embarrassed.
Cris smiled "I know she already said this but thanks, we owe you one."
"Sure" said Jason.
Helen spared a look at Jason before opening her mouth.
"Okay. So as you all know the Republic will be sending a fleet to the Abian system in response to multiple reports of possible Covenant activity in the area."
Helen clicked on a small holoprojector and a small fuzzy 3D image of a Covenant ship appeared in the middle of the table.
"This image is the best one we have of a Covenant ship. Our objective is to enter and secure the navigation data aboard one of these ships. We have been able to identify what we think is a hangar bay around this area." Helen walked around the table and pointed at a fuzzy patch at the hologram's midsection.
"This will be our entry point" she continued, "We have no idea where the bridge might be on this thing, which is where you Jedi come in. You are going to have to use your powers of the force to help us find the bridge."
Keelu fiddled with one of her green Lekku. "Corporal we should be honest with you." she said "The force allows us to sense the emotions and presences of beings around us. It's not exactly capable of finding places. And even if we did know where it was we would still have to figure out how to navigate through the ship to get there."
Helen slumped slightly, "Well, I guess when the time comes we'll just have to improvise." She walked back to the head of the table, collecting together her data pads into a neat stack.
"If a battle happens we're counting on the Covenant to release some kind of star fighters to combat our forces, this will give us the opportunity we'll need to enter the ship and steal their navigation data."
"They're called Seraph fighters by the way" Jason interjected.
"Why do we even need their navigation data?" Trepid hissed.
"Because we have no idea where the Covenant are stationed." Explained Helen, "If we get a hold of their navigation data we'll know where their mining, trading, and shipyards are located. With our hands on that data we could essentially cripple their infrastructure and force them into surrender."
Cris pointed at the fuzzy hologram, "easier said than done sis. Those Covenant have some pretty advanced technology. They use weapons and ships that I've never even seen before. And I doubt they're just going to let us waltz right in there and take the data."
Helen nodded, "which is another reason why we need Jedi and Sith. You Jedi are powerful, but a Sith like Lord Trepid here wont hold back against the Covenant, he is efficient and ruthless, and exactly what we need if we want to make it through an entire Covenant ship alive."
"I'm flattered" Trepid said sarcastically.
"The fleet leaves in two hours. I'd recommend getting ready to leave in that time. We'll be taking the Republic capital ship Righteous Justice in launch bay sixteen. Any questions?" Helen looked at each of them, waiting.
"Why do we assume they're going to attack at all?" asked Cris.
Helen looked at her brother sadly, "Cris according to what we know the Covenant is attempting the wipe humans from the galaxy because we conflict with their religion. The Abian system's overall population is majorly made up of humans, so we're expecting they will make a move to wipe them out."
Keelu perked up at this, "we are evacuating the civilians from the populated worlds, right?"
"When we arrive in system the evacuations will begin. Everyone except those stubborn restoration workers on Abian IV will be temporarily relocated to the nearby Nakida system until the Covenant has been dealt with."
Jason was surprised. "I didn't know they were trying to restore Abian IV, when did this happen?"
"About a year after the peace treaty was signed." Keelu replied.
"A waste of time and resources if you ask me." Trepid said darkly, "that world is dead. Any attempt to reintroduce life forms to it has failed miserably."
"That's the problem with you Sith," Jason said through gritted teeth. "You give up too easily"
Trepid got to his feet, his hand moving toward his waist "Is that a challenge?"
"That's enough, from both of you" she said sternly. Trepid sank back into his seat, scowling at Helen.
"Does anyone else have any other questions?" Helen asked.
A pause.
"What...What should I be doing at the time of the mission?" Jason asked innocently.
Helen glanced at Trepid before replying, "The main fleet could use your insight. Like master Cath said you've been inside the mind of one of them. You know how they might think and react."
"Wait" said Trepid, "why isn't he coming?"
Jason lowered his eyes. "There have been several...complications concerning Jason here." Helen said. He stole a glance at her and saw only disappointment in her eyes. Essentially he was her hero, he had saved her life. It must have been heart breaking for her to see him like this.
"Complications eh?" said Trepid with a sinister smile, "What kind of complications, Jedi?"
"That's not any of your concern Sith" Jason mumbled.
"Heh, heh. Whatever. As long as I get a chance to cut me up some Covenant I could care less."
Helen scooped up the stack of data pads in her arms and began striding toward the door. She stopped by Jason's chair on the way out, "There's plenty of time to change your mind Jason" she whispered. Jason turned in his chair but found she had already left, her presence fading down hallway.
Jason was left wondering if she had actually spoken to him or if it was simply his imagination telling him that for the first time in ten years that not going to war could possibly be a mistake.