14
Standing on the bridge of the Republic assault cruisers, Obi-Wan Kenobi braced himself as gravity ground the ship to a halt. He reached out to the Force to steady himself and glanced to his right. There, Jedi Master Mace Windu stood straight and stoic. His hands rested on his hips as he waited for a report on the enemy.
"Sir," the commander of the ship said to the Jedi, a tone of distaste for the Jedi in his words, "we have been pulled out of hyperspace. It seems the Separatists have some sort ship that mimic gravity wells. Do we launch the fighters now, or wait?"
Mace and Obi-Wan shared a glance.
"Where are we?" Mace said.
"It seems that we are behind the moon," Commander Tarkin replied huskily. "The Triumph is here with us, while the Republic Champion has come out ahead of us and is already deploying its fighters. Again, should I launch the fighters?"
"Are the starfighters ready to go?" Mace asked.
"Yes, they are ready to launch at your command."
Mace thought about whether or not to have the fighters deployed. Their position behind the moon kept them safe for the meantime and also hid their numbers. There still was the chance, however, that the Separtists did not know how much of the Republic fleet just dropped in on them.
"Launch them. Make sure they come out on both sides of the moon – that will make it seem there are more of us than there really are."
Next to him, Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. The commander gave a stiff nod of acknowledgement, and turned to the rest of his crew. Within a minute, the starfighters appeared from both Republic ships.
"I do not like this Captain Tarkin," Obi-Wan muttered to Mace. "He clearly doesn't want us here."
"Well, we are in his territory. We shouldn't be here." Mace turned back to face the front of the bridge.
Mace was right, but there was nothing Obi-Wan, nor the rest of the Jedi, could do about it. They had to make the best of the situation they were in.
Tarkin turned back to the Jedi with a click of his heel, honed by years of military training. Rising in the ranks on his native Eriadu, Tarkin was a prime candidate to lead the Republic alongside the Jedi.
"Masters Jedi, we have obtained information that the Separatists have one communications frigate from the Banking Clan, and three Commerce Guild support ships," he announced.
Mace and Obi-Wan stared at him.
"How is that possible? Our fighters haven't reached them yet, and we can't get a reading through the moon!" Obi-Wan exclaimed as he stepped over to Tarkin.
"I have received this information from Coruscant. Apparently Chancellor Palpatine has acquired this information for us," Tarkin said, as if daring the Jedi to question his intelligence – both kinds of them.
Of course Palpatine would have that kind of information. Nice of him to not tell us before we got here, Obi-Wan thought to himself. His dislike of the Chancellor grew just a little more. Through the Force, he could feel Mace tense up at this information.
"Very well. We'll get a reading on where these ships are before we take any more action," Mace replied.
Tarkin gave him another nod.
"Something else is going on here," Obi-Wan said to Mace. "I can feel it."
"I can too. It doesn't make sense – the Separatists have three times the ships as this in their fleet."
A chill went down Obi-Wan's spine as he remembered Bail Organa saying that the Republic had lost nearly the entire Separatist fleet.
"They've always employed more force than this when they attack," Mace continued. "They've got something else up their sleeves, but we will proceed – with utmost caution."
Obi-Wan nodded, saying nothing in return. Both of the Jedi were thankful of one thing: they had not shown their full hand too early in the sabacc game.
General San Hill paced the bridge of the Driving Force. His long face twisted up in concern over the numbers of starfighters coming from behind Kashyyyk's moon. It seemed there was no end to the fighters coming from the moon; they poured from both sides of the moon in a seemingly endless stream. There was also the problem of the Star Destroyer out in the open.
That would be dealt with quickly.
Hill was concerned, and yet his beautiful flagship was not even in the thick of the battle. Instead, it orbited another system – waiting for the right moment. The Republic could detect his ship; there was no communications while a ship was cloaked so he had to remain visible in order to conduct the battle.
"Sir, what should we do?" one of the officers on deck asked him. Hill thought for a second before answering.
"Continue as we are. Keep that support ship in position and firing on that open Star Destroyer. Concentrate all the forward firepower of the Resurgence on the surface of the planet. For now we will worry about breaking the back of the Wookiees."
Hill delivered his order and turned to sit back in his seat at the top of the bridge. No, he would not worry about the appearance of the Republic until they came out from behind the moon.
Until then, worrying was useless. It caused unnecessary stress.
"Yes, sir. Right away, sir."
The officer turned back to his station, dispatching the order to the clone soldier seated next to him. Without question, the clone dispatched the order.
As Hill watched, safe in the confines of the heavily armored Banking Clan frigate, the support ship turned and large green lasers blasts emitted from its eleven formidable heavy turbolasers. A slight smile crept across his face as he thought about the Trandoshan fighters, along with some clones, strafing the surface of the green planet.
Sidious would be pleased. Very pleased by the way things were going.
"Captain," Hill called out from his seat. "Have a squad of ARC fighters swing around to the other side of the planet."
"Yes sir."
This way, the Republic fighters would be stretched even more thinly, having to engage the Separatists over a larger amount of space. Hill knew that between his frigate and the two support ships, which specialized in carrying starfighters, the Republic would not be able to match them ship for ship. Content with things for the moment, Hill leaned back in his seat.
Looking back on it, Hill realized that he should have trusted Sidious to make things come out the way he promised they would. The battle was still young, in its infancy stages, but all reports from the clone fighters supported a Separatist victory. While Hill had a connection to the Force akin to one of the beautiful gonsha trees native to his homeworld planted upside down, he knew enough to be able to have a good feeling about the outcome.
After all, the best part was still to come.
The R4 unit encased in Anakin's starfighter let out a piercing shriek as Anakin forced the small craft into a tight spin. He had two ARC-170 fighters on his tail, and his mind was tumbling on how to get them off him. Green laser blasts surrounded him; he constantly had to jerk the fighter from side to side to avoid getting hit. The blasts were coming so fast that it was almost impossible for him to feel them through the Force. The fact that the persons firing at him were clones did nothing to help the situation.
Another scream from R4, letting him know that his fighter had taken a hit, made Anakin curse.
"R4, boost all aft shields – divert power from forward shields if you have to. I need all the power back there I can get while I figure out how to get us out of this mess."
R4 blipped in reply.
On his console, Anakin flipped a couple switches to help R4 in his task. As he did so, he tried to push deeper into the Force, to gain some understanding of what the clones would do next.
"Missiles," he muttered to himself in epiphany. "R4–"
He did not have time to answer, as R4 gave him another harsh stream of beeps.
"I know, I know. Proton torpedoes. What the blazes do they think they're…" Anakin trailed off as he saw his opportunity.
The torpedoes were gaining on him, but just ahead he could see two more ARCs chasing after another Jedi.
"R4, punch the engines as much as you can."
Using the Force, Anakin urged the craft forward as much as he could, making sure to stay straight behind the ARC fighters in front of him. He gained on them in mere seconds. The proton torpedoes stayed close on his tail. At just the last moment he flipped the fighter down towards Kashyyyk. The enemy pilots had no time to react as the proton torpedoes locked onto their ships. The two ARCs exploded, and in response Anakin got a feeling of gratitude through the Force from the Jedi pilot he just saved.
Anakin watched as the pilot began to chase after more clone fighters. Pushing another button on his console, he raised the other Jedi pilot.
"Jedi pilot, this is Blue Three. What do you say we team up and take out some of these fighters together?" he asked. He tried to get a feel for who it was through the Force, but it was a stranger to him.
"Agreed, Blue Three. This is Red Five. Pleased to fly with you, young Skywalker."
In his cockpit Anakin blushed. Apparently he was more famous at the Temple than he realized. It seemed like every single Jedi knew his name, his face.
And now his voice.
Maybe it was just that the other Jedi could sense something different about him in the Force. However, his thoughts were interrupted as he felt another clone sneaking up on him.
Sensing the clones, Anakin figured out, actually got easy once he figured out how to do it. Unlike feeling the presence of the Force radiating from other life, all he had to do was focus on the fact that the Force was backwards. The clones created a black hole of sorts – they were still in the Force, but they sucked all the energy around them in and made a void.
Finding this void led a Jedi to finding a clone.
Exploiting it – well, that rid the galaxy of one more drone.
"Blue Three, you've got another one on your tail." The other Jedi reminded him at the same time that R4 let out another screech.
"Yeah, yeah, R4. I know. I know." Anakin rolled his eyes and took a sharp turn. The ARC followed him, so Anakin went into a dive.
That other guy should get behind him and blast him off my tail!
As soon as Anakin thought it, the other Jedi looped around and came up behind the clone. A few short laser blasts took care of the enemy, his fighter exploding in a fireball. The void in the Force vanished.
"Thank you, Red Five. May I inquire as to whom I'm flying with?" Anakin asked while keeping an eye for more fighters on his tail.
"Master Kral Stelsus – R4, more power to forward shields!" Master Stelsus ordered his droid. Just ahead, three ARC fighters came straight for them.
"R4," Anakin said, "same thing. Master Stelsus, you take the one on the right, I have the other two."
Stelsus said nothing in return, and through the Force, Anakin felt his agreement. He could also feel the other Jedi wondering how he was going to take out two fast-approaching fighters. They started to fire at the Jedi. Anakin tried to form a picture of his plan in his mind, projecting it at the Master.
Dropping the connection to Stelsus, Anakin focused on the clones. Reflexes moving fast, he fired at the center fighter. The poor clone had no time to react. Anakin fired all his lasers cannons at once, turning his craft so that a steady stream of laser fire blasted across both enemy fighters. The center one exploded, and the one on the left was disabled.
Satisfied, Anakin flew on.
Together, he and Master Stelsus navigated the battlefield. As they worked together, a strong bond began to merge between them through the Force. Even though they had never met in person, in battle they could almost tell what the other was thinking without having to ask. Immediate understanding of each other's responses helped them navigate the scene. Together they made a formidable force, hunting down enemy fighters with deadly precision.
As the link with Master Stelsus grew, Anakin found that he could also reach out to the other Jedi. In almost no time at all, all of the Jedi flying over Kashyyyk were connected – feeling each other's thoughts and movements.
Reaching out to Obi-Wan, he could feel the presence of his master even at this great distance, he had a radical idea. Drawing on the strength of himself and the Jedi around him, Anakin invited Obi-Wan to join a greater view of the battle…
"Master Windu, what are your orders?" Captain Tarkin called up to the Jedi.
Mace looked to Obi-Wan.
"A Banking Clan frigate. We have no hope of taking that out now. We should move against one of the Commerce support ships," Obi-Wan advised.
Mace nodded in agreement. He turned to Tarkin. "Captain Tarkin, move us out from the moon. From there we'll decide what action to take."
Tarkin's face wrinkled in disagreement. To him, the Jedi were too slow in taking action. He saw the need for a plan now, before they came around the moon.
Waiting to begin firing on an enemy ship just endangered your own. It gave the enemy a chance to fire at you.
Sometimes coming out with guns blazing was a good thing – and the Jedi did not understand this. They always had to wait before making an attack. Did they not understand that this was war?
Despite his grievances, he instructed his crew to follow the Jedi's plan. After all, he was under orders from Palpatine to obey the Jedi.
In a few minutes, the battlefield came into view. Far in the distance, Obi-Wan could make out the form of the Banking frigate. Right in front of them, a Commerce support ship was blasting at the surface of Kashyyyk. Between it and the planet, starfighters from both sides were locked in battle. Two more support ships rested a distance to their right. A few fighters flew around it, as if daring the Republic forces to come over and play.
As the scene of the battle hit Obi-Wan, he reached out to the Force.
Everything echoed with chaos.
A backwards feeling hit him as he reached out to all the starfighters. Here and there he could sense a Jedi pilot, or one of the new Republic soldiers. The vacuum in the Force from the clones made them harder to detect. Pushing harder than he usually did, he searched for Anakin.
The younger Knight was in the thick of the battle. Beside him flew Master Stelsus. Obi-Wan smiled to himself. Master Stelsus was an excellent pilot, and paired with Anakin the two would become deadly.
"Captain Tarkin, we have to disable that support ship," Mace commanded. "We should not destroy it completely – as many as possible should be left alive."
"Yes sir," Tarkin replied with disdain. He turned to his crew. "Fire all forward turbolasers at the enemy support ship."
"Excuse me, Captain Tarkin. We should fire the ion cannon – break their communication abilities," Mace cut in.
"Excuse me, Master Jedi. I believe you should leave the technical details to me. This is my ship. I know how she will best take out the enemy. I suggest you keep to general tactics."
Mace bristled, drawing on the Force to keep his irritation under control. For a second he thought about reprimanding the insolent commander, perhaps with a little persuasion from the Force, but he maintained his composure. Not everyone took to obeying a Jedi.
"Perhaps he is right. This is his ship," Obi-Wan said softly, trying to keep the peace. Right now was not a good time for two Republic commanders to get into a fight.
"Perhaps," Mace said through gritted teeth. It was the only response Obi-Wan got.
"Fire ion cannon!" Tarkin ordered as if it were his own idea.
Instantly, the blue ball of energy erupted into space, heading straight for the support ship. The shields on the ship could not block the blast, hitting the ship and making blue electricity dance all over the hull. Surprise from the Separatists hit both Jedi Masters through the Force.
"Continue to fire turbolasers – aim for their bridge! Strengthen all forward shields, and begin to launch missiles," Tarkin continued to order.
The Jedi watched as red laser fire went from the Republic ship, hammering the Separatists. The strengthened shields were merely a precaution, for the time being the Commerce ship could not fire back.
"Master Windu, do we have more fighters to release?" Tarkin asked, turning back to the Jedi.
Mace merely shook his head no.
The Captain sighed and looked back to the battle. More fighters could have taken out the firepower of the enemy before the ship regained its abilities.
Having an idea, Obi-Wan sank into the Force. He reached out to some of the closest Jedi pilots. Through the Force, he projected an image of some Republic fighters firing at the lame ship's laser cannons. Instantly some of pilots he found turned and flew to the support ship. Sure enough, they began to strafe the surface of the ship, taking careful aim to destroy weapons.
As the fighters swarmed the ship, one of the missiles Tarkin ordered fired hit the bridge. Right after it, another one hit, and the bridge exploded. Tarkin smiled and took a deep breath.
So far this was working.
While the Republic was still outnumbered, there was hope.
"Keep firing on that ship – make sure it cannot move," he called out. Personally, he would have seen it turned into a pile of spacejunk, but for now he had to obey the Jedi.
And they only wanted it disabled.
So disabled it would be.
Obi-Wan and Mace stood on the deck, their faces expressionless. They were focusing hard on what the rest of the Jedi were doing out in the battle. Obi-Wan was trying to focus on Anakin, to keep track of his fast movements, in the back of his mind. As he followed him, he felt the bond between his former Padawan and Master Stelsus grow. He even felt both Anakin and Master Stelsus reaching out to other Jedi immediately around them, linking together through the Force.
Suddenly, Anakin came to Obi-Wan with the link. Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan locked on to it.
Something unlike anything he ever knew hit him through the Force. If he focused in just the right manner, he could almost see what each Jedi pilot was doing in turn.
In the archives, Obi-Wan had read about how Jedi could link up through the Force in battle, becoming almost a single mind. It made the Jedi almost unbeatable, but was extremely exhausting to maintain. As there had been no major wars for a thousand years, the idea of a Jedi battle link faded into legend.
Now with Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, in battle, it was becoming a reality.
Obi-Wan focused on the link, and after a second he could feel Mace attached to it too.
Amazing, unlike anything Master Yoda can do, Mace thought to him.
The idea didn't come to Obi-Wan so much as words, but as a feeling. No words were needed for Obi-Wan to understand what Mace meant. He agreed with the other Master.
Searching through the maze of Jedi, Obi-Wan found Anakin again. He sent his former Padawan a thought of encouragement and congratulations.
Anakin did not reply, he was too busy focusing on another Jedi trying to take out an enemy fighter. Obi-Wan backed off so Anakin could focus. Hopefully the support ship would be disabled soon.
General Hill paced the deck as desperate pleas came in from the support ship firing on Kashyyyk. The ship was taking a heavy beating from the Republic assault ships.
And there was nothing he could do about it.
The Commerce Guild support ships were exceptionally long, and with it facing straight towards the planet both Republic ships were able to hide behind it. There was no way that Hill could order his ship to fire at the Republic. He would destroy his own manpower first, ensuring a Republic victory. Despite the calls from the ship, he could only watch it get destroyed.
Suddenly the cries for help stopped.
"What happened to them?" Hill demanded as he whirled around to face his crew.
"They got hit with an ion cannon, sir," an officer replied, his voice sounded hoarse.
Hill swore mentally.
Audibly he let out a sigh, grinding his teeth together at the same time. The officer simply watched him, waiting for a reply.
Pausing for a second, Hill clenched his hands together behind his back.
"Don't give up hope yet. We still have plenty of surprises for the Jedi. Hold your fire, but if they come into view, begin to fire immediately at will."
"Yes sir." The officer nodded and saluted him.
Feeling a little better, Hill went back to his seat. As he watched, the Republic fired missiles at the bridge of the support ship. The bridge blew up in a fiery mass.
Hill knew then that the ship was dead – there was no way it could be useful anymore.
"Sir, something is happening with the Jedi!"
"What?" Hill snapped to attention.
"They're…I can't explain it. It's like they can all read each other's minds or something. They're all coordinated together."
Hill stood up and walked down next to his officer. "What's going on?"
"Watch…they follow each other closely…it's like they know what's happening to each other."
Sure enough, Hill saw the red blips, the Republic enemies, gang up with uncanny coordination to fire on the clone fighters. The Jedi were making shredded nerfmeat out of their pilots.
For a second, panic shot through him but he forced it down. Now was the time to think, not to panic. Hill took a deep breath, recalling that somewhere he had heard an old Jedi legend about how Jedi could link together in battle.
"Commander, order all starfighters released from the second and third support ships. It is time that the Jedi meet our first surprise," he ordered.
The Jedi might be able to fight well, but the sheer numbers of the Separatists would overwhelm them.
"Send all the fighters towards their assault ships. That way their fighters have to pull back, and we can focus on Kashyyyk again. They can't get away from us that easily."