Chapter 25: Duel over Kaas
"We're entering the atmosphere, hang on." the captain of the Liberator announced. Since the vessels were in a rush, they didn't have the time to take the slow approach. The allied fighters fighting above the volcano of Dromund Kaas couldn't hold on much longer without support.
"Prepare my X-Wing." Jaral ordered before turning toward Cal and Ahsoka. "You two get on the Mantis and stand ready."
"You got it, ma'am." Cal replied before heading out with the Togruta.
"Jari...be careful." Darvos said with a bit of apprehension.
Jaral quickly smiled at him then walked toward the main hangar, where another squadron of X-Wings was preparing for launch. The Jedi headed toward her good old fighter, standing out with its unique color scheme and with the astromech beeping at her from its socket.
"I know, Raze. It's been a long time." she quipped as she stood next to the stair and assumed a T-pose.
A team of engineers rushed to dress her up with a modular pilot suit. Since her armor was useless, now, the mechanics had come up with this temporary solution to allow her to fly, including a helmet to let her use the fighter's sensors. When they finished putting the pieces on her body, one of the engineers lifted a thumb as he looked at a datapad.
"All systems green, ma'am." he said.
"Thank you." Jaral kindly replied before climbing into the cockpit.
She started the engines and closed it, preparing for launch. Raze ensured that the ship was loaded and ready, so as soon as the control room gave them the ok, Jaral and the squadron lifted their vehicles and headed out, diving into the skies of Dromund toward the place where the battle was taking place. It was night on that side of the planet, so it was singularly amazing to see how just the lava brewing in the caldera was illuminating the imperial ships. They were mostly frigates and small cruisers surrounding the Xyston, probably because the latter was already consuming most of their fuel by staying so close to the surface, thus having to fight with the gravity as well.
Jaral then entered the fight, acting mostly on her own as an independent jolly and intervening to save single allied pilots that were being picked on by imperial formations. Months of staying behind a holo-table had not reduced her skill with the piloting stick.
As the allies finally started making a huge hole in the line of TIEs, Jaral was taken by surprise as the cannon beneath the Xyston suddenly emanated a red light, aiming at one of the major frigates of the New Republic. Jaral quickly got out of the way and looked as the cannon fired a beam of energy toward the ship, even though it was way beyond the usual range of a turbolaser.
As soon as it was hit, the frigate's shields failed and the ship exploded violently leaving no traces of it.
"What the hell was that?" one of the pilots exclaimed in the comlink.
"It seems like that weapon is based on the Death Star's super-laser." an intelligence officer from the carrier said.
"All capital ships, focus fire on that Star Destroyer." Darvos immediately instructed, but the allies needed to pierce the defensive line of imperial cruisers that were shielding the Xyston. A raging battle followed, but after a single minute, the cannon of the ISD fired again, this time taking out a Geth cruiser with a single shot. The ship was vaporized in the center and only two reduced halves of it fell toward the surface.
"Jaral, I think I found a weakness." Jinx said suddenly.
"Speak."
"According to my observation, that cannon releases a huge amount of energy that weakens its alloy. If you manage to score a hit during its loading phase, you might be able to take it down."
The Jedi immediately opened a channel with the commanding officer of the fighters.
"Captain Cron, I need an attack vector toward that cannon."
"You got it, ma'am." the man replied with his strong voice. "All fighters, open a path for the General."
"This is Un'gar Squadron, we'll provide cover." a Tau pilot intervened.
"The Geth are ready to assist." another voice came in.
Jaral's X-Wing was soon accompanied by a group of Tau 'Barracuda' orbital fighters, while those of the Geth renewed their attack against the imperials. With her allies giving everything to give her a chance, Jaral ignored every TIE coming her way, letting the Tau deal with them while she kept her mind focused on the cannon.
"Energy peak detected. It's preparing to fire." Jinx reported.
Jaral turned the snub toward the target and accelerated at attack speed, preparing her thumb over the trigger for the proton torpedoes.
Passing through a barrage of green turbolasers, Jaral didn't flinch and kept her eyes on the prize. Indeed, when the point of the cannon started gathering the shot, the point of the cannon also turned a bit yellow, sign that the alloy wasn't entirely able to contain it. Maybe that was the reason why the ship was still a secret prototype.
But right now, it was exactly what she needed. As soon as she reached the short distance necessary to make sure the shot wouldn't fail and with Jinx adjusting the computer, Jaral finally pulled the trigger and two torpedoes came out from the cannons of her X-Wing.
"It's away." she communicated, veering away with the Taus.
The torpedoes quickly reached the cannon and it went exactly as Jinx predicted: the alloy was easily tore apart and the energy of the weapon spiraled out of control. A huge explosion destroyed the cannon and also left a huge hole in the belly of the Star Destroyer, suddenly leaving it vulnerable to a boarding party.
"This is Blue Nova, I'm boarding that ship. Mantis, follow as soon as you can."
"Hold on!" Darvos exclaimed. "You're not going there without support."
"If we wait they'll raise a shield and make it impossible." Jaral firmly replied and sped toward the breach. "Raze, take controls."
The astromech obeyed but protested against the decision.
"It's what I'm meant to do." she calmly replied, grabbing her lightsabers. "Besides, Jinx is with me, right?" she quipped.
"You're lucky my programming forces me to obey." the AI sarcastically remarked.
Jaral smirked confidently and removed her helmet. The suit was very crude and wouldn't allow her to move freely, so as soon as Raze brought the X-Wing near the hovering Destroyer, the woman opened the cockpit and pressed the emergency button that threw away the modules, leaving her in her usual blue clothes and light chest armor. Then she made a jump increased with the Force and entered the breach, landing into the corridor a moment before the emergency shield was raised.
Raze was forced to bring back the X-Wing while Jaral assessed the situation. She found herself into a corridor filled with debris, but aside from that it seemed empty. Judging from the location it was probably just a chamber used to release some of the excessive heat previously generated by the cannon. At the very least it was unguarded, which gave her the time to ensure that Kanan's lightsaber was still hanging on her left hip while she gripped her own saber resolutely.
Right now, the only extra protection she had was a layer of kinetic barriers. They were still pretty common in the Milky Way, especially among the Geth, who had provided her with these, regulated by the omni-tool and Jinx. After making sure they were operative, she embraced the fear to die and headed toward the door, which luckily was open and let her through.
The next corridor also seemed quite empty and a bit wrecked, but as she quickly tapped into the Force to see what was happening, she felt an oppressive sensation of cold and evil coming from the center of the ship, where usually the Star Destroyers had the conference rooms.
She started running toward that way as the alarm kept blaring all around her. It seemed like the destruction of the cannon had severely damaged the power grid of the entire ship, which was now focusing all remaining energy on the thrusters. It was a good thing, thought Jaral, because Cal and Ahsoka would have little trouble approaching an airlock and board the ship as well.
When she made the first turn, she encountered a group of guards, but they weren't what she expected: their armor was similar to that of stormtroopers, but it was red, and the helmet as well had a few differences, with the black visor of the eyes making a bent arrow and reaching the mouth. They were wielding the blaster carbines usually used by the Death Troopers and fired toward her as soon as they realized who she was.
Jaral ignited her saber and easily deflected the first volley, then charged forward. One of the troopers was taken out with a bolt deviated back to his helmet, another was slammed against the wall with a Force push and passed out.
In the span of a minute, she had taken care of this first batch, and it was at that moment that she received a transmission from Cere.
"Blue Nova, this is the Mantis, come in."
"I read you, Mantis."
"The boarding party has entered from the port side of the Destroyer, where are you?"
"On the other side, I'm afraid. Tell the team to move toward the center of the ship. Whatever the Emperor is hiding it's there."
"Understood."
Knowing that the Mantis also had a squad of Rangers aboard, and safe in the knowledge that Cal and Ahsoka would certainly make their way toward the objective without a problem, Jaral pressed on.
Another report came in. The 153rd Lantillies Regiment had managed to reconquer an important hill, but losses were around 60%, and Captain Mellovar had died while leading his troops.
Iulius hid his eyes behind his hand while leaning his head on the palm. Once again he had ordered thousands upon thousands of men even younger than him to the slaughter. This was the true face of a full-scale war against an enemy that was now showing its full potential.
The Royal Academy always taught its students that the Empire was the most powerful army in the universe, so nobody would ever dare to challenge it openly. And even if that happened, the overconfidence of the imperial doctrine imposed to always go on the offensive and crush the weaker enemy. It never considered what would happen when facing an enemy that had the numbers, the weapons and the ability to stand up toe-to-toe against the Empire.
Now Iulius had to completely revisit the doctrine, a process that required time. Time that he had to gain by trading the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and allies. While it was necessary, he was starting to hate this. Especially because his role required him to stay safely away from the frontline. His Chief of Staff had thrown a huge tantrum after he had participated in repelling the first assault on Fort Ruusan, and even his escort was doing everything to convince him to stay out of the line of fire.
So there he was. Asking his contemporaries to lay down their lives while he stood safely away in a bunker. But that was about to change.
For two months he had been laying the plans for the counterattack. News from the boot camps signaled that the new legions of stormtroopers and Army divisions had completed the training according to his new instructions. The junior officers had undergone a quick but exhaustive additional training which instilled in them the concept of taking responsibilities and act on their own will to achieve the objective given.
While Vader was wasting his fleet in the doomed offensive a few months before, Iulius' explorers had discovered two uncharted systems linked to Lantillies by hyperspace lanes. In these two systems, the Lord-Protector was amassing his forces for a surprise strike that had to trap the enemy fleet in a pincer.
By now, it wasn't just the federal fleet: the so-called New Republic had also sent a considerable amount of men and materials, pretty much all they could spare for the offensive, on Lantillies.
If this maneuver was going to work, then it might just turn the tide of the war again. That is, if it worked. It was an ambitious plan, way larger than his previous ones. The enemy fleet was still a force to be reckoned with for the imperial one.
One thing was for sure: this was going to be a costly battle.
Still, the morale of the imperial forces was high. The selflessness the Lantillians were showing in the defense of their planet was purely fanatical, but here there were men and women of all species from the Mid Rim and the Core, who had enlisted knowing very well that this battle might spell the end of the Empire, and let the barbarians of the Outer Rim destroy their homes.
It was incredible to see how many recruits were still coming in, despite the fact that they were given only limited training, because the goal on Lantillies was simply to be the anvil for the upcoming offensive armada, which was completing preparations in the rear systems. Even more Wookiee warriors had been added to the strategic reserve.
The door of the office opened, letting Qathora walk in. From her face, and the fact that she sealed the door behind her, Iulius could tell that this was urgent.
"What's going on?"
Qathora quickly walked next to him and whispered in his ear. "I just intercepted a report through the Fulcrum network. The Federation is sending the INS Protector here."
Iulius almost had a heart attack, but kept his cool and asked. "Do they know about our operation?"
"No, I made sure of it. They simply hope to conquer the planet once and for all. It seems that their Admiral and that Prince are coming aboard."
The Grand Admiral turned his gaze away and looked around.
This was terrible news. The last thing he needed was that super-dreadnought fighting against him…
Or was it that bad? His instinct was suggesting that perhaps there was an opportunity at hand.
"Thanks, Qathora. Go back and listen to everything they say." he calmly instructed.
The Togruta nodded and headed out once again, letting Iulius plot in his head.
"Jaral, do you copy?" Ahsoka said urgently into the comlink.
After taking the time to slice the weapon of another Sith trooper (as she decided to call them) and knocking him out with a kick, the Jedi replied. "What's up?"
"The imps have detonated some charges and blocked our path toward the center of the ship. We can't go through."
It didn't take long before Jaral realized the situation and took a decision. "Get out of here. I'll make sure to destroy this ship and everything inside of it."
"Jari, no. Get to an escape pod, the fleet can take care of the ship."
"Not without major losses, and we still don't know what the Emperor is doing here. Return to the carrier, that's an order." the woman concluded before closing the channel.
After slashing her way through another couple of squads, she reached the source of the darkness that was chilling her bones. After Jinx easily hacked the controls of the door, Jaral walked in, her saber still humming, and entered the conference room. Except now it seemed more like an improvised meditation chamber, and when she took a good look inside, she found a strange body inside some sort of stasis pod. It had the figure of a man with gray hair and beard but still looking quite young, and he was wearing a white armor and a black cape. She could also spot a lightsaber hanging on his belt.
Just as she finished assessing the situation, a hologram appeared, and she immediately recognized Palpatine as he usually appeared on the HoloNet, with the false appearance of a benevolent old man.
"Jaral Bridger." he said in a gentle tone. "I wanted to meet you for a long time."
"Too bad it's not in person." Jaral replied coldly as she stepped down half of the stairs toward the center of the room.
"Oh, there is no need to be aggressive, my dear. I sincerely admire your work." he said as he started walking up and down. "The speed at which your powers and that of your brother grow it's astonishing. A pity that you're likely going to die here, today."
"If I have to die, it's fine by me. But at least I'll make sure you don't get anything from this place."
"You severely misread the situation, young lady. For you see, I already have what I need." Palpatine replied before turning toward the pod. "The first step toward eternal life."
"What is that?" she asked.
"In ancient times, a powerful Sith Lord, Darth Vitiate, was able to transfer his own consciousness into another body. Given the rush your little rebellion put on me, I had to take the inelegant action of making a perfect copy of that body, but at least is ready."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Jaral calmly stated.
Palpatine sighed and turned toward her. "Really, don't you see the opportunity at hand? Not just for me, but for all living beings. We are all forced to slowly weaken and perish, but here there is another path. I can teach you, if you want." he offered. "Who knows, we may find a way to bring back your Master."
Jaral calmly shook her head. "You really don't get it, uh? Honestly, I pity you."
Palpatine's expression now turned surly. "Oh, really?"
"We weaken and perish because that's the cycle of life. All of us are part of the cosmic balance as the Force intended. And yes, we are destined to suffer, lose the people who are dear to us. But there is much more to life than that. The fact that you can't see that and are so focused on something so vapid as becoming immortal...that's why I'm sorry for you."
She explained that with a calm that partially surprised herself. Still, she didn't find it weird. For as she had the feeling that right at that moment, somebody was watching on her and guiding her resolution.
The Emperor apparently didn't like to be reprimanded by a girl. Suddenly, his voice became much less pleasant. "So be it."
The man lifted his arms slowly and started chanting some devilish ritual. The room started shaking and the fake hologram gave way to the real Palpatine for a few seconds, before the transmission was closed and the body inside the pod started moving. He opened his eyes, revealing them to have shiny golden irises and regular white corneas, then the pod was shattered and Jaral quickly raised the directional shield of her omni-tool to protect herself from the shards of glass coming her way. Once she had the chance to lower it, she noticed that the pod had pretty much vanished and the body of Palpatine's artificial body was standing up, taking his lightsaber in the process.
"And now, young Bridger, you will die." the man sentenced with a voice that wasn't that of Palpatine but had a sinister echo accompanying every word.
Palpatine ignited his new lightsaber. It was crimson alright, but for some reason it had a dark inner blade. Jaral wasn't sure what that meant, but it was a lightsaber anyway, so she knew it was better not to get caught by that.
"Jaral," Jinx said in her ear. "That body is actually incomplete. Part of his organism are not fully developed, so it might go down with a single strike."
Just as he said that, Palpatine extended his left hand and a stream of lightning bolts headed toward her. Jaral's senses, however, allowed her to sense the threat and raise the shield again to deflect it.
If that puppet could use the Force, then probably a minor flaw in its organism wasn't going to be much of a hindrance to Palpatine.
That said, once the storm passed, Jaral calmly gripped her sword with one hand and assumed the ready position.
"Be patient. Trust in the Force." the voice of Kanan calmly spoke to her.
Jaral did just that, knowing full well that she would have no chance against the powerful Sith Lord. However, as Jinx stated, the pupped in front of her was dangerous, but it wasn't at full power. If she played her cards right, she might have a chance at pulling this.
Moreover, she suddenly felt the presence of Ezra, as well. Her brother had sensed the incredible danger she was in, and had elected to enter in a meditative state to give her all the support she needed.
Palpatine launched a scream of the Force, a Dark side ability that aimed at confusing the enemy, but with the help of her Master and her brother, Jaral kept her focus and clearly saw the puppet spinning toward her in the air, aiming at landing a blow that she dodged. They thus started exchanging blows on the bleachers of the room, with Jaral staying in a rigorous defense, patiently waiting for an opportunity while Sidious relentlessly attacked.
Despite all his power, the Sith Lord couldn't break the stubborn and calm defense of the Jedi Knight, who seemed to taunt him with her composure, her incredible ability at keeping her fear and emotions in check, knowing full well that a crack in that barrier would be the end for her. He probably also didn't fathom the idea that such a slender girl could have such super-human strength, as she was perfectly able to withstand even the most violent swings.
Sidious was also using much of his power to manipulate the puppet at such a distance, and he probably wasn't able to complete the ritual with such a distraction in the room. As minutes passed, it became clear that he wanted to finish the fight as quickly as possible. Jaral noticed it and decided to provoke him even further. As Sidious delivered another blow, Jaral jumped toward the upper seats and used the rebound from the leap to deliver a violent kick on the face of the puppet, sending it downward at the center of the room.
Now the puppet clearly exuded a furious aura. Jaral understood that now was the time to go all-in. She jumped downward, positioning herself in front of her foe and assumed a defensive posture again, closing her eyes to focus on the Force, asking for help for the move she had in mind.
Sidious was livid. It was inconceivable that a mere Jedi Knight was simply toying with him. He launched another scream and charged at the girl with a high blow.
But as he delivered the blow, the girl suddenly grabbed Kanan's lightsaber and parried the blow with that, entering a lock. She stared at the puppet straight in the eyes, engaging in a contest of will but also distracting him. Slowly she pushed the sabers toward her left, overpowering the puppet.
When she finally had a clear way, she swung her own saber upward with a swift movement, cutting the left arm of the puppet in half. A sinister scream of pain from Sidious pervaded the room.
The puppet stepped backward and reached for the severed limb. Clearly, the connection was strong enough that Sidious had his senses connected to the puppet, and he felt all the pain.
For a Sith, pain usually increases power, but it also make him more savage and predictable. Even the calculating Sidious was taken over by these primitive impulses, at that moment. He swung again, but if he was already on par with Jaral with two arms, being left with one easily allowed the girl to parry the blow while making a calm step back.
Another blow came and she made another step back, just so Sidious kept compromising his balance and after a fourth miss, he was completely open and Jaral nonchalantly stabbed him in the chest.
The puppet started convulsing. The eyes first rolled over but then started to emanate a white light, as did the open mouth.
Jaral received a scream of danger from the Force, removed the blade from the puppet and jumped back, preparing her directional shield.
The puppet screamed and kept writhing in pain, until it fell on his knees, exposed his chest toward the sky and then exploded, releasing a wave of red mist that blew in the room like a violent wind before dissipating.
The Jedi realized that it was the essence Sidious had poured into the puppet that was now dispersing. It certainly wasn't enough to kill him, but one thing was for sure: the aging Sith Lord had been dealt a severe blow.
Jaral finally exhaled a sigh of relief, but just after she finished, the ship violently shook and the alarm started blaring.
"Jinx, what's going on?" she asked.
"It appears the Captain of the ship has initiated self-destruction. I suggest a quick escape."
"You don't say…" she said before opening a channel with her astromech. "Raze, lock on my signal."
The astromech beeped affirmatively and urgently, then Jaral sprinted out of the room.
As he kept his connection to the Force, Ezra couldn't help but feel very much frightened. The Star Destroyer was starting to blow up by itself right above the volcano. If Jaral didn't come out of there quickly, either the crash or the lava would kill her.
"Jari, I see some escape pods still waiting on the starboard side." he told her through the bond.
"Too far. I have a better solution." she thought back.
Ezra was puzzled and even more worried by those words, but kept his vision sharp.
Eventually he saw that Jaral headed toward another breach in the hull that faced the outside of the ship and simply dived out from there.
He realized what she wanted to do, but as he couldn't see Raze with the X-Wing anywhere close to her, he almost started to panic.
That was until the fighter finally sprinted toward Jaral. After a crazy fall, the astromech managed to align the vehicle with Jaral, who then reached the cockpit and veered away from there, heading back to the Liberator while the imperial fleet crumbled, being suddenly left without leadership.
Ezra breathed a huge sigh of relief and finally opened his eyes, finding himself in the room the resistance of Utapau had prepared for his meditations. As his head reentered into his own present, Ezra couldn't hold back a chuckle, proud as he was of what his sister just accomplished. He slowly stood up and left the room with satisfaction.
He thus rejoined the life in the hideout of the resistance, situated at the lower levels of the sinkhole hosting Pau City. After he and his team had liberated the leaders of the Pau'ans, preparations for an uprising were in full swing. Pantora had promised a fleet to help Task Force Magellan destroy or chase away the Unfeeling from orbit while Ezra and his group stormed the imperial HQ in the capital.
"Ezra, there you are." Sabine greeted when he approached her and Jordan. "Is everything alright?"
"Better. Jaral's mission has been a total success. The Emperor will certainly feel it forever."
Jordan chuckled. "Never doubted her for a second."
"Me neither. I was just afraid she might die right at the end."
"Well, she made it. That's all that matters." Sabine concluded. "Now we should focus on our own mission, though."
"Did something happen?" Ezra asked.
"The Amerigo just informed us that they detected the Tarkin's Will entering the system." she reported. "Zahra is upon us. We need to strike out before she arrives on the surface."
Ezra hummed. "We're already outnumbered against the legion of the Unfeeling, we can't take on the troops of Zahra as well."
"I think I have an idea." Jordan said calmly.
"Go on."
"We know that Zahra wants you, Leia and Luke in particular, since you were the ones who contributed the most in the destruction of the Death Star. Maybe if we simulate a retreat with the Amerigo, we might be able to draw both Zahra and Tanis into another system. Once they leave only a small garrison, the people of Utapau will have a much easier time getting rid of it, especially with the weapons we gave them."
Ezra thought about it. It wasn't a bad plan, all things considered, but they would need to play their cards very carefully. They might have encountered the commander only twice, but she had already proven to be adaptable and learning the tactics of the allied forces very quickly.
"Maybe it won't be necessary to move the Amerigo." he concluded. "After all, they still don't know that the ship is in the system."
Jordan hummed in thought. "So you just want to draw them away?"
"Yes. I don't like this, but I'll ask the Falcon to act as bait. If Zahra learns that Luke and Leia are aboard, she won't resist."
"And if they think that they are regrouping with the fleet in another system, the impulsive Chimbros Tanis will probably follow, as well." Sabine understood.
"I have the feeling that the illustrious Admiral would follow it just because the Falcon is one of the most wanted vessels for the Empire. He'll be chasing the glory of taking it down." Jordan commented.
"Seriously, how did such a simple guy gave birth to the calibers of Iulius and Darvos?" Ezra couldn't hold back to voice the thought.
Jordan widened his arms. "Biology is full of mysteries, son. We could ponder all day over why neither me or your mother are psionics but you and Jari became Jedi."
"Well, from what I heard from Kanan and Kenobi, that is not related to biology at all." Ezra objected.
"No. It is predisposition." Jordan calmly replied. "Something science still hasn't been able to explain. For now, let's be grateful that we only have to face the stupid side of the Tanis and inform the others of the plan, what do you say?"
"Works for me."
And they headed out to gather the crew of the Falcon and the officers of the resistance.