Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or Worm. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with commercial purpose. It is not for sale or rent.
Chapter 12
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Part 2
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Sundari
Mandalore
Making a deal with the Devil turned out to be surprisingly painless, for the time being anyway, Danny concluded. He actually had the gall to ask Veil, the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, why the man was being so nice when he didn't have to be and he still had trouble processing the answer, which caused tons of questions…
"Being a dick without a good reason gains me nothing." Then the way the man frowned and asked if that had come through the translator all right had been almost hilarious and Danny might have laughed aloud if he wasn't so wound up because obviously, Dark Lord of the Sith. A sane and reasonable one, thus successful as Bo-Katan, the Sith's wife, put it to that man's amusement.
What happened this morning was another unexpected development, which was at least on the face of it, a good one. A shiny silver droid arrived at their hotel's door, looked Danny straight in the eyes, and declared: "Good morning, Mr. Hebert, I'm Erin, a Protocol Droid employed by Clan Veil. I'm at your disposal for the foreseeable future. My Master bid me to offer you and your daughter lessons in Basic and go over certain options you'll have in case you accept his proposition."
"Good morning. Do come in." A still sleepy and confused Danny muttered. "What options?" He moved from the door and only now he saw that the Droid was carrying a metal case the size of a regular suitcase.
"About your daughter's continued schooling, about the tests, she would need to undertake and various disciplines she'll have to catch up, so she could be on par with her future peers. Your education as well, so both of you could easily adjust to modern society and potentially find a job suiting your already existing skills."
"That's good to know, Erin…" Danny blinked at the silver machine. His sleepy mind was awakening as fast as it could without a strong cup of coffee and even as it was, he couldn't help but note how great an opportunity this was. There was no way any education back on Earth could compare to even the most regular and boring school here, much less the potential for higher education. A priceless opportunity indeed, which raised even more alarm flags. All told, it was a great deal, much better than they deserved, which raised the obvious question as to why did the Sith offer it?
"Further, I'm to facilitate contact with a legal firm of your own choice to go over any documentation you'll need to sign up about your future in case you decide to accept my Master's deal."
It was frankly a nice gesture, potentially meaningless considering what Veil was supposed to be, but still nice, which naturally confused the hell out of Danny
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Thirty-first Assault Division encampment
near Kaantay City
Neimoidia
The war might have been over for nearly two years now, however, too many people simply didn't care, especially if the peace accords left their worlds in under enemy control. Then there were the remaining rogue Droid infestations still smoldering all over the galaxy. The Neimoidians homeworld had the distinction of having both problems. While a significant chunk of the population did accept the new order, there was a significant minority which was determined to resist to the last. As if that wasn't bad enough, there were still two active Droid production nodes protected by extensive fearsome fortifications, layers of shields. As if that wasn't bad enough, had access to both Geothermal power to help their extensive fusion fuel stocks last longer and access to sufficient resources to supply their factory complexes.
Ever since arriving at Neimoidia with her division, there were days when General Ahsoka Tano would like nothing more than to face the never sufficiently damned Droids because her current assignment was almost as bad as some of the worst atrocities ever committed by the soulless machines. She took a deep breath, enjoying the cool and clean mountain air, and looked around from the top of her mobile command center. A towering mountain range spread to the west, covered by extensive air patrols and a regiment of mountain fighters. A large, lush valley was nested below rolls of hills to the east and the north, well there was the city which was her target.
Kaantay City was one of the largest settlements on Neimoidia, a veritable megapolis. While much poorer compared to its counterparts across the various Neimoidian Purse Worlds, it was still an extensive place covering hundreds of square kilometers. It contained everything from spawning suburbs, industrial zones, and large warehouses surrounding small spaceports, to tall skyscrapers, which wouldn't be out of place on any well developed Core world. Initially, Kaantay's authorities had surrendered and for more than a year there had been hardly any incident, until a few months ago saw a sharp increase of attack aimed at Imperial citizens and personnel, compared to the planet's average, before the place erupted in an outright and successful revolt. A revolt fueled by a large number of modern weaponry and even larger stocks of war vintage equipment, stocks which most certainly weren't in the area a year ago.
Ahsoka and her soldiers drew the short straw, thus command picked them to take part in retaking the city. In fact, the 31st was to be on point among the army group which would execute the initial assault and secure the suburbs along with one of the nearby industrial zones. For the young former Jedi and now a proud Imperial Knight, this was going to be a trial of fire. There were just a handful of people left in the division from the war. Many friends and subordinates she had fought beside on a hundred worlds were now either happily back with their families and out of the military, promoted or reassigned. The 31st itself was practically a fresh unit rebuild around a small core of experienced officers and NCOs.
She looked away from the shimmering theater shield protecting the city and back to the camp around her. It was defended by extensive hastily build fortifications and it's own shield system – a vital precaution, which Ahsoka learned to rely on the hard way during the heavy fighting in the Corellian system. A large vehicle park laid to her right containing a number of heavily upgraded walkers – AT-TE's MK V, complete with shields, active and passive anti-missile systems, fully armored driver compartment and turret, among other improvements. They were ideal for the mountain terrain, especially when backed up by companies of proper tracked tanks, APCs and IFVs. Seeing all that hardware parked in neat lines while their crews and the division's support staff went all over them doing maintenance and checking for any issues before tomorrow's battle, always made Ahsoka feel both regret and anger.
The Grand Army of the Republic should have had access to this and more when the war began. The same was true for the state of the art equipment issued to the troopers, like the armor she currently wore. Countless people would have been alive if that had been the case, Clones, volunteer soldiers, civilians, men, women and children, friends both old and new…
Ahsoka smiled wryly at herself. It's been years now since she began to become melancholic at the eve of a battle and she was barely in her twenties. She knew it was the responsibility of command, the burden of sending good men and women to their deaths, even if as often as she could, the young Togruta fought right beside them. While there was a lot to be said for someone of her rank staying safe and sound back at a command center where she could best discharge her duties, her skills both as a Jedi and now a Knight, meant that as often as not, the best place for her was on the front, getting her hands dirty.
She took one last deep breath, enjoying the relative calm on top of the command vehicle and jumped down, landing beside the bantering troopers of the HQ protection company.
"General." Sector, their commander, grinned, revealing two rolls of shiny metal teeth. "Did you have your rest?"
"I just needed a moment for myself to clean up my head. How are you and the boys?"
"Ready and eager, General! We'll be right beside you tomorrow!" Sector pumped a fist in the air to ragged cheers from the nearby Clones.
He was one of the many Clones who eagerly agreed to remain part of the military after the war and the mandatory gene therapy that stopped their rapid aging. Sector was among the first batches of Kamino Clones and his weathered face and graying hair showed it – premature age and the rigors of five years of intensive combat had taken their toll upon his body. If it wasn't for the extensive cybernetic modifications he had eagerly undertaken under the aegis of Project Ascension, the Commander would have had to leave front line duty behind shortly before the bloody conclusion of the Clone Wars. Instead, he was still in the thick of it and loving every moment of mayhem he could experience.
This neatly explained why he eagerly became a Mandalorian shortly after Delkatar established the Mandalorian Freehold and made an open call for all like-minded individuals across the galaxy to join the new nation. Needless to say, a large number of Clones, both retiring from the military and still on active duty, took him on that and never looked back.
"That's the spirit!" Ahsoka said while shaking her head in amusement. She knew where they were coming from. For all the terrible things that came with war, there could be excitement, an indescribable feeling when you were in the thick of it, making you feel more alive than ever. Some called it battle lust, other madness, to Ahsoka, it simply was, no matter what Delkatar and Zash said. Besides, making Zash irritated and keeping as far away from the old prune was a great bonus, which was its own reward.
She left the bantering troopers behind and entered the command vehicle, where her staff was busy reviewing the plans for tomorrow one last time before they went to rest before the battle.
"General on deck!" A young adjutant exclaimed when she saw Ahsoka enter.
"At ease. Do we have any messages from Army Group HQ?"
"Just regular updates. Everyone is in position, the screening units report that there is nothing out of the ordinary and all critical maintenance should be completed by 22:00, including ours…"
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Part 3
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CNN Live – We have reports large gatherings in cities all across the country after President Hayes' stunning speech revealing first contact with aliens. So far they've been largely peaceful, however it's unknown if it will last. Multiple Governors have confirmed that they will be calling up the National Guard in case of disturbances…
Patrols made up by heavy armed and armored Mandalorians are clearly visible at the Docks in Brockton Bay. Any questions and attempts to interview them have been rebuffed with the statement that any relevant questions will be answered by their commanders during a future press conference. So far we have no word about when one will be scheduled and who will be invited to attend…
PHO turns out to be an unexpected source of information about the Mandalorian Knights PMC and the Mandalorian Freehold as a whole. A user with the PHO name AllSeeingEye, apparently a confirmed Mandalorian Knight employee from Earth was available to answer questions earlier today and promised that the outfit's acting commander on Earth would be available later today. If the claims are true, then this is currently the best source of information we have about the Corcusca galaxy and it's inhabitants besides the President's press conference and fictional Star Wars lore, which is obviously not necessary accurate…
Internet forums and social media aflame after the Great Revelation! Multiple sites, among them Youtube and Facebook have been crashing constantly since yesterday due to unprecedented amount of traffic.
Long queues at supermarkets and local grocery stores are forming across the country, while scared people are hoarding in case of alien invasion. A significant number of people are fleeing major cities as precaution all the while various individuals are using the opportunity to spread fear and unsubstantiated rumors.
Multiple cults and even individual reputable churches have proclaimed the end of days and are preaching to the faithful to pray and prepare for the final battle…
Local police has detained groups of people heading for Brockton Bay heavy armed in order to help fight the alien invasion, the New World Order and the Illuminati… In one notable and amusing instance, for the good fight as Florida man Charlie Steward gleefully proclaimed state police stopped him over not working lights earlier tonight only to discover a literal arsenal hastily loaded in his sedan…
Breaking News – The Teeth are on the move, allegedly heading for Brockton Bay for currently unknown reasons. This is the third villain group rumored to head towards the Mandalorian Knight's Forward Operations Base on the West Coast. Early tonight, sources within the PRT informed us that the Elite has sent feelers and capes to visit Brockton Bay and either reach an agreement with our alien visitors or barring that, acquire advanced technology by any means necessary. This comes hours after we received reports of a Family associated with the Fallen went off the grid. They're believed to want to either spread their "faith" among the Mandalorians or punish the unbelievers if they don't face fertile ground for their beliefs…
Breaking News – Slaughterhouse 9 strikes again! The small town of Church Creek, Wisconsin becomes battleground between the Chicago based Protectorate Team, PRT agents and multiple SWAT units against the monstrous villains…
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Thirty-first Assault Division AO
Kaantay City outskirts
Neimoidia
For thousands of years, large scale shield systems dominated warfare in general, especially planet side. Today was no different. Long range artillery and orbital support were out, unless the Empire was ready to write off the whole continent, because that was the kind of firepower needed to crack the shield protecting Kaantay City. Starving it out was impractical, especially when local authorities believed that a significant portion of the population was in fact sympathetic to the new order, not to mention that as far as the basic essentials like food and water went, the city was largely self-sufficient like most places on this planet. The fungus-farms which were practically everywhere ensured that there was more than enough food and a large river dividing the city did begin in the mountain nesting Kaantay.
As if that wasn't enough, the city was where a battalion of Imperial occupation troops had its HQ, backed up by local auxiliaries and their status was currently unknown, presumed either dead or captured. Obviously, that was a state of affairs the Empire couldn't allow to fester. The situation on Neimoidia and the Neimoidian's Purse Worlds under Imperial control was tenuous at the best of times after all.
It was at five thirty on a cold late fall morning, when Army Group HQ gave the order unleashing six division, four mechanized, one Assault and one infantry.
"Hound Actual to all elements, we're a go. I say again, we're a go. Proceed with assault plan Arubesh. Hound Actual, over."
A series of acknowledgments echoed over the Army Group command net and soon it was Ahsoka's turn.
"Hound Actual, Blade Actual, affirmative. Arubesh is a go. Executing orders. Blade Actual, over." The young General switched channels. "Blade Actual to all Blade Elements, Plan Arubesh, execute, execute, execute." And with those words, she became a glorified spectator for the first phase of the operation.
The assault on Kaantay City began with a missile barrage dispersing multi-spectral smoke canisters all around and over the shield, obscuring everything for kilometers around the city's perimeter in thick silver smoke. While that nasty stuff was an improvement by the smoke used by vehicles back in the war, if anything, it's effects were even more unpleasant for anyone unfortunate enough to inhale it. By default the damn thing wasn't supposed to be used when there were unprotected friendlies around and it was going to be murder to any civilians in the outskirts without proper gas masks. Unfortunately, that couldn't be helped. The initial assault through the shield was going to be all too bloody even with the Imperial divisions using every trick in the book, including multiple decoys, droid controlled first wave meant to absorb the enemy's fire, the works.
In the Thirty-First Assault division's sector alone, over a hundred of expendable machines surged to life and charged the shield followed by the first assault echelon a good eight hundred meters behind. A wave of punishing firepower came in response, splashing over shields or blowing large glowing craters in the ground. The enemy launched a large number of dumb-fire rockets, which went in for a saturation attack pattern. Due to the smoke and all the ECM blasted by both sides, a lot of those weapons did reach the targeted area and some of them even scored hits, demonstrating that they carried either powerful concussion or proton warheads. Anything less armored than a proper tank they hit often simply flew apart or immediately ceased forward movement while belching fire.
The droid vehicles still went on, headless of the losses, leaving behind a third of their number, primary the lighter ones. Less than half reached the shield itself, and only ten lived long enough to both open fire and transmit data of the active enemy weapon emplacements.
The second and last unmanned echelon hit, still having two thirds of their number relatively intact. They had targets too and passed through gun blazing and emptying their missile racks as if the ordnance was going out of fashion. Those decoys lasted more than long enough for the leading armored companies to pass through largely unmolested and the heavy Chimera tanks once again proved why they Imperial military gleefully adopted them as their own…
Scaled down turbo-laser cannons shattered buildings containing weapon emplacements, missiles and mortars launching thermal detonators rained hell upon the suburbs, while powerful shields and warship-grade armor shrugged enough firepower to slag lesser vehicles. Active anti-missile systems detonated incoming warheads in impressive pyrotechnic displays, jammers powered by the tanks fusion reactors filled the air with noise and while the enemy concentrated on the clear and present danger, IFV companies darted in, adding their own firepower to the unfolding battle.
Soon, Ahsoka's people began to die and she cursed the people and Droids behind the Black Rebellion for a thousandth time to the deepest pits of any hell that existed. If it wasn't for that particular insanity, the Empire would have been comfortable of using expendable Droid armies of their own, instead of making do with the absolute minimum they could get away with. Yet, at the same time, she simply couldn't disagree with the logic, even as concentrated firepower over-matched the protections of a second of her tanks and it went up in acrid smoke a moment before an IFV was hit when a line of enemy tanks, AAT-4s by the look of it, began a localized counter-attack.
"Fifth Echelon, advance." Ahsoka spoke harshly, in a voice that would have made her younger self recoil in shock. "Sixth Echelon will advance in sixty seconds." They had to clear the shield, secure a perimeter, establish their own tactical shield to avoid indirect fire and thus kick the door open for the second wave of the attack. And the Thirty-first was paying the price for it in precious blood.
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