Turi
(-==-(I)-==-)
"I would recommend against it," former Jedi Knight of the New Jedi Order, Turi Altamik shook her head. No longer dressed in the brown and khaki robes of a Jedi Order Jedi, her black Imperial Jedi uniform matched the angular features of her face and her mood. The red, armored shoulder pads and gauntlets accented the paleness of her face and hands. Her blond hair, no longer tied back in a tight bun on her head, was left in a loose ponytail, her bangs framing her striking green eyes. Eyes showing every sign of someone deprived of sleep.
Strangely enough, the decision to leave the Jedi Order had been easier than she thought it would be. She had sent a message to both Kyle and Jaden thanking them for their support and explaining her rationale, and that was it. Now she could focus fully on winning the war against the Chiss her way, without Jedi rules and regulations getting in her way. She was, after all, in the Empire and not in some territory ruled by a Jedi-worshiping government.
"And why not?" Moff Tanal, one of the leaders of the Imperial fleets in Ascendancy space, countered. "Cutting off the head of the beast is normally the best way to deal with such creatures."
Turi met her harsh stare with one of her own. "If we launch a direct strike on Csilla, it will unite all of the Ascendancy and leave our rear-guard vulnerable. Since we took Ornfra, the Chiss have avoided direct confrontation. This means that their own fleets are relatively intact."
"What would you recommend?" Admiral Tanda Pryl asked.
"We devote the forces to take Naporar and Sposia," Turi answered pointedly. "Csilla is a planet valuable to all Chiss. If intel reports are correct, Naporar is the Nuruodo family's pride and joy. Sposia belongs to Sabosen. We isolate these ruling families and send them a message. The symbolism will be hard to miss and will demoralize rather than unite the Chiss."
"What you recommend, attacking two of the most heavily fortified systems in the Ascendancy, will drag the war out for months, possibly years."
"What you suggest, Moff Tanal, is turning Csilla into a martyr. The Empire will have to deal with a Chiss rebellion for many years to come, and since they don't have a head, they will be that much harder to eliminate. We all know what happened to the last empire that tried to dismiss the threat of a meager rebellion."
Moff Drikl Lecersen, the other moff on the campaign, tilted his head in acknowledgment of Turi's logic. "And how would taking these two fortified systems help our situation?"
"We send a message to the Chiss," Turi gestured to the holograms of the indicated systems. "Naporar is a seven-planet system. Three are heavily occupied, the other four contain mines, colonies, and the like. We go Base Delta Zero on those four planets, leave them balls of dust."
"And the three that are heavily occupied?" Moff Tanal asked, eyebrows rising at Turi's suggestion.
"We give them a choice," Turi said simply. "Surrender, become part of our Empire, and they'll be treated fairly. Or meet a similar fate as the outer planets. Even the Chiss are not stupid enough to continue resisting if they are given an option to live. When the rest of the Ascendancy sees the choices available to them the battle will be half won. After we take out their military hub, we then move on and do the same to Sposia."
"If the intel reports are correct, Sposia contains no military installations. Only universities and medical facilities," Moff Tanal pressed.
"Oh?" Turi stared at the admiral. "And I thought that these Chiss were animals to the Empire. That their lives inconsequential and that they needed civilizing."
For the first time Turi could remember, Moff Tanal looked away first.
"Given the scope of your proposal, some time will be needed to position the fleets," Admiral Pryl said professionally.
"Time is what we have," Turi replied. "The Chiss aren't strong enough to beat us outright, and even if given time to regroup, will still be outmatched. I would have thought that the actions of my apprentices in the battle for this system would have been evidence enough for that."
"True," Drikl looked far from convinced but was nodding in agreement anyways. "But your plan will be a far cry from the quick victory Grand Moff Quille desired. And will deviate considerably from what we expected."
"Do you want a quick victory, or a complete victory, Moff Lecersen?" Turi shot back. She then injected the Force into her voice to connect to the gathered moffs' and officers' emotions. "We can go in, blow their headquarters to Palpatine and back, pat each other on the back and declare mission accomplished. In the meantime the poor moff who inherits this place will have to deal with a Chiss insurgency for many years to come. Or we can go in and systematically destroy everything it means to be a Chiss and rebuild the Ascendancy as a loyal hand of the Empire."
"If the plan is to change, we need approval from Grand Moff Quille."
"Go ahead," Turi shrugged. "Just ask him which solution he thinks would be best for the Empire. My apprentices and I will be awaiting your word until them."
Turi turned and left the room that had once been the Ornfra's ruling family's sitting room. Her emotions were locked away behind her cheerful demeanor, the sizable risk she had just taken no where evident on her face.
She needed to give Jaina more time, time to do something with the Chiss, to report on the Killik threat, anything. Her way might cost more lives in the long-run, but short-term, it was what the situation called for. She needed to give the Imperial leaders a juicy target they could crow about upon its conquest, but she also needed to balance the Empire's own abilities in the process. Her head hurt just thinking about it, but she at least didn't feel the added Jedi Order-inflicted guilt for those few hundred people in the Naporar system who'd be some of the first Imperial Base Delta Zero victims in decades.
After all, what were those hundred lives compared to the few billion on Csilla?
To the hundreds of thousands of Imperials who'd die trying to hold a fractured sector?
She was doing what she had to do to preserve those lives, to keep both Imperial and Chiss losses at a minimum. By sending the Imperial fleets into the teeth of the finest the Chiss had to offer, it ensured both sides would play it carefully and take their time to avoid Naporar becoming a decisive battle that ends everything. Was it the 'dark side' by condemning those few hundred lives? She didn't care anymore. If the Force was so great and powerful, controlled every living thing, then what she was doing was still in line with what the Force wanted. It hadn't tried to stop her after all.
She pushed open the hatch that led to the roof, and an arctic chill washed over her. It wasn't that the Chiss were partial to inhabiting planets with extreme weather conditions. From the Chiss records in the Noris system, Ornfra's primary planet had once been a well-balanced eco-system. A few centuries earlier, the Ruling Family that had once occupied the planet ran afoul with the others and another…disagreement…took place, resulting in the ushering of a permanent ice-age across the planet. The house of Ornfra's ruling family was underground as a result.
She walked a little ways across the frozen tundra, the Force helping to keep her warm despite the bone-chilling temperature. Stopping at a slight indentation in the ground, she opened up another hatch and dropped down. The building she had entered had belonged to a Chiss family influential on the planet. Not that the family really had any choice in putting her and her two apprentices up. The eldest son had tried to protest and Moff Tanal put a blaster bolt through his head.
It was always so nice to return to her place of rest and feel an undercurrent of hate and resentment all around.
"You're back," the head of the house, an elderly Chiss a decade past the century mark, greeted neutrally. "Have the powers that be decide we should die for the good of the Empire?"
"Not yet, I'm afraid," Turi shook her head. "I did put in a good word for you, but they have a thing against creating martyrs."
The elderly Chiss's red eyes seemed to glow in the darkened tunnel. "A pity. Ornfra's been a dying world for many, many years now. I had hoped you'd be the ones to put us out of our misery."
"The Ascendancy doesn't care for you lot?" Turi grabbed a towel offered by a Chiss servant and proceeded to wipe off the melting frost on her armor.
"The Sabosen and Cspala families were direct rivals to the Ruling Family that once controlled this system. Why would they step in to help a rival family? Especially one that took both families to the brink."
"Well, you'll be happy to know that I'm trying to convince the powers that be to beat up the Chiss at Sposia."
The elder just waved a hand dismissively. "Good for you. Sabosen isn't what it once was either, so there's no pleasure in seeing them humbled."
"You're welcome," Turi said flatly.
"Why do you help the Empire?" the Chiss elder asked, his voice raspy. "I have met many Jedi in my years, and you are not like any of them."
"Decided to stop being a Jedi and just do the things that work," Turi answered glibly, accepting a warm cup of caf from another Chiss servant. "Who cares about titles anymore? Calling myself a Jedi and hoping things will work out wasn't getting anything done. I've earned more respect from the moffs than I've ever had since I put away my Jedi robes and started wearing this silly costume."
Just then her comlink beeped. Frowning, Turi held it up, feeling a sudden urgency in the Force. "This is Colonel Altamik, go ahead."
"Colonel," it was Moff Tanal, and she sounded alarmed. "Report back to the command bunker immediately. There's been an incident."
"An incident?"
"The battle group left behind to guard our rear in the Schesa system was forced to withdraw after suffering heavy casualties. They reported symptoms similar to the negative effects you described when your Battle Meditation is employed. What does that mean?"
Turi let out a slow, even breath, closing her eyes as she did. She then held up her comlink once more. "I would think that obvious, Evelyn. The Chiss have Jedi of their own."
(-==-(II)-==-)
The appearance of Chiss Force sensitives capable of Battle Meditation changed everything. The well-oiled war machine that was the Empire nearly backed up in fear at what this meant. They were intimately familiar with how much damage a lone Force-sensitive could inflict on their facilities and vessels. An unknown number of enemy Force sensitives backed by the devious minds that controlled the CEDF was something they hadn't counted on.
For Turi, the appearance of the Chiss Jedi was like the Force blessing her plan. The longer the Empire remained tied up in the Ascendancy, in a conflict with no end in sight, the more likely the Empire would eventually sue for peace.
With the Imperial forces at both Schesa and Noris overwhelmed by having the Battle Meditation used against them, the Empire was torn between pressing their own attack and falling back to secure the assets they did have. Turi had to silently applaud the Assistant Syndic who had taken command of the Chiss war-effort. By denying the Empire a decisive battle and striking where the Empire least expected it she was fast turning an assured victory into a quagmire.
That didn't mean the Empire was trying to force said decisive battle. With the revelation of a Force-sensitive Chiss on their flank, Moff Tanal had sent Turi, Antalia, and Sivan, along with a fleet-group, to retake the recaptured territories.
"Fighting another Jedi will not be like anything you've experienced before," Turi coached her apprentices. "They will have the same abilities to command the Force as you. And since I highly doubt these Chiss have any official Jedi training, they won't be constrained by the logic used by Jedi."
"Meaning?" Sivan asked.
"They'll have no qualms about killing with the Force. If you're focused on your Battle Meditation, depending on their abilities, they could easily trace you to this ship and use the Force to collapse your minds or crush your hearts. Your lessons with the Inquisitorious have taught you how to combat these personal attacks on your body, so from now until the battle, I want the two of you drilling each other, brushing up on that aspect of the Force. You have my permission to use Force Crush and the other dehibilitating methods on one and other. You've both been trained well enough to know when to stop. Just remember that the Chiss won't."
"Understood," both teens nodded.
Turi smiled grimly. "Learn fast, we'll be engaging the enemy fleet tomorrow evening."
Her apprentices saluted sharply, and left her office.
When they did, her comm-linked blinked. "This is Colonel Altamik."
"Ma'am, you have a message being broadcast from Jedi Master Katarn."
"Let him leave a message," Turi said coolly. "I'm still preparing my forces for tomorrow's attack."
"Understood, ma'am."
Turi felt a strange sense of freedom as she deliberately ignored her former master's hail. Had she still been in the Order, she might have received a lecture later. But she no longer answered to them. In fact, she didn't really answer to the Empire either. She was working off her own code of justice, of logic, and she wasn't going to let some stuffy old master stuck in his ways make her doubt otherwise.
Taking the turbolift down to the hangar bay, she swiftly crossed the vast and cold expanse to the twelve individuals dressed in Imperial-black fighter-pilot's outfits.
"Colonel," the lead Voidtrooper recruit snapped to attention.
"At ease," Turi inclined her head curtly. "You all have done well, staying alive thus far. But now it gets harder. The Chiss are literally fighting for their lives, for their culture and pride. They, quite frankly, believe in this war more than most of the people in this fleet. And that gives them an advantage when it comes to the Force. Tell me, Lieutenant Yage, why do you fight in this war? By the way, 'because I'm ordered to' is definitely the wrong answer."
"I fight for my family, ma'am." He gestured to his younger squad mates. "For all of Skull squadron."
"Good," Turi answered, then took away the sense of accomplishment by adding. "But not enough. Flight Officer Karin. Why, at the age of fourteen, are you suited up and ready to fly out there with the others? Do the Chiss truly need to be destroyed?"
The dark-haired male, face hidden within his flight-helmet, shrugged weakly. "I don't really know. All I have to do is watch the backs of the others."
Turi released a slow breath. "All of you have had the Force used on you back on Taspir. Know it can make you see things, make you believe things. But if you truly don't have it in your hearts to fight in this war, the Chiss will win. They'll shoot down each and every one of you. Every death will cause you grief, will drive your desire for revenge, and the Chiss Jedi will use that to kill more of you. This won't be like the last two engagements where we routed those detachments of Chiss vessels as if they were backwater farmers."
"Then what do we do?" Whispered one of the others, fifteen years young.
"Remember what it felt like during the Vong War? Watching as everyone died, as everyone begged and pleaded. Hungry, starving, never knowing if you'll see the sun rise the next day." Turi projected the emotions onto the squad of teens, turned their minds back towards those days, with remorseless intensity. "In this galaxy, there are those that survive, and those that die. All of us, me included, are among the survivors. We lived when billions, trillions of others died. You have to want to continue living as badly as the Chiss we'll be facing. You are the survivors in this galaxy, not them. For every one you shoot down, that's one more person you've outlived. Antalia and Sivan will be busy coordinating the fleet and warding off the Force techniques of the Chiss Jedi so whether you want to live is up to you. Fighting for a family? Watching each other's backs? Nice sentiments, but sentiments in war get you killed. You'll fight because you want to survive, because all of you are survivors. If you want to keep fighting for your family, protecting and working with them, then you need to keep on living. So that is why you fight in this war. You fight to live so you can keep the life you have. Because I swear, if you lot end up being a waste of my time, joining all those other fools who died for some stupid cause rather than the life you want to live, then I'll…I'll kriffin' use the Force and make your afterlife a living hell. Do you get me?"
"Yes, ma'am," the twelve teenagers stood and saluted sharply.
Coupled with the Force, Turi's words had a noticeable affect not just on the twelve young teens before her, but on the various other pilots in the hangar who had been listening. Tears were dripping down her cheeks as she spoke, but her face remained tight, betraying no emotion.
"Good. Now, no more simulators today, no more training. I want all of you to enjoy the life you have. Games, sport equipment, holocalls, food and drink, they're all on me. Tomorrow, when you get into the cockpits of those Starhunters, I want you to remember this. Remember your time on Taspir, meeting everyone, living and training with them, and then show the Chiss they have a snowball's chance on Mustafar of taking that away from you. Dismissed."
Of course, Turi should have expected it, but even then, it surprised her when a vast majority of Skull squadron came up and hugged her tightly. Each whispering a quiet thank you or vow to stay alive. Turi kept chin held high and her face impassive, even as her insides became a gooey wet mess of emotions.
It was sometime later, her duties for the day done, when Turi found herself curled up in her cot in her quarters, her eyes closed. Tired as she was, she couldn't sleep; not when she was gambling lives for lives, the aftermath of a continued war for the aftermath of a short one.
So there she was, wallowing around in her own doubts and castrations when the chime of her door pinged. Before she could answer it, the door slid open. Turi sat up, eyes wide. She distinctly remembered locking the door.
"Evening, colonel." Hair a platinum blond shade, the blue-eyed Rahm Marek entered her quarters with his black Imperial officer's cap tucked under one arm.
"Marek?" Turi blinked in disbelief. "What in blazes are you doing in my quarters?"
"The Skulls plotted against you," Rahm said, sitting down at the utilitarian desk across the room and placing a bottle of amber colored liquid on it. Despite the fact that Rahm was two years younger than her, he often carried himself with an aura of someone much older, and Turi respected that. Of course he often acted his age, and she respected that too. She knew the feeling of being forced to act older than she actually was, had to do it with the moffs every time she talked with them. "Said something about making sure you take your own advice."
"And this exactly leads to you being in my quarters, how?"
"Lieutenant Yage, I think it was, the ranking Voidtrooper kid, he gave me the code for your quarters. Sivan gave me the brandy. Supposed to be some type of fine Chiss vintage."
"Still didn't answer my question," Turi asked, more curious than anything else.
Rahm was silent for a long moment, then rose from his chair and very calmly approached her.
"Marek?"
He continued to approach until he was standing beside her cot, then he bent forward so that they were almost literally face-to-face. Before Turi could ask what he was doing, he very calmly lifted a hand and flicked her forehead with his index finger.
"What the…? Marek!"
"Just testing to see if you were as dense as you were pretending to be," Rahm answered with a shrug, returning to the desk. He swung the chair around and sat on it in reverse. "Altamik, you're a Jedi, surrounded by…well… Sivan and Antalia for one. Drae and Sa'ki could feel it the moment we boarded this vessel. And if they could feel it, what do you think I can feel? A down side to not being around Jedi on a daily basis, you become absolutely rubbish at shutting others out."
"Oh," Turi immediately looked away, trying to marshal her mental barriers. "Still, you didn't have to drag the Crossbones into this mess. Drae and Sa'ki are only thirteen."
"Do I need to get up and flick you in the forehead again, Altamik?"
"Do so at your own peril, Marek," Turi glowered.
Rahm just sighed and repeated the flicking motion with his finger from where he was. Of course, he had to use the Force at the same time, and Turi's forehead became a victim of a Force Flick.
Turi stood and glared, rubbing her forehead ruefully. "Damn it! Rahm! Do you piss off your sister like this too?"
"She has been known to call me insufferable on occasion," Rahm nodded. "But then again, she also dumped a Jedi to hook up with that current boyfriend of hers, so her judgment's questionable."
"Don't approve?"
"He's leaving charity work to become a politician. That's like a doctor deciding to become a mercenary," Rahm scoffed. "If he doesn't get devoured alive, he'll become the very thing he hates. Of course Mallie doesn't see it that way. But I'm not here to talk about her judgment."
"Just here to talk about mine?"
"Father already got a lecture from Denon about leading you astray."
"Great," Turi grumbled. She folded her arms in front of her and let out a breath. Deciding to get it over with, she just closed her eyes, shoulders slumped. "So, go ahead, let me have it."
"I think you're incredibly bold and crazy, yet skilled enough to pull off the gamble you've put into motion."
Turi, bracing herself for the usual Jedi-line about doing un-Jedi things leading to the dark side, needed a moment to digest his words. "What?"
"Must have been a very long week and a half," Rahm deadpanned. "Normally, when complimented, you respond with 'thank you' or flatter your flatterer in turn. Look at it from my point of view, Altamik. When you have a dad who's a clone of Vader's dead elite apprentice, you tend to see things like light or dark and good or bad a bit differently than to a canned Jedi's."
"No 'you're making a big mistake and walking a road that you must turn away from'? No 'lives aren't meant to be played with and a Jedi shouldn't be doing the things you're doing?'"
Rahm shrugged. "If it will help assuage your guilt, I can say those things. Don't think I'll be able to do it convincingly though."
"So, again, why are you here if not to wag Master Korr's proverbial finger at me?"
"One thing my sister was never really able to understand until Jedi Knight Zekk helped her out; a Jedi always has someone to reach out to. Even if they decide not to be a Jedi anymore." Rahm rested his chin on the tops of his hands over the back of the chair. He closed his eyes briefly, and Turi felt his Force presence gently reach out to her. Out of instinct, she blocked him out, avoiding his presence as if he had some sort of Force plague. Rahm opened his eyes and smiled faintly. "The path we walk, the one father has Mals and I are on. It's not one we can walk alone and remain sane, unfortunately. Especially for Jedi, former Jedi, like you. At least father and mother raised Mals and myself Force-neutral. You were brought up with all of the Praxeum lectures and pre-conceived notions of the Force and what you're doing now conflicts with everything you were taught."
"You think you know me that well, huh?" Turi raised a thin eyebrow.
"This is actually from father," Rahm shrugged, only the faintest of blushes on his cheeks betrayed the emotion beneath his cool exterior. "He may not be part of the mainstream order, but he has more life-experience than most."
Turi just nodded, gazing absently at the bulkhead. "He's right, then. Even if I feel that what I'm doing is right, I can't help but feel this knot in my chest and stomach."
"That's not the Force, that's yourself fighting with the notion of good and evil that you had been brought up with."
"What about you?"
"What about me?" Rahm shrugged. "I was taught to do what I felt was right. I didn't have someone else's moral codes shoved down my throat, or was lectured for feeling the way I did. I think a part of the reason why father kept Mallie and myself on Corulag was so that we could grow up knowing truly what the galaxy was like. Not the sheltered, rosy picture those Praxeum teachers like to paint."
"So…what should I do?" Turi finally said helplessly.
"First," Rahm flicked one of the shot-glasses he had entered the room with in her direction. She reflexively caught it. "We are going to have a drink, maybe more than one. Then we are going to get wholly uncomfortable as we establish a Force bond. Lastly, we'll then pretend the other doesn't exist for the next few days because we'll be too embarrassed to look at each other after learning each other's deepest, darkest secrets. In the meantime, you'll be waging your war against the Chiss in as slow and inefficient a manner as you can make the Imperial war-machine. I'll be teaching Crossbones squad how to be utterly awkward when in the presence of someone of the opposite gender."
Turi had to laugh, her first genuine laugh since the war began, and she shook her head. "It's a wonder your sister hasn't beaten you to a pulp yet."
"Like I said, questionable judgment." Rahm poured the both of them a drink, which they promptly downed. The warm prickly burn at the back of their throats let them know that it was indeed a good brandy. He glanced back at the bottle with a raised eyebrow. "Should I be worried that the Skulls know how to pick their liquors?"
"Probably that Mandalorian's fault. Mirta Gev, their trainer. You're supposed to be an adult at thirteen or something in Mando culture so she probably treated them all to drinks."
"You can still back out, you know. The whole bond thing," Rahm continued, finally losing some of the cool calmness he had wrapped around him. He tried to hide his nervousness by downing another shot. "It was just a suggestion and there's no way I'll force…"
"No, it's okay. Your dad's right," Turi cut him off, her cheeks flushed. Whether it was because she felt just as embarrassed and awkward or the alcohol she did not know. She preferred to think it was the alcohol. She knew of Force bonds, of course. What Jedi didn't. But she had never been close to any of her peers, and beyond her master-apprentice relationship with Master Katarn, she didn't have any others she trusted with what went on in her head. "I guess you aren't the worse possible choice out there."
"Colonel Altamik, please, deflate my ego some more," Rahm deadpanned. "Remember you'll also see all those horrid things tumbling about in my head too."
"Of course I remember, it's why I'm hesitating," Turi bantered with a faint smile. She bit her lower lip nervously, her emerald eyes flicking up to meet the electrum blue of his. "I've never…well, I mean…oh space it. Let's just do this blasted thing so my head will be clear enough to make sure I keep my apprentices alive."
"Practical enough reason," Rahm shrugged. He got off the chair and sat kneeling on the floor.
Turi mimicked his position opposite of him, her hands folded in her lap. "Here goes nothing."
With that, the two submersed themselves into the Force and two minds became one.
(-==-(III)-==-)
It was anyone's guess how the battle would go. Both sides had Force users, but the Chiss Force users were more experienced and had lived through Palpatine's purge and the Yuuzhan Vong cleansings almost all on their lonesome. The Empire had more ships. The Chiss vessels were more advanced. The Chiss knew the territory, the Empire knew where the inhabited planets were and would level them if the Chiss fleets didn't engage them. The Chiss were master strategists, but the Empire was no slouch either. Both sides shared doctrines, regulations, and a disciplined military ethos.
Numbers meant nothing. The Chiss rearguard had utterly annihilated an Imperial holding force thrice its size. And dozens of Chiss capital ships had already been destroyed before the Assistant Syndic took control of the fleets from her admirals. Then again, the Empire could afford such losses, the Chiss could not. Not that the Empire wanted to play a game of war-of-attrition. Not when they were supposed to be the superior ones teaching the Chiss a lesson.
"The Chiss are there, right where intel said they would be," Moff Evelyn Tanal said determinedly, jabbing a finger at the sensor readout. She had joined the hunt for the Chiss harassing their rearguard the moment the situation looked winnable. "They backed themselves into a corner. The hyperspace lanes all around this systems are wholly unreliable. The only way out is through our fleet."
Weeks of hunting down the rearguard force, forcing the Chiss fleet into a neatly prepared box, appeared to have finally borne fruit.
"Well," Turi quipped, fighting back a niggling doubt in the back of her head. "You got your battle. Are you going to avenge the deaths of the holding fleet?"
"You bet the Emperor's skinny arse I will," Evelyn said curtly. "Comm-operator. Deploy fighter squadrons and bring the rest of the fleet in. We'll make an example out of these upstarts. Even their Chiss Jedi won't be able to help them now."
"Just one problem, Moff Tanal," Turi countered as the Imperial war-machine hummed into action.
"What?"
With only several light-hours between the two fleets, Turi just shook her head and sighed. She could already feel in the Force that the battle was lost. Amazingly without a single shot fired. "The Chiss read you perfectly. They knew what the Imperial response would be and led us out here."
"But what for?"
Suddenly alarm systems began ringing out from all over the crew-pit. "Moff Tanal! Some sort of singularity bomb was detonated in the hyperspace lane behind us. The hyperspace lane just collapsed."
"That," Turi deadpanned.
"What!?" Evelyn looked at the science officer. "When did the Chiss get such a weapon?"
"Unknown, ma'am," the officer quickly looked through the sensor readings. "But the gravimetric forces are akin to a Vong dovin basal being deployed. Maybe the Chiss engineers backwards engineered one of them."
"'Maybe'?" Evelyn snarled. "Why don't you get together with your team and find out!"
"Yes, ma'am."
"In the meantime, have the fleet form up and prepare to attack. If we can't leave, neither can the Chi…"
"Ma'am, look! The enemy fleet!" The sensor operator called out in bewilderment.
As if it had been a mirage, the shining fleet of Chiss Star Destroyers and wings of enemy fighters vanished from their minds' eye. In its place was a single, box-like vessel, looking as if it was made of children's building blocks. It was barely larger than a sky-hopper, and appeared to have no weapons or even shields. Around it were hundreds of drones, the mounted holoprojectors flickering off one at a time. The only Chiss fleet in the system.
"Receiving incoming transmission."
"Put it through," Turi said with a wry grin as Moff Tanal's mouth opened and closed in disbelief. Maybe the Chiss were more skilled than she gave them credit for.
"It's on an open channel, ma'am. The whole fleet can hear it."
"This is Jedi Master Antaria Wellos to the foolishly short-sighted Imperial leaders. The Chiss Ascendancy thanks you for the donation of your vessels and hopes you make more deposits in a timely manner. By now you will have noted that the hyperspace lane you came in on, the only stable route out of this system, is no more. In fact, unless you are in a fightercraft, none of the surrounding hyperspace lanes are stable enough to maintain your journey. So it is with the deepest regret that I must inform you that if you wish to leave this system alive, you will have to do so in vessels fightercraft-size or smaller. You can try to leave in your capital ships, of course. If you do, I've already warned you of the consequences and will have no responsibility for the thousands that will die in such an attempt. Of course, the ability to use the Force will also greatly increase the odds of surviving these unstable hyperspace lanes. Even in a fighter, there is no guarantee the lanes will hold up for the entire duration of the trip. I wish all of you the best and hope that the Force is with you in your trip back to your homes."
"Definitely old-school Jedi," Turi sighed, mostly to hide her admiration. "Only a Republic, Chiss Jedi can make gloating and sympathies sound the same. Heck, only a Jedi from the old days can take out an entire fleet without killing a single person."
"Send word to the nearest Imperial fleet." Moff Tanal whirled back around, panic barely hidden by her professional demeanor.
"Something's jamming the comm-lines ma'am," the comm-officer shook his head. "We can't even get word to the ship right next to us."
"Then, helmsman! Plot a course for the next hyperspace…"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Turi said lightly, still trying hard not to laugh. Laughing deliriously on the bridge of a Star Destroyer, after all, was a sign of madness. "Jedi of her era are taught not to bluff when it comes to all those lives. She meant it when she said we'd go 'poof' if we tried to jump out of here."
"Then what do we do?" The moff said in a low voice, jaw clenched. "We have fifty capital ships out there. That's well over a million souls. At most we have a couple hundred fighters."
"You could let us Imperial Jedi go and get help," Turi said innocently. "I'm sure Admiral Pyor will be able to come up with something."
"And in the meantime?"
"Sit and wait. Hope there's still a few good vids left in the commissary. You have to appreciate the Chiss, Moff Tanal. A single Jedi effectively neutralized a third of your invasion fleet without a single loss of life."
"I am aware of that, Colonel," the moff hissed back.
"Oh good, I hoped you were," Turi said frostily. "Now what will it be? Let my Imperial Jedi go and get help, or have all of us stranded here? Maybe we can build a campfire and sing a couple of songs. As commander of this fleet, you can hardly leave your subordinates in such a time of need."
Evelyn's fists clenched as she glowered at the younger woman. But after a second, the moff looked away. "Go."
"Thank you. I'm sure we'll get you out of this mess in no time, Moff Tanal."
"Ma'am! Several of the Starhunter squadrons have just leaped to hyperspace!" The comm-officer called up.
"Ravager squad, the new advanced Defenders, also just jumped." Another announced.
Turi felt the Force-induced panic send several more squadrons into flight, before the box-shaped vessel made its own jump into hyperspace and out of the clutches of the massive Imperial fleet. Moff Tanal, in the meantime, continued to flounder, looking left and right at her bridge crew with a bewildered expression on her face.
"We'll let you sort things out here," Turi patted the moff sympathetically on the shoulder.
Once turned away from the moff, Turi couldn't help but smirk at the emotions and thoughts swirling around in Tanal's head. There was no way the Council of Moffs was going to let her keep her position after getting a third of the invasion fleet, some of the Empire's most advanced ships, marooned in a backwater system. Moff Tanal had been the one slated to inherit the Chiss territories once the war was over, effectively quadrupling her holdings and resources. Of course, she only would have been able to do that if she had won the war. It was supposed to have been an easy win, and as a flunky of Grand Moff Quille, she would have been able to enhance his reputation greatly.
The problem now was that the other Moff on the campaign, an old supporter of Pellaeon, Moff Drikl Lecersen, was next in line. The last thing Quille would want is to give any more power or status to the on-his-way-out Pellaeon and deposed Moff Saretti. Yet he couldn't give it to the moff that had just stranded the fleet either.
In a way, it worked out perfectly for Turi, who could feel the slight tremors in the Force that let her know Jaina was on her way back to civilized space.
Now all Turi had to do was keep the war as drawn out and deadlocked as possible. It wouldn't do her any good if the Chiss actually managed to send the Imperials home with their tails between their legs. Something she wouldn't have thought possible if she hadn't met that Assistant Syndic or that reckless Jedi in the box-ship.
She met up with Rahm and his squad of Imperial Jedi and Voidtrooper recruits, information relayed through the newly established Force-bond they shared.
"I give us about ten minutes before the Moff tries to make us the scapegoats," Rahm said with forced cheer. "That's probably how long it will take for her to regain control of things."
"Ten minutes, you're generous," Turi quipped back, nodding as Antalia and Sivan led their unit down another hallway to join them. The newly established Force-bond wasn't as embarrassing as either of the participants thought it would be. "I say five. Despite this fiasco, Tanal is good at what she does. Unlike say Moff Rezer or some of her other colleagues."
The two teams made it to the hangar bay, the fighters of Skull and Crossbones squadrons still prepped and ready. No sooner had they arrived, than a security team hustled forward and held up their hands.
"Hold here, Colonel Altamik. Orders from Moff Tanal. Your teams are to remain onboard to be debriefed."
"Debriefed?"
"Yes, colonel. Moff Tanal wants to find out just how you could have let us be led into such an obvious trap when your Jedi senses are supposed to avoid such things. Please come with us."
"Emperor's black bones, I don't have time for this," Turi grumbled.
Rahm held up a calming hand. "Relax, colonel. Drae, you want to try that thing you do?"
A thirteen year old boy, face hidden by an Imperial flight helmet, stepped forward. With a silent wave of his hand the security team's eyes glossed over and they appeared frozen in place. The boy then held up five fingers to the others.
"We have five extra minutes," Rahm said glibly. "Let's get into our fighters and get out of here."
"What was that?" Turi murmured as Rahm ran alongside her to the Altamik Flier.
"Force stasis."
"That's advanced."
"What can I say, I'm a good teacher."
"Marek."
"Drae's parents were Reborn, both killed when the Vong attacked the Empire. But from a young age they were teaching him about the Force. He probably knows more obscure techniques than I do, but his control is the unreliable thing. That's the tenth time he's used stasis, and it's lasted anywhere from a couple of seconds to a full hour. He'll be a powerful Jedi if he lasts that long."
The hatch to the Flier closed behind them.
"Father, start of the launch cycle, skip the checklists," Turi announced to her ship's droid mind. "Have the non-Force users slave their navi-comps to ours."
"Affirmative."
Both Jedi slid into their seats. Turi quickly buckled in and glanced over the computer readout. "Good, Tanal wanted to keep things quiet. Only used her personal security team. We're good to go."
"Skulls and Bones," Rahm pulled on a headset. "Launch when ready and get clear of the Bloodfin as fast as you can."
The two dozen and a third fighters rocketed out of the hangar bay. The new TIE Starhunter models, the most advanced fighter the Empire had to offer, quickly piled on the distance between the fighters and their carrier.
"We have three other Starhunter squadrons forming up to pursue," Rahm warned. "They are acquiring missile locks."
"Give me the comm." Turi quickly left the piloting to Rahm and punched the communications. Static filled the lines. "Father, switch to the hyperwave communicator."
"Done."
"Imperial Starhunters. This is Colonel Altamik of the Imperial Jedi Knights. The ones responsible for the past few Imperial victories against the Chiss. I really do hope you're not stupid enough to obey a command of a condemned woman. She may try to lay the blame on us, but it is she who led us here. Throw away your lives for her if you really want to, but think about this. One Jedi stranded millions of people here. What type of damage do you thing six can do? Let us report to Moff Lecersen and we might just save this war. Or engage us, die for a mad-woman, and we'll report to Moff Lecersen anyways."
A few seconds ticked by.
Finally, Rahm whistled approvingly. "You have a way with words, Altamik. The fighters are peeling off."
Turi exhaled, leaning back into her chair. "Jump to hyperspace when ready. After this, Marek, I really need to use my accumulated leave time."
(-==-(IV)-==-)
"How goes the campaign against Naporar?" Turi asked Moff Lecersen, saluting the elder statesman out of pure reflex. The moff had greeted them personally in the hangar bay of his own Turbulent-class Star Destroyer, the Conspirator. He had been more than happy to hear about the fate of his fellow moff, despite the strategic ramifications the loss of a third of the invasion fleet entailed.
"Good," the graying-hair of the moff was the only sign of his age. "We managed to sneak a fleet group around their lines and hit Sposia at the same time. Your plan to attack the homeworlds of the ruling families was sound, and the Chiss movements are muddled and clumsy. It's taken us the better part of two weeks, though. The Chiss still hold the inner planets in this system. It's only a matter of time before they fall."
"And our next step?"
"The loss of Moff Tanal's fleet changes things. Now that our ability to hold the territory we have conquered is at risk, my advisors and I have concluded that the Chiss must be taught a lesson. We have no interest in these balls of space rock. For every system that resists we will be conducting Base Delta Zero operations on all planets that fall to our forces. The more the Chiss resist, the more planets we will leave barren wastelands."
"You intend to wipe the Chiss out as a species," Turi kept her tone neutral despite her surprise. Good going, Altamik, suggest something that can be turned into a genocidal tactic, because I'm sure they won't take that route.
"They serve no beneficial role to the greater galaxy," Moff Lecersen's boots clicked loudly on the metal deck plating. "It is time they either became useful to us or made to serve a purpose."
"They have been keeping threats like the Killiks and the Vagaari at bay."
"And the Imperial garrison we will leave behind will be more than up for the job. If the Chiss could defend the galaxy with the paltry few vessels they have at their disposal, we can do the same."
"True," Turi conceded. "So I assume the first lesson of our might will be employed on Naporar itself?"
"You would be correct. Razing the outer planetary bodies, while impressive, will compare little to the destruction of a heavily populated world like Naporar. At present, our intelligence reports that the command and control center of the CEDF has a population of roughly three-quarters of a billion Chiss. A majority of them connected to the ruling family of Nuruodo. We take off one of the heads of the Ascendancy, the most venomous one, and the others will see the wisdom in accepting Imperial control."
"Bold plan, Moff Lecersen," was all Turi could answer. Most of the goodwill she had built up had been with Moff Tanal. Moff Tanal had been Grand Moff Quille's 'golden' moff, the Imperial leader's favorite and one in charge of the war. The Chiss victory over Tanal was not one Turi had expected, and though fortunate in many ways, hurt Turi's own plans in others. Her influence with Moff Tanal now meant little, since it did nothing to stop this moff from carrying out his plan. Especially since his plan was basically her own, but on a more extreme scale.
Memo to self, Altamik, the old guard of the Empire is still crazy with delusions of grandeur.
"The only thing that stands in our way now is the Assistant Syndic, who has rallied a sizable fleet and is blocking us from any further penetration of this system."
"The Chiss made their stand here during the Vong War," Turi iterated. "This system is symbolic in more ways than one."
"And it will soon gain new meaning when we seize it. I have no doubt your Jedi will be more than instrumental in routing these blue mongrels from this system. The moment they have eaten and rested, I will deploy them and bring a swift end to this Assistant Syndic's brash, yet foolish counter-attack."
"Confident," Turi remarked lightly. They were now in the turbolift heading for the bridge.
"The Chiss relied on their hit-and-run tactics to stymie Moff Tanal and the rear-guard. But given that any running now will sacrifice their 'symbolic' world, they are trapped," the moff replied. "If they run, they lose their military headquarters. The Sposia system will soon follow, leading to a collapse of their justice system. I am having the Third Fleet target the homeworlds of Inrokini and the Chaf families at the same time. The Chiss will soon know the power of the Empire, know the true meaning of despair."
"What's to stop them from flanking us?" Turi asked, deliberately grouping the Imperial Jedi with Moff Lecersen's fleet. "We still need supply-lines, a fall-back point in case we run into any difficulties. If we force a rabid animal into a corner, they become so much more dangerous."
"And if they charge, they will be put down." The doors to the turbolift opened and they stepped out onto the bridge. "Report!"
A captain, blond-haired and grey-eyed, uniform neatly pressed and adorned with his rank insignia, hurried forward and saluted. "Moff Lecersen, the Chiss fleet remains in formation around the third planet from the sun. Stealth probes detect orbital defense cannons and ground-based anti-capital ship weaponry installed on the moons. The fleet has yet to change in size, so it is reasonable to assume that any reinforcements they have are either being held in reserve or have been expended. We've also spotted many civilian transports fleeing the third planet from the sun. It is highly likely they are trying to evacuate this system knowing it is lost."
"We still retain four-to-one numerical superiority?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good man. The Imperial Jedi will soon be ready to augment our forces. Have the fleet begin preparations for a full-scale engagement. Battle plan Pellaeon Gamma."
"Yes, sir."
Drikl Lecersen turned back to Turi. "Your people have two hours to ready themselves, I assume that will be enough?"
Turi, glancing at the sensor readout of the Chiss fleet, tilted her head briefly. "That will be enough."
Knowing what was about to happen when those two hours were up, the time seemed to come all too fast.
Turi had stayed on the bridge for those hours, studying the intelligence reports and fleet movements. There was no way the Assistant Syndic was going to sacrifice her battle capabilities to defend a symbol. Then again, in the past, people had died for symbols much smaller and more meaningless to anyone else but them.
When the time came, the turbolift doors swooshed open and Antalia and Sivan Draco both strode in in full Imperial Jedi regalia. Red stormtrooper pauldrons, brown capes, heavy black boots, and sleek black Imperial outfits made them stand out against the masses of plain officers around them. They may have been young, but they had both quickly picked up the fact that image was everything in this particular navy.
"Colonel, Moff Lecersen," both teens snapped to attention. "Flight Officers Antalia Draco and Sivan Draco reporting for duty."
Moff Lecersen gestured to Turi. "They're all yours Colonel Altamik. Get this victory for the Empire and I'll ensure your Imperial Jedi are well rewarded for their efforts."
Not said was the fact that such a victory would increase Lecersen's political capital immensely.
"For the Empire," Turi regurgitated with a cool smile. "Both of you, you know what to do."
Antalia and Sivan saluted once more and then headed across the walkway over the bridge pit and to the front of the bridge. In eerie synchronization, they both sat down cross-legged and closed their eyes.
Turi could sense their bond with the two Imperial Jedi from the second unit; Drae and Sa'ki if she remembered the names of the younger Jedi successfully. In turn, she could also feel Rahm's support through their new bond, and it took her a minute to get used to the idea that she wasn't alone on this mission. She sent her thanks, then refocused on the matter at hand.
"Moff Lecersen, you may begin deploying your vessels now. The Battle Meditation has been established."
"You have your orders," the moff nodded to the rest of the bridge crew. He then walked over to a holoprojector displaying the fleets and proceeded to watch his fleet move into battle position.
"Chiss fleet is deploying their fighters as well," a voice called out from the bridge pit. "Formation suggests that it's not the Assistant Syndic in charge. Unless of course she's trying something new."
"All fighter squadrons have cleared the hangar."
"We'll be in effective firing range in ten minutes."
"The Retribution is reporting power fluctuations in its main reactor. The captain is requesting it fall back until the matter is resolved."
Moff Lecersen nodded once, and the comm-operator relayed the message. One of the downsides to rushing the Turbulent-class Star Destroyer into mass production five years ahead of schedule was that the vessels had many design issues that billions of credits still hadn't managed to make go away. Even Lecersen's own flagship, the Conspirator was plagued with a power-drain problem that limited its mobility in combat. Most of the time the powerful turbolasers and sheer numbers compensated for these errors, but it wouldn't do them any good if their reactor went critical at an inopportune time.
As it was, both fleets were rapidly approaching the point of no return.
To a distant observer, one would think that they were watching an ancient ground battle in the making. The battlelines on both sides unfolded like a handheld fan, the fighters of both fleets surging out ahead of the capital ships. Following the fighters were the light frigates, gunships, destroyers, and missile ships in staggered rows. Both sides used Imperial doctrines and military strategies; only the true Imperial side was many times larger.
"Hold the fighters," Antalia murmured. A message Turi relayed.
"Minefield ahead, cloaked," Sivan added a second later.
"Have them clear it," Lecersen directed.
Green and yellow flashes of light burst out from the Imperial fighter screen, followed shortly by the detonation of hundreds of cloaked mines.
"Press the attack, give no quarter," Lecersen grinned, the wrinkled skin of his hand tightening as he made a fist.
"Chiss gravity well projectors have been activated," a report announced.
"Keep the Imperial Jedi fighters back in reserve in case they try to jump in behind us. The regular pilots can handle those Clawcraft."
Despite the moff's words, the Chiss pilots they were up against were evidently the best of the best. Even in their new TIE Starhunters, the Imperial pilots were being shredded with every juke, roll, and dive. And it went without saying that those pilots not as fortunate to get assigned a well-shielded and armored, hyperspace capable Imperial fighter had an even worse time.
The light frigates, gunships and other support vessels seemed to have their hands full with their Chiss counterparts as well. Blue maser fire poured out in relentless torrents from the Chiss side, turning shields opaque from the impact, before overloading and collapsing them completely. Warheads streaked through the void as Imperial and Chiss forces did their best to completely annihilate the other.
"A Chiss Jedi is supporting the Chiss side," Turi said after a moment.
"What does that mean?" Lecersen asked tersely.
"Nothing much," Turi smirked, a hand on her chin. "The battle's just gotten more interesting. Their Jedi cancels out our own. All that's left is the will of our people. Do we want to destroy the Chiss as badly as the Chiss want to stay alive? Whoever wants this victory more will get it."
Outside the Conspirator, the lumbering capital ships of the Imperial fleet began entering firing range. Barrages of thick green lasers and electronic-frying ion blasts lit up the void.
The Chiss Star Destroyers remained where they were in front of Naporar, launching an occasional missile into the fray both otherwise denying the Imperial fleet a drawn out fight. With the arrival of the Imperial capital ships, the Chiss fighters and light support vessels began a fighting retreat, leaving far more enemy fighters in their wake than their own.
"Chiss fleet dropping out of hyperspace off our starboard side!" The announcement was greeted by the hollow echoing sound of multiple warheads exploding against the Conspirator's shields, the hull being pitted with shrapnel.
Moff Lecersen nodded. "They've used this tactic before, refocus…"
"Sir, the ships aren't slowing down! In fact, I'm not even sure they're ships. Sensors aren't recognizing their configurations."
Something a fifth the size of a Turbulent-class Star Destroyer suddenly rammed into an adjacent Turbulent-class Star Destroyer in full view of the crew of the Conspirator. The resulting explosion ripped the Star Destroyer in two, leaving it very dead in space.
"What was that!" Lecersen snapped.
"Defunct cargo vessel, sir! Sensors only just identified it. The Chiss must have strapped heavy ordinance onto it."
"A desperation maneuver then." Lecersen regained his confidence even as an older Imperial-class Star Destroyer lost its conning tower to another flying wreck. "Press the attack."
The Imperial fleet continued to close the distance, picking off any brave Chiss vessel that tried to buy time for their compatriots. The Chiss surprise attack was quickly negated as the Star Destroyers blasted most of the newly arrived junk vessels on the spot.
And then the planetary and lunar garrisons of Naporar joined the battle. Oversized maser cannons, installed on the planet and moon after the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, opened fire with extreme prejudice. More fighters poured out from the lunar bases and from the planet, essentially doubling what the Chiss had brought to the field before.
"All batteries, open fire!" Moff Lecersen barked.
The Imperial fleet's reply to the Chiss defiance was a withering bombardment of destructive energy. The sixty plus capital ships pounded the smaller sized Chiss fleet with overwhelming firepower.
Even then the Chiss continued to fight, the minutes slowly turning into hours. The planetary and lunar cannons downed one Imperial cruiser after another, blasting apart conning towers or blowing holes in the mighty warmachines. Chiss fighters began to even the numbers against their Imperial counterparts, even as they took losses in turn. And all around, the void of space lit up like some type of holiday light show; the gun decks of the capital ships booming with repeated concussions.
One by one, as the Imperial grew closer, the planetary and lunar cannons began to fall silent. Imperial fighters and bombers howled their way into low orbit and demolished the gun emplacements.
One by one, the Chiss capital ship fleet began to feel the effects of the Imperial numerical superiority. The gleaming white Star Destroyers of the Ascendancy were gradually reduced to charred and flaming wrecks. Some were even caught by Naporar's gravity and pulled down into the planet.
There would be no last minute rescue.
No heroic arrival of fleets held in reserve.
The Chiss asked for no mercy.
The Imperials didn't yield their assault.
When the last orbital cannon went up in flames, the surviving Chiss vessels scrambled to get clear of Naporar's gravity field and jump to hyperspace. By then, night had fallen on the side of the planet facing the battle. Night had fallen, but the surface of the planet was aglow in red and orange from the multiple bombing runs and debris falling back into the planet.
"Last of the Chiss resistance has been cleared," the Conspirator's captain announced triumphantly many hours later.
"Receiving a message from the planet," the comm-operator said.
"That will be the Chiss trying to surrender," Moff Lecersen smirked. "Let's hear it."
"Imperial commander, this is Aristocra Sev'eree'nuruodo. Call off your assault. You have won."
The disgruntled voice of one of the Chiss leaders had Moff Lecersen grin predatorily. "I am Moff Drikl Lecersen, leader of the Imperial Second Fleet. Aristocra, I do not recall the Ascendancy having any power over the Imperial Navy. As such, whether I call off my assault is not up to you. Your little resistance put up quite the fuss when they could have simply surrendered from the start. It is very clear that the Ascendancy does not have the power to stop the Empire, and you have wasted many lives trying to accomplish the impossible. I believe the appropriate sentence for an obsolete politician like yourself is a quick death."
"Don't be foolish, Moff Lecersen. Both sides can…"
The moff made the standard 'kill transmission' gesture, and the comm-officer complied. "Begin positioning the fleet all around that planet." He stabbed a finger towards the world before them. "Commence Base Delta Zero when ready."
Turi swallowed heavily. "Are you sure that is the best course of action, Moff Lecersen?"
Almost sarcastically, Lecersen looked over his shoulder at her. "And what sage advice would you have for me this time?"
"I agreed with your plan earlier, but that was before we learned that an Aristocra was down there. You turn that planet into ash, you'll turn her into a martyr."
"A martyr only matters if the cause she fights for can be won," Lecersen shook his head. "These Chiss can't win."
"Only a thought," Turi folded her arms in front of her and turned back to look at the world. She silently knew that this would be the last time anyone would see it in its current state for many, many years.
It would take several more hours to position the fleet. She had that much time to come up with something that wouldn't jeopardize her standing with Lecersen, or erode her already bent morals. Was it wrong to allow a Base Delta Zero, complete annihilation of a planet's surface, on sparely inhabited worlds, but balk at the razing of a world like Naporar? Treat so carelessly the lives of hundreds or thousands and then value the millions? There were nearly a billion souls on that planet, lives now in her hands. Maybe she could convince the moff to first send a team to apprehend the Aristocra. And then what? Let the moff burn the rest of the world?
She felt a presence in the back of her mind and promptly retreated towards it.
Marek, got anything?
Mind trick.
He'll be extremely grumpy when he comes out of it.
Remind him of who he's fighting for.
Himself.
Exactly. Stop playing by the Jedi rule book Altamik.
Turi detected what Rahm had in mind and allowed a smile to grace her face.
That's brilliant. I could kiss you.
It's only brilliant if it works. I wouldn't be able to pull it off.
Which is why you're down there in the hangar and I'm in the bridge.
He still might raze the planet regardless.
If he does, at least I'll have tried.
Good luck.
Thanks.
"Moff Lecersen, a word?" Turi gestured to the side office.
The moff, basking in his victory, scowled slightly, but nodded and followed the younger woman. Even though the woman could have easily been his granddaughter age-wise, Grand Moff Quille had been quite explicit in the latitude she was to be given. Moff Lecersen wasn't so blind as to be unable to see that much of the Imperial success had been from her advice, not that he'd ever admit it out loud. He was a moff from another era, a time of Palpatine and the glory days of the High Empire. He had even held meetings with some of Palpatine's Force-sensitive hunters at one point in time. He had survived the downfall, the warlords, the Yuuzhan Vong War, and through it all, he firmly believed it was the Empire's right to bring order and civilization to the galaxy.
The doors closed behind him.
"What is it?"
"A friendly reminder," Turi answered his clipped tones with her own. "Who is in charge of the Empire right now and who isn't?"
"Grand Moff…"
"Exactly," Turi cut the older man off. "Not Gilad Pellaeon, not Saretti. Tell me, why would Quille have you out here?"
"I serve the Emp…"
"Can it," Turi interrupted once more. "Quille has you out here because it means you aren't creating waves back on Taspir. He made you commander of the Second Fleet to appease your ego. He made Evelyn Tanal the overall commander of this campaign because she had what it took to get the job done. There is little you can do to earn Quille's trust. Because, quite frankly, he doesn't trust you. That's why he has Admiral Pryl on Third Fleet, why all the captains on your ships were appointed by him. You raze this planet, start crowing about how it's good the Chiss learn their place, Quille won't reward you by making you moff of this sector. He'll bring you up on war-crimes to show the galaxy that the Empire still remains civilized. He'll use your grab for power as an excuse to get rid of you. He'll then use your hard work and give the appointment to one of the others. You can't win 'fighting for the Empire,' Moff Lecersen. Like all the other moffs this day and age, you have to fight for yourself. Fight to do just enough to maintain your power and not draw Quille's attention."
Once again the Force made her words the only reality Lecersen could see. Made it sound as if the words she spoke were the absolute truth, that there were no outs or alternatives.
"The Chiss."
"Will fall," Turi said tersely, continuing to shroud her every word with the Force. She no longer cared about the ethical aspect of what she was doing, and made each wave of mental Force energy deliberate and potent."But it's how they fall that matters. Appearances are everything, right? You can either achieve an outright victory, a massacre, and draw Quille's concern. Or win by doing just enough to be above reproach, but not enough to earn praise either. The Empire you wish can still exist under Quille, but it'll be up to you as to whether you'll be around to see it."
"Then," Lecersen paused, sharp eyes darting to Turi. "What is it you recommend, colonel?"
"Base Delta Zero the planet, but after you've evacuated everyone on it. We'll then have nearly a billion prisoners of war. A handy bargaining chip if you toss in the Aristocra and whatever cabinet of advisors she has with her."
"And we would store them, where?"
"On our ships at first. Let them watch the fate of their planet, then send them back down," Turi gestured to the Star Destroyers outside the viewport. "We control the nearby systems so we'll have more than an advance warning if the Chiss try to rescue their people. This way you can be seen as both brutal, yet merciful. Someone who can utterly destroy a people, yet leave enough for them to recover in decade's time. In other words, you'll be a run-of-the-mill Imperial commander. Too soft to outright slaughter them, yet hard enough to get your message across."
"And you are certain Quille will approve of this?"
"Put it this way, Moff Lecersen. We do things as you had intended, you definitely would have been deposed of. At least this way you show you can do the job without showing up Moff Tanal."
Several long seconds passed, during which the moff gazed out of the viewport at the fleet and planet. In those seconds, Moff Lecersen could have hardly known that Turi was subtly nudging his thoughts towards one direction. Striping away doubt, removing guilt and personal pride. It was a Force lobotomy at the finest, and something the Jedi Council would most definitely denounce. But Turi knew that it was the best option for the moment and situation. She couldn't mind-control an entire fleet, but she could compromise the one in charge of it all. It helped that much of what she had told the moff had already crossed his mind at one point or another. It was so much easier using the man' s own doubts against him than manufacturing new ones. Even then, Moff Lecersen refused to be rushed on the issue.
Finally, Lecersen released a breath, nodding like the decision had been his all along. "I agree, colonel. Thank you for preventing me from making such a detrimental error."
"I serve the Empire, Moff Lecersen," Turi answered with a mirthless smile. "Maybe you should go back out to the bridge. You know, just in case one of Quille's captains gets an itchy trigger finger and decides to raze his part of the planet before we've evacuated it."
Lecersen inclined his head once, and then left the room.
Thanks Marek, Turi sent, her heart pounding loudly as their gamble paid off.
Any time, Altamik.
Turi smiled and let herself plop down in to the comfy officer's chair, relief temporarily sapping her strength. After a moment to compose herself, she stood up, mentally summoning her apprentices. It was one thing to set a plan in motion, it was an entirely other thing all together to make sure it continued rolling on the path she wanted it to. There were still too many variables.
In other words, she wasn't done quite yet.
(-==-(V)-==-)
Two months, two systems. By the end of the third month of the Chiss-Imperial War, the home systems of three of the five Ruling Families had fallen.
And fallen hard.
Admiral Tanda Pryl was under no restrictions when it came to her sector of the war and had utterly razed the homeworld of the Inrokini family. True to Turi's plan, both Naporar and Sposia had met similar fates, but only after the populations had been temporarily evacuated. Nevertheless, many tens of thousands of Chiss had died defending these systems. The Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet had been decimated.
And tens of thousands of Imperials had died taking the systems as well. It had been a long and brutal fight to get to where they were; the Chiss still refusing to yield and bloodying the Imperial fleet with every lightyear advanced. So great and unexpected were the losses in ships, supplies, and manpower that both Lecersen's Second Fleet and Admiral Pryl's Third Fleet were regrouping to form one large fleet. The Empire had thrown close to two-hundred capital ships at the Chiss in hopes of an overwhelming victory. Sixty of those ships were still trapped in the backwater system that Moff Tanal had led them to. Fifteen had been in the rear-guard and had been destroyed by the Chiss counter-attack. Then another twenty-five had been lost in the fights to take the Ruling Families' home systems. The fight for the Chaf home system had been called off due to the danger of the Imperial fleet being flanked.
Even the Imperial Jedi were not immune from the drudgery that was the war. Three young pilots from Skull squadron had died in the fighting, much to Antalia and Draco's great distress. The only consolation was that the three deaths had all been ones worthy of repeating when discussing the brave deeds of those who fell. A fifteen year old pilot had sent his fatally damaged fighter into the engines of a Chiss Star Destroyer, activating his hyperdrive at the last second and blowing a hole through the much larger vessel. Another had died protecting the younger pilots of her squadron. A third led a suicide charge to break up a Chiss Clawcraft counter-attack, taking out two of the Chiss fighters before a missile blew his fighter apart.
The war had stretched on, long and hard.
And now the war was approaching the Chiss homeplanet of Csilla.
The Imperial invasion force was massing in the Jameron system, home to one of Csilla's neighboring agricultural industries. The outcome of the battle was already clear, but the fight to get there wasn't so much. If the Chiss could inflict so much damage on the Imperial warmachine with only a fraction of the ships, it didn't matter how many Chiss vessels were defending Csilla. A third of the remaining Imperial fleet was already on guard duty for the captured territories. Another group was helping the supply convoys through enemy territory. This left only several dozen Imperial Star Destroyers available to take on whatever the Chiss had left.
The odds weren't looking good. Sure the Empire might finally humble the Chiss, but they'd shoot themselves in the foot doing so. And the admirals and moffs, and the captains and generals all knew it. But, orders were orders. Grand Moff Quille wanted Csilla, expected Moff Lecersen and Tanal to get the job done, and no one wanted to cross the Grand Moff. Everyone wanted that triumphant 'welcome home' parade, the accolades of subduing the savage Chiss. The reputation that came with a successful campaign.
No, the Empire wasn't going to blink. And the Chiss weren't going to yield either. Two group intent on blasting each other to pieces and causing as much damage as they could.
"Sir!" A comm-officer yelled out from the bridge pit. "The sensor buoys we sent to the Csilla system are reporting a massive fleet dropping out of hyperspace. We're also receiving an incoming transmission from those buoys by the new fleet."
"Chiss?"
"No sir," the officer hazarded a look towards Turi. "Jedi Ambassador Jaina Solo, sir…and the fleet of the Vagaari Empire?!"
Silence filled the bridge. Turi took that opportunity to step forward. "Well, Lieutenant, open the line."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Solo, nice of you to stop your lazing about," Turi said sarcastically. "I was beginning to think me and Marek would have to do this whole war thing by ourselves."
"Listen, Turi. Forget the whole war. Forget the Chiss and Empire," Jaina's voice sounded rushed, panicked. To Turi, that was not a good sign. "We have little time before the biggest fleet of giant intergalactic bugs comes howling out of the Unknown Regions. It's the Killiks. They're mad as Kessel and they're definitely on their way. I hope the Imperial commander is listening because if both the Chiss and Imperials don't stop their stupid little war, the Killiks are going to make bantha fodder out of whoever is left."
"Jaina?" Turi blinked, trying to force her brain to switch gears. "What are you saying?"
"Blast it. Turi, the Killiks are coming."
"How many?"
"Over a thousand ships," Jaina's monotone announcement hushed the entire bridge. "So everyone, stop fighting and listen up. We either work together or we're all dead."
(-==-(Chapter End)-==-)
A\n: And the Chiss-Imperial War is over…ish….This has to be my longest writers block ever as I'm still muddling through the same chapter since the middle of last month, almost done but not quite. Will definitely be taking another month break after the next two chapters go up. On the bright side, I've started writing the sequel...and the interlude story that will follow this story... in an attempt to keep my creative fishness going. Hope you enjoyed Turi's adventure.
