Seen from ground level, the repulsorlift factory complex outside Salis D'aar was particularly imposing. It was a tangled mountain of machinery a kilometer across and half as tall. Bakura's humans and P'w'eck both had a longstanding aversion to droids, and the place was meant to be staffed by over ten thousand workers. The P'w'eck insurgents had taken control at nighttime hours when staff was limited, but they'd still taken nearly one thousand hostages, and that was at the Salis D'aar plant alone. Though he could feel none of those tense, panicked lives in the Force, Shado Vao was painfully aware of them as his speeder edged through the factory gates toward the broad entryway.
He approached the factory through its afternoon shadow, another sign of foreboding, but he felt optimistic at the sight of two dozen P'w'eck waiting for him at the entryway, if only because none of them were aiming weapons. He'd transmitted his request to speak with Vlothaw; their reply had been to open the gates and let his speeder through alone. It was not a loquacious start but it was a start, and frankly better than Shado had expected.
When he brought his speeder to rest he dismounted and held his hands up, palms-out. Two P'w'eck circled him, scouring his plain tunic with their eyes and sniffing him with flicking nostril-tongues. One jabbed a snout at the lightsaber dangling from his belt.
"I understand," he said. "You can take it."
He'd brought the weapon to remind them he was a Jedi; he'd also brought it expressly to give it up, as a show that he was willing to work with their rules. The P'w'eck plucked the lightsaber from his belt and held it cautiously between talons, then whistled toward the others. The entryway opened and the herd of saurians ushered Shado inside.
The guts of the factory were a tangled industrial maze, but Shado did his best to emblazon the path in his memory as the P'w'eck led him deep inside. He was eventually taken to an observation room with one glassed-off wall. It looked down on a large chamber, perhaps a convocation hall or a cafeteria. Shado stepped close so he could look on the humans packed inside. There seemed to be a thousand at least, and he scoured their fearful faces and trembling bodies. The hostages were scared witless but none of them seemed to have been physically harmed.
A P'w'eck fluted behind him, and the translator in Shado's ear said, "As you can see, the hostages are undamaged."
Shado took a breath and turned to face Vlothaw. Two more P'w'eck stood on either shoulder, watching Shado with unreadable reptilian eyes. The Jedi said, "Thank you for speaking with me. I'm doing everything I can to resolve this situation peacefully."
Vlothaw whistled and thumped his tail. The translator said, "It is far too late for that. Many P'w'eck have been killed. You see we have not harmed the hostages, though we could have. We are more benevolent than the humans."
That was true as far as it went, Shado thought, if you ignored the many civilians killed by Ssi-ruuk using smuggled Bakuran technology. The P'w'eck were not the perfect victims they claimed to be.
"I'm very glad to see you've treated the hostages well. I came to tell you that arbitrators from the Federation are on the way to help see justice is done." It was true; right before he'd headed for the factory, Storr had reported that he'd wrestled a shipful of diplomats and peacekeepers from the Federation, but it would take a few days to get here.
Vlothaw fluted harshly, "What can Coruscant do for us? They will side with the Bakurans. They want to see the factories re-opened. That is that they really care about."
Though he'd always strived for loftier aims, Shado knew enough about politics to admit Vlothaw was right. "You have control of the factories. That means you have an upper hand in these negotiations. Before anything can happen, though, you need to prove that you're not collaborating with the Ssi-ruuk."
All the P'w'eck angrily thrashed their trails. "We are not!"
"Then how did they get HIMS technology? You say you don't trust the human investigators. I understand that, believe me. If you insist on policing your own people, the police them. Show everyone how the Ssi-ruuk got HIMS. The humans and Federation can verify the evidence once you've given it. That's the only way to absolve yourself."
Vlothaw made a thoughtful-sounding whistle his earpiece refrained from translating, then squatted back on reverse-articulated legs, the P'w'eck version of a sit. Shado took that as invitation to long discussion and dropped into a cross-legged pose on the floor.
He said, "I'm willing to stay here and be an intermediator. You don't trust the humans. The humans don't trust you. Neither of you entirely trust Coruscant. I understand all that. I don't belong to any of those groups."
"You do Coruscant's bidding."
"I'm a Jedi," he said with utter confidence. "I obey the will of the Force, nothing else."
"You Jedi can no longer touch the Force. Can you?"
"The Force still touches us. I've spent my entire life learning the way it acts and how to move with it. It comes as naturally to me as walking." He leaned forward. "The Jedi once played a role in helping the P'w'eck liberate themselves, didn't they?"
Reluctantly, Vlothaw whistled affirmative.
"Then let us continue to help. I've trusted you be coming here and putting myself at your mercy. Please, trust me in return. I swear to you, I will help find a solution where everyone on Bakura wins."
Shado meant every word, and every word filled him with purpose. Though he was so alien to the P'w'eck, Vlothaw seemed to note his conviction. He made a series of piping noises, softer then before. "I am still hoping for that resolution, Master Jedi."
"So am I," he said. "And we can find one, together."
Shado knew they could. With the Force or without, he was still a Jedi. In truth, he'd never felt more like one than now.
-{}-
Bespin was a great swirling sphere of oranges, browns, and reds, and the slow churn of its warm-colored gasses was in stark contrast to chains of explosions that were bursting in its lower orbit. The planet's meager defenders spread across its equatorial belt consisted of a few local corvettes and a handful of Imperial warships rushed here from the Javin system. The sector capital had fortified itself for an attack and was getting one courtesy of Darth Nihl, which left nearby systems critically underdefended.
Yaga Auchs' frigate was in the heart of the battle for Bespin, and he watched from its bridge as the Imperials' sole star destroyer was overwhelmed by smaller, faster Mandalorians and Nagai ships. Its fighter screen had already been peeled away and its shields were starting to collapse under volleys from so many directions. When a missile barrage punched explosively through its hull he felt grim satisfaction.
Despite having a tiny population and decayed infrastructure, Bespin was a prime target for Nihl's expanding forces. Once its tibanna refineries were upgraded its natural gasses could be converted to power warships and charge weapons for half the conquering fleet. This would be a more delicate operation than most, which was why the Ssi-ruuk were sitting this one out. The aliens' massive assault cruisers and swarming droid fighters had been directed to Javin, where they were currently dealing impressive destruction on the Federation fleet, but occupying Bespin's floating refinery platforms would require more finesse.
Yaga's frigate wheeled around for another pass at the star destroyer. As its forward missile batteries launched a barrage toward its bridge, he noted a collection of smaller craft pouring out of its ventral hangar bay. He hadn't expected the Imperials to abandon ship, but as he watched he saw they were assault shuttles and landing craft falling toward the gas giant.
They clearly weren't planning to give this us without a fight. Yaga adjusted the communication link inside his helmet and hailed Thorum Rhal.
"Reporting, Mand'alor," the main's voice buzzed in his ear.
"Imps are launching landing parties. Kill them before they can reinforce the tibanna platforms."
"I'm on it."
Yaga's frigate wheeled around and the destroyer shifted out of view, but he watched on the tactical holo as Rhal's squadron of Crusader corvettes plunged after the Imperial shuttles. They landed a few initial shots before a swarm of TIE fighters dropped out of the star destroyer and fell on them from behind. Rhal was forced to decelerate and cover his rear, and many of the landing ships slipped away.
Yaga grumbled a swear and changed frequencies again. "Sor'ika," he called, "You see those Imp landing ships Rhal was trying to get?"
"Little busy here, buir," his daughter replied from her Beskad. Yaga heard faint static, possibly a nearby explosion, then: "I see it. Intercept and destroy?"
"Affirmative. Take your whole wing. Stay clear of those TIEs buzzing Rhal."
"Got it."
Just as he closed the line with Sora he heard cheers across the bridge, muffled by the crews' helmets but still audible. The frigate swung around in time for him to see the last explosive bursts that tore apart the destroyer's right flank and spilled debris into space. The crippled giants' engines flickered and a mix of Nagai and Mando corvettes began dive-bombing it.
Yaga would have felt much better if those landers had been taken care of. Otherwise the battle for Bespin was still just beginning. He looked at the tactical holo and his heart sunk. Sora's fighters had started the chase too far behind, and the Imperial landers had drawn another squad of TIEs to cover their descent. The Imps were well into Bespin's atmosphere by now and they'd broken formation, with two or three landers vectoring toward each major tibanna refinery in the planet's eastern hemisphere.
Yaga was about to patch in another call to Sora, but she got to him first. Frustration naked in her voice, she said, "Targets and breaking formation and spreading, buir. Should we pursue?"
"Yes. Don't spread yourselves thin. Pick one set of landers and do everything you can to bring them down. Once Rhal's back is clear I'll send him after the others. Be ready to clear the refineries on foot if you have to."
"Understood, will do."
The link shut off and Yaga growled frustration. With the star destroyer torn up they'd secured space superiority over their target, but unlike the other worlds they'd taken so far, this one had no surface to land on and no strong central government to beg for mercy. The fight for Bespin could drag on for a long time and his daughter was going to be at the front of it. He reminded himself that he'd done everything he could to raise Sora right, and that she'd most likely survive. He also knew that as soon as the last Imp ships were cleared away he'd go down there and join her. If he lost his daughter on Nihl's mad campaign he'd regret it all his life, and he'd make sure the Sith would too.
-{}-
A half-dozen miss-matched ships lurked at the lower edge of Bespin's habitable zone, where swirling gases obscured vision but before pressure got so tight it popped in hulls. Everything outside Starlight Champion's cockpit viewport was an orange-red soup, but the Koensayr scout remained tightly-linked with a sensor bouy it had deployed a kilometer overhead. Champion had been old when Marin had inherited it from her father, but the slant-winged, five-engine vessel had speed and maneuverability that belied its rugged appearance. Since taking possession she'd improved shields and added an extra heavy laser emplacement; while she'd never taken the improved Champion into combat she'd always known the day would come, and now it was finally here.
Sitting in the pilot's seat, she watched the relayed sensor information. They'd gotten tipped off about the Bespin offensive from Parc Bralor, who'd foresworn his beloved farming career and joined Auchs' crusade after being promised considerably booty. Bralor hadn't given them any more information than that, but Marin and her allies had arrived before the battle's commencement and watched most of it from their ships' berths on Cloud City. Once the fight started moving into Bespin's atmosphere they'd sunken their ships out of sight and waited to see how the fight played out.
At first it had seemed like the attackers had won space but lost what would normally be called the ground game; even as the Imperial warships overhead went down their landing teams spread out across Bespin to dig in on the various tibanna gas refinery platforms. Tibanna was highly combustible, which meant those platforms would be even more dangerous to attack than to defend.
The Mandalorians sent down to take the platforms were proving their reputation. From their hidden ships, Marin's people watched a wing of Beskad fighters shoot down two Imp assault shuttles, then swing around and land part of their contingent on a platform to secure it. The rest of the swarm had hurried off to another platform where the Imps were just entrenching, and the two factions had joined in a perilous, prolonged battle in the skies.
Elsewhere, more Mandos were spreading out to take the other refineries. This was the kind of fighting that could drag on for a long time, and eventually Marin said, "We need to give Bralor a call."
Seating in the co-pilot's chair, Liem frowned. "You think he'll talk to us?"
"Only one way to find out. You've got his frequency. Hail him."
"All right." Liem started working the comm station.
As he did Marin glanced back out the viewport. Through the gasses she could make out the blurred engine-glow of two ships ahead. One was the Black Justice, a nice swift attack craft currently hosting Hondo Karr and the Vevec siblings. The other was Free Agent, containing Ania Solo, her friends, and the dozen Mandalorian commandos they'd agreed to ferry.
No, it had been less agreeing and more insisting. Marin didn't understand her daughter; Ania clearly didn't want to be tagging after her mother and resented having been dragged into Marin's dangerous game in the first place. Marin didn't blame her; she wished now that she'd satisfied herself with knowing Ania lived and left it at that. Trying to fix her old mistakes and her relationship with her daughter was too much; she was being torn in different directions and in reaching for two goals she might lose both. Yet for some impossible reason, Ania had insisted on following her into a war. Marin wanted nothing more than for her to go away.
"Su'cuy, ner vod," Liem said into the comm unit, jarring her attention back where it belonged. "You hear us up there?"
After a moment she heard Parc Bralor's voice. It sounded reluctant. "Which Skirata is this? I can never keep track."
"Liem, the good-looking one. Thanks for the invite."
"Far as I can tell you di'kute haven't joined the party yet. You shouldn't have come. You're going to get yourselves killed."
"Parc, this is Marin," she spoke up. "We're monitoring the battle but lacking specifics. What's your sitrep? Are you in orbit or atmosphere?"
"Low orbit, doing clean-up. Might get sent down to clear off the platforms next. Not looking forward to it, that's tricky fighting."
"We can see that. Where's Auchs?"
Bralor's sigh crackled on the speaker. "You impertinent chakaar. The Mand'alor's still up here on his frigate. Far from your reach, I'd reckon."
Marin tried to cover disappointment with sarcasm. "What, he doesn't do the dirty work himself anymore?"
"Rank does have privileges, even for Mandos."
"Who'd he send down to lead the landing teams?" asked Liem.
"Rhal's in the thick of it right now. He brought Klaett and Gorman down too."
Thorum Rhal was a fierce fighter, but Marin wondered if he had the finesse to capture these tibanna platforms without blowing himself up. She knew the other commanders by name but little else. She glanced at her battle monitor, spotted the biggest platform, and asked, "Is Rhal on Cresh-Twelve?"
Bralor's reply was a growl. "You're keeping a close eye on things. Are we done here?"
"Who took that first platform?" Liem asked. "Looked like a fighter wing."
"Not sure, I missed that part." His voice volume dropped, as though he'd turned from the comm, but Marin heard him ask, "Who was it? Praclaw?"
Another voice, extremely faint, said "No, it was Auchs."
Her chest tightened. Silence buzzed for a potent second. Then Bralor said, loud and clear, "Sorry, we're not sure. I don't wanna get shabbed for consorting with the enemy so I'm signing off."
He didn't even wait for their goodbye before killing the comm. Marin hardly noticed. Her eyes met Liem's and the young man repeated, "Auchs."
"I heard it too."
"Yaga's upstairs. He had to mean-"
"The daughter. I know." Marin glanced at the battle readout. From what they could tell, the fighter squadron that had secured the first platform had sent most of its units on to a second. Right now that battle seemed to have tipped in the Mandos' favor. The fighters had all set down on the platform surface but there were signs of residual small-arms fire.
Sora Auchs was young, as young as Ania, and if she was anything like her father at that age, she'd have landed with her team to oversee the taking of that second platform herself. Marin had never seen Sora personally but she'd gotten images of the young woman in beskar: black with violet highlights, almost like the blue-on-black Marin's mother had worn once upon a time.
"Ba'vodu, what are you thinking?"
She looked at Liem. "You know what I'm thinking. If we can get Sora then we have Yaga."
"That's going to be a tough fight. And you don't know what he'll do if we do get her."
"Yes I do." She remembered terror and grief in the face of the teenage boy who'd cowered before his father's killer. Certainty filled her; this was what she'd come here for. She reached out, touched the comm console, and told all surrounding ships, "Stand by for orders and prepare for battle."
-{}-
Ania's hands were slick with sweat as she grasped the weapon controls. Free Agent pushed out of the lower cloud layers and surged upward, following a trail of five other starships all angled for the tibanna refinery two kilometers above them. From this angle it looked like a collection of brown metal rectangles welded together at perpendicular angles, but as they got closer she saw round shapes jutting from its edges. Those were the tanks full of tibanna gas. Processed or unprocessed, it really didn't matter. They were highly combustible either way and if just a few of those cannisters took hits the explosion would knock the entire platform out of the sky.
They were just one of many things she didn't like about this. Her mother hadn't clarified why they needed to take this refinery, only that they did, which wasn't good enough. Nor was she looking forward to wresting it from the several dozen Mandalorian commandos who seemed to have freshly occupied it. That they had several dozen Mandos of their own was little solace, because Auchs' people had plenty of backup if they needed it. These six ships were all Marin's people had.
Pretty much the only thing she did like about this was having AG-37 and Sauk in the cockpit with her. The assassin droid could pilot this ship with literally inhuman perfection, and if anything did go wrong with it, Sauk could save it with a mechanic's miracle.
Also with them was Yangar Skirata, now fully concealed behind beskar armor painted a fierce-looking black and orange. The tall Mando leaned between Ania's seat and AG-37's as they neared the platforms.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready to deploy?" she asked.
"Everyone else is standing by. I wanna see this with my own eyes before we go out there."
"You will get your chance in forty-six seconds," said AG-37. "Sharp maneuvers begin in twenty-two seconds. I suggest you hold on."
Yangar gripped their seat-backs tight but didn't move. As promised, AG-37 shot Free Agent up past the refinery, then immediately snapped their nose back down. Ania's entrails seemed to ricochet inside her as Free Agent dropped toward the central landing platform. The space was already littered with landed Mandalorian starfighters, and Marin's heart pounded as Hondo Karr's Black Justice began spraying the small ships with laserfire. Several snubfighters exploded on the platform, while others were knocked off its edge and tumbled into endless clouds. His angle of fire thankfully cut away from any tibanna gas tanks, and seconds after Karr sprayed his suppression fire another ship, old Jind Skirata's Bottom Line, dropped low over the platform and used air-blasts from underside to wash flames off the wrecked fighters.
As the Bottom Line set down, the other ships squeezed in too. There was barely enough space, but Free Agent crammed in beside Black Justice while her mother's ship partially retracted its wings and set down on the far side of the platform.
Yangar was already out of the cockpit. As soon as AG-37 lowered the landing ramp, Ania saw a squadron of commandos disgorge onto the platform. She unbuckled her crash webbing and reached for her blaster rifle.
"You're going out there, Ania?" Sauk asked. He didn't sound surprised.
"I didn't come here to be a passenger." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Stay here. Keep the ship warm. Get ready to evac at any time. A-gee-"
The assassin droid rose. "I will accompany you, Ania."
"I figured that," she smiled wryly. It was good to have AG-37 looking out for her, as always, but she'd feel even better with Jao at her side.
No time for that now. She hurried down to the hold and out onto the platform, AG-37 right behind her. Armored bodies were moving around fast and she strained to see her mother's red helmet. AG-37, standing a meter taller, found her immediately and started moving toward Starlight Champion.
Ania was beneath the Bottom Line's jutting cockpit when the fighting started. She instinctively ducked low and hefted her blaster as shots went over her head. AG-37 partially retracted his legs into his body, the droid's version of a crouch. The shooting had started near her mother's ship and Ania started crawling toward it.
Booted feet pounded past her, nearly crushing her hand. Three figures were racing toward the fight: one Mando in black, one in gold, one in dark green. That was probably Hondo Karr and the Vevecs. Crouching wasn't getting them anywhere so Ania sprang up and charged behind them, trusting their armored bodies to intercept any fire. AG-37 followed, and they quickly reached the entry portal leading into the refinery's bowels. The fighting there had stopped and a group of Mandalorians were charging through, half-leaping over a few dropped bodies.
Ania shouldered alongside Oren Vevec and asked the green-armored man, "Are those theirs or ours?"
"Theirs," he said. "Thanks for coming along."
"How am I supposed to know which armored guys to shoot at?"
"You and your droid stay with us. Shoot who we shoot and you're good."
"He's not my droid. But we will. And where's my mom?"
"You buir went in first," Hondo Karr reported.
Of course she had. "Do we have any objective besides securing the place?"
"Just help us clear the upper level," said Hondo as he started up a stairwell.
Ania noticed that wasn't an answer. She and AG-37 followed the Mandalorians up to the second level, then the third. It was a long straight hallway with what looked like office doors spaced out on either edge. Plenty of places to hide, she thought grimly. They had to burst into each room one-by-one to clear it and Ania always hung back, letting the ones with beskar go in first. When they were almost done with the hall, laserfire sounded some elsewhere in the building. It was a sustained firefight but Hondo kept them from investigating until they'd successfully checked the entire floor.
Even then they progressed slowly down the next corridor. The fighting grew closer but it became clear it was also a level or two below. At the end of a hall was a sealed-tight lift door, and from the red light on the control panel the lift didn't seem to be operational.
AG-37 wedged his metal hands in the door seal and pried the metal panels apart. Once the gap was big enough, Ania peeked inside. Down below she saw the domed heads of bodies taking cover inside the lift shaft, exchanging fire with those outside. She looked above and saw the lift itself, locked over their heads.
"Theirs or ours?" Ania asked.
Oren took a quick look down, then said, "Theirs." Ania was impressed.
Hondo and Tes reached for the fibercable reels attached to their belts. The latter said, "We'll repel down, take the shabuire by surprise. Stay up here and be ready for cover, but for osik's sake don't shoot us."
"There are superior ways to resolve the situation," said AG-37. "If you'll excuse me."
The droid slipped his narrow body through the gap, then jumped. Everyone crowded to watch as his heavy metal body fell straight down and slammed feet-first onto the deck twenty meters below. Without losing a second's reaction time, AG-37 lashed out with either arm and cracked two enemy soldiers on the back of the head, dropping them. The other two were so stunned they couldn't respond before the droid pumped a close-range stun blast into each.
"Shab me," breathed Hondo. "We need to invest in some droids."
From below, AG-37 called, "The situation is resolved. It is safe to come down."
Ania grabbed on to Oren's waist and rode down with him as the three Mandos repelled to the lower floor. AG-37 was already out in the hallway, and Ania was disappointed to see Yangar's squad instead of her mother's.
"How many levels are secure?" Hondo asked him.
"Everything above this. Worst fighting's happening near the processing plant on the south end."
"Then let's go help them," Ania said. "Show us the way."
-{}-
Progress into the tibanna refinery was going better than Marin had expected. Sora Auchs' team had just completed a difficult operation and were exhausted. That, combined with the surprise appearance of a hostile Mando unit, allowed for many of them to be dropped without putting up a fight. As her teams progressed further inside the structure, Marin was in constant communication with her team leaders. In addition to reporting levels taken they repeatedly confirmed that no Mandalorian matching Sora's description had been captured or killed.
Marin knew she'd come to the right place. Whether it was the Force telling her that or some instinct, it didn't matter. She knew it, and she led her team unerringly deeper into the facility. When they finally reached heavy resistance at the processing plant, she knew they'd found Auchs' redoubt.
The tangled pipes and machinery crammed inside this section of the refinery were scored with many blast-marks, and Liem was able to confirm that no tibanna gas was flowing directly into the area; likely it had been shut off by the refinery crew or scattered stormtroopers whose bodies they were stepping over as they advanced.
Auchs' Mandalorians had secured one large chamber at the south end of the complex. It rose some four storeys high, with tiered platforms ringing a central pillar. With the three highest levels occupied they had perfect shooting positions at Marin's people trying to push through on the lowest floor. A handful of her commandos had managed to reach cover elsewhere on the bottom deck but most were pinned at the entrance and a few had been gun downed trying to cross to the pillar itself.
It was a bad situation, but Marin had some tools no one else did. Visibility at this angle was poor but she could reach out with the Force and number the enemy in the room: four beings on the second platform, three on the one above, five on the highest. They were all frantic and angry as they defended themselves, and from their auras alone Marin had no idea which was Sora Auchs. Only her eyes would guarantee that, and she'd gotten a good enough glimpse of the Mandos on the lowest platform to tell none of them were in black-and-violet armor. Her gut told her Sora would be on the highest level but none of that mattered if they couldn't reach it.
Marin peeked through the door, scoured the walls, and ducked into the doorway before getting a faceful of laserfire. She leaned to Liem and shouted over battle-sounds, "There's windows high up on the west wall. Get on the line, tell one of our teams outside to repel through."
Liem lowered his head, the signal he was on his helmet comm. A minute later he lifted it and told Marin, "Jind's on the way. They'll still get blasted hard."
"It'll distract Auchs long enough for us to get up there." For me to get up, she thought. She hadn't used the Force in any obvious way on this mission. Most of her people didn't even know she had it. She'd always known there'd be a time when her secret would out and if it got her Sora Auchs she'd gladly reveal herself.
As enemy commandos kept laying suppression fire on the doorway she asked, "Any reinforcements in sight?"
"Negative. That jamming field we threw up looks like it's working. That only buys us time, though."
"As long as we have this place secure it doesn't matter."
"You want to make a stand here?"
"Here's as good a place as any."
She felt the hesitancy behind his mask. Liem was young, eager, and idealistic, but he didn't follow her blindly. Charging in here after Sora had already made him doubt. Well, he'd get something to restore his faith very soon.
Minutes dragged on as Jind's people scaled the facility's west-side exterior. When they were finally in position, her cousin's voice scratched in her ear. "I've got people in position at all windows," Jind said. "When do we go in?"
"On my mark. You're going to draw fire from the upper platforms but do not enter the chamber. Repeat, don't enter. You're a distraction. Use the windows for cover. Can you do that?"
"Gotta shoot one-handed since we're hanging on tight, but we can do it."
Marin took a moment to gather herself, calm her nerves, and ready the Force inside her. She looked to Liem and the other troops clustered in the hall. To them and Jind both she said, "On my mark. Four, three, two, one. Mark."
High-up windows exploded with a hail of laser blasts. The Mandos on the upper platforms instinctively shifted to return fire, allowing Marin's people a chance to charge toward the central pillar. One lobbed a fragmentation grenade onto the second-tier platform, and he waited until Marin's people were all under the lowest tier's umbrella before he detonated it. Shredding metal shards exploded into the air, slipping between the armor-plates of the four soldiers clustered there. Marin felt their sudden pain in the Force and with it the thrill of success.
"Up!" she shouted. "Up now!"
Liem and the others stepped out beneath the umbrella and readied their grappling guns for the second-highest platform. Marin put an arm around Liem and gripped her blaster in her free hand. They looked up and saw laserfire still slashing back and forth between the higher platforms and the west windows.
They fired their grapplers as one. Metal clicked on metal and their bodies were reeled upward fast. Marin went with them, but when they neared the second level she let go of Liem and let the Force carry her higher.
Her red-armored body shot through the air, somersaulted, and landed boots-first on the highest deck. She whipped up her blaster and shot the nearest Mando in the back of the neck before the others even knew she was there. Jind and the others at the window ceased their firing lest they hit her, but Marin was still facing four warriors to her one, all of them in beskar and almost certainly younger and stronger than her.
But none of them had the Force, and that was all that mattered.
Marin sent out a wall that knocked two of them off-balance and tipped another off the platform's edge. Already down to three. She ducked beneath the blasts of a brown-armored soldier, pulled a beskar knife from her belt, and lunged for him. The man was fast enough to dodge but she rammed into him shoulder-first and slammed him into the warrior behind. Metal cracked on metal and she shoved both of them away, spun, and felt the blaster bolt coming at her a split-second before it hit. She angled her body so it skidded across her chestplate rather than hit it head-on, then used the Force to wrestle the weapon from the warrior's hand. She raised her own pistol and pumped four shots in fast succession, scattering sparks from blue plating. One more push from the Force knocked that warrior off into a four-storey fall.
The last two Mandos were back on their feet and Marin spun to face them. She saw them clearly now: one large man in brown and a smaller figure in black and violet. The big man was on her first with his own beskar knife. Their blades met and clashed, and at the same time he swung a punch with his free hand that knocked her off-balance and broke concentration. He slashed at her knife hard enough to knock it from her grip. At the same time Sora came around Marin's other flank, blaster aimed for her ribs.
Marin felt it coming, threw out a hand, and caught hot plasma in her gloved palm. She spun around, slipped behind Sora, and cocked a forearm around the young woman's neck. The bigger Mando hesitated at the sight of Marin's body shield and reaching with the Force she felt Jind and his men still watching her from the window, waiting for a chance to shoot.
Marin knew exactly what to do. She was already at the platform's edge. She tipped back and took Sora with her as she fell. Laster blasts lit up the space right above her, taking down the last man.
Marin called one the Force again as they dropped. She slowed their plunge and twisted so that Sora landed first, beskar cracking against hard ferrocrete. Marin realized that laserfire in the room had ceased; the place was secure. She grabbed Sora's helmet by the bottom rim and roughly yanked it free, exposing a face she'd seen only in holos. Dazed and terrified and angry at once, it recalled her father's as preserved in memory for forty years.
Marin reached out with the Force one last time to pinch Sora's windpipe. Not enough to break it, just enough to steal her breath and keep her helpless.
"I've got you now," Marin panted, savoring the panic in the young woman's eyes. "And I've got your buir too."
Sora's eyes went wide as she gasped for air, but Marin didn't release until she noticed the boots of those gathered around her. She picked up her head to see a dozen Mandos who'd followed her into his fray. Every face was hidden behind a masked helmet but one naked one shoved itself into view. It was another woman's face, as young as Sora's but far more familiar, eyes wide with shock and horror.