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Chapter Thirty-Eight: Do, or Do Not
The Empire somehow found out about the two colony ships from Ulicia surviving. Tobin wasn't sure how, but the fact the Empire knew mean nothing good for Ulicia.
He never planned on trying to rescue them so soon after his own rescue, but the moment the communication came in from his barrister on Corusca, he knew he had to take action. He already had too many Ulician Baroli to ignore the rest.
The problem was resources.
He pulled the majority of his rescue fleet almost immediately after his troubling meal with the Princess, leaving Silmari with Bard on the Sword of Stars to take Mariha to Dubrillion. He set up his flag in the newly reconditioned Hubris a few hundred lightyears out. He was surprised to find how many of the original residents of the old star destroyer stayed aboard the ship, though the civilian atmosphere that originally dominated the old pirate ship was now replaced by the more organized chaos of a military ship.
The ten other ships in his fleet were a mix of modern frigates and corvettes, and a sprinkling of ancient Scyth and Pellaeon-class behemoths, with one truly ancient Mon Calamari heavy cruiser with a rebuilt hull, hyperdrive and weapons suite.
Against these eleven ships was a blockade of almost forty modern Imperial frigates and corvettes, plus an additional twenty missile ships.
The problem was the fact that the blockade ships were already beginning to fire on the surface of Ulicia. It would take only an hour to glass the entire planetary surface, killing every being on the world. In the Force Tobin could feel lives ending in agony.
He, Silmari, and holographic images of Kenth Shandor and Sor'ai Soonta gathered in the command deck of the Hubris a few lightyears out of the system as their spy probe sent back telemetry. "Six to one odds," Shandor noted.
"We don't have time to even the odds," Tobin said. "Shindo will be sending reinforcements as soon as he reaches Dubrillion, and the large transports, but we have to stop that shooting now. We don't have time for finesse." He winced as a large number of civilians died in a blaze of fire. "They're dying so fast…"
The others looked at his face then back to the telemetry. "We split up into five pairs of ships," Shandor said. "We come in at an oblique angle to the plane of the ecliptic at full burn and hit our target with everything we can, then blow through and enter a short burst of hyperspace. We regroup and do the same thing from the other direction. We may not be able to hit them all, but we might be able to delay their tactics and buy time."
"It could work," Sor'ai said. "But we're going to have to stay at full burn."
Tobin nodded. "Do it. The Hubris will pair with two corvettes. I want a corvette with a destroyer."
With that, the small fleet took an indirect angle in a one-minute second burst of hyperspace to position themselves properly over the orbital plane of the system. The capital ships used positioning thrusters to pair off, save for the Hubris which paired itself with two of the much smaller corvettes.
On their secured channel, Tobin started the count-down. "Five, four, three, two, one…attack!"
The eleven ships launched into a one minute burst of hyperspace and emerged just inside the planetary gravity well of Ulicia. In front of them they saw the dorsal sides of the Imperial blockade ships, firing constantly on the planet below.
Tobin stood from his seat and watched as, behind him, Silmari started barking commands. The Imperial ships reacted quickly, but the element of surprise was too much to overcome. The Sestian navy unleashed a hellish barrage of concussion missiles, nuclear missiles and turbolaser fire. They targeted the five frigates on the planet-side of the blockade that were doing most of the damage to the surface.
Well-crafted shields flared into the visible range against the first volley of turbolaser fire, then stained under the impact of the slower nuclear missiles, before collapsing under a second barrage of turbolaser fire and concussion missiles.
Tobin turned his attention to the other teams and saw that, at least with this first run, they were all having similar levels of success. Soon turbolaser fire was slamming into unshielded hulls as they flew directly toward their targets.
"Proton torpedoes, away!" Silmari growled.
The Hubris and her two escorts unleased a flurry of glowing torpedoes and ripped through the already pock-marked hull of the doomed ship under their sights, splitting it almost down its dorsal line. The turbolasers slammed into the exposed hypermatter reactor, and the ship disappeared in a plume of white plasma.
Four other plumes marked the line.
"Taking heavy fire, blow through!" Silmari commanded off the Sestian ships. With that, they cleared the planetary gravity well and shot back into hyperspace for a minute.
Tobin took a deep breath. "Any damage?"
"This is Ashotal on the Anastoli," a holographic image of the Gotal captain noted on their relay. "Some shield damage and one secondary positioning thruster is out. No injuries. Ready to continue."
"All other ships report minimal damage," Simlari noted.
"All right, assume formations and get ready to hit them again."
Tobin took a deep breath, gave the count down, and said, "Attack!"
The Imperial ships responded much, much faster this time. Tobin saw immediately that the frigates had paired off with their smaller corvette counterparts in much the same way Tobin's forces had.
On the other hand, the blockade was no longer firing on the planetary surface.
Already answering fire was chipping away at the Sestian shields, even as the Sestian ships unleashed their own barrage. Tobin spotted a plume of an Imperial ship blowing up, just as Ashotal's broken holoimage appeared. "Shields have failed, we're taking heavy…."
The next plume was not Imperial. "We've lost the Anastoli!" Silmari reported, though it was not necessary since Ashotal was one of the Hubris's escorts.
"Continue through!" Tobin said through gritted teeth. They took two more Imperial ships out before breaking through the line and reassembling on the edge of the system. "Damage report?" Tobin asked.
"Anastoli is gone. All other ships reporting damage," Silmari said somberly. "Gambit and Destiny report fifty percent shield failure and have hull damage. Prophet has lost its forward missile tubes but retains aft and dorsal launchers and all heavy turbolaser turrets. The rest are still ready but with lower shield capacity."
"Kenth, we need to pick a new angle," Tobin said.
"That won't be enough," came the holographic image of Shandor from the Scythe-class Sariah's Song. "The Moff in charge knows his business. We can continue to harass them, but any more runs like that and we're going to lose more ships. We're too heavily outnumbered. And worse yet, if we have more ships coming, they do too. I'm not sure we can win this one."
Tobin looked up at the chrono—they started fighting only an hour ago. As far as he knew, the Sword of Stars would just then be reaching Dubrillion. There was simply no way reinforcements would arrive before more Imperial fleet elements.
"Put me on the holonet, full broadcast, all channels, in the clear," he said.
Silmari turned and looked at him, while the rest of the command deck sat in stunned silence. Still, the Devaronian did not question; she merely nodded and echoed the command. "You are on," one of the communication techs said. He noted the tech was none other than Chiala Antias—Aleusa's niece.
"This is Tobin Solo Fel Artin, by right of the laws of succession, legitimate Emperor through the line of Princess Sariah Fel. I have learned of an unwarranted attack on the planet Ulicia by Imperial Forces under the direct command of the Usurper, Antius Fel. These forces are openly conducting genocide against the innocent, peaceful people of this agricultural planet. Though I have done all I can to stop this needless slaughter, I do not have sufficient forces to do so at this time. And so I am sending out this plea to any in the Empire who still value justice and truth; who still value lives and freedom. Even if you support the Usurper, no person of good conscience and morals can support the genocide of an entire planet. So help me now. Save the people of Ulicia. Thank you."
"Ships incoming, at least twenty," Silmari reported. "Imperial frigates."
Which still left over twenty ships against their ten. "Order the retreat," Tobin said. He bowed his head as he felt the deaths continue.
~~Last Jedi~~
~~Last Jedi~~
Grand Moff Shol Dinteri stepped over a pile of debris and noticed how the ground crunched under his feet. From his vantage, he was able to see the remains of Ulicia as a blackened, nightmare vista stretching out before him.
Behind him, Grand Admiral Chinlee coughed and adjusted his breath mask against the thick, noxious air.
"It's not the first world we've had to enact a Base Delta Zero command on," Chinlee pointed out.
"It's the first world since I joined the navy that suffered a BDZ while not openly engaging in revolt against the throne," Shinteri said. "They were Unitarians. Baroli descent."
"Yes, Moff Halastrin despised Unitarians." Chinlee stressed the past tense, as Halastrin was on his way to a public beheading on Corusca. Though the moff had done nothing many other moffs had not done in their sectors, he got caught doing it. The political mess was such that the Emperor had no choice but to find a scapenerf, and Halastrin was that nerf.
"How many?" Dinteri asked.
"My understanding was seven hundred million at the end."
"And casualties to Halastrin?"
"The Moff lost eight ships to S'Artin's attack, but more disturbingly another seven are unaccounted for. It appears that they broke formation and simply left. Command is attempting to track them, but it appears the captains removed or tampered with the ship transponder units."
"Well, since that alone is a capitol offense, their intent seems clear enough," Dinteri said. The news of defections was far more terrifying than the fact that a man he helped elevate to moff was soon to loose his head in a public square.
"There was more rioting on Corusca," Chinlee added. "And for the first time, Corella reported wide-spread rioting as well. In fact, many Core Worlds experienced rioting after S'Artin's message."
"He turned the Ulicians into martyrs," Dinteri said.
"And yet we killed them," Chinlee said.
"This is not going to end well, Taklon. Somehow in the course of one damned holonet message S'Artin went from the number one public enemy to a hero."
"And the Emperor to a Usurper," Chinlee said.
The two leaders—the senior Grand Admiral of the Empire, and the senior Grand Moff—stood alone together a good thirty meters away from the trooper escort and shuttle that brought them to the surface. Additionally, like all highly ranked members of the government, each wore sonic scramblers that made eavesdropping almost impossible.
"Hershied has joined him," Dinteri said at last. "I received a coded message under her ID on the Gold channel."
"Did she say anything else?"
"No, only that she and the Princess were safe, and that she believed his claim."
Chinlee clucked his tongue behind the mask. "We trained her better than that."
"That's the point, Taklon. We did train her, and she is smart enough not to fall for lies. We both know she was going to be my successor when I retired." Though it was the first time he admitted it openly, it was not a secret to either man. "Tell me, my friend, has anything trickled up through the ranks?"
Chinlee nodded. "Dissatisfaction. The Navy has enjoyed a good public image for centuries. We are the good guys. Morale took a blow with the public outing of this massacre. I've also learned that the Security Directorate has begun seeding agents and taking a more active role. There have already been hundreds of arrests of officers and enlisted personnel for sedition. Trials are being held at the directorate. So far, everyone one arrested has been found guilty and executed."
The directorate would not take action like that without the Emperor's order. "Between us," Dinteri said softly, "where do you stand?"
"For better or for worse, I have served Antius Huun Fel for the past thirty years with pride. He has suffered with the loss of his daughter, but he is still the Emperor and whatever else may happen, he has earned my loyalty."
"He has been a good Emperor overall," Dinteri agreed. "But he has been different since Mariha left."
"That I can't argue with."
Dinteri took another long look at the devastation before turning and walking back to the shuttle with his friend.
~~Last Jedi~~
~~Last Jedi~~
Dubrillion was a somber world in the week following the massacre of Ulicia.
Mariah was expecting to find herself in a gilded cage, and so was surprised when Captain Bard flew her personally to the planet surface and showed her a newly constructed home on the edge of a huge inland sea that was to be her private residence for herself and her handmaidens.
"The Grand Moff wishes you to know that you are free to go anywhere you wish," the captain said as he showed her in. "Since you have your own staff I won't be assigning anyone, however I have requisitioned a speeder for your use if you wish to explore the planet. If you need any material, I've left contact information for Admiral Santari's office. Since this is still a primarily military world, requisitions still go through the Navy."
"Thank you, Captain," the princess said.
In the days that followed, she explored her new home. The house itself was well if plainly appointed. It was not up to the luxuries of the palace, but then again it was, as Bard said, a military world. The home did sport several local holonet relays for entertainment and news, a fully functioning kitchen with a home service droid, and ten large, well appointed rooms.
Over the next day, she and her handmaidens made a point of exploring the headquarters of the Sestian Navy (she still didn't know why it was called that and no one would tell her). Everyone greeted her civilly, and in some cases with awe similar to what she encountered on the ship. At no point did anyone try to restrict her access to any part of the sprawling, quickly expanding building.
The overall impression she had was of excitement and determination. Everyone worked hard—she didn't see any of the lackadaisical laziness that she occasionally saw when she and her father toured the occasional naval base. Everyone had a job and seemed genuinely eager to do it.
She was in the naval building when news came of Ulicia. She stood amidst a large group of blue and green-haired humans who watched a wall-sized display of a holonet screen as one of the few independent news agencies relayed Tobin's plea for help. Then they showed distant news satellite footage of the final destruction of the planet surface.
She heard sniffs and tears and realized that the people around her were Ulician. It was their home world they just watched die, and their grief was palpable. More than palpable—it was overwhelming. She found herself weeping along with them, and was so caught up in the pain of those around her that she did not flinch or even care when someone simply hugged her, seeking both to receive and give what comfort they could.
The next day, the day Tobin and his fleet were due to return, Mariha left the house as the distant white-yellow sun rose over the horizon, and walked barefoot along the ocean. The water lapping at her feet felt cold, but she did not mind. She knew Slana would be upset at her for not taking an escort, but the truth is she felt oddly safe on this world.
She did not walk for long before she found Aaris again, sitting cross-legged on an outcropping of rock. Two other children sat with him, both older. A sandy-headed man stood a fair distance away from the clumping of children, dividing his attention between the sunrise and the children. She found herself walking to him slowly.
He saw her when she was a few feet away and scrambled to his feet. "Uhhh, hello, your highness!"
"Good morning," she said. "May I know your name?"
"I'm…Danton Tierri, highness."
"Please, for this morning at least, call me Mariha. I'm pretending not to be a princess at the moment."
He smiled nervously. "Okay."
She looked past him at the children. "I know Aaris mentioned two children from Bespin. Are those your children, then?"
"Yes. I had to watch the magistrate strap them into the death chairs," he said in a thick voice. "But Tobin saved them. He saved all of us. What can you do to thank someone for doing that?"
"What do you do?"
"Well, now I'm working at the shipyards while my wife is managing the hypermatter reactor. We've been allowed to split our work-time to make sure one of us is with the kids. Tobin's standing orders are that parents be allowed time with their kids."
"That's…what is that?"
In the center of the three children was what looked like a hologram of an older woman talking to them.
"It's a Jedi holocron," Danton said. "I've never even heard of one before myself, but Tobin said it was a family heirloom."
She nodded her thanks and walked toward the children. The two Tierri children looked up in shock to see the Imperial Princess. Aaris turned and waved. "Hi!" he said. "Wanna join us? We're doing meditation exercises with Master Solo."
"Solo?" Mariha whispered. She stepped onto the rock outcropping and sat down after smiling reassuringly at the startled Tierri children. The holocron seemed self-aware enough to notice her presence.
The princess saw a woman in her eighties, with long white hair and a face lined by age and heavy responsibility. She nodded somberly at the Princess. "You are old to be an initiate, but I understand the Force is with you. What is your name, child?"
"Mariha Jana Fel," she said. She was surprised at how soft her voice sounded.
She was more surprised by the smile that appeared on the old Jedi's face. "Named after your ancestor, no doubt. Mariha Jana Fel, I am Jedi Master Leia Organa Skywalker Solo, sister to Grand Master Luke Skywalker, daughter of Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker, and mother of Empress Jaina Solo Fel—in a very real sense I am your ultimate grandmother, as I am to your cousin Tobin."
Jaina felt her stomach twist. "It's all true, isn't it?" she said. "Everything Tobin told me." She reached into her robes and removed the lightsaber Tobin had given her.
The holocron image nodded. "Yes, dear child, that was Jaina's lightsaber. She was just under fourteen when she built it under her Uncle Luke's tutelage."
"Were you…were you close?"
Sadness crossed the aged face. "Not as close as I should have been, or wanted to be. I had three children. The first I lost to the Vong. The second I lost to the Dark Side of the Force. And the third I lost to the Empire. For while she remained Jedi her whole life, once Jaina wed Jagged Fel, her heart belonged wholly to him, and his vision of the future for his people. I never knew my grandchildren from her line, though I wished to with all my heart. It was not meant to be. But life was not wholly without love. Before he fell completely to Darkness, Jaina's twin Jacen did have a daughter, Allana. After Jaina was forced to kill him, my husband and I raised her as our own, and through her we found hope again. It was she who brokered the peace between the Empire and the Alliance that continued unbroken until the Sith Lord Darth Krayt betrayed both sides, and set the final stage for the purges that lead to where we are now. This much I have learned from Tobin."
Mariha could only nod as she accepted this most personal of history lessons. "Tobin wishes to marry me and take the throne."
"He does what he must by the will of the Force," Leia said.
"You speak as if it is alive."
"It is, child. The Force is directed by the lives of all throughout the galaxy. It is created by life itself, and while life exists it can never fade. It is guided by the minds of all those who came before, and all those who might come again. And so in that regard there is a type of intelligence behind the Force. A huge, ponderous intelligence that can guide even the smallest of feet, if we but listen. Tobin has listened, and has been placed on a perilous path. He is walking the crest of faith itself. If he missteps, the crest of the people's faith will crush him. But if he is successful, that faith will wash away the sins that have haunted your empire for these last few centuries."
"What do you mean?"
"The Jedi have always had faith in the Force, for to us it is part of who we are. And in eons past the people of the galaxy had faith in the Jedi. But never have so many worshipped the Force itself as today. It has become a religion, one the original Jedi Order would never have approved of, because only with religion can Tobin hope to change the Empire. He has personally ignited the flames of fanaticism, and now he must tread carefully to keep from being burned."
Mariha gasped as the true impact of Leia's words struck. The awe of those on the ship flashed vividly in her mind. Slana told her about the Unitarian meeting before their rescue attempt. She saw herself the riots that crippled the Imperial Quarter of Corusca.
"Did he create the religion?" she asked.
"No. The Force itself guided its formation, anticipating Tobin's arrival. He is the Chosen One, the one to bring balance to the Force. But balance is perilous and difficult to maintain. Always there have been Jedi and Sith. The concept of the Unifying Force, that is, the idea of the Force being without light or darkness, was never popular among either Jedi or Sith. They defined themselves by their actions and sides. Light, dark. Good, evil. Tobin has trained as both Jedi and Sith. He has combined the strengths of both, while doing his best not to be shaped by their mutual weaknesses. He is the living embodiment of the Unifying Force. The faith he will lead must maintain that delicate balance. Those who fall out of balance will have to be destroyed for the sake of the whole. For once balance is lost, the Universe once again will fall into savagery and war."
"And we will learn this balance?"
"Tobin will teach you, yes," Leia said. "In the meantime, I am here to guide your first steps into the Force. Will you agree to learn, last daughter of my line?"
"Yes," Mariha said without hesitation.
"Then close your eyes, and we will begin."
~~Last Jedi~~
~~Last Jedi~~
Tobin walked along the beach with a visibly upset Slana and a squad of handmaidens. He had taken his shoes off to feel the water. His expression was neutral, and hid the pain he felt for his complete failure to save the Ulicia people. Despite his capture by Hershied, his gambit at Bespin nabbed both a hypermatter production facility and saved two Force-sensitive children. His capture was merely a price to pay.
But Ulicia was nothing less than failure. He tried with all his might to save a world, and went away with one less ship and seven hundred million souls weighing down his conscience. He didn't know what guided him to Mariah's home. It's not like the two of them were close friends. They'd had only a few conversations, and those were tense at best. Yet he went, only to find an upset group of women looking for her as well.
It only took a taste of the Force to know where she was. So he took his shoes off and walked along the beach, knowing Slana and the others would follow. Soon enough he came across Danton Tierri, his two children, Tobin's apprentice, and the Princess herself sitting on a rock listening to the soothing voice of a dead Jedi master teaching them about meditation.
He turned to the women. "There she is. You should return to the house now. Her training is just beginning."
Slana sent the other girls back, but refused to leave herself. Instead, she sat beside a startled Danton while Tobin walked to the rock. Mariah said nothing, though she nodded to him. The kids, though, all smiled and waved at him as he joined their circle.
"You look troubled, last son of my line," Master Solo said.
"I was unable to save a world," Tobin said. "The weight of their deaths is heavy."
"It is a hard lesson to learn—that we cannot save everyone."
"It is indeed. What were we learning today?"
"Meditation, of course. Join us."
"I will, thank you."
The four spend the rest of the afternoon on the rock, learning to reach out and feel the Force around them.