Then, Semreh raised his deactivated lightsaber hilt, and drove it into the commanders wound. The man screamed and squirmed as Semreh pushed it in deeper and twisted. He reached out and felt the man's mind, amplifying his pain. He'd always been good at using the Force, but now he felt so focused and determined he could feel the parts of the man's brain that controlled his nerves. He gently manipulated them, amplifying the feelings of burning pain His legs shook and twisted grotesquely as he screamed a few numbers over and over again.
"49546!" He screamed. "That's the code. That's it!"
"Semreh!" Scout yelled, horrified. "Stop it! Stop now, please!" Semreh pulled the saber out and wiped the gore and blood of it on his tunic. He turned silently and punched the numbers into the consol. Once he had access, he activated the emergency mode. It was a mode activated when a ship was taken by the enemy, ordering all turrets to target any and all organics and droids in the ship.
All around the ship, clones on patrol, asleep, or just standing around were targeted by the ships turrets. The turrets sudden activation caught the clones by surprise and quickly, most of the clones were hit or pinned down. Now, an Acclamator Assault ship can carry 16,000 clones plus support personnel. When Commander Strum first landed, he had about 10,000 in each ship, giving him a total of about 20,000 troops. Constant warfare over many months had worn these troops down to about 15,000 fit and fighting clones. About 9,000 of these troops were boarded on the Acclamator the padawans had boarded. In the two minutes following the activation of the turrets, less than a third of these clones were fit to fight and the rest were pinned down as turrets at important intervals of the ship activated. When the turrets of the bridge activated, Semreh and Scout were ready and quickly dispatched them.
Looking out one of the window, Semreh saw the rebel troops advancing across the base grounds. They were driving back the small and separated patrols and had yet to take any fire from the main guns.
"Looks like the plan worked." Semreh said solemnly. "Time for part two. Let's go."
"Right" Scout said nervously. She looked at him, pleadingly. "But Semreh, you can't do that." She gestured towards the Commander, who was still breathing, gasping on the floor.
"If we sink to their level, how does that make us any better?" She continued. "If you do something like that again Semreh, I will stop you." She looked fiercely at him, and Semreh knew she meant every word.
"It had to be done." Semreh said stonily. "It was that, or lose a substantial part of our force and that was unacceptable" He kept his face emotionless, but inside, he knew he was justifying his actions, not only to Scout, but to himself. He didn't know what had come over him. He hadn't even felt remarkably angry or furious; just as if he knew what needed to be done, and had done it. It felt as though he had been seeing the world perfectly clearly. Yet, it felt so wrong.
"Right now, we need to focus on our job, not my actions." He said attempting to change the subject. "Fate has given us an unexpected bonus. We now control the ship with minimal losses, and it looks like the other Acclamator is sending troops to investigate. They've started to battle the rebels beneath us. If we can get Zraii to give us back control, then we can start supporting them." Semreh started walking towards the communication station.
"I'll try and stall them; you get on the long range comlink and try to get in contact with Zraii and Bren. Tell them to set up the jamming signal and to start sending his artillery units to the ships guns and to start firing on enemy troops." The rebels had a substantial jamming station mounted on the back of one of the crawlers. Once it was in place, Bren said he could guarantee 45 minutes of enemy comlink silence. If they could keep the Venator Star destroyers above them from firing, they might be able to get the drop on them and take the second Acclamator. Then, Semreh had a sudden revelation. He went onto the rader consol and began observing the flight patterns of the Venator Destroyers. After punching in some calculations into the computer, he smiled.
"On second thought, have him clear the other Acclamator of clones, then evacuate and leave the Zraii's astromatic droid behind on the bridge."
"Why?" Scout asked.
"Because, he's going to take the ship of using its remote functions and send it into hyperspace along these coordinates." Most Republic ships had remote functions that allowed all their functions to be controlled from the bridge by a skeleton crew. Semreh told her the coordinates and she nodded and relayed them to Commander Bren. Scout looked at the radar consol again, trying to decipher the various blips and dots.
"You mind telling me exactly what you're planning. Why clear the other ship, and then abandon it?"
"Because, we only need one to evacuate all the rebels. The second is going to clear the way."
"But if you want to use it to clear the rest of the ships, you'd need more than an astromatic droid to run the guns and engines together. And why would you have him jump to hyperspace?" Semreh smiled and leaned against the consol, looking up at the two Star Destroyers above them.
"Just watch."
Bren's crawlers fired continuously on the clone troops rushing from the second ship. They'd already forced them back and managed to ambush maybe half as they exited the ship through the main ramp. The jamming device they'd set up seemed to be doing its work; the enemy was confused and disorganized. Even the superior training of the clones was being negated by the sheer ferocity of the rebel's attack as they used slugthrowers and vibroblades at point blank range. They'd been taken completely by surprise. The clones hadn't even managed to get their heavy equipment like tanks and repeaters out.
"Commander Sonya," he said into a comlink, "How are things going up there?" Static fizzled; then, he heard Commander Sonya's voice. Her words were scattered, but he could understand.
"We've taken the… Heavy casualties sustained by clones… minimal received…mopping up the remnants. Bridge secu-." The rest dissolved into static.
"All right," Bren said. "I want you to evacuate as soon as possible and transfer all the troops to the first ship."
"Come ag… Please repeat."
"You heard me commander. I'm sending a squad to escort R5-E4 up to the bridge. He'll remotely pilot the Acclamator into space."
"Copy. Executing orders." The comlink crackled and fell silent. Bren looked at the second Acclamator. The troops were already moving away, taking prisoners and weapons with them. They began boarding the ramp of the first ship, bringing wounded clones and guerillas with them. This was where all their training, all their discipline paid off. To take an enemy by surprise, secure two ships, and then reorganize themselves. Bren had never felt prouder. Banging on the side of his crawler, he signaled for the vehicles to follow him. Together, they began boarding the ship. Once inside he gave orders for men to secure their armor and landspeeders in the hanger. There was a flurry of activity as men began preparing for flight, tying down equipment and wounded so they wouldn't shift during flight. Bren now turned to the technicians, navigators, and pilots. In reality, they were only men with minimal experience, men who had served on capital ships before. But they would have to do.
"You know your jobs. Get up there and get this ship airborne. I want engines and guns ready in five minutes. Move it!"
The men scattered, some gathering wounded and captured clones, others dividing into groups to start moving the ship. Bren felt the ship beginning to rise, its sub-light engines warming up. Bren knew it wouldn't be long until the orbiting Star Destroyers realized things were worse than they thought and opened fire. They'd rather destroy their own ships then let them fall to the rebel troops. Their comlink jamming had bought them some time, but they had to hurry. All in all, all Bren could do was hope that the gunners above were terrible shots.
Semreh looked on as the empty Acclamator besides them burned its engines and surged forward. Somewhere on that ship's bridge was the little astromatic droid. The bridge crew Bren had selected to pilot the ship had taken control and now, both the ships were rising towards space. The droid piloted assault ship was leading them, an enormous shield. So far, it was on course, streaking towards the two Star Destroyers, who were still on their standard patrol courses. The nearest one began to position itself to fire a devastating broadside at the ship, while the rearmost one was trying to move past the other Venator ship so it to could bring it's guns to bare on the speeding Acclamator. The cannons of the nearest one flashed and volleys of plasma energy hit the droid piloted Acclamator. The shields absorbed some of the blasts, but several holes and breaches appeared on the ship's hull. A second later the ship winked out of existence. Semreh sighed. His plan had failed. Now they would have to-
A shockwave seemed to rock the whole planet. He reached out, balancing himself on a consol. The ship rocked and rolled as shockwave rocked the ship. Above them, Semreh saw the nearest Venator Star Destroyer split apart, the remains Acclamator wedged between the two sections. The debris from both the ships tumbled forward bombarding the other Star Destroyer with debris. It's shields buckled and the ship's hull began to deteriorate.
"A rather brilliant plan Semreh." A voice from behind said. Sonya was walking across the bridge, flanked by a pair of nasty looking guards. "You ordered the droid to hyperspace to a point where both the Star Destroyers were aligned, using it as a high speed missile. That must have taken some calculations. Now, all we have to do is worry about the light cruisers and star fighters." Semreh nodded and turned to Scout. She looked at him, still looking suspicious and worried.
"Do me a favor and find Zraii please? I got a feeling we'll need his help to keep this ship going when we're so undermanned." Scout nodded and rushed out of the bridge, lightsaber concealed beneath her robes. Semreh now turned to Sonya.
"What's our situation then? Are we screwed or did we just pull off the greatest escape in history?" Sonya shrugged and sat down in one of the bridge chairs.
"With the Star Destroyers destroyed, we should be able to jump to hyperspace and be long gone by the time the enemy's reinforcements arrive." She looked at Semreh, smiling. "You did a good thing today Semreh. You should be proud." Semreh nodded, but deep inside, a guilty feeling continued to churn in his gut. They'd won, but at what cost.
"By the way," Sonya continued, smiling slyly. "Go check out the hanger. Commander Bren has a surprise for you."
"A surprise?" Semreh said suspiciously. "What are you talking about?" But she just turned and began talking with navigators about setting their next course.
Back in the hanger, Semreh caught up to Scout, who was talking with the Verpine intensely. The Verpine looked furious, waving his arms about and gesturing violently. Besides them, Commander Bren was trying to calm the alien down. Nearby soldiers would glance briefly at the spectacle, then look away, busy with their work. Bren saw Semreh approach and waved him over.
"Evidently, Zraii didn't know his droid was going to be destroyed in your plan. He's rather…upset." Bren threw his hands up in frustration over the Verpine's anger.
"So, what is this surprise?" Bren smiled and waved his hand towards the hanger. There, nestled among the ARC fighters and banged up pieces of equipment, was the Arrow.
"It took some work, and the hulls a little banged up, but we brought your ship onboard before we took off."
"You brought the Arrow!?" Semreh said happily. "I thought it was left in the jungle with the rest of the ships."
"Sonya and I decided that it was worth the risk to bring it along." Bren said. "After all, you're the ones who are going to have to find more of our allies, and a Star Destroyer, particularly one that's been stolen, isn't very subtle. Which brings up the big question number two." Bren gestured at the hanger around them. It was full of left over equipment from both the clones and the guerrillas. Bren's men were now in the process of taking account of all the equipment, gathering it into piles and checking it for damage. One crawler had turned over during takeoff and now a crowd of men were attempting to pull it upright again.
"We now have a fine base for your little rebellion, and enough supplies and weapons to arm several thousand soldiers, and the 3,000 men I can provide are a good start; but where are we going to hide it all? There are many hidden places that most people don't travel too or through, but which one should we choose?" Semreh thought for a moment. It was a puzzling question. The best option would be a friendly planet, but those were few and far between. Scout and Semreh would have to convince the leaders to let them stay ahead of time.
"Until we find a safe place," Semreh finally said, "I say we just stay in the one of the many asteroid belts in the Outer Rim. That's where most of the most organized opposition to the Empire can be, and from there we can rally more factions to our cause while remaining hidden."
Bren nodded solemnly and rubbed his hand through his blond hair. He pulled his flak jacket on, buttoning it up to his chin, and then left for the bridge. He was joined by the scary looking fellow, lieutenant Bolt. They whispered quietly as both took off at a trot. Semreh ignored them and turned to Scout, who was still arguing with Zraii.
"You didn't tell me that the droid was no a suicide mission." Zraii yelled, his voice echoing off the bulwarks. "You lied to both me and the droid."
"And I keep telling you I had no idea that's what was going to happen!" Scout countered. "I was just as in the dark as you were."
"Ha!" Zraii snorted unconvinced. "You humans are all alike. You have no appreciation for droids or the work that goes into them. I build a machine my whole life, but to you, it's just another piece of garbage to use and throw away." Scout looked surprisingly horrified for a second; then her face grew angry as though she was remembering some hidden part of her past best left alone.
"Listen you hyperactive bug, you have no idea how I feel about droids. You think I don't care about them but you're wrong. I've worked with them, lived with them, and even risked my life for them." Her voice broke for a second as she turned away. "One even saved my life, so don't you dare lecture me on droid ethics." She walked away, shoulder back, head hanging low. Semreh let her go and walked up to Zraii.
"You should probably leave her alone." Semreh growled. "I know you were attached to that droid, but we've all seen our share of loss in the past couple of hours, her in particular."
"Really!" Zraii yelled angrily. "What has she lost that causes her pain equal to mine, hmm!"
"Everyone." Semreh said simply. "So have I."
Scout found an empty dormitory and entered, locking the door behind her. That talk with Zraii had awoken memories she'd buried, memories of Whie and hers mission to Vijun. The two droids who had sacrifice themselves to save them. What were their names? Oh yeah, Solis and Whies gentleman's gentle thingy. Fidelis; that was his name. A sharp jolt of almost physical pain throbbed through her chest. Another group of beings she couldn't save. They were droids yes, but she'd connected to Solis, abandoned by his owners like she was almost abandoned by the Jedi Order, and when Whie and her had been in danger, he'd come to save them from Asajj Ventress, dying in the process. Fidelis had likewise been threatened with the death of his master Whie, and had been forced to pull his own trigger. Scout hated thinking about it, and she pushed the memory away. A small knocking came from the door.
"Scout?" Semreh's voice said from the outside. "You in there?" She sighed and got to her feet.
"Do you really need to ask?" She said unlocking the door. Semreh walked in and turned a switch, sending light into the room.
"Not really, you're sending off enough emotion to be felt on the other side of the ship. It's kind of annoying." He smiled to let her know she was joking. "So, wanna talk about it?"
"No." Scout said flatly. "This is the problem I have with the time between missions. If I'm not doing something, I think, and if I think, I think about Vijun." Semreh nodded and gestured at the ship around them.
"Hey, we've got a Star Destroyer to ourselves." He said with a wide smile. "You can do just about whatever you want, but as far as action goes, you won't have to wait long. As soon as we're out of hyperspace, we'll be on our way to visit more planets." Scout smiled slightly at Semreh's attempts to cheer her up.
"In the meantime," he said unbuckling his lightsaber, "There's always the fun of dueling each other."
"Don't kid," Scout grumbled, "You have the Force on your side. You'd probably cream me in a one on one fight."
"Trust me Scout; you shouldn't have a problem with me. I'm the worst duelist I know. The only reason I'm still alive is because of my razor wit and dashing good looks." He grinned and left the room.
Back on the command deck, where the streaks of hyperspace were visible through the enormous windows, now repaired, Semreh was surveying the various high level prisoners that they'd captured. Most of the non-clone officers had already given the codes to almost all the systems on the ship. A few had even offered to defect, an offer Semreh promptly cut down.
"I may be a kid, but I'm not stupid." He murmured to the bound commanders. "You'd turn us in as soon as you got the chance."
"Logically, we should just put them in an escape pod and let them float away." Sonya said calculatingly. "The chances of them managing to get a message to the Empire are slim, but enough to make them a liability."
"But if we just let them float," one of the guerilla officers said, "There's no guarantee they'll be found. They'd probably starve before they did."
"Then we shoot them." Bolt said, still no emotion breaching his voice. "Fortunes of war and all that."
"No," Commander Bren interjected. "We don't kill prisoners. That's final."
"I figured you'd say something like that." Sonya said with a sigh. "Always so noble. Then again, I guess that's why I follow you." They both looked at Bolt, who shrugged.
"I'm a soldier. I follow your orders, no matter what they are." Bren nodded and turned to Semreh.
"What do you think son?"
"I agree with you commander." Semreh said. "We can't kill prisoners. Not only will it make the enemy fight to the death, but we need to win over the common people."
A small chuckle came from the captured commanders. In the group, still bleeding from his shoulder wound, was commander Strum. He was smiling grimly as a medic attended his wound.
"Oh yes, Jedi never compromise there values, except when it suits them." The medic looked at Semreh sharply.
"Jedi!" The medic said. "The boys a Jedi!?" Everyone in the room moved at the same time. Semreh ripped his lightsaber from his belt as the guards drew their sidearms and aimed. Bren, Sonya, and Bolt also drew their weapons, aiming them at their own troops.
"Stand down soldiers. The Jedi's our comrade now."
"Say's you." A big guard with a large slugthrower said. "You weren't nearly cut in half by their lightsaber."
"Told you we should have space them." Bolt murmured to Bren.
"Stand down trooper." Bren continued. "The Jedi has joined us and saved all your lives. We owe him." Gradually the men lowered their weapons and holstered them. Semreh deactivated his lightsaber and nodded to the men around him.
"Thank you for your trust." He said bowing. The big guard grunted.
"We don't trust you, just Commander Bren. The moment you step out of line, you're dead."
Semreh rushed to find Scout again. He needed to warn her so she could be on her guard. Most of the Soldiers under Bren's command would listen to his order, but he didn't want her to be alone on a ship full of hostile killers. At the very least, she needed to know. He finally found her in a small cargo hold, going through the motions of the Broken Gate fighting form. She twisted, grabbing and twisting the limbs of imaginary enemies. She rolled and came up, saber ignited, chest heaving.
"Hey Semreh, what's wrong?" She said through staggered breath.
"We might have a problem." He told her what happened up on the command deck.
"Three thousand against two." Scout said worriedly. "I don't like the odds."
"Two Jedi," Semreh corrected with a cocky grin. "But your right, we should stick together until we exit hyperspace, and then get out of here as soon as possible on the Arrow. I say we split up and each takes a planet. I'll go to Melida/Daan and you can go with one of the commanders to Naboo. You'll need one of them to help convince them to join us."
"Right. Do you think the Queen will support us?".
Semreh shrugged. "Maybe. We saved them from invasion once. I'm sure they haven't forgotten it. More importantly, other Jedi will come to the same conclusion as we have about Naboo. See if you can contact some."
"How long do we have left till we leave?" Scout asked.
"A day before we come out of hyperspace, so we have some time to kill. Since you seem intent on training," Semreh said grinning, "Want to spar?"
Scout smiled and ignited her lightsaber on low power. "You sure you want to do this?"
"I don't have anything better to do." Semreh said activating his own.
Hi, Just figured I'd say I'm planning to make this a trilogy since it seems to be taking so long. Still don't know though. Anyways, Merry Christmas and keep reviewing.