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Amidala City, Mars
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SF-4738 could think of better ways to be woken up.
To say he had been roused from his slumber by the Earth's attack would have belittled the physical force that picked him out of his bed and thrown him across his hotel room. A high explosive bomb had fallen directly in front of the establishment, shredding the droid doorman and injuring a half dozen beings in the lobby and roadway. When SF-4738 picked himself up again and looked outside he was confronted by a two meter deep crater where the valet stand had once been.
SF-4738 had never been on the receiving end of an aerial bombing before. As a boy on Teth he had witnessed Republic forces lead an assault on a Separatist base on his home world but that had been a mere pinprick compared to what the 2nd Empire had unleashed on Earth twenty years ago. He'd gone on to suffer through artillery bombardments during the war back then but the Legion's own artillery had always been able to counter the abos' barrages. Now hundreds of strange bombers flew over Amidala City, largely unopposed, dropping their cargo of death haphazardly all across the city. From what SF-4738 saw of the city's meager defenses there was little the Empire could do to stop it.
SF-4738 didn't have the first clue what had caused the planetary defense shield to power down and vanish but it had been there one minute and gone the next. The sudden appearance of the Confederate Space Force hinted that Earthling infiltrators had somehow knocked the shield generators offline. How Moff Hinter had allowed such a gross lapse in security to occur should have been reason enough for the Imperial Security Bureau to step in. Moff Hinter, slippery Anacondan in human clothing that she was, had amazingly side-stepped their clutches on the first day of the invasion and retained control of the planet's defenses throughout the shock and awe of an Earth invasion of Mars.
With the practiced training that was honed in a hundred billets across two Galaxies, SF-4738 threw on his clothes and rushed out of his hotel room. He grabbed his bug-out bag, consisting of several thousand credit chits, a change of clothes and his trusty SE-14c blaster pistol.
Beings poured out of their homes and businesses looking for the source of the disturbance. Many of them turned their heads to the sky and witnessed the first aerial invaders over the city. Alien fighters swooped down into the helpless airways over the city. Their slugthrowers opened up with great ripping noises as their metallic slugs blasted apart dozens of civilian airspeeders. Some of the civilian airspeeders exploded while others fell to Mars, pockmarked with scores of slug and blaster holes. The airways fell apart as commuters scattered under the onslaught. Many of them crashed into one another and more than a few, in their panic, drove straight into the sides of nearby cloudcutters.
SF-4738 ignored the throngs lining the sidewalks uselessly attempting to flag down a taxi. The ex-Stormtrooper pushed and elbowed his way through the stoopas who actually believed a driver would stop for them today.
Just as he was feeling smug about not needing a taxi, he was confronted by an almost solid wall on fleeing beings. They were locked shoulder to shoulder, swarming around and climbing over landspeeders stopped by the panicking mob. SF-4738 grabbed onto a lamppost as the crowd reached him. He pushed and shoved back against anyone trying to pull him along with the crush.
"Echuta." He said pushing a Jawa off of him that had attempted to grab a hold of his leg. He looked back over the crowd and spotted several formations of heavy bombers cruising towards the transport landing pads surrounding Amidala City InterGalactic Spaceport. Energy and metal-cased bombs rained down on the spaceport. The massive explosion from that direction shook the ground, causing beings in the crowd to scream and flee down every side alley. An enormous plume of smoke and burning hypermatter rose into the sky.
The main escape route from Mars had been severed in a fiery blast.
That didn't matter much to SF-4738. His son was out there somewhere and he wasn't leaving Mars without him.
It took him most of the day to walk across Amidala City. Within several hours. He realized the enemy were solely Earthers and that they weren't landing in the city. They weren't even bothering with paratroopers. He had spotted several large transports landing far to the south. They were being escorted by cruisers which looked to have been built along the lines of old Separatist ships. Why the Earth had gone to war with warships that didn't stand a chance against the Empire's Star Destroyers SF-4738 didn't have a clue. Then it hit him. The Earth must be partners with those big ships that had struck at Nal Kuat. With the Imperial Fleet knocked down several pegs the Earth finally had the cheeblies to take a bite out of the Empire. Unfortunately for SF-4738, Mars looked like the first thing they were going to swallow.
He had watched Tarkin Tower topple over from several kilometers away, and by the time he had reached the Yos River all four of its central bridges had collapsed into its waters. He traveled in a wide arc to bypass the inferno that was devouring the Imperial Mercantile Exchange and witnessed how it had spread to the Mayoral Mansion. Beings in the roadways said Mayor Geist had escaped in his bare feet just ahead of the flames.
When SF-4738 finally reached the Martian Academy of Military Sciences, he found it bathed in an eerie silence. The only sounds in the air were distant explosions and crumbling buildings along with the constant whine of enemy fighter engines over the city. The great lawn of the Academy, the sight of constant close order drills for the cadets, was blackened from one end to the other and SF-4738 recognized the familiar odor of burned up napalm as he crossed over to the administration building; a large structure made from grey, sterile-looking permacrete that nonetheless had large holes bitten out of its façade from recent bomb strikes.
The building was abandoned. Its front doors locked with military grade security locks. SF-4738 knew better than to mess with something that was likely booby-trapped with electricity, gas or even acid deterrents. He walked around the campus until he found a building with ground level viewports and then simply blasted one of them out of his way.
The lecture halls and professor offices looked like they had been hastily abandoned. Rooms were left open and furniture had been toppled over. Lamps had been left on and viewports remained open. SF-4738 cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted. "Hello! Is anyone here?"
His voice echoed down long dark halls to only be met with silence. He shouted several more times as he moved through the campus with the same results. When he came across the Academy library he was met with a strong smell of smoke. Twenty years ago, during the siege of Vegas, he had developed a keen sense of smell for determining what was burning. This wasn't a wood or building material fire. Someone was burning flimsi and data storage tapes.
SF-4738 found a small courtyard situated between the data-library and the simulator building. There he discovered a trio of silver protocol droids assisted by a single astromech who were tending to a large bonfire. The droids were in the process of unloading a repulsar sled piled high with holotexts and tossing the contents into the fire.
The veteran trooper started to step out into the courtyard when he felt the press of a blaster in the small of his back. "Get your hands up where I can see them."
SF-4738 did as he was told. He slowly rose his hands into the air. The unseen figure relieved him of his SE-14c. "I'm not an abo."
"Exactly, what an abo would say." The man behind him replied. "Now turn around."
He did as he was ordered. As he did so he came face to face with an Imperial uniformed clone. The man looked ancient, though SF-4738 knew the Kamino clones were no more than forty-eight years old, he still recognized the same features from those drill instructors who had trained him to be a Stormtrooper in the first days of the Old Empire. The man studied SF-4738 just as intensely as the Stormtrooper judged the clonetrooper.
"You're a white hat." The clone lowered his weapon. "I can see it in your eyes."
"SF-4738, Sergeant, late of the 395th." SF-4738 introduced himself.
"Alpha-17, Captain, late of the GAR and head caretaker of this place. 395th, huh? One of the Legions that had a rough time of it in Las Vegas." Alpha-17 knew his history. He lowered his DC-17 but didn't offer SF-4738 his SE-14c back right away.
"You can say that again. Why the ambush?" SF-4738 asked.
"Well, Sergeant, besides the fact the Earth has invaded and are dropping energy and metal bombs across the city like sweets from one of the New Mandalore piñatas they ship up here? The four fleet bridges across the Yos were all knocked out earlier. Been all over the local RescueOps channels. Air Defense batteries stationed along the river have their own channels which I've been monitoring. They say the bridges weren't hit by any of those kriffing bombers. You know what that means?"
"Infiltrators."
"Stang straight, infiltrators, agitators, saboteurs, trouble-makers, agent provocateurs, what the Earthlings call franc tireurs." Alpha 17 said. He had an assurance to his voice, backed by panicked experience, as if enemies were around every corner. SF-4738 saw him for what he was, an old clone performing what he saw as his last duty as the ravages of age crept rapidly down on him.
"You sound like you know a lot about it."
"I should. Believe it or not I was an ARC Trooper once upon a time. Worked behind the Sepper's lines from Jabiim to Rattatak." Alpha 17 pulled up his sleeve to reveal a nasty looking old scar. "Picked up this memento from General Grievous himself on Boz Pity."
"And you lived to tell the tale. How come you're not with the rest of your brothers over in New Mandalore. True Victory can't be making it easy for you clones in the Empire."
"Punk scum. Both of them. True Victory and my so-called brothers. They want me to go through the kriffing "process", so I'll live forever or some such nonsense. Don't want to respect the life the Force planned out for them. No, I found a good quiet job, here on Mars, looking after the next generations of mongrel officers for the Fleet."
"Speaking of which, sir. I'm here looking for my son. He was one of the first year cadets here."
"Sorry, Sergeant. Can't reveal military movements to a civilian." Alpha 17 shrugged.
"Captain, you've seen what's happening out there, right? In a few days no one in the city will be able to call themselves a civilian anymore. Certainly not me, I plan on fighting the Earthlings and whoever else stands in the way of me tracking down my kid."
Alpha 17 rubbed his chin and silently judged SF-4738 for a few seconds. When he was done he handed SF-4738 his blaster back. "You might have a point, Sergeant. I wish Moff Hinter would see it. She swept in here minutes after the shield went down with a whole gaggle of gravtrucks. Took every cadet, ensign and professor along with her out to the Margaritifer Terra. Said she planned on using the cadets as adjuncts and aides to supplement her 212th Legion."
"The Margaritifer Terra? The military district?"
"Far as I can tell the Confederacy landed an entire army south of there. They must have wanted to knock out the Legion fast without being bogged down in city fighting."
"Can't blame them. I went through that nightmare twice in the last go around with the abos. They're stang wizard at it. But it is brutal on the attackers." SF-4738 said. "So is that where the cadets were sent off to? Moff Hinter marched them towards the sounds of the blasters?"
"What can you expect from a former Navy officer? You know she commanded a Star Destroyer during the last dust up with the Earthers?"
"Aye, every youngling has heard the story of her last meeting with Moff Kuat. Still she must know something otherwise she's never have risen to command the Empire's solo Fortress Planet."
"She's smart. Plays the long game. When she tore through here this morning like a bull rancor, the cadets took everything they could carry from the arsenal. Then gravtrucks came in and took everything that was left for the 212th." Alpha-17 must not have realized he was repeating himself.
"Wizard, they'll need it. Have you seen how many bombers are circling the city? The abos didn't come to play."
"You really going to go up to the front to look for your kid?" Alpha 17 asked. "As a cadet he's following his orders and doing his duty to the Empress, just like you once did."
That hit SF-4738 where it counted. One value he placed higher than all others was duty. It was a virtue he had striven to embed within all of his younglings, none longer than Mahan. "Just going to make sure he has everything he needs. If I don't then how can I show my face to my wife when I get back to Anax."
"I intercepted a call to the city council. Moff Hinter is looking to put together a commission of local leaders to run the city while she defends it. Run supplies out to the troopers and what not. They're over at the Long Jump deciding who to send. Your best bet on getting through the field police might be to hook up with them."
"Civvies." SF-4738 grunted in disgust.
Alpha 17 chuckled. "Might want to look at yourself in the mirror, trooper. Been a long time since you wore Sergeant's cubes."
"You aren't lying. Thanks for your help, Captain. But I need to head out if I'm going to get over to the Long Jump by nightfall." SF-4738 attempted to excuse himself. He wasn't exaggerating either. The Long Jump Casino was about eight kilometers away and the Earthling fighters where shooting up any landspeeder that tried to move on Amidala City's roadways. He was going to have to hoof it.
"That's good. No doubt the enemy's artillery will level this place when they move up into range. I was wondering if you could do me one small favor before you go." Alpha 17 asked.
"As long as it promises to yank the abos' tails." SF-4738 agreed, omitting the fact that if it took too much time away from the hunt for his son he wouldn't be able to promise the old clone he could do much for him.
"In your hands it just might." Alpha 17 led SF-4738 into the library. Inside the building the droids were busy dragging holo-books from the shelves for the bonfire outside and erasing data-files. The information and texts had backups at nearly every military academy in the Empire, yet it would serve no purpose to give the Earthlings copies of Imperial military tactics if they overran Mars. In the central atrium were several displays held in transpiristeel cases. Inside were many examples of exotic and ancient weapons that had somehow made it through the 'big jump' with Tarkin's Fist. SF-4738 recognized a trishot blaster and a pair of Colt Slugthrowers that once belonged to Wyatt Earp that had been taken as war booty during the Empire-Earth War.
"I need you to take care of this for me. It can't be allowed to fall into Earthling hands." Alpha 17 unlocked the lid atop one of the cases and opened it.
SF-4738 peered down inside and let out an admiring whistle. "Is that a . . ."
"Amban phase-pulse blaster." Alpha 17 said the name that escaped SF-4738's lips.
"A disintegrator isn't it? I don't know anyone who used them against the abos."
"Ah, yes. It's a vaporator, electrocuter and blaster all in one. Let me tell you something, Sergeant. The Earth came up here not just to conquer but for revenge and brutal occupation. Hinter will not hold Mars with a single Legion. The Empress does not have the troops to reconquer Mars once the Earth takes it. At least not yet. The bombers trapped us here when they hit the transport yards. Someone with this thing and the right amount of skills can make the Earth pay a hefty price for holding this place, if you catch my meaning."
SF-4738 did understand. He didn't want to admit it but the old war had caught up with him. He took the exotic weapon in his hands. He admired its heft and its double-pronged muzzle made of Mandalorian beskar. "I will take good care of it."
"Just make sure it doesn't fall into enemy hands. If it makes it back to the Academy after the war then it does. If not, well then I'm sure you will have your reasons."
"Thank you."
"Don't think about it. Now go find that boy of yours." Alpha 17 ordered.
SF-4738 stood at attention and saluted the old clone. "You take care of yourself, Captain. I hope to see you get through this."
"I have my last duties to the Academy to perform and then I will be fine. I was decanted and raised for war. It's only right that my last days are spent in one." Alpha 17 got a faraway look in his eyes. SF-4738 imagined the clone was recalling long forgotten battlefields from Kamino to Mars.
SF-4738 wrapped the Amban in a piece of curtain he ripped down from one of the library's viewports and then slung the weapon across his back. With a final nod to the clone caretaker he exited the building and made his way off the Academy's campus. It was already late afternoon and he only had a few fours of sunlight left to make it to the Long Jump Casino.
Once outside again, his ears perked up. He could hear distant explosions and sirens from various directions across the city. A haunting, familiar rumble was growing from the south of the city. The Confederacy was bringing their artillery forward to shell the Margaritifer Terra Highlands there and Moff Hinter and 212th Legion were repaying the favor with a dwindling number of AV-7s and SPHAs.
His stomach grumbled and though most shops were cleaned out a number of roadway venders were doing a brisk business selling highly marked-up dishes from food-hovertrucks. SF-4738 was able to purchase several orders of what was called perogis from one of the trucks. Mahan had told him about the food in one of his holomessages back to Anax a few months ago. Apparently the Earth dish was all the rage here on Mars during the past couple of years. He ate one and stuffed two more wrapped ones in his bag. His mindset was already on a war footing and who knew when he would find food again.
Anti-airspeeder fire fought a futile battle to keep the enemy bombers at bay as more and more of the invaders landed on Mars. A nearby battery of defensive blasters opened up on a passing formation of airspeeders as beings in the roadway took cover. SF-4738 followed suit. He had been through enough explosions during his life to give bombs a healthy respect.
Instead of the normal airbursts or ground impacts a steady rain of leaflets fluttered down from on high. SF-4738 stepped out into the roadway as a cascading downpour of notices fell around him. He snatched one out of mid-air, surprised that it was made of paper and not the more common flimsi. On one side was the image of a powerful-appearing Legionnaire, the new, mysterious face of the Confederacy's military. The enemy trooper was rendered several kilometers tall and appeared to be looking down at an artist's poor rendition of Amidala City. Laying behind the Legionnaire were several dead bodies of Stormtroopers. SF-4738 turned it over to reveal a message in aurebesh.
CITIZENS OF THE EMPIRE. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.
YOU HAVE ONE LEGION DEFENDING YOU. WE HAVE LANDED TWELVE SO FAR WITH MORE TO COME. YOUR FLEET IS BURNING AT NAL KUAT.
RESCUE IS NOT COMING FOR YOU.
MARS BELONGS TO THE CONFEDERACY OF EARTH NATIONS. DECLARE AMIDALA CITY OPEN AND ABANDON ITS DEFENSE OR IT WILL BE DESTROYED.
SAVE YOUR LIVES.
SURRENDER NOW.
Other beings were outside now after realizing that more bombs hadn't fallen. They started to pick up and read the leaflets that blew in the breeze. The readers had various reactions; some nodded in agreement, some cried, many of them angrily crumpled or ripped up the cheap paper. SF-4738 could respect that reaction. Those beings had some hope to continue the fight. He stuffed the leaflet he had picked up into his pocket and continued on.
It was an hour after dark when SF-4738 finally reached his destination. Nikto in private security uniforms initially blocked his entrance, stating that the casino was closed to customers due to the invasion. By happenstance a few representatives from Alderaan Living Spaces had arrived several minutes after SF-4738 to attend the secret meeting of business leaders inside the casino. Having dealt with SF-4738 just a couple of days before during less stressful times, they vouched for him. The Nikto guards begrudgingly let him pass through their perimeter.
And that was how SF-4738 became surrounded by morons.
He didn't think a single being in the emergency meeting of Amidala City business beings had come within a hundred thousand kilometers of the last war. nor the Clone War before it. The meeting was filled by a few score of the local city council and business owners as well as two ancient Amidala Guardsmen who looked to have been old enough to have fought in the Stark-Hyperspace War. Everyone younger than them in the Guard had been dragooned into civil defense units by Moff Hinter. SF-4738 had no idea where the mayor was or if he was even still counted among the living.
SF-4738 shouldn't have been here. He didn't own any sort of business or even a residence on Mars. Instead he had arrived on the red planet only a week ago on what should have been a business trip to conclude new contracts with Alderaan Living Spaces. Normally that would have been a job for his sales representative, HF-3105, but with his eldest boy's acceptance into the elite Martian Naval Academy, here in Amidala City, SF-4738 had found an excuse to substitute himself in the business negotiations. He had originally planned for three days of contract negotiations, which were about as fun as watching an AT-AT rust, and then meet with his son. Mahan had sent a holo notifying the family that he had received leave during the upcoming Fete Week and SF-4738 had arranged for a four day fishing trip on the Yos Ocean with Mahan and a few of his classmates once his business meetings had been concluded. At least that's what the plan had been, the universe and the Confederacy of Earth Nations had plans of their own.
The retired Stormtrooper turned lumber baron had just wrapped up a negotiation to deliver two years' worth of milled wroshyr planks and eight hundred tons of Veshok wood to the furniture conglomerate when the first bombs had fallen on Nal Kuat while on far, far away Palpatine Prime an unsuccessful attempt had been taken on the Empress and two of her younglings' lives.
The meeting with the Alderaanians had wrapped up quickly. Both parties had wanted to return home and watch the developments on the far side of the Empire unfold. SF-4738 had spent the evening watching all three channels of the HoloNews stations. Everything in the Empire seemed to come to a halt to deal with the massive tragedy at Nal Kuat.
Several times during the previous day, SF-4738 had tried to put through a call to Mahan at the Naval Academy dorms, but the duty sergeant there had just replied that all cadets and ensigns had been called up for emergency service and that he couldn't divulge Mahan's location due to security concerns. SF-4738 assumed the cadets were organizing an emergency supply mission for Nal Kuat and hoped it didn't interfere with Mahan's leave, but he wasn't holding his breath. He knew how the military worked. He had called Baobab that night and talked about the attacks and their other younglings and he assured her that Mahan was safe but working on Academy business. He told her he would let her know the moment he knew anything more. He had yet to make that call.
He ate his dinner last night on the balcony of his hotel room while he enjoyed a pair of eblas. He had found it strange that night-time traffic hadn't changed over Amidala City due to the attack on the Nal Kuat. A few floodlights probed the sky for several minutes but shut down shortly after. Perhaps they were being tested out or their operators had grown bored. What was the point when Mars had a planetary shield, after all? He'd watched the traffic for several hours while listening to the evening news about the far away attack. During the length of the evening he didn't spot a single TIE fighter flying a patrol over the city.
It had been a cloudy night above Amidala City and the span of the Milky Way was hidden from its occupants. SF-4738 recalled during the war the Kuat Driveyards could be seen in orbit before they had been moved to Nal Kuat. The day before he had spotted two Star Destroyers loyally standing guard above Mars. He wondered if they were still up there now.
That had been yesterday. The entire galaxy had changed since then.
The betting machines inside the Long Jump had been pushed to the sides of the great gambling hall and cushioned benches had been brought in for the hundred or so gathered business leaders. Most of them appeared worried, straight scared out of their wits or just plain angry. A few of them had armed body guards of their own. SF-4738 used his keen eye to surmise which of the armed men were true fighters and which were all show. He made note of who looked like real fighters for later.
Holes in the ceiling let in a cool breeze and allowed eyes in the crowd to keep a steady watch for enemy bombers which never gave the city a moment of respite.
"We need to organize an evacuation of Mars." An Artiodac dressed in construction overalls begged the crowd.
"Fool. We need to petition Moff Hinter to go over onto the attack and drive the Terran scum off our world immediately." A Ginmid wine merchant in expensive Mastmot furs countered. His voice carrying above the argumentative crowd of idiots.
"If we surrender the planet without further fighting, the Confederacy will surely give us reasonable terms. Wasn't their President accommodating when he signed the Mercury Accords twenty years ago?" An Imroosian landspeeder dealer asked. SF-4738 wanted to punch the coward right in the mouth. The abos weren't here to be accommodating. They were here to conquer and rule.
SF-4738 knew he wasn't well known on Mars. His lumber business was based off Anax, which was just over two thousand light years away and sparsely inhabited by veterans from the last war. Not many of which had family or friends here on Fortress Planet Mars. As such the retired sergeant decided he would listen now and bide his time, looking for any opportunity that would get him closer to seeing his son.
"What we need to do is get ready to flee Mars as soon as the Navy arrives." The Artiodac argued once more.
"The same Fleet that was attacked two days ago? The Admiralty was sucker punched at Nal Kuat and now they're going to betray us by abandoning Mars." A mean-looking Cingulon banker with a pair of human bodyguards shouted at the shorter Artiodac. He turned to the crowd. "Who's got ships still on Mars?"
"Most of the heavy transports were parked at the city's main spaceport and were destroyed within minutes of the invasion." The Imroosian reminded everyone.
"I heard the Khramboans had a couple Mining Guild ships launch just as the Earthlings were landing. They got free and clear. Probably half way to Greejatus Minor by now." A Bakuran woman told the gathering.
"Some Fondorians tried to run the blockade with an YT-1100 this afternoon. Crazy Earthers blew them out of the sky. I heard the same thing happened to some Lepi water haulers launching over the Yos Ocean. Fishermen up there pulled their bodies out of the water a few hours ago." A man added with a thick Hrakian accent. Fools only thought of their own necks in tough times, SF-4738 thought. It had been the same with officers in the Corps.
"If they had waited, we could have organized something bigger. More of the right beings could have made it off of Mars. Not just a handful of Khramboans." The Cingulon pointed a finger at the Hrakian. SF-4738 wondered what he had meant by 'right beings.'
"Well now that the Confederacy has blocked every exit off of this world how are we going to escape?" A Martigrade shouted above the debaters from the rear seats.
"The Ares is still out there somewhere. I heard she wasn't at Nal Kuat when the fleet was hit." The Ginmid wine merchant argued. SF-4738 didn't want to count on an untested Super Star Destroyer that the abos had managed to take control of at the end of the last war. Besides he couldn't see the Empress risking her most powerful weapon on an unescorted rescue mission of a single planet. Even if her beloved father was buried on Mars.
"She wasn't the only ship absent from Nal Kuat." The Cingulon stated. "My daughter is an officer aboard the Slash. She sent a message that the Fleet was gathering for something." SF-4738 didn't like the idea of some loose lipped officer spilling Naval operations to her father. With another war breaking out, ISB was going to drop like a ton of durasteel on offenders who couldn't keep their mouths shut.
"They've got to be gathering to break the Confederacy's barricade." Someone shouted from the back seats but SF-4738 hadn't seen who had said it. "Don't we have other freighters in the colonies?"
"Who has access to transports?" The Cingulon called out to the crowd. "Anything along the Bloodstripe within a few hundred light years?"
"I had five nerf haulers at Plympto Blight." A Nosaurian rancher announced. "But my hands took 'em and ran off coreward as soon as they heard the Earthlings had reached Ord Vairecant."
There was a lot of murmuring among the crowd. Evidently, SF-4738 wasn't the only one who hadn't learned that the Confederacy had attacked beyond the Sol System. But Ord Vairecant? She was a Besalisk colony world nearly a day down the Bloodstripe with an Imperial ship. How did the backwards Earthlings obtain hyperdrives just as fast as what could be found in the Empire.
Somebody else must have been thinking along the same lines. An Ongidae brute in an expensive robe elbowed his way to the front of the group. With a good understanding of the Empire's colonies and hyper-routes he demanded to know. "If those kriffing Confederates are already at Ord Vairecant then what about New Ryloth, Quarzite and MotherGarden?"
A Vahla in the uniform of the HEEC stepped forward. "My kriffing freighters have been running coreward with everything they can carry from New Ryloth to Empress-blessed Protivos without company shipping orders or a BOSS recall order from the capital. If my schutta captains are doing it on their own initiative then it's going to take the Navy a stang hell of a lot to turn those barves around to come back and save our skins."
"The Earthlings started landing at New Ryloth a few hours after they hit us here. I heard about it just before the HoloNews from Palpatine Prime was cut off. There was also an alert from MotherGarden that they had sighted Confederate ships in their system." The Imroosian reported, to astonished gasps. MotherGarden and Quarzite II were at the heads of the two hyper-routes that led coreward from New Ryloth. If both were being hit then the Earth was strong enough to launch two simultaneous campaigns against the Empire. That horrific realization was slowly sinking into the dim-witted minds of the business owners. If the Earth was that strong then the fleet wasn't coming to their rescue. The Navy's first priority would be putting a stop to the coreward march of the Confederacy of Earth Nation's Space Force before they showed up on the steps of Yos Palace on Palpatine Prime.
"What are we going to do?" Someone cried.
"The Empress will save us." Another voice was hurled from crowd.
The Ginmid raised a hand for quiet. "Moff Hinter has called for civilian representatives to meet with her at the front lines. We must be ready to do whatever we can to support our troops for however long we can."
"Echuta! What about our families? Our city?" The Martigrade asked.
"No way am I going up to the frontlines." The Imroosian added.
The Ginmid and the Cingulon looked ready to go but there weren't a lot of beings looking to join them. Hiding from falling bombs was one thing, facing the slugthrowers of the enemy was a whole other can of brain worms. SF-4738 had been in their place once upon a time, with an enemy closing in from every side. Back then he had his training and his duty to pull him through. What did civilians have?
Whatever they lacked they would have to learn it quick. Someone needed to teach them.
SF-4738 rose from his seat and marched up to the Ginmid. "I'm going."
"Who the kriff are you?" The Ginmid stared wide eyed at the ex-Stormtrooper.
"He's from the colonies. Big lumber dealer from Anax." One of the Alderaanians in the crowd vouched for him.
"You're not from Mars." The Imroosian judged him as if being from Mars mattered when they were all stuck here despite their home world.
"I'm just as much an Imperial as you are. I donned the white and served the Empress as a sergeant in the last war. What did you do?" SF-4738 threw back his own accusations.
"Well I was needed back here on Mars." The Imroosian retreated as SF-4738 squared off against him. The civilians were a tad slow but even they quickly realized they had someone who could handle themselves in a fight in front of them. Perhaps for the first time some of them were noticing his sidearm or the concealed weapon strapped to his back.
"We are all needed right now. I intend to tell Moff Hinter that we will help fight the Earthlings now, and if the city shall fall we shall make the planet a living hell for the Confederacy to hold." SF-4738 declared. He noted many of the beings in the crowd agreeing with him.
"You want to go guerilla? Fight like rebels?" The Imroosian couldn't believe what he was hearing. No doubt he believed it would be better if they bent over and took it in the shebs from the CEN.
SF-4738 pulled out the leaflet that had been dropped by the Confederate bombers and held it up for the crowd to see. "The Earthlings outnumber our solo Legion here. Once the Stormtroopers are gone we are on our own. We were too dependent on the shield that protected this world. But they somehow knocked it, out which means they probably had beings working on the inside. They also say they don't want to raze the city. We can work with that. The 212th will not hold forever so we must be ready when the city falls. If Moff Hinter chooses to fight for it many of us will die unnecessarily. If we let them take it we can administer a thousand blows while they sleep. I'm going to ask Moff Hinter to open the armories and warehouses for the populace. You need to distribute whatever you can to your own beings and anyone that can use it because once the Confederacy gets here they are going to take everything you have. They will not respect the bended knee but only those that are willing to stand up to them."
There were several cheers and calls of "here, here," from the gathered business elites. The Imroosian had nothing further to say and sat back down. A few in the crowd were inspired by SF-4738's words and choose to leave to prepare for the fight ahead, vowing to open up their stores for the populace. One Thradian baker told whoever had the means to come to her bakery and haul away everything they could. A human blaster saleswoman saw the writing on the wall and knew her shop would be the first thing raided by the Earthlings and told everyone to grab what they could carry. She started talking with a medical supply manufacturer and they both quickly decided to move as much as they could into the countryside and hide it. SF-4738 made special note of them.
The Ginmid wasted little time getting out of the casino. Even though it appeared they were to travel together SF-4738 suspected the wine merchant wanted to plead his case for an aggressive attack on the Earthlings to Moff Hinter before the others had a turn to speak. SF-4738 and the Cingulon followed along with the Cingulon's two human bodyguards. They were met outside by another of the Cingulon's apparent servants, an Ubese driver that stood at the ready beside a large gravtruck towing a livestock hover-trailer.
"Savushh, take us as close to the Margaritifer Terra district as you can." The Cingulon told his driver. Savushh, the driver, answered in snapping Ubese. The Cingulon turned to SF-4738, "Sergeant, he says the enemy airspeeders are attacking any vehicles that try to relieve the garrison in the military district. That's why we brought mounts. Hopefully they won't notice a small party such as ours if we ride in."
"Sounds like a wise move. I'm not too old for a field march if we have to." SF-4738 replied. To reach his son he'd flap his arms and attempt to fly there if he had to do it.
They piled into the cab of the gravtruck with Savushh behind the wheel. SF-4738 liked the cut of the little Ubese, he had the look of an ex-gladiator or bounty hunter to him and he carried a rack of Tusken Cycler Rifles in the gravtruck's back window. The gravtruck departed for the south as fast as Savushh could safely drive it through the blacked-out nighttime roadways of the city. The Ubese had to avoid several craters in the roadway and at one point the Amidala City Guard made them backtrack because of an unexploded bomb in the roadway ahead of them.
The southern section of the city facing the Margaritifer Terra Highlands was bordered by the Yos River which turned sharply and ran towards the west beyond the city limits. Every bridge across the river had been knocked out by the enemy before they had arrived.
They pulled over underneath a copse of irontrees. Savushh jumped out of the cab like a circus acrobat and ran to the trailer to open it. The Cingulon led SF-4738 and the Ginmid to the back of the vehicle were his workers were leading several wooly Orbaks down the trailer's ramp. Savushh held the reins of one of the mounts to SF-4738 and asked something in Ubese.
"He wants to know if you can ride." The Cingulon translated his servant's inquiry.
"I grew up on a dirt agricombine of Teth. I cut my teeth riding Blurrg as a youngling." He told the driver. Savushh nodded approvingly. No doubt the Ubese would be judging his riding skills as they traveled to the military headquarters. SF-4738 wondered why the Ubese was sizing him up as they would probably be done with one another in a few hours. The Ubese slung one of the long slugthrowers to his back and climbed into his own saddle.
SF-4738 mounted his own Orbak. He actually had the most experience with the Margaritifer Highlands, having being stationed there prior and after the Empire-Earth War. He found a ford across the river and charged his Orbak right in up to its shoulders. He had to go slow to not lose any of his party in the darkness during the night-time river crossing.
In the highlands ahead of them, several fires lit the night. Streams of anti-airspeeder blaster bolts and missiles stitched the sky as they sought out enemy bombers and fighters that dove on targets from out of a low cloud ceiling. Confederate attack chopters prowled the edges of the military base mercilessly tearing into any Imperial trooper that exposed themselves. The Orbaks grew nervous from the rumble of artillery ahead of them, the impacts of which they could feel through their hooves.
It wasn't very difficult to get into the military district from the north. Very few roadblocks and checkpoints had been set up in that direction and traffic was set up to facilitate a steady stream of wounded coming from the southern front lines. During the few times they are halted it was only a matter of minutes to explain who they were and why they were seeking out Moff Hinter. The presence of the aliens in the party helped somewhat as every trooper knew the invading Earthlings had no love for non-humans after the last war.
One of the Cingulon's human bodyguards took charge of the Orbaks as SF-4738 and his party dismounted to carry on on foot. The roadways of the military district were pitch black and ran between thick, heavy bunkers. Each of the miniature fortresses were designed to withstand limited orbital bombardment and mounted pillboxes and bunkers were on each corner. The place would be a nightmare to take but the Earthlings were certainly trying their best. Napalm and fire bombs fell from the night sky setting rooftops on fire while anti-airspeeder batteries pounded millions of bolts up towards the intruders. Through breaks in the fire and the explosions, defending Stormtroopers waved the civilian party towards Moff Hinter's armored headquarters.
A pair of EVO troopers lay concealed behind piles of sandbags at the entrance to the headquarters. Their armor and body suits were specially made to withstand short contact with the Earthling's fire weapons.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" They demanded as the civilians approached crouched at the waist to avoid injury from flying debris.
"We're from the city council. Moff Hinter asked for us to come here to see what we could do to help the Legion." The Ginmid answered. His eyes scanned the sky nervously for the approach of enemy Y-wings. SF-4738 didn't blame him as he had already decided to jump in with the Evo troopers if the enemy chose this moment to drop another stick of bombs on their heads.
"Get the fierfek out of the open, um, sirs." One of the EVO troopers waved them into the command bunker.
The interior of the command center was crammed with holoprojectors and technicians manning hyperwave radios that reached all the way from the front lines to Yos Palace on Palpatine Prime. The air was thick with tabac and even hints of skywalker smoke. The scene before him instantly took SF-4738 back to his last war, and now just like his time in the trenches the abos were knocking at the door.
A cluster of officers were gathered around the large central holoprojector. Uneaten food trays sat on stands behind them as a tactical droid updated reports from the slowly collapsing frontline. Not everything could get through the apparently upgraded Earth jamming efforts and runners came into the bunker with news from units facing the advancing Legionnaires. Something in the way one of the helmeted runners moved caught SF-4738's attention and as the runner passed the old Stormtrooper grabbed him and pulled him in for an embrace.
"Dad! Echuta! Dad, how did you get in here?" The runner pushed SF-4738 back so that he broke the embrace. SF-4738 noted that his son had put on some muscle since the last time he had seen him. Good, SF-4738 thought, the training sergeants at the Academy were whipping him into shape. Mahan broke the embrace and then took off his helmet and tucked it under his arm. His face showed that he was completely flabbergasted at his father's sudden appearance.
Suddenly a short, alien officer stepped up to the reunited father and son. SF-4738 noted a whole double row of rank cubes on the breast of the officer's uniform and almost snapped to attention out of old habit. His son did snap to rigid attention and saluted.
"Cadet Antilles, what is the meaning of this?" The Latero General asked.
"General Dritwright, this is my father. I do not know why or how he is here." Mahan replied to his superior. SF-4738 had heard of General Dritwright but had never served under him. If he recalled correctly, the Latero had been a colonel in China during the Empire-Earth War. Nowadays, he served as the commander of the 212th Legion, second only to Moff Hinter on Mars.
"Sir, this is not the place for civilians. In case you haven't noticed the Earthlings have invaded." Dritwright told SF-4738.
"He's with us." The Cingulon interrupted. "Moff Hinter called for a civilian council to facilitate supply movement from Amidala City."
Geberal Dritwright used one of his right hands to rub his chin. He turned to the Cingulon. "Sorry, if I had forgotten about some of Moff Hinter's orders. It's been a busy day."
"My apologies as well, General. I attached myself to the city's mission in the hopes of seeing my son again. I offer my services in any capacity command sees fit." SF-4738 offered.
"If you came here to retrieve your son, I hope you realize his duty is here." Dritwright said.
"Of course, sir. I wouldn't dream of it."
"Your services, huh?" Dritwright looked SF-4738 over, "By the looks of it you served the last time around."
"Yes, sir. I was a sergeant in the Corps. 395th Legion." SF-4738 admitted. He felt some pride that his admission turned some heads in the command center, including an important one standing beside the central holoprojector.
"The 395th? You boys were in the thick of it in Las Vegas, weren't you, Sergeant?" Moff Hinter turned around to face SF-4738. She was standing on a raised platform and looked down several steps at the civilian contingent. With a flashy eye to fashion design she was wearing a white Grand Admiral's uniform in which she had added gold epaulets and a blue sash with the Imperial insignia centered across her chest. SF-4738 wondered who had authorized such gaudy adornments and then realized nobody told a Moff what they could and could not wear.
"We were at that, Moff Hinter." SF-4738, as well as the Ginmid and the Cingulon, took a knee in respect to the Moff.
"We are from the city council of business owners here at your request, my Lady." The Ginmid announced.
"I see, yes I have need of you, and will talk with you in a moment." Moff Hinter told the two aliens, motioning for the party to rise. "For now I'd like to speak with the sergeant here. I'd like to hear your take on our current situation from someone who has been through this nightmare before. Perhaps you might spot something my officers haven't."
"My Lady, as he said, he was a mere sergeant." General Dritwright complained. The Latero carried himself like the sort of officer who looked down their nose at the enlisted troopers under their command. A nobleman in his own mind, SF-4738 decided, who probably simmered at serving under Moff Hinter who had attained a baroness title by the Empress's own decree if he recalled correctly.
"I like sergeants, General. They don't have time for poodoo." Hinter rebuffed her commander. She turned and walked back to the central holoprojector motioning for several of her staff to make way for SF-4738. SF-4738 caught Mahan's eye who was so astonished that a Moff was actually talking with his father that his jaw actually hung open.
SF-4738 almost dropped his own jaw when he got to the holoprojection. The light projected map stretched from Amidala City to the north, across the Margaritifer Terra Highlands, to the Aurorae Chaos in the south. All along the Aurorae Chaos, symbols indicating enemy starships were landing and disgorging a steady stream of troopers and supplies. All of which was heading north in five wide columns, directly towards them. The 212th Legion had fought a withdrawal for almost twenty-five hours against five elite CEN Legions of straight-back infantry. The five enemy Legions were all aligned in a neat line to their south while more and more Legions had been landed behind them. Now, on both of their flanks were three mechanized Legions accompanying a single armored Legion made up of Ripsaw M5 droid tanks and AMP 4 walkers. Primitive machines, but they'd get the job done if the Empire possessed nothing to oppose them with.
There was another large formation behind the five Legions that drew in SF-4738's attention. He leaned in for a better look. Moff Hinter saw his interest. "That is the 1st Guards Artillery Division of the CEN Army. They're bringing up ERCA heavy slugthrowers with precision munitions to start targeting our fortified bunkers, which is really over-kill. My scouts report they've unloaded nearly fifty HIMARS and a hundred MLRS launchers. Once they've got their rocket guidance systems linked with their orbital ships they'll begin their bombardment of Amidala and grind the city into powder."
"How long?" SF-4738 asked.
"A rotation at most. Twenty-five hours."
"Where are our walkers?"
"Knocked out. A few of them with that tripping trick they used in the last war and the others with orbital strikes from their cruisers." Moff Hinter replied. "They've got a few Providence-class analog dreadnaughts with them this time."
"So you have no offensive capabilities and those mobile Legions are making their way around your flanks to encircle the city?"
"That's the heart of it." Moff Hinter said.
"Those infantry Legions of theirs have pinned my Legion in place." General Dritwright admitted with a tired sigh.
"Then retreat." SF-4738 stated. Many of the officers around the holoprojector looked up towards him at what they must have thought was either treason or the blathering of a maniac.
"The Imperial Army does not retreat," Dritwright swore.
"They did in China." SF-4738 argued which earned a scowl from the Latero General. SF-4738 held up a hand to show he meant no harm. "But that was simply a redressing of your lines after the river there flooded. The Military district here is indefensible. Sure you've got powerful bunkers to hunker down in but the abos are going to flank you out of them in the next day or so. What then? Do you retreat into the city and get flattened by those heavy missile systems of theirs?"
"Abos? You certainly sound like you fought in the last war. The younglings today call the Terrans 'Solars' after their star." Moff Hinter leaned in closer for a better look. "But that would leave the city exposed. The Earthlings could do whatever they wanted with it."
"They're going to do that whether you like it or not. Better to be alive to fight to retake the city tomorrow than die and lose it today." SF-4738 said. "Besides the abos, excuse me, the Solars," The new name didn't sound right on his tongue, "Have been dropping these on the city." He pulled out the leaflet and placed it on the holoprojector. Both Hinter and Dritwright looked it over.
"An Open City? I've never heard of such a thing." Hinter admitted.
"They're promising to spare it if we don't fight for it. If we fall back it will take them several days to occupy the city and realign their advance along a new vector." SF-4738 said.
"They'll harass us with their airspeeders and bombers. But I've got enough PLX-4 and RPS-8 to keep them at bay for at least a week. After that . . ." General Dritwright shrugged, leaving the rest of the headquarters to draw their own conclusion.
"That gives us a week. On the other hand, those heavy rockets of theirs will destroy this place tomorrow."
"But where would you have us fall back to?" Moff Hinter asked.
SF-4738 moved over to the holoprojector's controls and enlarged the map to reveal the entire hemisphere of Mars. He rapidly scrolled the terrain far to the west. "Here."
General Dritwright sucked in a sharp breath. "You don't think small do you, Sergeant? They'll have to dig us out of there with nukes."
Moff Hinter asked her General, "Does the Sergeant's plan work within the confines of War Plan Berl-3?"
"Exceedingly well, initially we thought the Earthlings would land in the north and attack us like General Boston did in the last war. So our fallback position was here in the Margaritifer Terra where we would sit comfortably and await the Fleet to arrive and drive away the Terrans."
"So we just switch directions. Dispatch all land transport with as much ammunition and food as they can carry and the combat engineers at once. I need them to start cutting new positions at that location immediately." Hinter ordered which resulted in a flurry of activity around the room. "We will need somebody to hold this position for at least the next rotation."
"I will have the front positions manned by droids and the 5th Lancers can keep the enemy occupied for a day. Their dewbacks will be the best situated for catching up to the main body once they break contact." Dritwright said.
"Excellent. I will head out with that force and send out a notice to the CEN tomorrow at nightfall. That will be the signal for the 5th to break contact." Hinter said.
"Ma'am, if you'll excuse me. A lot of civilians will want to come along. They'll slow your retreat unless you have somebody keeping them moving." SF-4738 pointed out.
"We were already talking about forming an irregular force to augment the dwindling 212th. You seem like you're up to the task, Sergeant." Hinter said.
"My Lady, I'm a Stormtrooper, not an officer."
"I'm a Naval Officer turned Governor turned Marshall, Sergeant. We all must make changes to serve the Empire." Hinter pointed out.
"Indeed, my Lady."
"I hereby deputize you as a brevet colonel and authorize you to raise a unit of irregulars. In one rotation you need to be ready to screen the Legion's retreat to our new position. Train your militia troopers on the move" Hinter evidently didn't want to hear any excuses. SF-4738 couldn't blame her. She was fighting a losing battle against a much stronger enemy.
"I will do my best, of course."
"You'll need to do better. We all will, son." Dritwright said. "Can we tell him about the Fleet?"
Hinter sighed and nodded. SF-4738 looked to the Latero. "How bad?"
"1st Squadron is smashed up pretty bad at Nal Kuat. They won't be able to sail for at least a year. 2nd Squadron's few Star Destroyers are in full retreat down the Bloodstripe. They're rendezvousing with the Ares at Jastawui. The Admiralty had left secondary service vessels and escorts to defend the rimward lanes, but the enemy is brushing them aside. They've performed landings as far coreward as Tynyen." The General paused.
"Fierfek, that's horrific. How? They're Earthers. They don't have the capabilities." SF-4738 asked.
"They had help. Someone using equipment similar to Imperial ships and fighters hit Nal Kuat. Those same ship types dropped out of hyperspace outside of our Tibanna factory at Earth 5 the moment the Martian shield dropped. King Wozz surrendered his Ugnaughts there without blasting a single bolt."
"The mystery ships have been sighted among the Earth ships at New Ryloth as well." A communication officer on the other side of the holoprojector added.
"Karabast." SF-4738 exclaimed. All thoughts of returning safely back to Anax vanished like smoke in the wind.
"You know the stakes now, Colonel." Hinter addressed him by his new temporary rank. "The continued survival of the Empire is at risk. Every hand is needed or the Dark Side will rule the Galaxy."
SF-4738 didn't quite bring himself to attention but there was nothing wrong with the salute he offered. "I'm wasting time, my Lady. I'm afraid there isn't a moment to lose."
"In that, you are very much correct, I'm afraid. I will see you again at the new line." Hinter saluted back. This had been a most interesting turn of events for both of them.
"Take the cadet with you, your son, Colonel. We will need someone to act as a liaison between our two forces." General Dritwright offered.
"Thank you, sir. I will put him to work." SF-4738 said.
"But, I . . ." Mahan started to complain.
"You will follow orders, Cadet." The General said, which satisfactorily shut Mahan up. "Go, gentlemen, and May the Force be with you."
SF-4738 jerked a thumb at Mahan. His son turned and waved good bye to several other cadets in the headquarters who looked after Mahan with piteous stares.
"We need to recruit everyone that's willing to fight. I need you to go immediately to the HoloNews Center in the city and make an announcement to gather fighters at the Long Jump for a sustained campaign in the field. They're to bring their own weapons and supplies as well as some sort of small, quick transports."
"Aye, sir." Mahan nodded his head in agreement as they descended the stairs from the holoprojector. "We need more time if we're going to give the Solars a proper fight. Can we really raise a unit in a day?"
Waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs was the Ubese, Savushh. He pounded his chest with his fist and held out his Tusken slugthrower to them.
"Hey, you work for me." The Cingulon objected, which just caused Savushh to respond with a rude gesture that would have been fully understood by the advancing Earthlings to the south.
SF-4738 offered his hand, which Savushh eagerly shook. SF-4738 turned to Mahan, "See, boy. We've already gotten our first recruit."
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Up Next- The knife in their side