Thanks to their cleverness, the path from the bridge to the hangar bay was nearly unguarded. But Meku could sense several hundred enemies in the hangar, furious, ready to kill. They may have to sacrifice themselves to take out that Dreadnought. Meku didn't feel scared, though. Strangely, she felt at peace.
She'd been confronted with her own mortality so many times, just today, that she accepted the very real possibility that this day would be her last. She looked around at the soldiers with her. Jimny, Brax, Luay, Oka. They were her comrades. She'd only known them for a few months, but already she felt a bond to them stronger than she'd ever felt to anyone in her life. Stronger than to Master Kunas, and stronger than with Sak. If they were with her, she was okay with dying today.
After all, there was no way she and the weary Republic soldiers would be able to fight through the horde of Mandalorians that awaited them. But, Meku felt they wouldn't have to. Yes, some presence was nearby that was going to take care of them.
The hangar was utter chaos. Three Aurek fighters had flown into the hangar bay and switched to hover-mode, and were relentlessly mowing down the Mandalorians with their heavy laser cannons. The bucketheads' blasters were no use against the fighters' shields, and no one had brought any heavy weapons or rockets. Parts of the hangar were aflame, sparks were flying. Some Mandalorians ran for cover, some tried to fight back, others just stumbled over each other in the ruckus.
Neff was one of the pilots, and Meku could sense the blood on his hands, and staining his teeth. He was enjoying the wanton slaughter, just like Meku enjoyed smashing that screen. His hunger for revenge was finally being sated.
Behind the fighters came Ministry transports. Foster screamed orders for the men to board, but Meku barely heard. All that was occupying her mind was Neff's sheer rage. And more than that… his smile.
Meku could hardly register anything else. Neff's smile overtook all of her senses. She was almost in a trance, as if she was walking in a dream. The smile. Neff was enjoying this. His teeth were stained in blood, he was a predator that had bitten into its kill. By now, the enemy had already scattered and were in full rout. No one was even shooting the Republic's soldiers; that should have been enough. But no.
He took absolute joy in the slaughter. Vaporizing Mandalorians left and right. The horror in their hearts fueled him, made him want more, made that smile absolutely ooze blood. "Run, you insects. Scream in fear. Call yourselves warriors? Pathetic! You deserve this. You all deserve this for what you've done! This is payback!"
Pain from Vanquo and other massacres at the enemy's hands filled his mind. He was allowed to enjoy this. They weren't people. They were insects, worthless things who slaughtered and pillaged. The darkness emanating from Neff's fighter clouded Meku, to the point where she could barely even see.
She didn't even register Brax, who grabbed her by the robes and dragged her onto the shuttle. Long after the troopers retreated, Neff's fighter was still there, blasting away. And that smile was all she could see in the darkness.
Admiral Kol'ra had a bad feeling. "Navigator, calculate the Tal'ad's specific trajectory."
"Yes, Admiral." A silent minute passed by before the navicomputer spat out the coordinates. "Um, sir…"
"I don't like the sound of that."
"It's headed right at us."
"What!? How could they know to aim the ship here? Why didn't they aim it where we were? There's no way… we could have moved in any direction, at any distance, and it's gonna hit us dead center."
"Can we move again? ETA to impact?"
"36 seconds, sir!"
"Shit!" Even his lifetime of training couldn't stop him from losing his composure now. Admiral Kol'ra raised his voice, his next commands bellowing across the bridge. "Divert all power to port-side shields! Brace for impact!"
It was too late. The battleship smashed into the side of the Kandosii dreadnought at full speed. Its shields, weakened from the Republic's barrage, couldn't protect the ship. The torpedo-shaped dreadnought's hull cracked, like a mountain hit by a meteor. The insect-shaped battleship continued on at full speed, its frantic crew unable to get the bridge controls working again. Inside both ships, crewmen were knocked over, slammed into walls, and turned into meat by the sheer, astronomical force of the impact.
A few seconds later, the shockwave from the collision overloaded the battleship's overclocked engines. A chain reaction ensued, causing the battleship to explode into a massive fireball, cracking the dreadnought's hull in half. The weary crews of the Republic ships cheered as the two pieces drifted away from each other. The force of the impact and explosion was too much for the hull, and the remaining pieces were slowly shearing apart.
Meku sensed the screams of terror as the thousands of Mandalorians aboard both ships died. On the other side of the coin, she could feel the spirits of the Republic crewmen lift, their eyes seeing hope for the first time since the battle began. But, overpowering all that still, was Neff's bloodstained smile. She couldn't get it out of her head. "Insects. You all deserve this for what you've done."
"C'mon Meku, this is war, people die. You have to be okay with it… right?" She tried to focus on something positive. Hope. Yes! The hope of the Republic soldiers, now that the dreadnought was destroyed. But even that was not as satisfying as she thought. It was fading fast, as reality set back in. Duro's defense fleet, even with the reinforcements from the 16th battle group, were still outnumbered. Many ships were out of shields and badly damaged. Mandalorian vessels were outmaneuvering them, cutting them off from each other, picking them off one by one. All that work may have been for nothing, if Revan took too long to arrive.
As if by cue, Meku saw several dozen ships jump out of hyperspace from the shuttle's windscreen. They jumped out at exactly the right position, poised to fire at the enemy's vulnerable flanks and rear. Fighters launched from hangar bays seconds after jumping out. Revan's fleet was absolutely massive! It was full of ships; not just Hammerheads and Forays, but new types she'd never seen before. The childish wonder in her came out, and she gave a surprised "whoa!"
"Beautiful, ain't they?" Jimny smiled, full of pride. Today was a good day, and this was the icing on top.
"Look at the size of them!" Brax too was jostling to view the new fleet.
Jimny pointed at a new capital ship shaped like a shark's head, with its maw open. "Interdictor-class cruiser. 600 meters long, quadruple the tonnage of an ordinary Hammerhead, with even more firepower'n that." He pointed to another new ship, this one dagger-shaped. "Centurion-class battlecruiser. That's the new command ship."
"Thought the Inexpugnable-class was our command ship?"
"Meet its replacement. Half the size, yeah, but faster. More firepower. Stronger hull. Better shields. Other'n carrying capacity, a better ship in every way."
"You know a lot about this stuff, Sarge," Meku used her fascination at these new ships' design to distract her mind from that horrifying smile.
"Ain't nothing cooler than military hardware, tell ya what. Plus, just look at those beauties! WE built those!" He pantomimed wiping a tear from his eye. "Makes me proud to be part of this Republic."
Aboard the Legatus, a Centurion-class, Revan observed the chaotic field of battle. Through his immense power in the Force, he could feel the battlefield as if he was seeing a game board, and began thinking on where to place his pieces to best annihilate the enemy. But something was off. An enemy piece was missing, an important one. The Mandalorian dreadnought, it was nowhere to be seen.
Could it not be here? Were they holding it in reserve, hoping to ambush the ambushers? No, that made no sense. Intel reported the dreadnought was leading the charge. It would be foolish to retreat one ship when surrounded by enemies. But Revan knew the keys to war very well. Not strength, firepower, or numbers. The keys to war were information, deception, speed, money, and will to fight. A side with all five was almost guaranteed to win, no matter how powerful their enemy was. And Revan would get his information.
"Admiral Karath, hail the defense fleet's command ship. We were told there would be a dreadnought here, find out where it is."
"Yes, Commander Revan." After stellar performance in the first few battles, The Revanchist was promoted to Theater Commander. Charmingly, his military comrades shortened his name to Revan, just like they shortened damn near every word. He was still getting used to that. He loved hearing 'Commander Revan.'
It felt good to be in command. The title felt as good as the starstruck, blind faith his comrades had in him. Hope filled their eyes every time they laid eyes on him and his ironic Mandalorian's helmet. It lifted him up, spurned him to do better and better every day. These people were counting on him.
Admiral Naelsom, aboard the defense fleet's Inexpugnable-class, responded seconds later. "Admiral Karath, Commander Revan. It's an honor! What is your command?" He was a Duro, his flanging accent filling the speakers.
"Karath here. No command to give yet, but we inquire as to the location of the Kandosii dreadnought." His phrasing and upper-crust Coruscanti accent betrayed a man whose life was handed to him. He came from a wealthy family. A lifetime of education, training, and culturing produced him. Revan did like him, however. He may have lacked that primal fire of one intimate with struggle, but he was smart, well-trained, and loyal. "Intelligence informed us it was here."
"It was, sir. A strike team from cruiser Hearth boarded a Kyramud battleship, took control, and destroyed the dreadnought by ramming! Apparently it was the doing of a Jedi, who was with 'em. Your Jedi are really something, sir!" The excitement was palpable in Admiral Naelsom's voice; he was bowled over by the feats his heroes were capable of. Karath looked to Revan, who nodded, indicating he'd heard.
Yes, it made sense now. He felt an echo in the Force where the dreadnought should have been, like thousands of voices screamed in panic before being silenced in one swift stroke. But Admiral Naelsom failed in understanding; "In war, it doesn't matter the strength of your force, so long as you have the five keys. A good leader would win the war with zero Jedi. But," he conceded, "good soldiers help. A lot."
"Remind me to commend that Jedi."
Revan approached a massive HoloProjector, which took center stage in the Legatus' Bridge. It displayed the planet of Duro, its orbital cities, and all craft in orbit. Everything, from the titanic Inexpugnable-class to the snub fighters and Basilisks. It was modern, beautiful, allowing him a full view of any battle he commanded. It was an indispensable tool for a key to war, information.
Additionally, he could manipulate the holograms, physically moving ships, fighter squadrons, and flotillas to where he wanted them to be. He considered everyone's positions before reaching forward and moving the ships to his desired locations. Officers got on the comms and barked out orders, trying frantically to keep up with Revan's movements on the projector. "Like playing a board game," he mused.
"Weapons ready and charged, Commander!"
Revan pointed to another Kyramud-class battleship that had advanced forward, splitting the defense fleet. It was critical for the wounded ships to remain together. When they were split, they could be picked off easily. "Concentrate fire on that one."
Karath handled the more specific orders. "Dip the bow twelve degrees and fire at will, full auxiliary power to turbolaser batteries!"
Red and green lasers streaked across space, slamming into the weakened enemy hulls and shields. The ships couldn't handle their punishing barrage, some were eliminated within seconds. Most were unable to fire back, having the enemy caught behind them. Meku, Brax, Jimny, and Oka all jostled for a better view out of the windscreen. They did not heed the annoyed pilots, who asked several times not to be crowded.
"That's right," Oka shouted with fire and rage in his heart, "kill those slugs! Wipe them out!"
"Best firework show I ever seen."
Meku sensed the fear in the Mandalorians' hearts. Only minutes ago, they could taste their victory. They outnumbered the Republic, had outmaneuvered them, and even managed to hold off the 16th's reinforcement. Now, they were being shot in the backs, and the predator became prey. The fearsome Mandalorians would retreat.
True to Meku's prediction, ships started turning around while preparing lightspeed engines. Even on the orbital cities, Meku sensed them getting back onto their transports and Basilisks, riding off into space to escape the slaughter that was coming. Several ships were destroyed in the attempt to retreat, and scores of ground troops were killed as they tried to get away. Many soldiers and crewmen shared Neff's smile as they demolished the enemy. They burned hot with the fire for revenge. "All this time you've been killing us, now it's time to kill YOU."
"Buckets, getting into retreat position," Oka observed.
"S'the beautiful thing about the Interdictor."
"What's that," Brax asked. The talk snapped Meku out of her thoughts. Thankfully.
"C'mon, dummy, look at the name. Interdictor." Blank stares fro Meku and Brax caused him to explain. "Means it can pull enemy ships outta hyperspace, and prevent ships from jumpin' away."
"I didn't even know that was possible!"
"Cutting edge, a revolution in warfare, that." Oka smiled, in admiration at the engineering that went into such a device.
"So they're sitting ducks," Meku asked.
"Yeah, 'less they surrender."
"Mandalorians are too proud for that," she noted. "If they can't retreat, they'll fight to the death. It's their warrior culture. Better to die a thousand deaths than surrender for a second."
"Warrior culture, my ass. Ain't gonna help 'em now."
True to Meku's word, the remaining ships re-positioned themselves when they realized they weren't going to be able to jump to lightspeed. They made a flower-shaped formation, purely defensive. They knew they were dead, and this was their last stand.
Meku's comm crackled, it was Foster. "New orders, we're going to an orbital city. Our mission is to mop up all enemy forces remaining."
"Sir," she turned to Jimny, "what does 'mop up' mean?"
He smiled and growled. "Means kill 'em all."
Meku looked down at her lightsaber. Her hands would be stained with blood. Something about this felt wrong. She knew it wasn't logical. They had the choice to surrender, but the damn bucketheads still fought. They were justified in "mopping up." But something about it felt dirty. It was Neff's damn smile. It ruined everything.
"Now is not the time, Meku. You must be strong. Just because he enjoyed it doesn't mean you have to. Do your damn duty! And, c'mon, is it really wrong to enjoy a victory?" She looked down at her lightsaber. The shuttle maneuvered onto an orbital city. Meku sensed a Jedi, a handful of Republic soldiers, and some of the braver civilians were fighting dozens of Mandalorians whose shuttle had been disabled.
"We're gonna land right behind 'em!"
"This is for them. This is for every life they've taken. This isn't wrong. This isn't wrong. This ISN'T wrong." She told herself over and over again. She stretched out her feelings to the Mandalorians.
She sensed an inner peace in them, and she remembered feeling that only a few minutes ago, in the mad dash to get off that battleship. They weren't scared. They accepted their deaths, some even making jokes or uplifting their friends. It shocked Meku to feel something in common with the enemy. They were always painted as heartless butchers. "But this is war. They should've surrendered. It's not my problem. I don't enjoy killing… but this isn't wrong. I'm doing the right thing." She gripped her saber tight. "I'm doing the right thing."
It was time.
The shuttle landed and Meku led the charge. Blood stained her teeth.