Chapter 42 - Battle of Kiros
I'm finally done with these chapters. Everything took far longer than I could have imagined. I suffered from a major writer's block. I had the basic plot of the chapters worked out, but every time I started to type my mind just went completely blank.
I took a short break, wrote a chapter for a new story and then continued with these chapters. It took me quite a while, but now they're done.
"Text like this" is in Basic, /text like this/ is in Togruti.
Despite the long delay, I hope everyone enjoys the chapter.
;-
In the space surrounding the planet Kiros, above the Togruta colony, six Republic cruisers were waiting in silence. At their left, two Shilian cruisers did the same. On board every ship, the crews waited anxiously for the battle to begin. Everything had been prepared already. All of the cannons were ready to open fire, the shields were at maximum capacity and the fighters and their pilots were ready to engage in battle.
On the planet's surface, the troops were just as anxious. All of the civilians had been safely escorted to bunkers under the governmental buildings. They were worried for their safety, but the troops present in and around the bunkers did what they could to ease their fears.
Around the city, the troops had all dug in at three strategic locations. These locations were the only access-ways to the governmental buildings. If the droids wanted to get the people, they would have to get through a horde of clones and Togrutan soldiers, led by several Jedi Padawans and H'Raani M'Kai warriors. A problematic situation for the droids, as none of them were going to let the droids pass without a fight.
An eerie silence hung over the colony. It was the usual calm before the storm. Everyone knew that, but no one liked it.
;-
On the main Republic cruiser, Shaak Ti waited patiently for the battle to begin. She was confident in her own troops and the soldiers that had joined them from Shili. Their help had been unexpected, but she certainly wouldn't complain about it. She could understand their desire to help the people of Kiros. Both Shili and Kiros had stayed out of the war. Neither planet wanted to get involved with the fighting. Nevertheless, the Separatists had attacked Kiros and subjected its people to a fate worse than death. After that, they had abducted the princess of Shili to force the planet to do Force knows what. Now, with the Separatists threatening Kiros again, the people of Shili have obviously had enough.
One of the monitors to her right started blinking with a few notifications. Shaak already knew what it was about when the clones checked the monitor.
"General, the Separatist fleet will drop out of Hyperspace in a matter of seconds." One of the clones informed her.
Shaak Ti nodded. "Send out an alert to all posts to get ready for combat." She replied as she turned to the clone. "Also, send a message to the planet. As soon as the ships appear, I want them to activate the shield generators."
"Yes General." The clone answered as he turned back to the other clones on the bridge and issued a few commands to them. They began working on sending the commands to the others.
Shaak turned back around to look out of the viewport at the space where the Separatist cruisers would appear when another clone came up to her.
"General, the Shilian cruisers just launched a squadron of fighters and are moving into an attack position." The clone informed her quickly.
For a moment, Shaak was surprised. She looked in the direction of the cruisers and spotted the fighters speeding towards the area where the Separatists would appear at any moment. The two cruisers were angling themselves to open fire at that same area.
"What are they doing?" One of the others on the bridge asked confused. The scanners on the bridge picked up the distortions in space that signaled a vessel emerging from Hyperspace.
"Don't be too surprised." Shaak Ti replied. She had already figured it out. The men looked at her for an explanation.
Shaak looked at the fighters accelerating to combat speed. "After all, a predator lying in wait,"
The Separatist cruisers dropped out of Hyperspace, fourteen cruisers in all.
"will strike its prey before it can be noticed." Shaak Ti finished as the fighters bombarded the closest cruiser with a barrage of missiles and the Shilian cruisers unleashed a barrage of lasers at the Separatist cruiser next to it. The squadron of fighters quickly banked around the devastated ship and unleashed a volley of proton torpedoes at a third cruiser, crippling its engines completely.
"Those guys are not messing around..." One of the clones commented. "They just took out two of their cruisers in one short moment and crippled a third."
Shaak quickly focused her attention back on the bigger picture. Despite the sudden attack, the Separatist cruisers were already preparing for the rest of the battle. The remaining ships all had their shields up and were launching their fighters and troop transports, eager to invade the city below.
"All cannons, target the cruisers and open fire." Shaak Ti ordered. "Launch the fighters and take down those transports. Take down as many as you can. We must not allow them to overwhelm the troops in the city." She received multiple confirmations from the troops around her. "And so it begins again." She thought silently. "May the Force watch over us."
;-
A few moments ago, aboard the Shilian cruiser
Ahsoka sat in her fighter, checking the status of the fighter on the various displays. She just received the confirmation from the hangar crew that they were cleared for take-off. Satisfied with the readouts from her fighter, she prepared herself for departure.
When Varon had informed her of their attack plan, she had been very intrigued by their strategy. Both the cruisers and the fighters had modified sensors that allowed them to accurately pinpoint the slight disturbances in space when a ship is about to drop out of Hyperspace. With this tracking ability, they could launch a massive first strike at the Separatist cruises and catch them completely unaware, which was exactly what they were about to do.
It was truly a predator's tactic. They were lying in wait at the planet, waiting for the enemy ships to appear. Just like a predator stalking through the grass, ready to pounce on its unsuspecting prey. When the Separatist ships drop out of Hyperspace, they would be there to greet them with a barrage of missiles and laser blasts.
"Like a fierce predator sinking its teeth into the neck of its prey." Ahsoka thought with a smile. There was no point in denying it, she loved the idea behind the technique. It really was a strategy devised from their Togruta heritage. She silently scolded herself a little for never having thought of such a strategy herself.
/All fighters, report in./ Varon, call sign Eagle leader, ordered over the comlink. One by one, the pilots checked in.
/Eagle twelve, all systems green./ Ahsoka reported when it was her turn. She was ready, her fighter was ready and she was all set to give the Separatists the message that they weren't welcome here.
Varon's voice sounded over the comlink again. /Command bridge, this is Eagle leader. All fighters checked and ready for combat./ He told them. /Permission to take-off?/ He asked the bridge.
A few seconds later the confirmation came. /Sensors are picking up the enemy fleet. Take-off permission granted, happy hunting Eagle Squadron./
/Understood./ Varon replied. /All fighters, take off now and get into space. Remain at cruising speed, but be ready to accelerate to attack speed at my mark./ They all sounded a round of confirmations and the fighters took off from the hangar.
;-
Ahsoka's point of view
The moment we clear the hangars we accelerate greatly. Behind us, the cruisers move into attack position as well.
The scanners in my fighter start to pick up a disturbance in space. That is where the ships will appear.
Varon's voice sounds over the comlink. /Attention Eagle squadron, lock on to these coordinates and prepare to fire missiles./ He told us. My fighter's computers receive the coordinates and I run the lock on sequence.
The coordinates are locked in and my finger is on the trigger. "Any second now…" I think as I brace myself for the long battle that's about to begin. I take a deep breath and let the Force flow through me. I'm ready as I'll ever be right now. With the Force, I sense that it's time. "Here we go…"
The Separatist invasion fleet appeared in front of us, fourteen ships in total. "They're not messing around." A sense of worry for the people of Kiros creeps through me, but I know that there a lot of Rebublic and Shilian troops on the planet. They will ensure the safety of the people. It's our job to take care of the fleet. "Come and get some."
/All fighters, fire two./ Varon's voice orders over the transmission. /Give them a warm welcome!/
I pull the trigger and send to missiles flying at the cruiser closest to us. Every fighter alongside me does the same. The cruiser is completely unaware of our presence and our attack catches it with its shields down. The cruiser explodes in a blaze of fire.
We increase the speed of our fighters and speed around the destroyed cruiser. Next to the flaming wreck of the cruiser, a second cruiser explodes as it suffers a hail of lasers from the two battleships of the Shilian army.
With a nice corkscrew maneuver we are behind a third Separatist cruiser. /Switch to proton torpedoes. Take out the engines./ Varon ordered next.
I swap my weapon systems and lock on to the engine, waiting for the next word from Varon.
/Fire!/ The order came almost instantly.
I pull the trigger again and send a proton torpedo straight at the engine. Around me, the other fighters do the same. A volley of torpedoes impacts the engines. With a spectacular series of explosions the whole cruiser drops dead in space.
/Ha, welcome to Kiros metal heads!/ Another pilot's voice sounds over the intercom.
/Attention all fighters, the enemy is launching their forces./ Varon informs us. /Form up in hunter's formations. Eagle two through six, target their troop transports. Try to take as many of them out. Eagle seven through twelve, provide cover./
A round of acknowledgements are heard. /Eagle twelve, orders acknowledged." I reply as well. /All fighters, their transports have a weak spot on their top side, right between the cockpit and wings./ I inform them, recalling earlier battles.
/Thanks for the information, Ahsoka./ Varon replied. /Fighters, focus on those weak spots and take them out. Prepare yourselves everyone, we're in for a long battle./
;-
The space around Kiros
The Separatist cruisers were momentarily surprised by the sudden attack from the Shilian army. Two of their cruisers were already lost and a third hung dead in space, its engines completely fried. After the initial surprise, they quickly organized themselves. The cruisers activated their shields and moved into assault formation.
The Republic fleet was quick to follow after the Shilian cruisers and opened fire on the enemy cruisers. They also deployed their fighters to engage the enemy fleet.
The Separatist cruisers opened fire on the Republic fleet as they began to launch their own fighters and droid transports. Soon, the space surrounding the planet Kiros was filled with countless fighters and transports.
;-
Now fully recovered from the shock, the Separatist unleashed everything they had. Under cover of fire from their cruisers, their swarms of vulture droids had emerged from their hangars, raining down even more fire on the Republic in order to cover their transports.
In response, the Republic and Shilian fighters engaged the transports and vulture droids with all they had.
Amidst the wild mass of fighters, Ahsoka was flying at the best of her abilities. This battle was just as intense as others she had been in, if not even more. All kinds of fighters were dashing quickly past her. There were shots flying all around her, some barely missing her fighter. The entire situation was pure chaos, but thanks to her training and with the Force, she managed to keep a clear head.
She traced after Eagle three. Her fellow pilot was running a bombing run on two transports. She and Eagle ten were following behind her in order to take care the vulture droids guarding the transports.
They attacked the group from above. Ahsoka and the other pilot send down a hail of fire on the vultures, forcing them to bank away from the transports. Two of the droid fighters were caught by their fire and collided with different vultures, setting of a small chain of explosions. Eagle three launched a pair of missiles at the transports, causing them both to explode in a burst of flames as well.
/Nice shooting guys, let's regroup and go after a cruiser./ Eagle three said over the intercom. The three of them flew towards the other members of Eagle squadron, effectively taking down a number of vultures on the way.
A transmission came from the main Shilian cruiser. /Attention Eagle squadron, prepare to strike a new target./ The command of the ship informed them. /Mark this cruiser, one more bombardment from us and their shield will drop./ The coordinates were send to them.
/Understood command, preparing for attack run./ Varon replied to them. /Form up fighters and standby for the strike./ He ordered the pilots of Eagle squadron. The twelve fighters got into formation and made their way to the designated cruiser.
The two Shilian cruisers unleashed a powerful barrage at the enemy cruiser. Immediately after that, the fighters of Eagle squadron rushed in and bombarded the weakened cruiser with a mixed flurry of missiles and proton torpedoes. Right after that, the two cruisers send another barrage of blasts at the target.
The Separatist cruiser was unable to endure all of the fire and it erupted in a large blaze of fire. The cruiser broke apart into several large chunks.
Four fighters of Eagle squadron rushed forward and fired a pair of missiles next to the debris. The force of the resulting explosions send the chunks of cruiser debris in a collision path with the surrounding enemy cruisers.
One cruiser managed to avoid the flying debris, but it's maneuver forced a number of vulture droids and transports into an evasive maneuver of their own. This action send them right into a collision course with the hurtling hulk of the wrecked cruiser. It impacted with the group and completely wrecked them.
More pieces of debris struck two other Separatist cruisers. The sheer force of the impact knocked out their shields, leaving the cruisers completely vulnerable. A weakness that the Republic forces didn't hesitate to exploit. Three of the Republic cruisers unleashed a powerful barrage of fire at one of the malfunctioning enemy cruisers while a group of bombers took down the other.
The two cruisers exploded with the same force as the other did just mere moments ago. The remaining Separatist cruisers shifted their formation, former a tighter defense. The change in the Separatist formation forced the Republic and Shilian fighters to momentarily retreat.
Eagle squadron moved back to the area of their cruisers. /Nice shooting, everyone./ Varon informed them. /Let's focus on their fighters for now and wait for another opening to strike at their cruisers./ The rest of Eagle squadron acknowledged the order and they separated again, each fighter going on the hunt.
;-
About thirty minutes later
Ahsoka Tano's point of view
With a satisfying explosion the transport I was blasting explodes into nothingness. "And another couple of droids turned to scrap metal." I think with a smirk on my face.
The battle up here is going our way. We forced the Separatist cruisers on the defensive. Despite their strong defensive formation, we were able to take down two more of them with a few well-coordinated hit-and-run attacks. "Like a hidden predator…" The cruisers had been completely unable to predict the attacks and they had gone down almost immediately.
I can feel it through the Force before my sensors can even pick it up: a few vulture droids attempting to gun me down from behind. Right before I'm about to dive into an evasive maneuver, another pilot's voice sounds over the radio. /Eagle twelve, this is Eagle eight./ The pilot identified himself. /You have a number of hostiles approaching your tail. Go into a sharp climb and we'll take care of them./ He tells me.
I quickly gaze around and find him and Eagle nine moving towards my location. /Got it./ I reply as I get ready for the maneuver by shifting my course slightly. This way, the other Eagles have a direct line of fire at the vultures. /Climbing in three, two, one…/ I quickly yank the controls and speed upwards. As predictable as they are, the vultures chase after me, only to be met with a flurry of fire from Eagle eight and nine. The vultures explode and we fly past each other.
/Thanks for the assist./ I tell Eagle eight and nine as I pull up next to them.
I can see Eagle nine give me a small salute in her cockpit. /Our pleasure, let's continue hunting./ She replies. The three of us send a few proton torpedoes at a nearby transport and split up again.
I bank to the right in the direction of a few Republic fighters being harassed by a small group of vulture droids. "Let's give them a hand." I adjust my flight path with a quick spin and line myself up in a nice path to intercept the group.
The Republic fighters seem to pick up my intention and adjust their course as well, giving me a better shot at the vultures chasing them. I line up my fighter and pull the trigger, sending a blaze of fire at the vultures. With the speed they were flying on, they were completely unable to dodge my fire. It caught them dead on and they exploded in a burst of flames.
With a simple spin I fly around the wrecked remains on the vultures and continue hunting more targets. There are still plenty of targets left to bring down.
;-
/Now there's a sight for sore eyes!/ Silara comments excitedly.
We had just done another attack run on the Separatist force and it had been successful. Another one of their cruisers was destroyed and one more was seriously damaged. It would not last much longer.
/All fighters, break up formation and take care of some more transports while we wait for another opportunity at their cruisers./ Varon instructs us again. All of us break up the formation and continue hunting for the droid transports.
This strategy has been working flawlessly so far. And, with all of the fighters flying around, the enemy cruisers are pretty much unable to keep tracking us. We, on the other hand, know exactly where the other pilots of our squadron are. Our cruisers keep track of the enemy ones and when they spot a weakness, we regroup and take it out. "Simple, but very effective."
I spin away from a few incoming fighters and end up behind a pair of vultures. Before they have a chance to react, I blast them to pieces. "I can't even begin to count how many of them I've shot down so far." I think as I sent a missile after a transport. "This has been one crazy battle." A few fighters overhead explode and a few Republic fighters speed over me.
"Ahsoka, do you read me? This is Shaak Ti, please respond." Shaak's voice suddenly sounds over my intercom.
I can't help but be a little confused. "Why would she be contacting me?" I turn on my communication systems. "I read you, Master Ti. What's going's on?" I ask her.
"Can you patch me through to your squadron leader? We have an urgent situation on the planet." She informs me.
"That sounds bad." Some worry fills me, can I can push it away. "Hang on." I tell her as I begin to contact Varon. /Eagle leader, come in. We have an urgent call from Master Ti./
/Ahsoka, I hear you./ Varon replies. /Do you have her on the comlink now?/ He asks me.
/Yes, I do. Patching her through now./ I reply as I establish the connection. /Master Ti, you're connected with Eagle leader, what's the situation?/ I ask her.
/Listen carefully,/ Shaak begins, /Barriss Offee just contacted me from the planet. There is a group of enemy heavy tanks headed towards the city. They need immediate air support to take them out. If those tanks get inside the shield the battle might be lost./ She explained the situation to us quickly. /Our fighters are all tied up at the moment. Can your squadron assist?/
"This is bad." I think to myself. The troops on the ground don't have anything that can pierce the armor of those tanks. Because they're fighting in the city, the troops aren't using heavy weaponry in order to avoid a lot of damage. I just hope that Varon decides that we can help.
My sensors indicate that the transmission is altered, more fighters are added to the conversation. /Attention Eagle seven through Eagle twelve, we got heavy tanks approaching the city. Initiate a bombing run and take them out./ Varon orders a part of the squadron. /Master Jedi, we're on our way./ He informs Shaak Ti.
/Thank you, please hurry./ Shaak replies.
/Fighters, form up and let's get down there./ Eagle seven tells us. /Eagle twelve, can you contact the ground forces and let them know?/ He asks me.
/On it./ I reply. I activate my comlink and contact Barriss. "Barriss, this is Ahsoka. We're coming in for a bombing run. Can you give us the exact location of the tanks?" I ask her.
"Good to hear from you, Ahsoka." Barriss replies. "The tanks are approaching the city's main gate. They are about eight hundred meters away and incoming. There are ten tanks in total." She explains.
I open the communication line with the rest of the fighters on the bombing run. /Attention fighters, there are ten tanks approaching the city's main gate, range eight hundred meters./ I inform them.
/Copy that, Eagle twelve. All fighters, prepare for bombing run, diving bird formation./ Eagle seven replies.
I know what that maneuver is and why they call it that way. I smile slightly. "Barriss, we're on our way. Those tanks will be burnt rubble in just a moment." I tell her.
"Glad to hear that." Barriss replies. "And don't worry, we haven't let any droids get anyway near your people and we don't intend to let them."
"Copy that, Barriss." I say to her. "We'll deal with the tanks, you focus on the droids. Standby for bombing run."
We form up and begin a sharp dive down to the planet. My sensors indicate that a number of vulture droids are following us. "Not a problem." The maneuver we're about to pull is only possible for a fighter with agility like ours. There is no way that a vulture droid would be able to follow us.
Flames erupt around my fighter as we enter the atmosphere. Thankfully, the fighters have a pretty advanced heat shield, so we can continue our rapid descent without a problem. Behind us, the vultures stop firing. "They're apparently having a few issues." I think amused.
The ground is now rapidly approaching. "We have to time this juuust right." The altitude meter rapidly drops as we race towards the ground. The city is now clearly visible, the energy shield fully deployed over it in a large dome-shape. I can see the seemingly endless stream of droids marching towards the city. The tanks roll along the stream, completely without any form of cover.
The alarm of my sensors go off just as I sense it in the Force. I rapidly pull the controls back and break out of the dive. Next to me, the other fighters do the same. The vultures attempt do copy our maneuver, but they weren't designed for such a sharp maneuver and tore apart before hitting the ground.
With the unique wing design of these fighters, we can easily perform such an acrobatic maneuver. "Just about any other type of fighter I've seen before would be torn apart as well." A smirk spreads across my face. "Anakin would love this."
/All fighters, pick your targets and fire away!/ Eagle seven tells us. I lock on to the tanks and some of the transports landed on the ground and ready the missiles. At the same time the others do, I pull the triggers and send the missiles flying.
A large flurry of missiles flies towards the tanks. A few of them try to perform some evasive maneuvers, but they have to little road available and, besides that, they are far too late. The entire road lights up with explosions, parts of tank are flying everywhere.
Seconds later we pass over the Separatist landing site. Just for good measure, we drop a few proton torpedoes around the area. More explosions erupt behind us and we blast off into space again.
I contact Barriss again. "That takes care of your little tank problem." I inform her.
"Thanks Ahsoka, I owe you one." Barriss replies over the sounds of battle. I shut down the comlink again.
/Nice flying, everyone./ Eagle seven says. /Now let's get back up there and finish this./ Everyone responds eagerly to that, myself included, and we fly back to the battle full speed.
;-
General point of view
An hour later
Ahsoka had just finished blasting another group of vultures when she felt something strange in the Force. Something was changing in the battle, she could clearly sense that. After sending a proton torpedo towards a helpless transport, she pulled her control stick back, flying upward in a spinning motion to see what was going on.
A few seconds later she saw something very surprising: the three remaining Separatist cruisers were breaking their formation. They had send just about every last vulture droid they had left to stay between them and the bulk of the combined Republic and Shilian troops, shielding the Separatist cruisers as they turned around.
Ahsoka quickly realized what they were doing. "They're retreating!" She couldn't help but smile amused. "Running like the cowards they are." She broke of her spinning maneuver and moved to line up with the rest of Eagle squadron.
"Attention all troops." Shaak Ti's voice sounded over the comlink. "The remaining Separatist forces are in full retreat. Once the remaining vultures in space and the droids on the ground have been cleared up, we will be victorious." She announced.
/You heard her, let's get rid of them and finish this!/ Varon said to the rest of Eagle squadron.
Ahsoka drew on the Force again and eagerly gripped the controls. She was more than ready to finally put an end to this long battle.
;-
That's the end of the chapter.
It's not as long as I had originally intended, but I decided to split the chapters up. The aftermath of the battle will be in the next chapter. Barriss and Ahsoka will talk about the battle a bit and then they will part ways again.
Sorry to disappoint some of you, but Jana won't die just yet. And no, she won't be expelled from the Order either. Right now, the Council is far too occupied to be bothered by her nonsense and they need as many Jedi as they can get. But don't worry, later in the story, Jana will really be put in her place by Ahsoka.
I'm going to write a new chapter for both Rebirth of Light and The Hidden Truth next. I want to continue these stories as well.
After that Tale of a Togruta and A Mirialan's Story will receive a dual update again (the aftermath of the battle).
Until next time.