Chapter 4: Bastion
"Hey Chewie, you OK up there?" Han asked his friend. The Millennium Falcon had just received one of her worse bumps in the past years. The sensor array dish was now beyond simple repair, so Han would not be able to transmit any messages across space. He and Chewie still had to deliver their cargo of weapons to the Resistance, before they could even try to leave the planet. After Han's question, Chewie rumbled an assent to Han that he was OK, and demanded to know what happened.
After the brief battle, the Falcon crash landed onto the planet's surface. "One of the cruiser analogs up there hit us with some plasma, knocked out the rear deflector shield. It also knocked out the sensor dish, so now we're blind and deaf," Han replied sourly. As Han said this, he began to look around and take in the surroundings. The planet was very barren and there was definitely evidence that a battle had taken place. From where Han crashed, he was able to make out the shape of where Darth Vader's castle had been. Along with the scattered debris, there were the bodies of rebels, Vong, and Shamed Ones.
"Damn Chewie. Looks like we missed the fun here huh?"
[Yeah, at least for now it looks like we did Han. Let's go get our cargo and get out of here, so that we don't tract any unnecessary attention,] Chewie said to Han.
"Well Chewie, I agree whole heartedly with ya, so let's go," Han said. Chewbacca went into their battered ship to retrieve heavier weapons. After they were locked and loaded, they began to load the cargo onto a dolly. They dragged it all down onto the surface, and looked around hoping to see signs of the Resistance. But to their dismay, there was none except for the dead bodies strewn about.
"Chewie, make sure your bowcaster is loaded. If we encounter any of the Vong, there's bound to be some shootin'," Han said. Han already had his BlasTech DL-44 strapped to his thigh, and in addition to that weapon, he carried a larger rifle. Chewie rumbled in agreement, and checked the charge on his weapon.
They started out along the rocky path, pushing the hovering dolly in front of them. Just as Han predicted, there was a Yuuzhan Vong patrol group out on the path in front of them. They were all armed with amphistaffs, and were wearing vonduun crab armor. The patrol noticed the duo, and began to throw razor and thud bugs at them. Chewie took the first shot at what looked like the leader, but his shot was easily evaded by the warrior. Directly after the warrior dodged the blast, the group then charged Han and Chewie with their amphistaffs in full snake-form.
"Ahhh, Chewie, it looks like we're outnumbered here. Any suggestions would be good," Han said as he fired off rounds at the nearest warrior. "Aim for any exposed area on their body! It's our only chance to survive!" Han hollered at Chewie. The Vong were hurling thud bugs along with razor bugs at them. One of the razor bugs hit a cargo container, and flew right through it. Han and Chewie continued to shoot at the large party of Vong, occasionally hitting one or two. "Chewie, it's lookin' pretty hopeless here. We're barely makin' a dent in that patrol. I don't know what we're gonna do…" Han said. As the firefight raged on, more and more laser blasts joined Han and Chewie. "What the…?" Han said as he looked around in amazement. There were many members of the Resistance popping up guerrilla style; they were all taking shots at the Yuuzhan Vong.
Kang'La Ku was wrong, there were no Jeedai. There was only a very well trained Resistance that was intent on killing Yuuzhan Vong. Even though the sides were now as equal as they would get, there still weren't enough dead Vong. Han heard some soldier yell, "Now! Hit the detonators, hit 'em now!!" Following that, the sides of the road where the Vong were blew apart and inward in a violent explosion. It was a good tactic that killed or incapacitated all who stood in the blast's way.
"Minions of Xendor, I'll be damned Chewie! Those guys just saved our asses!" Han said gleefully. The surviving Vong were still hurling thud bugs at the rebels, but for the most part they were retreating. With this lapse in the battle, Han and Chewie were able to seek some refuge from the fight. As they were walking around, they sought out the Resistance's leader. They found him; or rather he found them as he was jogging towards them.
As Han walked up to the man, he introduced himself. "My name's Han Solo, I…" was all Han could say before the commander responded.
"Captain Solo! Hey I know all about you, you're a legend. I grew up hearing about your adventures with Jedi Master Skywalker, Princess Leia, and…" The commander was a stocky man, who looked to be in his late thirties if not early forties. But from the way he was acting, Han would have to say he was almost like a kid.
"Whoa, hold on there. Not so fast, take a breath, kid," Han said jokingly. The men had clasped hands, and the young commander was visibly shaking. Regardless of the way the commander was acting around him, Han could tell that this man was a very capable leader.
"Sorry Sir. But it's just, it's just so...s..so… I apologize for my manners Captain Solo, my name is Jared d'Tana. I organized the Resistance here against the Vong. There aren't that many of us, but with your weapons you brought us and the help we get from the Rebel Alliance, I think that we can take the Vong, Sir."
"Yeah, I can tell by your situation that you guys could use some help. My wife, myself, and Luke, are working on setting up various cells of rebels to create a new Alliance. I'd ask for payment on the weapons, but in this case, how about you just send your best techs to work on the Falcon. She suffered some damage from one of those Vong ships," Han said.
"Thank you, Sir. I'll send my men right now, and you and Chewbacca will be able to leave," d'Tana said.
"By the way, how did you become a commander in the Resistance?" Han inquired.
D'Tana smiled grimly and said, "The Empire killed my family, and I wanted to hurt those bastards anyway that I could. So I joined the original Rebel Alliance, and I was quickly promoted when my squad and I took out an Imperial outpost. After the clones of Palpatine along with his other Dark Jedi were killed, my men and I ransacked Vader's castle. Now it serves as our base, and protects us from the Vong. I've served the New Republic my whole life. When my men and I heard that it had been overrun by the Vong, we continued to serve it."
"Yeah, war's rough. I've had my share of losses, but they don't stop me from defending the people I love. Alright, let's get going d'Tana." Han remembered so long ago when he was just a cocky smuggler, helping the rebels just so that he'd be able to pay off his debt to Jabba the Hutt.
After their conversation, Han and Chewie finished helping d'Tana set up his new armaments and weapons. They walked over to where his techs were fixing the Falcon. Han put his arm around d'Tana's shoulders and said, "Jared, you are a lifesaver. Your people are really good. If not for you, we'd be up there blind against the Vong."
"No. Thank you, Han. With the parts you gave us, we stand a fighting chance. We'll report back to intelligence as soon as we can, as soon as we rid ourselves of the Vong," d'Tana said.
Han and Chewie bid the commander farewell and boarded their ship to leave the planet. There were still many interdictors, analogs, and coralskippers in Bastion's orbit, but with the sensor dish repaired, Han was able to evade them before they were really able to engage him. They had to make one more stop before they could rendezvous with the Rebel fleet. With Bastion behind them, Han punched the Falcon into hyperspace towards the planet, Kessel.
Kang'Lah Ku and Xyzchmana Tin had failed the Warmaster along with Franek'tcha Pah. They knew that death would soon embrace them, but the Yuuzhan Vong welcomed death. But under these circumstances, the fact they had Failed!, did they not want to meet death. The two commanders led their squadron back to the Krakow. Their ships docked and a living section of their ships connected to the Krakow allowing them to board it. Word was sent to them that Franek'tcha Pah wanted to see them immediately in his chambers.
The two commanders strode bravely into Pah's chamber. If they felt any fear, they did not show it. They knew they had failed and accepted full responsibility. Standing in the back, in the shadows, was Nom Anor. Nom Anor, was wearing a living cloak, that swirled around his powerful body. The commanders knew that Anor was Tsavong Lah's personal executor, and any reason for his arrival would not be good for their livelihood. "Kang'Lah Ku, Xyzchmana Tin, you have failed me. You let Solo and the Wookie escape, unharmed! You had them in your grasp, yet you failed. Your warriors had them, yet they also failed!" Franek'tcha Pah roared at them, with visible rage.
"Sir, we did everything we could and…" Kang'Lah Ku started.
"Don't speak! You have already failed me in every way possible, there is no need to fail at your pathetic excuse as well," Pah said. Franek'tcha Pah, raised his hand, and Nom Anor came out of the shadows. He had a razor bug in one hand and his amphistaff in the other. The two commanders, stood there defiantly in front of Franek'tcha Pah. But at the last moment, Xyzchmana reached out and grabbed an amphistaff from one of the guards in the chamber. Franek'tcha Pah was barely surprised by the fool's choice. Before Xyzchmana could use his staff, Nom Anor had already thrown the razor bug at him. It hit him squarely in the chest, and was wedged in his rib cage. The commander went down with an OOMPF! Anor had his amphistaff out and already the head of it was dripping venomous poison. As Xyzchmana was writhing on the floor, hissing with pain, Anor walked and calmly stood over him. With no remorse or pity, he jabbed him twice in the neck with his staff. All the while, Kang'Lah Ku watched this, knowing that he was next. As the commander's death throes abated, Franek'tcha Pah said, "Now, Kang'Lah Ku, I do believe that you have a mission you have yet accomplished."
Surprised that he wasn't killed, Ku nodded sharply at Franek'tcha Pah, and strode out of the room before his decision changed. "Nom Anor, follow him closely, make sure that he does not fail again," Pah said.
Nom Anor just looked at Franek'tcha Pah, before tipping his head in acknowledgement. As he left, Franek'tcha Pah thought to himself, Good. Now the infidels will finally be wiped out, the Warmaster will be pleased. Maybe someday he would not have to bow to a Warmaster, he thought, because he would be the Warmaster.
"Hey Chewie, you OK up there?" Han asked his friend. The Millennium Falcon had just received one of her worse bumps in the past years. The sensor array dish was now beyond simple repair, so Han would not be able to transmit any messages across space. He and Chewie still had to deliver their cargo of weapons to the Resistance, before they could even try to leave the planet. After Han's question, Chewie rumbled an assent to Han that he was OK, and demanded to know what happened.
After the brief battle, the Falcon crash landed onto the planet's surface. "One of the cruiser analogs up there hit us with some plasma, knocked out the rear deflector shield. It also knocked out the sensor dish, so now we're blind and deaf," Han replied sourly. As Han said this, he began to look around and take in the surroundings. The planet was very barren and there was definitely evidence that a battle had taken place. From where Han crashed, he was able to make out the shape of where Darth Vader's castle had been. Along with the scattered debris, there were the bodies of rebels, Vong, and Shamed Ones.
"Damn Chewie. Looks like we missed the fun here huh?"
[Yeah, at least for now it looks like we did Han. Let's go get our cargo and get out of here, so that we don't tract any unnecessary attention,] Chewie said to Han.
"Well Chewie, I agree whole heartedly with ya, so let's go," Han said. Chewbacca went into their battered ship to retrieve heavier weapons. After they were locked and loaded, they began to load the cargo onto a dolly. They dragged it all down onto the surface, and looked around hoping to see signs of the Resistance. But to their dismay, there was none except for the dead bodies strewn about.
"Chewie, make sure your bowcaster is loaded. If we encounter any of the Vong, there's bound to be some shootin'," Han said. Han already had his BlasTech DL-44 strapped to his thigh, and in addition to that weapon, he carried a larger rifle. Chewie rumbled in agreement, and checked the charge on his weapon.
They started out along the rocky path, pushing the hovering dolly in front of them. Just as Han predicted, there was a Yuuzhan Vong patrol group out on the path in front of them. They were all armed with amphistaffs, and were wearing vonduun crab armor. The patrol noticed the duo, and began to throw razor and thud bugs at them. Chewie took the first shot at what looked like the leader, but his shot was easily evaded by the warrior. Directly after the warrior dodged the blast, the group then charged Han and Chewie with their amphistaffs in full snake-form.
"Ahhh, Chewie, it looks like we're outnumbered here. Any suggestions would be good," Han said as he fired off rounds at the nearest warrior. "Aim for any exposed area on their body! It's our only chance to survive!" Han hollered at Chewie. The Vong were hurling thud bugs along with razor bugs at them. One of the razor bugs hit a cargo container, and flew right through it. Han and Chewie continued to shoot at the large party of Vong, occasionally hitting one or two. "Chewie, it's lookin' pretty hopeless here. We're barely makin' a dent in that patrol. I don't know what we're gonna do…" Han said. As the firefight raged on, more and more laser blasts joined Han and Chewie. "What the…?" Han said as he looked around in amazement. There were many members of the Resistance popping up guerrilla style; they were all taking shots at the Yuuzhan Vong.
Kang'La Ku was wrong, there were no Jeedai. There was only a very well trained Resistance that was intent on killing Yuuzhan Vong. Even though the sides were now as equal as they would get, there still weren't enough dead Vong. Han heard some soldier yell, "Now! Hit the detonators, hit 'em now!!" Following that, the sides of the road where the Vong were blew apart and inward in a violent explosion. It was a good tactic that killed or incapacitated all who stood in the blast's way.
"Minions of Xendor, I'll be damned Chewie! Those guys just saved our asses!" Han said gleefully. The surviving Vong were still hurling thud bugs at the rebels, but for the most part they were retreating. With this lapse in the battle, Han and Chewie were able to seek some refuge from the fight. As they were walking around, they sought out the Resistance's leader. They found him; or rather he found them as he was jogging towards them.
As Han walked up to the man, he introduced himself. "My name's Han Solo, I…" was all Han could say before the commander responded.
"Captain Solo! Hey I know all about you, you're a legend. I grew up hearing about your adventures with Jedi Master Skywalker, Princess Leia, and…" The commander was a stocky man, who looked to be in his late thirties if not early forties. But from the way he was acting, Han would have to say he was almost like a kid.
"Whoa, hold on there. Not so fast, take a breath, kid," Han said jokingly. The men had clasped hands, and the young commander was visibly shaking. Regardless of the way the commander was acting around him, Han could tell that this man was a very capable leader.
"Sorry Sir. But it's just, it's just so...s..so… I apologize for my manners Captain Solo, my name is Jared d'Tana. I organized the Resistance here against the Vong. There aren't that many of us, but with your weapons you brought us and the help we get from the Rebel Alliance, I think that we can take the Vong, Sir."
"Yeah, I can tell by your situation that you guys could use some help. My wife, myself, and Luke, are working on setting up various cells of rebels to create a new Alliance. I'd ask for payment on the weapons, but in this case, how about you just send your best techs to work on the Falcon. She suffered some damage from one of those Vong ships," Han said.
"Thank you, Sir. I'll send my men right now, and you and Chewbacca will be able to leave," d'Tana said.
"By the way, how did you become a commander in the Resistance?" Han inquired.
D'Tana smiled grimly and said, "The Empire killed my family, and I wanted to hurt those bastards anyway that I could. So I joined the original Rebel Alliance, and I was quickly promoted when my squad and I took out an Imperial outpost. After the clones of Palpatine along with his other Dark Jedi were killed, my men and I ransacked Vader's castle. Now it serves as our base, and protects us from the Vong. I've served the New Republic my whole life. When my men and I heard that it had been overrun by the Vong, we continued to serve it."
"Yeah, war's rough. I've had my share of losses, but they don't stop me from defending the people I love. Alright, let's get going d'Tana." Han remembered so long ago when he was just a cocky smuggler, helping the rebels just so that he'd be able to pay off his debt to Jabba the Hutt.
After their conversation, Han and Chewie finished helping d'Tana set up his new armaments and weapons. They walked over to where his techs were fixing the Falcon. Han put his arm around d'Tana's shoulders and said, "Jared, you are a lifesaver. Your people are really good. If not for you, we'd be up there blind against the Vong."
"No. Thank you, Han. With the parts you gave us, we stand a fighting chance. We'll report back to intelligence as soon as we can, as soon as we rid ourselves of the Vong," d'Tana said.
Han and Chewie bid the commander farewell and boarded their ship to leave the planet. There were still many interdictors, analogs, and coralskippers in Bastion's orbit, but with the sensor dish repaired, Han was able to evade them before they were really able to engage him. They had to make one more stop before they could rendezvous with the Rebel fleet. With Bastion behind them, Han punched the Falcon into hyperspace towards the planet, Kessel.
Kang'Lah Ku and Xyzchmana Tin had failed the Warmaster along with Franek'tcha Pah. They knew that death would soon embrace them, but the Yuuzhan Vong welcomed death. But under these circumstances, the fact they had Failed!, did they not want to meet death. The two commanders led their squadron back to the Krakow. Their ships docked and a living section of their ships connected to the Krakow allowing them to board it. Word was sent to them that Franek'tcha Pah wanted to see them immediately in his chambers.
The two commanders strode bravely into Pah's chamber. If they felt any fear, they did not show it. They knew they had failed and accepted full responsibility. Standing in the back, in the shadows, was Nom Anor. Nom Anor, was wearing a living cloak, that swirled around his powerful body. The commanders knew that Anor was Tsavong Lah's personal executor, and any reason for his arrival would not be good for their livelihood. "Kang'Lah Ku, Xyzchmana Tin, you have failed me. You let Solo and the Wookie escape, unharmed! You had them in your grasp, yet you failed. Your warriors had them, yet they also failed!" Franek'tcha Pah roared at them, with visible rage.
"Sir, we did everything we could and…" Kang'Lah Ku started.
"Don't speak! You have already failed me in every way possible, there is no need to fail at your pathetic excuse as well," Pah said. Franek'tcha Pah, raised his hand, and Nom Anor came out of the shadows. He had a razor bug in one hand and his amphistaff in the other. The two commanders, stood there defiantly in front of Franek'tcha Pah. But at the last moment, Xyzchmana reached out and grabbed an amphistaff from one of the guards in the chamber. Franek'tcha Pah was barely surprised by the fool's choice. Before Xyzchmana could use his staff, Nom Anor had already thrown the razor bug at him. It hit him squarely in the chest, and was wedged in his rib cage. The commander went down with an OOMPF! Anor had his amphistaff out and already the head of it was dripping venomous poison. As Xyzchmana was writhing on the floor, hissing with pain, Anor walked and calmly stood over him. With no remorse or pity, he jabbed him twice in the neck with his staff. All the while, Kang'Lah Ku watched this, knowing that he was next. As the commander's death throes abated, Franek'tcha Pah said, "Now, Kang'Lah Ku, I do believe that you have a mission you have yet accomplished."
Surprised that he wasn't killed, Ku nodded sharply at Franek'tcha Pah, and strode out of the room before his decision changed. "Nom Anor, follow him closely, make sure that he does not fail again," Pah said.
Nom Anor just looked at Franek'tcha Pah, before tipping his head in acknowledgement. As he left, Franek'tcha Pah thought to himself, Good. Now the infidels will finally be wiped out, the Warmaster will be pleased. Maybe someday he would not have to bow to a Warmaster, he thought, because he would be the Warmaster.