Chapter XVIII - Showdown Two: Pirates vs. Jedi and Republic
There was nothing good to say about war.
Gabriel shielded his eyes against the explosion as a Republic ground vehicle launched a missile at an old Trade Federation tank belonging to the pirates. The Gran who had been drawing a bead on him fell as a ragged fragment of shrapnel from the exploding tank hit him in the back. Grateful that he hadn't had to kill the man, he moved on.
He'd never been involved in a war before. Sure, he'd studied the World Wars and their effect on his country, and he'd joined in more than one rally to protest the USA's war against Iraq. But the actual fighting, the killing, the uncertainty of surviving to see the next minute, was a distant reality. Now, immersed in the gritty, stomach-churning thick of a pitched battle, he could fully appreciate why so many people longed for peace.
A Nikto came at him with a vibroaxe, and he slashed through the weapon and threw him to the ground with a shove of the Force.
Long day ahead.
---------
Han and Chewie's speeder roared across the Dune Sea, rocking now and then from enemy fire.
"Toward that rock, Chewie!" Han ordered. "Looks like its crawling with pirates!"
Chewie barked.
"Of course I know what I'm doing, hairball!"
A massive jut of sandstone sheltered a pack of the mercenaries, and two of them were firing on the speeder while four more set up a stolen cannon. Han armed the proton torpedo while Chewie guided them closer.
"A little more..." Han urged. "Now turn!"
A glowing sphere shot from the speeder just before it swerved away. Too late the pirates saw the danger and tried to flee, but the missile impacted and vaporized them instantly. The rock formation shattered like glass, pummeling the sands with blackened shards.
Han laughed. "If they're all this stupid, the battle's practically over."
Chewie looked behind them and yowled.
"What do you mean 'uh-oh?' We hit 'em, didn't we?"
The Wookie pointed.
Something had been hiding behind that formation -- namely, an AT-AT walker, no doubt sold to the pirates on the black market soon after the Empire's fall. The walker had doubtless seen better days, for large pieces of its plating were missing and one leg was bent out of shape, but it remained as lethal as ever. As if spitting fire it launched a volley of green energy at their speeder.
"Sithspawn!" Han hissed. "Punch it, Chewie!"
--------
In Ricardo's cantina, Princess Leia, the droids, Governor Nitch, Chief Sha'kooha, and Wor'arran looked on as a holographic display recreated the battle. At this point in the struggle, both armies seemed to be evenly matched.
"We've evacuated all refugees and civilians to Mos Espa," Nitch told her. "I only hope they have something to come back to."
Sha'kooha honked.
"Chief says our warriors not let pirates win," Wor'arran translated.
"We thank your people for their courage and sacrifices," Leia told him. "It's noble of you to want to aid us, for I fear many Tuskens will be killed."
Sha'kooha replied dismissively.
"Better hero's death than coward's life for warrior," Wor'arran said. "We fight with starmen to death if need to."
A fuzz of static issued from Leia's comm. "Han here! We've got a walker at point oh- five!"
"Oh no," Leia moaned as the vehicle in question appeared on the holo-display.
"I don't like the look of this," Threepio whimpered. "Why don't we call a retreat, your Highness? I'm sure the people of Mos Eisley would have little trouble relocating..."
Sha'kooha barked something that sounded remarkably like "What's he saying?" When Wor'arran gave him the gist of it, the chief turned and whacked the protocol droid over the gold-plated noggin with his staff, sending him to the floor.
"I like this guy," Nitch said with a grin.
"Sorry about machine," Wor'arran apologized. "But chief not like cowards."
"Frankly, I'm just sorry it wasn't me who hit him," Leia replied.
Artoo beeped, then turned and headed out the door.
"Artoo!" shouted Leia.
"Artoo, where are you going?" demanded Threepio from the floor. "This is no time for heroics!"
-------
Xna darted through the ranks, hissing, yellow eyes fixed on the Aqualish pirate who was threatening Chyna. The human was fending off the being's fire but making no headway in the duel. That changed when Xna knocked his legs out from under him, and the two of them beat a hasty retreat.
"Thanks," Chyna said breathlessly.
"Anytime," replied Xna.
A bantha went down not three meters from them, crushing an unfortunate Republic solders and two pirates. The Tusken warrior on its back came up fighting, cutting down the enemy troops who swarmed in to take him. Though outgunned, the Sandpeople were notoriously tough, and they seemed not to know the meaning of the Basic term "surrender."
A Republic speeder pulled up. "You two need a lift?" the pilot asked.
"Take us to the front line," Chyna ordered. "We'll see if we can't take out some of their heavier artillery."
---------
"We've got them on the run here!" Hekku shouted into his comm as he and Korie chased a gaggle of pirates over a small dune.
"Where exactly is here?" asked Nitch from the other end of the connection.
"Six kilometers east of Mos Eisley, by my estimation."
"Don't pursue them. Come back and help the rest of the troops. About a third of their force has retreated, but we've still got their big guns to contend with."
"Copy, Governor."
A Kabuz pirate was climbing onto a speeder bike to make a quicker getaway. Korie tossed him off and straddled the vehicle while Hekku hopped on behind her and clung to her broad shoulders. She punched the accelerator, and they shot toward the heat of the battle.
"Hey, that's an AT-AT!" Hekku shouted.
/I know what an AT-AT looks like/ Korie replied. /I also see a few Hailfires and tanks in the mix. Let's see if we can't get closer and disable a few./
The bike darted amidst the huge vehicles, a tiny target for their cumbersome cannons. Rock and dirt geysered up around them as shots pummeled the desert. Korie piloted the speeder near a large gunship, and an ancient Republic walker blasted a gaping hole in its side as it tried to nail the two Jedi. The infuriated pirates aboard the gunship fired on the walker, and soon an all-out war began as more vehicles joined in the fray.
"Nice one!" Hekku shouted.
/Thanks./
"Get me closer to that one!"
She pulled the bike alongside a tank, and he reached out with his lightsaber to carve a long gash in its side. When his blade came in contact with the repulsors a deep boom resounded inside its plating, and they veered away as the vehicle hit the desert floor and burst into roaring flames.
/Good. Now lets check out that walker./
--------
Artoo halted some hundred meters from the walker, his photoreceptors straining to take in the enormous machine. It plodded closer, wobbling on its twisted front leg, as laser fire streaked from its "head." The little droid's logic processor was abuzz with activity, oblivious to the screams, blasts, explosions, and flak all around his badly carbon-scored body.
/So this is it/ his processor churned. /Any last words?/
A circular foot smashed into the earth five meters away.
/Yes, and those last words are "I really wish I had a better plan than this!"/
He opened panels on his legs, extended his jets, and shot skyward. Upon reaching the walker's underside he extended a grasping arm and clung on for dear life while opening a hatch with his circular saw. Once this was open, he reactivated his jets and darted into the AT-AT's interior.
Heavy engines and machinery roared and thudded all around him, and he gave a blurp of dismay. This wasn't where he wanted to be. He wheeled about until he discovered an access hatch and opened it.
This chamber appeared to be the passenger hold. He rotated his dome, but all sensors indicated it was empty. He continued toward his goal.
In the cockpit, a male Dug and a female human were wrestling with the controls and arguing over who got to shoot what next. Artoo squeaked to get their attention.
"Hurr?" the Dug growled. "What's that doing here?"
"I dunno," the woman replied. "Must have come with this hulk..."
Artoo retracted his third leg and angled his body so that his head pointed at the Dug, then charged. The impact threw him out of his seat and against the console, and he struck his head on the viewscreen and went out cold. With a startled "Hey!" the woman leaped out of her chair to confront the droid, but he rammed his electro-jabber into her stomach with enough force to render her unconscious as well.
Content that no one would disturb him, Artoo extended his periscopic photoreceptor so he could see out the viewscreen, then plugged himself into the computer.
---------
Gabriel took a flying leap atop a Hailfire droid and buried his lightsaber in its single red photoreceptor. The great wheeled droid ceased firing and slowed, then buzzed ominously. He dismounted and bolted as the machine exploded.
"Good work, Gabriel," Xna congratulated.
"Merci," he replied. "They sure have a ragtag army."
"You can find sssome odd thingssss on the black market."
"Like eBay."
The AT-AT that had been menacing the Republic troops suddenly paused, then turned and began firing on the pirate army. Startled, the mercenaries scattered.
"Hey, who took command of the walker?" wondered Xna.
"Who cares?" Gabriel retorted. "Let's keep these scumbags on the run!"
-------
It had been a bloody but mercifully brief battle that day, for the pirates, though vicious, hadn't the discipline of soldiers. Roughly half their numbers were either dead or captured, and the rest were either being rounded up in the Dune Sea or intercepted by the Republic Fleet as they tried to flee the planet. Now the troops of the Republic set about to tending their wounded and retrieving their dead.
The Jedi, Leia, Han and Chewie were uneasily watching the AT-AT, which hadn't moved or fired for several minutes now. Wor'arran came up and stared with them, though his was a gaze of wonder rather than anxiety.
"Mechanical animal," he marveled. "Very clever."
"I want to know who was piloting it," Han said. "Their aim was almost too dead-on."
Threepio shuffled up at that moment. "Excuse me, Mistress Leia, but has Artoo come back by any chance?"
"Your round friend?" asked Wor'arran. "No, not seen him."
"Oh, I do hope he hasn't gotten himself in trouble again," Threepio moaned.
A hatch on the walker's belly clanged open, and a familiar if somewhat blackened form tumbled to the sands with a loud "wheeeeeeeeeeee!"
"Artoo!" everyone shouted simultaneously.
Korie ran over and righted the droid. He gave a hiccuping beep, then tootled merrily.
"Someone's going to be gloating over this for years," Han smirked.
"Artoo Detoo, the galaxy's greatest hero," laughed Gabriel.
There was nothing good to say about war.
Gabriel shielded his eyes against the explosion as a Republic ground vehicle launched a missile at an old Trade Federation tank belonging to the pirates. The Gran who had been drawing a bead on him fell as a ragged fragment of shrapnel from the exploding tank hit him in the back. Grateful that he hadn't had to kill the man, he moved on.
He'd never been involved in a war before. Sure, he'd studied the World Wars and their effect on his country, and he'd joined in more than one rally to protest the USA's war against Iraq. But the actual fighting, the killing, the uncertainty of surviving to see the next minute, was a distant reality. Now, immersed in the gritty, stomach-churning thick of a pitched battle, he could fully appreciate why so many people longed for peace.
A Nikto came at him with a vibroaxe, and he slashed through the weapon and threw him to the ground with a shove of the Force.
Long day ahead.
---------
Han and Chewie's speeder roared across the Dune Sea, rocking now and then from enemy fire.
"Toward that rock, Chewie!" Han ordered. "Looks like its crawling with pirates!"
Chewie barked.
"Of course I know what I'm doing, hairball!"
A massive jut of sandstone sheltered a pack of the mercenaries, and two of them were firing on the speeder while four more set up a stolen cannon. Han armed the proton torpedo while Chewie guided them closer.
"A little more..." Han urged. "Now turn!"
A glowing sphere shot from the speeder just before it swerved away. Too late the pirates saw the danger and tried to flee, but the missile impacted and vaporized them instantly. The rock formation shattered like glass, pummeling the sands with blackened shards.
Han laughed. "If they're all this stupid, the battle's practically over."
Chewie looked behind them and yowled.
"What do you mean 'uh-oh?' We hit 'em, didn't we?"
The Wookie pointed.
Something had been hiding behind that formation -- namely, an AT-AT walker, no doubt sold to the pirates on the black market soon after the Empire's fall. The walker had doubtless seen better days, for large pieces of its plating were missing and one leg was bent out of shape, but it remained as lethal as ever. As if spitting fire it launched a volley of green energy at their speeder.
"Sithspawn!" Han hissed. "Punch it, Chewie!"
--------
In Ricardo's cantina, Princess Leia, the droids, Governor Nitch, Chief Sha'kooha, and Wor'arran looked on as a holographic display recreated the battle. At this point in the struggle, both armies seemed to be evenly matched.
"We've evacuated all refugees and civilians to Mos Espa," Nitch told her. "I only hope they have something to come back to."
Sha'kooha honked.
"Chief says our warriors not let pirates win," Wor'arran translated.
"We thank your people for their courage and sacrifices," Leia told him. "It's noble of you to want to aid us, for I fear many Tuskens will be killed."
Sha'kooha replied dismissively.
"Better hero's death than coward's life for warrior," Wor'arran said. "We fight with starmen to death if need to."
A fuzz of static issued from Leia's comm. "Han here! We've got a walker at point oh- five!"
"Oh no," Leia moaned as the vehicle in question appeared on the holo-display.
"I don't like the look of this," Threepio whimpered. "Why don't we call a retreat, your Highness? I'm sure the people of Mos Eisley would have little trouble relocating..."
Sha'kooha barked something that sounded remarkably like "What's he saying?" When Wor'arran gave him the gist of it, the chief turned and whacked the protocol droid over the gold-plated noggin with his staff, sending him to the floor.
"I like this guy," Nitch said with a grin.
"Sorry about machine," Wor'arran apologized. "But chief not like cowards."
"Frankly, I'm just sorry it wasn't me who hit him," Leia replied.
Artoo beeped, then turned and headed out the door.
"Artoo!" shouted Leia.
"Artoo, where are you going?" demanded Threepio from the floor. "This is no time for heroics!"
-------
Xna darted through the ranks, hissing, yellow eyes fixed on the Aqualish pirate who was threatening Chyna. The human was fending off the being's fire but making no headway in the duel. That changed when Xna knocked his legs out from under him, and the two of them beat a hasty retreat.
"Thanks," Chyna said breathlessly.
"Anytime," replied Xna.
A bantha went down not three meters from them, crushing an unfortunate Republic solders and two pirates. The Tusken warrior on its back came up fighting, cutting down the enemy troops who swarmed in to take him. Though outgunned, the Sandpeople were notoriously tough, and they seemed not to know the meaning of the Basic term "surrender."
A Republic speeder pulled up. "You two need a lift?" the pilot asked.
"Take us to the front line," Chyna ordered. "We'll see if we can't take out some of their heavier artillery."
---------
"We've got them on the run here!" Hekku shouted into his comm as he and Korie chased a gaggle of pirates over a small dune.
"Where exactly is here?" asked Nitch from the other end of the connection.
"Six kilometers east of Mos Eisley, by my estimation."
"Don't pursue them. Come back and help the rest of the troops. About a third of their force has retreated, but we've still got their big guns to contend with."
"Copy, Governor."
A Kabuz pirate was climbing onto a speeder bike to make a quicker getaway. Korie tossed him off and straddled the vehicle while Hekku hopped on behind her and clung to her broad shoulders. She punched the accelerator, and they shot toward the heat of the battle.
"Hey, that's an AT-AT!" Hekku shouted.
/I know what an AT-AT looks like/ Korie replied. /I also see a few Hailfires and tanks in the mix. Let's see if we can't get closer and disable a few./
The bike darted amidst the huge vehicles, a tiny target for their cumbersome cannons. Rock and dirt geysered up around them as shots pummeled the desert. Korie piloted the speeder near a large gunship, and an ancient Republic walker blasted a gaping hole in its side as it tried to nail the two Jedi. The infuriated pirates aboard the gunship fired on the walker, and soon an all-out war began as more vehicles joined in the fray.
"Nice one!" Hekku shouted.
/Thanks./
"Get me closer to that one!"
She pulled the bike alongside a tank, and he reached out with his lightsaber to carve a long gash in its side. When his blade came in contact with the repulsors a deep boom resounded inside its plating, and they veered away as the vehicle hit the desert floor and burst into roaring flames.
/Good. Now lets check out that walker./
--------
Artoo halted some hundred meters from the walker, his photoreceptors straining to take in the enormous machine. It plodded closer, wobbling on its twisted front leg, as laser fire streaked from its "head." The little droid's logic processor was abuzz with activity, oblivious to the screams, blasts, explosions, and flak all around his badly carbon-scored body.
/So this is it/ his processor churned. /Any last words?/
A circular foot smashed into the earth five meters away.
/Yes, and those last words are "I really wish I had a better plan than this!"/
He opened panels on his legs, extended his jets, and shot skyward. Upon reaching the walker's underside he extended a grasping arm and clung on for dear life while opening a hatch with his circular saw. Once this was open, he reactivated his jets and darted into the AT-AT's interior.
Heavy engines and machinery roared and thudded all around him, and he gave a blurp of dismay. This wasn't where he wanted to be. He wheeled about until he discovered an access hatch and opened it.
This chamber appeared to be the passenger hold. He rotated his dome, but all sensors indicated it was empty. He continued toward his goal.
In the cockpit, a male Dug and a female human were wrestling with the controls and arguing over who got to shoot what next. Artoo squeaked to get their attention.
"Hurr?" the Dug growled. "What's that doing here?"
"I dunno," the woman replied. "Must have come with this hulk..."
Artoo retracted his third leg and angled his body so that his head pointed at the Dug, then charged. The impact threw him out of his seat and against the console, and he struck his head on the viewscreen and went out cold. With a startled "Hey!" the woman leaped out of her chair to confront the droid, but he rammed his electro-jabber into her stomach with enough force to render her unconscious as well.
Content that no one would disturb him, Artoo extended his periscopic photoreceptor so he could see out the viewscreen, then plugged himself into the computer.
---------
Gabriel took a flying leap atop a Hailfire droid and buried his lightsaber in its single red photoreceptor. The great wheeled droid ceased firing and slowed, then buzzed ominously. He dismounted and bolted as the machine exploded.
"Good work, Gabriel," Xna congratulated.
"Merci," he replied. "They sure have a ragtag army."
"You can find sssome odd thingssss on the black market."
"Like eBay."
The AT-AT that had been menacing the Republic troops suddenly paused, then turned and began firing on the pirate army. Startled, the mercenaries scattered.
"Hey, who took command of the walker?" wondered Xna.
"Who cares?" Gabriel retorted. "Let's keep these scumbags on the run!"
-------
It had been a bloody but mercifully brief battle that day, for the pirates, though vicious, hadn't the discipline of soldiers. Roughly half their numbers were either dead or captured, and the rest were either being rounded up in the Dune Sea or intercepted by the Republic Fleet as they tried to flee the planet. Now the troops of the Republic set about to tending their wounded and retrieving their dead.
The Jedi, Leia, Han and Chewie were uneasily watching the AT-AT, which hadn't moved or fired for several minutes now. Wor'arran came up and stared with them, though his was a gaze of wonder rather than anxiety.
"Mechanical animal," he marveled. "Very clever."
"I want to know who was piloting it," Han said. "Their aim was almost too dead-on."
Threepio shuffled up at that moment. "Excuse me, Mistress Leia, but has Artoo come back by any chance?"
"Your round friend?" asked Wor'arran. "No, not seen him."
"Oh, I do hope he hasn't gotten himself in trouble again," Threepio moaned.
A hatch on the walker's belly clanged open, and a familiar if somewhat blackened form tumbled to the sands with a loud "wheeeeeeeeeeee!"
"Artoo!" everyone shouted simultaneously.
Korie ran over and righted the droid. He gave a hiccuping beep, then tootled merrily.
"Someone's going to be gloating over this for years," Han smirked.
"Artoo Detoo, the galaxy's greatest hero," laughed Gabriel.