Chapter 12: Night of a Thousand Tears
April 7.
With the Federation still pushing down the Perlimian Trade Route, it was up to the New Republic to try and bring a relief force to defend Mandalore from the imminent imperial assault. The allied intelligence had already reported the ongoing invasion of mandalorian space. What little of their fleet had survived the disaster at Taris was trying to hinder the enemy advance with hit-and-run tactics, but they were barely making a dent in their supply lines and certainly enough, Iulius was not batting an eye in front of these small hindrances.
Reports were flooding from Mandalore to the UACT command, asking for immediate assistance in defending the systems of Kalevala, Ordo and Zanbar, as they were the only line of defense before the homeworld of the mandalorians, aside from Krownest and a few other worlds along the way that the Clans were using as airbases. Seeing the desperate situation, Alrich had already started requesting permission to the New Republic to set up refugee camps, as he had convinced Bo-Katan to at least let the non-combatants flee the system before it was too late. The first transports full of civilians had arrived just two days before. Lothal, already hosting a colony on its surface, had already offered to welcome some of these civilians.
That said, the fortresses on the three worlds would hardly resist much longer in front of such a relentless assault. Not to mention, the Empire didn't just destroy the fleet, but most of the mandalorian army over Taris.
As Jaral could do little but acknowledge the bleak situation, the door opened, letting the Ghost crew into the strategic room. The Grand Marshall walked up to meet them.
"It's good to see you again, guys. Despite everything going on."
Hera gave her a quick and heartfelt hug. "It's good to see you too, dear."
Then the Jedi turned to see Sabine, who had a very apprehensive face.
Words were superfluous at the moment. Jaral knew that her sister-in-law was coping with a double pain: the news of her homeworld about to be reconquered by the Empire, and having to leave the most important person of her life behind. So she didn't say anything as she embraced the mandalorian, who returned the hug, clenching her fists on her friend's jacket.
When they separated, Jaral accompanied them around the holo-table, where Darvos, Undir and Jordan were already waiting.
"Let's be straight." Zeb started. "How bad is it?"
Undir pushed a button, making holograms of what little was left of the mandalorian ships appear on the table. "The Mandalorians lost the Keldabe, all the Kandosii battleships and pretty much all of their cruisers. The mercenary they hired had been almost entirely wiped out and the rest deserted. The leader of the Protectors is dead, and with him the best pilots of the Clans." he reported. "The imperial forces are amassing over Taris to finish the job."
"How did this happen?" Sabine asked, still unable to believe how such a powerful navy, in the hands of her own people, a warrior people, could be destroyed in a single day.
Undir pushed another button and the hologram of a Procursator appeared. "According to the records sent us by the survivors of Taris, Grand Admiral Tanis has deployed this new class of Star Destroyers, armed with heavy ion cannons. They left the battleships completely vulnerable to the fire of the imperial major cruisers and to the TIE Defenders. Finally, the imperials outsmarted Fenn Rau with a clever use of the Defender and their stealth fighters."
"A stealth fighter?" Hera asked puzzled, then she was shown a model of the TIE Phantom.
"According to our new Fulcrum agent, Iulius has set up a new research facility somewhere in Wild Space." Darvos explained. "He's developing all kind of toys, and it's a problem."
"Another Fulcrum?" Sabine asked. "Who is it?"
After hearing a quick recap about Qathora, Hera hummed in suspicion. "Are you sure we can trust her?"
"I always kept my senses on her." Jaral said calmly. "Her intentions are sincere. Problem is whether she is really good at hiding her emotions, or if Iulius is manipulating her completely."
"Okay, but let's just focus on the matter at hand." Jordan intervened. "How long will it take before the Empire reaches Mandalore? Our fleet is still gathering."
"We're waiting for a report from Moreena and the Rangers." Jaral just finished to say, then said call arrived on her omni-tool. "Mo?"
"I'm here. Jari, it's complete chaos here. There are reports that Gargon has just fallen."
"Gargon? Already?" Sabine asked shocked.
"It appears the imperials didn't even bother to conquer the surface. They blazed up an entire continent from orbit to deal with the defenses."
"He needs a lot of supplies, though. Does he intend to rely solely on Taris?" Hera asked.
"I doubt my brother hasn't considered that issue." Darvos said grimly. "He's just heading straight over Mandalore."
"And from Gargon, how long will it take?" Jaral asked.
Darvos made ran the simulations on the computer, which brought up a map of mandalorian space and the vectors of the imperial offensive appeared, pointing at the homeworld of the mandalorians.
"Two rotations at most." he replied.
Silence fell. Even during his attempt to take Lianna, Iulius took weeks to move from a planet to another, even if they were on a major hyperspace lane, where moving fleets and supplies is extremely easy. But now he was carrying out a lightning war, and the Coalition was not ready for it. Now it was up to Jaral to decide what to do.
After reflecting briefly, she talked to the omni-tool. "Mo. Help the mandos shore up some defenses and with the evacuation of civilians."
"Yes ma'am." and she went offline.
"The situation is problematic." Undir said. "The Republic fleet will be unable to provide significant backup if the Empire reaches the target so quickly."
"I know." Jaral said. "That is why we'll have to change our plans and focus on evacuating the planet."
After a moment of astonishment, Sabine asked "Excuse me?"
"If we can't save the planet, at least we can avoid a genocide." the Grand Marshall replied before turning toward her husband. "Call Command and tell them to send all the transports they can get. Then order Admiral Ackbar to set course for Mandalore in 24 hours, no matter how little the fleet is."
Darvos nodded and headed into the comm room.
"Dad, set a course for Mandalore. We're leaving immediately."
Jordan nodded as well and headed to the galaxy map.
With that settled, the Grand Marshall invited his friends to deck 3, so they could talk about the situation in the Trailing Sectors.
"How's Ezra doing?" she asked once they were in the observatory.
Hera huffed in a nostalgic way. "He's barely recognizable from the kid he was just a few years back. He is a true leader now."
"Yeah." Zeb added. "More like he's not a kid anymore. He has made quite a number of feats while we were with him. I think the mission is in good hands, with him."
"What about Luke and Leia?"
"He has spent more time with Luke, actually." Sabine answered. "Everybody knows that Leia is a Force-sensitive as well, but honestly she doesn't seem all that interested."
"It's not a bad thing. Me and Ezra had already agreed to hide the fact that they are twins, so the Sith will only focus on Luke and we keep Leia as a reserve, if the worst happens."
"You planned for everything, uh?" the Lasat quipped.
"The Emperor plays the long game, so we must do the same." was Jaral's reply before turning her head toward her sister-in-law. "How are you feeling, Sabine?"
The young woman feigned ignorance. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. Between leaving Ezra and with the grim prospects for Mandalore...how are you coping?"
The young woman turned her head toward the window and slowly walked to lean against the rail, staring outside in the void of space before sighing and reply. "I'm honestly more amazed at the fact that, whenever we split up, I'm the crybaby and Ezra is capable of accepting it so easily."
Jaral walked next to her. "You may thank Kanan for that." she quipped. "He taught him well, that a Jedi must always do what is better for the whole, and not let his attachments interfere with his decisions."
"That just means that he will make us all proud." Hera said gently. "So let's do our best here just like he's doing."
"Damn straight." Zeb commented. "Come on. Let's see if the people here needs some help."
April 9.
"Windrider, how long before we reach Mandalore?"
"12 minutes and 32 seconds, Grand Admiral."
"Thank you. Lieutenant-Commander Ree, oversee the bridge. I need to talk with Agent Marek and Agent Jade."
"Yes, sir!"
Iulius left the bridge, followed by Qathora, and headed toward the meditation chamber he had set up for the two Force adepts on his ship. Along the way, a trooper confirmed that Marek was in there, and Mara was also seen going that way, so she was probably in her quarters. After around five minutes, they were both in front of him.
"I believe it's time for you two to know what your objective is, for this battle."
"We're listening." Mara said.
The Grand Admiral nodded to Qathora, who took out a holo-projector and showed them the profile of one specific mandalorian.
"This is Bo-Katan Kryze. Right now she's the recognized leader of the united clans of Mandalore and is in possession of a rare artifact called the Darksaber."
"I thought it was lost after the Clone Wars." Mara commented surprised.
"It was. But more than a year ago, the Bridgers found it, and handed it to their companion Sabine Wren, who passed it to Bo-Katan."
"The Darksaber is supposed to be won in single combat." Galen suddenly spoke. "Why did the other clans accept such an arrangement?"
"We don't know." Iulius calmly replied. "But they nonetheless accepted the passage. So, as long as she has it, the mandalorians have a leader to rally around."
"And you want us to kill her?"
"No." Iulius calmly said, drawing surprised gazes. "I don't want to simply defeat the mandalorians. I want to humble them. To make sure that they won't be a hindrance for the Empire for the next 2000 years, at the very least. I want you two to find her. Then we will corner her and her retinue. At which point I will reach you."
"I beg your pardon, Grand Admiral…" Mara said. "but I'm confused about your intentions."
"Come on, Agent Jade. You wouldn't want me to spoil the surprise, right?" the Grand Admiral said ironically. "Just follow my instructions. After the first assault on the capital will crush their defenses, you will use the chaos to infiltrate the enemy lines, and find the locations of Lady Kryze. That will be all."
After saying that, Iulius walked past them in order to walk back to the bridge. The Dark-siders were still making questions in their heads, but they didn't have much choice if not follow the man that their Lord and Master had ordered to serve as an extension of his own will.
Qathora didn't speak during the walk, probably she already had an idea over what Iulius was planning to do.
When they reached the bridge again, it only took another three minutes for the Admonitor to leave hyperspace and find herself in front of the desert ball that was Mandalore. After taking a moment to read the scanners, the sensor officer spoke up.
"Grand Admiral, we detect only a small defense satellite grid of 12 platforms. Plus 20 frigates and we're still determining how many fighters."
As more Star Destroyers, corvettes, frigates and other capital ships of the 101st kept raining out of hyperspace, Iulius couldn't help but slightly shake his head as he saw the mandalorians assume a battle formation anyway. "One must really respect their tenacity." then he turned his body to face Ciena. "Lieutenant-Commander Ree, you're in charge. Take them out."
"Yes s…!" Ciena started to reply before realizing what she was just asked. "Wait, what?"
"Well, I thought this might be an opportunity to assess your command & control skill. Imperial Command might agree to finally remove the 'Lieutenant' part from your rank."
After a moment of stuttering, Ciena recomposed herself and stood at attention. "I won't fail you, sir."
"Show me, then." Iulius replied, stepping back while inviting her to take the center of the bridge with an arm's gesture.
Ciena thus took the center and quickly looked at the other officers in the pits, who didn't seem disturbed in the slightest by the change. If anything, Nash gave her a thumbs up in the distance, to encourage her. The young woman recomposed herself and started to give orders.
"All hands to battle stations. Launch fighters in defensive formation."
Everybody scrambled to do their jobs as the siren wailed all around the Star Destroyer.
Iulius turned toward Qathora and whispered. "Send the signal for Cody to bring the transports into the system."
"You sure?" she asked back. "We don't know how long this battle will take."
"Oh, I estimate around...eight minutes." the Grand Admiral replied as he gave an amused look at his second-in-command.
Surprising the Togruta, the battle lasted exactly that. With a skillful maneuvering, using the frigates to flank the mandalorians while the Star Destroyers and the TIE pinned them down, Ciena flawlessly defeated the enemy, forcing only a handful of survivors to head down to the surface.
"Excellent work, Lieutenant-Commander." the Grand Admiral complimented as he stepped next to Ciena, who smiled proudly at him.
"Thank you, sir." she said as she ceded the command position once again.
Iulius retook his position and pronounced his next order. "Order the squadron to position right above the region of Sundari and load the TIE Bombers with vacuum bombs. Meanwhile...point our cannons directly above the city."
"Yes, Grand Admiral." Ciena replied quite eagerly and turned around to instruct the officers.
"You want to bomb the city?" Qathora asked quite shocked.
"There is an armored cupola protecting it. We need to destroy it to allow Cody's assault to succeed."
"But...there are still thousands of civilians down there." she argued.
"You said it yourself. Most of their non-combatants have already left the planet. These losses are regrettable, but if my plan goes accordingly, they will be spared a genocide." Iulius calmly replied.
Qathora didn't argue further. Perhaps she understood that Iulius had no pleasure in doing this. But they were on a race against time and they had to break Mandalore's spirit before the New Republic sent reinforcements and transformed the whole affair into a bloody battle that Iulius could not risk.
Because, as much as the imperial propaganda liked to hide it, the Empire was not with the advantage anymore. The destruction of the Death Star had caused the loss of most of the experienced staff and of the most promising recruits, not to mention many had started to desert daily since the destruction of Alderaan. The Empire was still rebuilding its strength, and the 101st was pretty much the most elite unit of the Navy.
In short: the Empire and the Coalition were on an even level, but the New Republic had had the time to formalize its new state and now had the means and the planets to streamline the production of ships and the training of troops. Iulius could not risk to lose his Star Destroyer in an open battle, because the 101st was the only thing preventing the complete destruction of the Empire.
He could not afford to be gentle. Not anymore.
At that moment, Sundari was shrouded in the darkness of night. The moon of Concordia was shining wholly above the planet, but soon enough, the flames of destruction illuminated the surface, and they could be seen from the bridge of the Admonitor very clearly.
April 10.
"Admiral, Mandalore is under attack by the Empire." the voice of Rut pronounced through the intercom, having Jaral fast-walking toward the cockpit.
"Do you see a way to land?"
"Negative, ma'am. The whole planet is on lockdown, you'll have to take a dropship."
"We can do better." she replied, and put a finger on her ear piece. "Hera, prep the Ghost, you're getting us down."
"Copy that, boss."
In the span of five minutes, the Specters were all aboard, along with the Legionnaires, Karg and Aun'Roi'Ka. They all gathered in the cockpit as Hera pushed the Ghost toward Mandalore, which was surrounded by Star Destroyers and explosions regularly flashed the surface all over the planet.
"Sabine. Did you manage to contact the Forge?" Jaral asked.
Sabine turned the co-pilot seat and replied. "Yes. My mother and Tristan are leading the defense, but they won't hold out forever."
"What is the Forge?" Zeb asked.
"It's where the best armorers and engineers of Mandalore gather to create new weapons. The Keldabe was designed there. And there are much more blueprints that we can't allow the Empire to have."
"Bo-Katan has asked us to get there and either recover or erase everything. The projects might still be of use to the Coalition." Jaral concluded.
"What if it's too late?" Sabine asked, turning again to look at the planet, which was now closer and the explosions seemed bigger than before.
"Losses are inevitable in war. You have to set aside your empathy." Roi'Ka suddenly sentenced.
The Tau wasn't new to cold statements, but the way he delivered despite the ongoing tragedy either surprised or unsettled the other people, except for the Krogan.
"I hate to say this, Sabine, but he has a point. You need to focus on the task at hand, now." Jordan added.
"It might be true." Jaral intervened with a calm tone. "But that doesn't mean that we have to renounce to compassion."
"The enemy is counting exactly on our compassion to weaken us." the Tau replied.
"Then let's show them how wrong they are." the Grand Marshall fearlessly replied. "Hera, take us down. Sabine, you're coming down with the ground team. The Ghost will provide air cover."
Everyone nodded, so Zeb sprinted out of the cockpit to go man the dorsal turret, Chopper plugged in to assist Hera during the flight, the rest of the group headed into the cargo hold, ready to disembark. The Ghost sped up over Sundari, whose armored cupola had collapsed under the intense bombardment that had occurred that night. Not only that, but all the villages surrounding the capital had been obliterated. In the distance, the allied could see columns of AT-ATs stomping their way into the center of the city. Bolts of yellow and red colors flew all around together with occasional rockets. As they got closer, they could also spot mandalorians and imperial jet-troopers flying around and shooting at each other. However, the endless devastation and trail of flames left by the walkers left little to the interpretation: the Empire was advancing.
Hera eventually found the coordinates of the Forge, which were at a lower level of the city, and brought the Ghost right next to the first line of the mandalorian defenders. As the ramp lowered, the sound of mortars welcomed the allies.
"Someone is going to pay for this." Sabine hissed.
"Then let's move it. We're exposed up here!" Jaral ordered as she was the first to sprint outside, using a mountain of ruins to descend toward the barricade.
There, they met exactly the person they were looking for: Ursa Wren.
"Countess!" Jaral called, holding her lightsaber in her right hand.
The woman in armor turned around. "Grand Marshall Bridger...Sabine."
"Mother. What's the situation?"
"We are…"
A sudden, violent explosion at the barricade, which also sent two warriors flying, interrupted her. A rocket had opened a breach in the wall and a swarm of stormtroopers in their white armors started to flood in, firing wildly. Jaral ignited her lightsaber and charged forward while the allies reorganized. The sudden melee that the Jedi forced on the imperials caught them off-guard, and her skills alone turned out to be more than enough to fend off the stormtroopers long enough for her allies to counterattack and for Thabo to use his powers to plug the hole in the barricade.
"Looks like I owe another one, Bridger." Ursa said once they regrouped.
"Mother, where is Tristan?" Sabine asked worried.
Ursa turned her head toward the rebuilt barricade and pointed one of her blasters in that direction. "He's defending the Forge. I was ordered by the Mand'alor to take and hold this intersection, but when we dug in, the imperial dogs attacked and cut us off. I lost contact with Tristan almost an hour ago."
In response, Jaral made a step and started to scan the general direction of the Forge with the Force, extending her left hand. A few seconds was all she needed to detect that there was still a fight going on there.
"Looks like the mandos there are resisting." she said, then walked back to Ursa. "Countess, I promise, if Tristan is still there, we'll see him out of there alive."
"Thank you, Jaral Bridger." Ursa replied with a nod of her head, then spoke to the whole group. "We have to stay here and protect this road to ensure the supplies to our frontline, so I can only wish you good luck."
"We don't need luck, Mother. We got the explosives." Sabine replied with a mix of confidence and the rage that was still boiling in her blood.
"That's the spirit, Sabine." Ursa replied quite proudly. "Now you better go."
The group thus climbed the barricade, with Jaral actually opening the line by simply jumping over it with both her muscles and the Force. Once they were all out of the fortified position, they advanced toward the Forge, which was a little less than a km away from them, though they had to fight their way among another wave of stormtroopers. This time though, help arrived almost unexpectedly when Moreena and her group of Rangers suddenly stroke at the rear of the imperials and then linked up with Jaral's squad.
"Mo. Quite the timing."
"I thought you could use some additional firepower to retake the Forge."
"How's the sitch?"
"Not good. The mandos won't hold out forever."
"Then let's get to it."
The small force then rushed to the help of their allies. The Forge was placed atop a set of stairs which were very steep, making them optimal defensive positions for an entrenched defender. In fact, there were the bodies of several imperials on the stairs, though they had already taken two of the three levels. However, after being attacked from behind, the troopers immediately pulled back to reorganize. Once the zone was clear, Jaral deactivated her lightsaber and went to greet the defenders.
"You must be Jaral Bridger." one of the mandalorians at the barricade said. "Welcome to the Forge."
"Thanks. But before we go in, is Tristan Wren here?"
"You may see it by yourself, Master Bridger." a familiar voice replied.
Jaral turned her head slightly on her right and saw Tristan in his armor. Holding a pistol in his right hand...while his left arm was bandaged and tied to his neck.
"Tristan!" Sabine sprinted forward. "Who did this?" she then growled.
"Relax, sis." the young man replied. "The responsible is now laying on the stairs with a burn through his eyes."
"Good for you, lad." Jordan intervened. "Now we better finish the job before they come back."
Jaral turned around to speak to her team. "Jinx should be able to do the job fairly quickly. So, Dad, Sabine, with me. Everyone else shore up and hold the line while we recover the data."
"We got you covered, ma'am." Michalina said with enough enthusiasm, letting the trio walk into the door of the Forge while the fight around them resumed.
But when the door shut behind them, the atmosphere was strangely quiet.
"Shouldn't there be someone guarding the central hub?" Jordan asked.
"Most of the brains have already been shipped out of the planet. They just didn't have time to download everything on data tapes, that's why we're here." Sabine explained.
"Still, I have a strange feeling." Jaral whispered and adjusted the grip on her lightsaber, ready to ignite it. "Stay alert."
It didn't take long for them to reach the central database, even as the building shook a little because of explosives hitting the external. But as they entered, Jaral immediately took out her pistol and pointed it toward a figure in front of the main console.
"Freeze!" she intimated.
The strange figure slightly turned its head, revealing a biped being. He was a strange mixture of avian and reptile, he was green with a beak and had two, incredibly big and sharp blades attached underneath his arms.
In but a flash, the strange alien dived backward. Jaral fired a shot but missed him, and as the guy was still in the air he became invisible. Even the thermal scanner couldn't get him.
"Oh, you think so?" Jaral mumbled as she closed her eyes and focused on using the Force. After two seconds, she confidently pointed the pistol a little bit to her left and fired a shot.
A growl of pain and a small spray of green blood came out. The alien suddenly reappeared.
"Jedi…" he mumbled before dashing away again with possibly more agility than before.
This time, all three of them fired on him, but the alien used his blades to parry the bolts that he couldn't dodge while he made ridiculous jumps that brought him at a higher level and then into a pretty large maintenance corridor.
"Who the…?" Jordan said.
"See what he took. I'm going after him!" Jaral declared, jumping up.
"Be careful, Jari. That guy doesn't seem a pushover." her father loudly said before she followed the trail.
"Landing zone in sight. 20 seconds." the pilot announced.
Iulius put on his helmet while the Death Troopers behind him loaded up their weapons. When the shuttle landed and the ramp was opened, the Grand Admiral found Starkiller waiting for him. He walked outside, followed by his escort. All he needed was a quick look at the Sith assassin to receive an answer.
"She's holed up in the palace. All exits are blocked."
"Good." Iulius calmly replied and started walking in the direction of the building, escorted by Starkiller and passing through the orange-themed soldiers of the 212th Attack Battalion, renamed like that by Cody.
It didn't take long to reach the stairs of the ducal palace, completely occupied by the stormtroopers, with three AT-ATs keeping the entrances under watch.
"Grand Admiral." Cody reported once Iulius walked in front of him.
"Status?"
"Bo-Katan Kryze has been confirmed to be inside the palace. She holed up in the throne room with a handful of warriors...and she's wielding a strange lightsaber."
"The Dark Troopers?"
"I sent them to wait in front of the door as you asked, sir."
"Excellent work, Commander. Lock down this place and await for my return. Meanwhile, order all battalions to slow down the offensive. It's useless to waste more lives, at this point."
"Yes, sir." the old clone replied and got to the comlink.
The two men instead walked inside. They passed through the battered corridors and halls of the palace, where corpses of both sides were littering the space, though the imperials were still rescuing their wounded. Eventually, they reached the access to the throne room. As he was told, the Grand Admiral found the Dark Troopers, two armed with the 'Soul-stealer', and also Mara.
"I can sense the Darksaber." the woman murmured to her commander. "She's really in there."
Iulius made a quiet nod and everybody stood a bit aside, letting him alone in front of the door. After that, he took off his helmet and knocked, waiting for an answer. Shortly after, a holo-projector appeared from the side wall and Bo-Katan appeared. Her helmet was covering her face, but she was indeed holding the Darksaber with her right hand and a pistol in the other hand.
"Duchess Kryze, I suppose." he started calmly.
"Grand Admiral Tanis." she replied in quite a distasteful tone. "What do you want?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm offering you an opportunity."
"To surrender?"
"To spare your people from a useless slaughter. Hand over the Darksaber and I will allow you, your retinue, and everyone else left on this barren rock a safe passage toward other systems, before I order my fleet to turn this planet to glass."
Bo seemed to hesitate, so Iulius nonchalantly explained the alternative. "Or you can deny my request. I kill you and your retinue without even opening this door, and then I'll turn your planet into glass at the next sundown."
The Mand'alor scoffed. "What are you? A Jedi?"
"Oh, I don't need sorcery to achieve my goal, Duchess. Only cold, factual science." he paused for a second in order to give his foe the time to absorb those words. "So...what is your answer?"
Pissed off by what must have certainly sound like mockery to her, the Duchess ignited the Darksaber. "You already know my answer."
"I'm afraid I do." Iulius simply replied, then made a step back, exiting the field of view of the holo-projector. Then he knelt down, turned his head toward one of the Dark Troopers on his right, and motioned him to give him the Soul-stealer.
The Trooper was confused for a second, for that weapon was very heavy. Then he realized that was the reason why Iulius knelt down, so he carefully passed it to the Grand Admiral. The latter was certainly caught a bit off-guard by the weight of the weapon, but even if he struggled a bit, he still managed to align it. After all, nobody was pressuring him.
He then leaned his head to look into the scope of the weapon. It was similar to a thermal visor, except that the silhouettes were much more dynamic and had bright colors according to the cardiac frequency of the living beings it detected. Thanks to that, he spotted Bo-Katan, waiting at the head of her followers with the Darksaber in hand and ready to slash whoever was going to get through that door.
He took aim and pulled the trigger.
The recoil was almost non-existent, to Iulius' great surprise. But an even better surprise was to see the silhouette of the leader of the mandalorians suddenly make a small jolt, then collapse on the floor. Before Iulius turned away from the scope, he saw two warriors rushing to check on her.
He then returned the weapon to his soldier, and motioned the other trooper to get close.
"Finish them." he calmly instructed once he stood up again.
The Dark Troopers aimed their weapons and fired repeatedly, swinging them left and right. From inside came the muffled gurgles of the mandalorians, who fell without ever realizing what was happening.
After silence had fallen, Iulius motioned for Starkiller to slice the door open, which he did quickly, presenting the Grand Admiral with a scene of death and desolation. But as first thing, he walked toward Bo-Katan's body. On the floor, he saw the artifact that he wanted.
He bent a little and reached for the Darksaber, picking it up with his left hand. He inspected it for a few moments. In his mind, he had to admit, the quality of that hilt was admirable.
"Grand Admiral…"
Iulius snapped out and turned around, finding sergeant 'Mickey'.
"All hostiles have been eliminated. Should we begin the retreat?"
"Yes, sergeant but first…" he turned again and spotted another projector. "First, I think the mandalorians deserve to know the truth."
In the end, that mysterious alien had only stolen a single project for the database. Sabine and Jordan had still recovered the rest, including the project for a new battleship that the mandalorians wanted to propose to the New Republic in a joint industrial effort, but it seemed like only the rest of the Coalition would get to to realize it, now.
As such, Jaral could find a bit of consolation in that, since the alien had managed to disappear Force knew where. She regrouped with her family members and they headed back outside. There, to their surprise, the guns were silent. The Grand Marshall went on the barricade, next to Tristan (whose arm was partially healed thanks to the medi-gel) and Moreena, and saw that the imperials were retreating.
"Something is not right. Why are they running?" she asked.
"Maybe they understood who they were going against." Karg gloated.
"Don't be foolish, Urdnot." Roi'Ka replied. "They could have easily overwhelmed us if they just insisted."
"He's right. I don't like this, either." Sabine added.
"People of Mandalore." a voice echoed all around the city, and Jaral almost froze in place, because she recognized that voice.
A moment later, on every screen, every projector still working in Sundari, and presumably the whole planet, was projecting Iulius, wearing a black armor and only his head showing.
"I am Grand Admiral Iulius Tanis, of the 101st Imperial Fleet. The same Fleet that, a week ago, wiped out your ships over Taris. And as of now, the force that has conquered your city. And your leader."
Iulius lifted his left hand. Everybody was shocked when the Darksaber appeared into it.
"What…?" Tristan asked.
"No…!" Sabine whispered enraged.
"Your leader, Bo-Katan Kryze, is dead. Normally, I would just get back to orbit and erase any life form with a simple bombardment. However, I want to give you all a chance.
"Tomorrow, as soon as the sun will set over Sundari's hemisphere, I will enact a Base-Delta-Zero. Until then, my fleet will allow you to leave the planet and seek refuge wherever you see fit.
"The age of Mandalore is over. In respect to your valor as warriors, I invite you not to waste your lives. That will be all." and his image disappeared.
A brief silence followed. Some warriors fell on their knees, unable to process what they had just been told. Sabine was among them. Jaral could clearly perceive the mixture of negative emotions brewing into her friend's heart, but she was the leader, and somehow she had to put her allies back on their feet.
She headed over to Sabine and gently lifted her up. "Come on, we need to get out of here. Dad, call the Countess and let's regroup with the Ghost."
Jordan nodded and tried to establish the connection.
"What's the rush?" Sabine said menacingly. "I bet that imperial dog is still around. Let's get him!"
"There is probably a battalion of the best imperial soldiers in the galaxy to defend him, Sabine. Get a grip."
"He can't be allowed to get away with the Darksaber!"
"Jaral is right, Sabine." Tristan intervened. "We're in no position to defy him now. Besides, before we reach the palace, he will probably be already back on his Star Destroyer."
Sabine wanted to reply, but they were simply right. She could only grunt in frustration as she had to accept that the Darksaber, the legendary weapon that she had worked so hard to deliver back to her people, was being stolen again. And if that wasn't enough, Bo-Katan was dead. Who was going to lead the mandalorians now?
"Uh, Jari?" Jordan said, then continued when his daughter turned toward him. "I can't get a hold of the Countess. Maybe we should just go."
Jordan said that inadvertently, but Jaral, Tristan and Sabine were caught by a terrible doubt. Without waiting, the two mandalorians jumped away with their jetpacks. Not wanting to leave them alone, Jaral materialized her own pack and followed them.
And as they reached the position where they started the mission, they found various dead bodies lined up by the survivors.
One of them, standing like a sore thumb because of the more elaborate armor, was Ursa Wren.
"Mother!" Sabine screamed, throwing away her own helmet. Tristan was a bit more delicate, but he rushed toward the body nonetheless.
But it was useless. Ursa was clearly dead for a while at that point. Her face was pale and the other warriors had already placed her helmet on her chest, joining the hands to hold the piece of armor.
One of the warriors cautiously approached Jaral, who was grieving in silence and leaving the siblings to cry on their own.
"What happened?" she asked.
The warrior sighed. "Shortly after you left, the imperials launched another assault with heavy artillery. Few of us survived the first salvo and the Countess was badly injured. She fought until she had the strength to do it."
"I see." Jaral murmured.
A strange feeling of cold in the distance attracted her gaze toward her left. Among the countless imperial transports evacuating their personnel, Jaral's focus was on a specific Lambda-class shuttle.
She could only observe as the man responsible for all of this just flew away.
April 11.
"Sir, all air traffic over the planet has stopped two hours ago." Ciena reported. "It's safe to assume that everyone who wanted to leave, already did it."
Iulius took another look outside. By now, the bulk of the attack fleet had caught up with the 101st, and now there were at least 300 Star Destroyers and all their cruisers ready to erase everything from the surface of Mandalore.
"Understood, Lieutenant-Commander. Open a channel." he calmly ordered.
Ciena tapped the command on the datapad. Iulius was now linked to all the ships.
He put a finger on the comlink.
"Grand Admiral Tanis to all squads." for a second, he hesitated. He found this extremely distasteful. But then again, he had already done everything possible to spare as many innocents as he could, so he strengthened his resolve, and pronounced those three words with the most glacial tone he had ever mustered.
"Base...Delta...Zero." and he released the grip on the button.
The octuple turrets of the Admonitor veered almost silently, in the void of space, as did the rest of the fleet.
And that night, Mandalore was set ablaze. The surface turned into molten fluid for the next millennia.