Chapter 10: Cold Truth
April 4.
"We're approaching Voeld. The planet is on the sensors." Rut announced on the bridge of the Constantinople.
"Any ship around the planet?" Jordan asked.
"We detect at least three Kett heavy cruisers, twenty escort ships and multiple transports. They must really want this pile of snow."
"Voeld is one of the few safe harbors in Haeleus and is rich in resources. It is no surprise that the Kett crave it." Jaal explained.
Jordan took a look at him and the small team of unexpected guests aboard his ship: Darvos and Scott Shepard. The former was here to negotiate with the local angara commander and offer the support of the two galactic factions in exchange for the establishment of an outpost; the latter was there for the adventure, and to accompany his father, who right now was waiting in the hangar bay.
"Soon the Angara will return to benefit from it." Darvos reassured. "Jordan, take us in. Cautiously."
"You heard him Rut?" Jordan said nonchalantly.
"Jinx is calculating a safe path. Preparing to go in." the salarian helmsman replied.
"The Resistance signaled us a gorge near their main operation base where we can safely land the Constantinople." the AI announced.
"Then take it." Jordan said to the two, then turned toward the rest of the team. "Let's get ready to drop."
They headed into the hangar bay and grabbed their gear while the frigate went through some turbulence due to the snowstorm happening outside, but after a few minutes she landed with no major inconvenience. With Jaal leading the way, Jordan was at the head of the rest of the group and when the ramp lowered, they could taste the wrath of the cold in force.
"Damn it's freezing." Scott commented.
"Check out your vital support. We need to find somewhere warmer." Jordan instructed.
"This way." Jaal pointed toward what seemed like a trail, though it was hard to distinguish in the blizzard.
There was a trail of red lights put by the resistance, that the group used to go onto the trail, pass a small crevice and finally reach the first outpost. The two angara guards recognized Jaal, and it was a good thing he was there, cause they had pointed guns at the aliens almost immediately. After clearing that these were allies, the sentinels let them through.
Jaal led them through a landing area for the few air vehicles the Angara had left in their arsenal and the soldiers of the Alliance admired their resilience.
"A base hidden under a ton of ice and snow." Darvos commented, humming in thought after that.
"Definitely a perfect place to set a secret base." Scott added.
"It has worked so far." Jaal commented plainly. "The Kett never found us in years. Though we do have other settlements around the planet."
Jordan heard Darvos mumble "Interesting."
After passing through the hangar, a stocking room and the infirmary of the base, the group reached the control center, where the most notable instrument was the giant, spherical hologram of Voeld. Jaal then led the group in front of a woman who, Jordan noticed, clearly had the aura of the leader: everyone was keeping a respectful distance from her and speaking with cautious respect.
"Jaal. Good to see you again, old friend." the woman said to the Angara agent.
"The sentiment is reciprocal, Commander Xeel."
The female quickly scoped the humans. "Are these the aliens I was told about?"
"Yes. Allow me to introduce Colonel Darvos Tanis of the New Republic and Captain Jordan Bridger of the Imperial Federation."
"Greetings." Darvos said as he removed his helmet. Jordan went to stand next to him but kept his own helmet on.
"I am Commander Anjik Do Xeel. Remember this name, for if you betray us, I will be the one to personally kill you."
"Made that clear." Darvos calmly replied. "However, we are here to help the Angara. We have a fleet waiting over Eos that is ready to chase the Kett out of Voeld. We just need your help to find a landing zone for them."
"Yes, Evfra already told me. I think there is a place where your army may land, but unfortunately it hosts a kett labor camp." Xeel explained, turning around and using a device on her left wrist to enhance the hologram of the planet and focus on their region. "Thousands of angara are trapped in there. If you want me to trust you, then prove to be friends and help us liberate our brethren."
"Leave it to us. We have a lot of experience breaking people out of prisons."
"Then it's time for you to shine." Xeel replied with a hint of irony. "Talk with my sentries, they know the region better than anyone. They will direct you where the Angara need help here on Voeld."
"Very well. Jordan, we're going to need a vehicle."
"Say no more." Jordan said to his son-in-law and called the Constantinople, ordering them to prepare the Hammerhead.
But they still needed a place large enough for the frigate to drop the vehicle before she returned into orbit and used the cloaking device to avoid the Kett fleet. So they first headed out of the cave from another tunnel, which led to the region where the battle for the planet was going on. There they found the sentinels who showed them the main objectives. In particular the labor camp, the location of the main Kett fortress and the Remnant crypt with the three towers. Those were the objectives of the Coalition, and they decided to start with the labor camp. While Darvos used the Constantinople to leave the planet and call up part of the joint fleet to organize an offensive to free Voeld, Jordan started planning the raid to free as many Angara as possible and reinforce the ranks of the Resistance before the invasion force arrived to help.
April 8.
As the Ghost headed into the atmosphere of Ultaar and Chopper scanned the area in search of a landing zone among the deep jungle, Ezra reached the cargo bay, where Luke was waiting for him alongside two mandalorians that even he had made friends with: Tristan and Asha.
"Are we there yet, Bridger?" the mandalorian woman asked a bit bored.
"We are, miss Eldar." Ezra replied kindly. "And I appreciate your willingness to come with us on this mission."
"Blowing up the bastards who stole our technology always makes me feel better." she said, referring to the Zann mercenaries that they were about to storm on the planet.
"We are not just dealing with the pirates, Lady Eldar," Tristan noted. "Ezra is convinced that there is some artifact connected to the Sith on this planet."
"Right. Tell me again why are you so interested in these...Sith?"
"Because the Emperor and Vader are Sith." Luke intervened. "The more we learn about them, the easier it will be to finally defeat them."
"And if they have an ancient artifact on this planet, then we don't want Zann to get it either. We must make sure nobody get their hands on it." Ezra concluded.
Right after he said that, Sabine and Zeb walked inside the bay too, fully equipped for the mission. Just in time for Chopper to find a landing zone. Hera brought down the freighter while Kallus reported something strange.
"Ezra, I'm getting some readings."
"Can you guess them?"
"Negative. But I can tell they're imperial, extremely well-encrypted. Clearly, we're not the only ones paying a visit to the mercs."
Ezra hummed in thought before replying. "Thanks Kallus. We'll keep our yes open."
Then the ramp opened and the landing party went out into the jungle. The Ghost instead lifted itself.
"Specter-7, we'll try to approach the camp and see what's going on."
"Roger that, Specter-2. Be careful, though."
"Right back at ya." Hera quipped before the engines of the Ghost loudly carried the freighter away. The squad thus started moving into a trail of the jungle. Ezra was using his connection to the Force to see where the path was supposed to lead them.
As they kept marching, a few minutes later Hera's voice reappeared through the comlink.
"Ezra, we can't see much. There is clearly an open square in the forest where the base is suppose to be, but I don't see any ship or vehicle from here."
"That doesn't sound right at all." Zeb commented.
However, the Jedi Knight was focused on something else. A sense of danger was pressing much on his mind. He turned his gaze toward Luke, who clearly was having the same feeling: there was somebody straight ahead attuned to the Dark Side.
"You're right, Zeb." Ezra calmly said, taking his lightsaber from his belt. "Better keep your tools ready."
The others didn't hesitate to get their guns out, or the lightsaber in Luke's case, as they finally approached the structure in the jungle. And just as they managed to get through the last line of deep foliage, they found themselves in front of imperial troopers, most of them Purge, but at least two of them had the armor of the Royal Guards, only painted in black, too.
The imperials, armed with heavy rifles and electro-staffs, opened fire instantly. Luke and Ezra ignited their lightsabers and deviated the first salvos while Zeb and the mandos returned the courtesy. The imperials with rifles stepped away to find cover while the melee units charged. Ezra materialized his armor and both him and Luke easily cut down the first Purge troopers. The guards fell back, leading the other troopers toward what seemed the entrance of a tunnel inside a hill, so the group of galactic enforcers pushed forward.
After a couple minutes of fighting, the Purge troopers had all but been gunned down. The remaining guards retreated inside the cave, and before the mandos got caught up in the moment, Ezra halted them.
"Come on, it's just two left!" Sabine protested.
"No. There's somebody else inside that cave. Only me and Luke will go inside, you guys cover the exit and keep contact with the Ghost."
Reluctantly, Zeb and the mandalorians accepted the instruction and formed a perimeter outside the cave while Ezra nodded to Luke and had him materialize his own 'Slayer' suit, anticipating a difficult battle.
The two Jedi adventured inside the cave, and they found out that it wasn't a simple mine: there were shaped bricks of stone that immediately reminded them of the structures on Yavin 4. Though the corridors had been abandoned for untold time, there were small spots for statues.
"This place's energy...it feels familiar." Luke commented amazed. "Was this a Jedi temple, maybe?"
"Apparently so." Ezra calmly said. "But what I'm worried about is this dark presence that is tainting the Light. Stay sharp, my friend."
"You think it might be Vader?"
"No. This presence is much less powerful, but still dangerous. Might be another Sith cultist, but somehow I think I already felt it in the past."
"I guess we'll find out soon enough."
"You're getting the gist of our methods." Ezra quipped and the two chuckled before resuming their search.
Following the track left in the Force by the dark presence, they were led inside a room on the western side of the underground temple, a small square room with running water at the edges and a platform in the center.
And in the center of the platform were the two guards, yes, but also a man covered in an armor that Ezra recognized immediately even with the helmet on.
"You. You were with the Grand Admiral on Bettok." Ezra noted.
"What a sharp Jedi we got here." the man mocked. "My name is Starkiller, and how long I have wanted to fight you, Ezra Bridger." the dark-sider said as he ignited a crimson lightsaber in his right hand and the guards prepared to fight.
There was no time to think of a plan, but the Jedi already had a plan for cases like these: Ezra made sure to intercept Starkiller once he sprang his attack, while Luke dealt with the guards. Not that these two were pushovers, but Luke could still manage them while Ezra took on the dark-sider and probed his abilities.
Starkiller turned out to be much different than Vader: whereas the Sith Lord focused on the strength of his blows, this guy was incredibly swift and also used Force abilities much more frequently in an attempt to destabilize the opponent. In fact, he went dangerously close to slash Ezra a couple times but he managed to parry them.
"Easy. I just got this armor." he said once, mocking the dark-sider who clearly didn't like that. This was the greatest weakness of all those who followed the Dark Side: being extremely inclined to give in to their emotions during a fight. Sure, they were more dangerous in this state, but their tactics became always less refined.
Three minutes into the fight, Luke managed to finally kill the melee guard and focus on the one with the rifle. Starkiller understood that he was going to soon be at a disadvantage and tried to reach the door, but Ezra stopped him.
"Why did you come here?" he demanded. "What are you looking for?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to figure it out yourself." the dark-sider said through the mechanical timber of his helmet, then he quickly swiped a hand toward the guard and ignited a thermal detonator to explode in the middle of the three people standing in the room.
Luke and Ezra managed to dodge the blast only by a margin, but in doing that they gave Starkiller the opportunity to quickly dash through the door and run at incredible speed toward the surface.
"Let's get him!" Luke prompted.
The Jedi started running behind the dark-sider, who still managed to slightly outpace Ezra in his Legionnaire armor.
"Specter-5, do you copy?" Ezra said hastily in his comlink.
Though a bit scrambled, Sabine's voice reached him. "...er-7. Finally...got trouble!"
"What do you mean?"
"Imperial reinforcements. We're pinned down."
Starkiller halted at a fork and laughed. "What will you choose, Jedi? Your mission or your friends?" before taking the direction that wasn't the one Luke and Ezra had used before.
Ezra, however, had no doubts as he dashed toward the main exit, and as the two Jedi went out to see the light again, they found their companions engaged in a fierce shooting with another group of Purge troopers, which by now was clear that they had been assigned to assist the servants of the Sith.
Seeing the two Jedi joining the fight, and probably receiving the order to withdraw, the imperials quickly disengaged and fled, firing back at their opponents to cover their retreat until they were out of range.
"You guys all right?" Ezra asked.
"Mostly." Zeb said, nodding his head behind him.
Specter-7 turned and saw Tristan leaning behind a cover with his left hand covering a wound with some blood. Asha Eldar was next to him with her omni-tool lighted up to medicate him.
"Now stay still." she said.
A moment later, Tristan's nervous system was highlighted for a short blink and then he groaned in relief, thanks to the relaxing effects of the painkillers in the medi-gel.
"Thanks." he said to her.
"You're welcome." she replied gently, then gave him a hand to stand up.
Glad that everyone was now ok, Ezra called up the Ghost just as a black freighter appeared in the distance and headed toward the orbit.
April 12.
The raid on the prison camp had gone perfectly. The ranks of the Resistance had been reinvigorated with angry veterans and the allied forces had now gathered enough intel for the upcoming attack against the Kett.
First thing to do was for the three allied capital ships to come out of hyperspace and take care of the Kett fleet in orbit. Jordan wondered if the mere firepower would be enough against the consistent number of enemy ships, but the two best commanders of the Empire would lead, so he decided that he shouldn't concern himself with that part. Rather, he had to focus on his task for the incoming conflict, which was on solid ground. Such task was going to be influenced by the intel that Shepard was revealing to the group on the holo-projector gently offered by the Angara to communicate with their homeworld of Havarl, the place where the Normandy and her crew was causing havoc for the Kett.
"There are clear signs that the Kett are withdrawing forces from here to send them against you." Jane explained. "The longer you wait, the stronger the opposition you will find."
"Understood, Commander." said Iulius, who then turned to his colleague. "Grand Admiral, what's the status of the Chimaera?"
"My troops have already prepared for the climate of Voeld. We are waiting your command." the Chiss replied with his cold tone.
"Very well, then. We should be there in ten hours. I hope your forces are ready as well, Colonel."
"My pilots will be ready, Lord-Protector," Darvos replied. "meanwhile, we'll keep bothering the Kett to disrupt their lines."
"Very well. We'll depart immediately, contact me if there is anything relevant." Iulius concluded before him and Thrawn disappeared, leaving only the Alliance personnel.
"Commander, have you found anything in the ruins of Havarl?" Wilhelm asked.
"Actually, we haven't been allowed to go in, yet. There are a lot of Angara here who joined the Roekaar, their extremists. I'm trying to negotiate with them to convince them we need no harm to them, but their head just won't listen."
"I doubt you may ever convince Akksul to give you the benefit of the doubt." Jaal intervened with a placated tone.
Everyone turned to look at him. "Who is that?" asked Scott.
"The leader of the Roekaar. We were both students of the Moshae Sjefa, so I know him. He has spent a long time as a prisoner of the Kett and he won't rest until every non-Angara is driven out of Haeleus."
"Well, we're not trying to stay." Jordan objected. "We want the Kett destroyed just like you, then we will leave."
"I know, and I want to believe you. Clearly you didn't bring enough resources to occupy it, but Akksul will hardly listen to reason, only our old mentor, the Moshae, I believe could make him at least hear out your reasons."
"Ok, and where do we find the Moshae?"
"That's what I wanted to talk about." Jaal replied with a tone that the humans did not expect for such a topic, but while the Angara had showed to follow their emotions to the end, they hardly manifested them in the spoken language. "According to our most recent intel, the Moshae is likely inside the Kett fortress here on Voeld."
The humans staggered.
"And you waited until now to tell us, why?!" Wilhelm asked out of patience.
"I told you: it's very recent." Jaal replied unfazed.
The Major sighed. "Then we need to take that into account before shelling the base." then he turned around toward the Angara operator. "Give us the map of the region, please."
The alien complied and tapped the keyboard until the hologram focused on the field of battle.
"I'll leave you to planning, then." Jane concluded. "Good luck, people."
"Luck is overrated, ma'am." Scott quipped. "We'll be fine with our skills alone."
"Still, don't overdo it. Shepard out." and her hologram disappeared.
Wilhelm already had come up with a plan that included Jordan and his squad of Legionnaires infiltrate the enemy lines by using the underground ice caves dug by the Angara in the years of conflict.
Finally, the time came. As the region of Voeld saw the first lights, the Chimaera, the Admonitor and the Liberator appeared on the scanners. To the surprise of just the Angara, the allied fleet annihilated the Kett one in just half-an-hour with a brilliant use of the ISD long range and the better quality of the galactic starfighters.
Jordan and his strike team, made not just by his Legionnaires and Jaal, but by Scott, Vetra and Karg as well, mounted on the angara dropship that was going to fly them at the entrance of the ice caves, using a local snowstorm as a cover. And just before the Captain got on, he heard the voice of Wilhelm behind him.
"Bridger."
Jordan turned around, seeing the Major in his red armor and helmet. "That's my son you got there."
"I'll treat him as if he was my Ezra, sir." Jordan reassured.
"That's what I wanted to hear. Go hurt them."
"You too, sir." he concluded before closing the ramp behind him.
The main Angara base was in turmoil: the soldiers were excited to finally fight the Kett in open battle and with real chances of winning. Wilhelm was immediately transferred to the first LZ to take command of the 'Twilight Company', the first unit of the New Republic to be deployed.
Monitoring the transmissions of the allied forces, Jordan could tell that the Kett had been taken completely by surprise. The constant harassing of the Resistance in the last day had managed to keep their forces dispersed and weaken their cohesion, so when they tried to launch a first attack they were easily repelled, leaving the field for the imperials to send down their forces, too.
"Captain Bridger, we're reaching the landing zone. Be ready to jump, because I can't stay for long." the pilot reported.
"You heard him, lads. Be ready."
The squad rose from the seats and took their weapons. The buzzing of the engines signaled that they were descending toward the ground. The dropship slowed down and Jordan prepared to sprint outside. They were dropped in front of the caves and with Jaal's guidance they marched through them, finding no opposition until they reached the external shield.
Using Jinx, while explosions and a lot of blasters resonated in the distance, the strike team managed to open a breach in the energy barrier and using a trash conduit to sneak into the fortress by the backdoor.
"Looks like they are not expecting us." Scott said, noticing the few guards inside the room they were about to burst into.
"That's right. But we need to move quickly before they notice." Jordan calmly said. "Wait for my signal." he added before activating his cloaking device.
Running silently, Jordan managed to sneak behind the biggest threat in the room: a soldier with a machine gun, and with a quick and brutal move removed his head in the span of two seconds. All the other Kett were taken by surprise. They aimed their guns at him before being attacked by the rest of the strike team and being quickly overcome.
They thus proceeded toward the door, and thanks to a map of the building that Jinx had downloaded after breaching the local firewalls, they found out that there was a control room right next to them. After clearing it of the two guards, Jordan reached the local command terminal, which then removed the opacity of the great window in front of them.
"Look." said Thabo.
In front of them there was a backyard. Many Kett were arranged on two rows in a way that resembled a ceremony. Four Angara were lined up and seemed to just accept to be there.
On a small altar stood a tall Kett with a red armor that resembled a high-quality robe, who then spoke up and the voice arrived reverberating. "Come forward. You have been blessed, for you are to become Chosen."
The two rows of Kett crossed their arms on their chests and repeated "You are Chosen." in chorus. All the while four capsules, attached to a couple of rails, lowered behind the Kett leader and opened, letting the four Angara step in.
"I know the Moshae. She's not down there." Jaal said, though he was clearly disturbed by what he was seeing.
"Those Angara seem entranced." Scott commented.
"Maybe we can rescue them. If we find where they stock those capsules." Jaal added, looking at Jordan.
"I understand your wish, but our priority is still the Moshae."
"Your priority." the Angara said with a slight resentment.
Jordan straightened his back and made a step toward him. "My mission, my priorities. If we find a way to free you people, we'll take it, but only if there's time."
"Boss, you might want to see this." Michalina said, referring to the procession in the backyard.
Jordan turned around and saw the Kett knelt down in front of a hologram. Realizing it was a transmission, Jordan heard the red Kett call the new guy 'Archon', who ordered her to immediately get the Moshae out of the planet, for the offensive of the allies outside was making quick progress and the Kett lines were about to crack. The red Kett obeyed, and after the hologram disappeared she headed out hastily with all the soldiers following her.
"We need to find the Moshae quickly. Jinx, find where they keep the pods." Jordan ordered.
With the indications of the AI, the group fought its way through a few guards and reached the inner part of the fortress. They passed through a circular and tall room full of those capsules. There they found a terminal, which Jinx used to find the location of the Moshae. They headed there, but already at the next room, as they had to wait for a decontamination protocol, the group saw something horrible.
An Angara, held high by some gravitational technology, was suddenly stabbed by a Kett with two syringes.
"What's happening?" asked Jaal.
In the next seconds, the Angara twitched and grunted in pain as his body gradually but quickly became pitch black, then a familiar bone armor grew on him.
"Lord-Protector, we've breached the enemy lines. Our forces are about to crash the gate open." Cody said to Iulius as he stepped out of his shuttle, clad in his armor and followed by Qathora and Yagler.
"Good. Any news from the strike team?"
"The Kett at the fortress seem distracted, so I guess they're doing their work." the clone replied confidently.
"Let's go, then. Don't want to leave all the glory to them." Yagler commented.
They mounted on an ITT that quickly brought them at the frontline, and in front of the Kett stronghold. The New Republic had brought in one of their Scorpion tanks and it was demolishing the main door with a few rounds. As the gate collapsed, the Angara fighters were the first to charge in, eager to free their brethren inside and kill the hated invaders.
"Tanis to strike team, do you read me?" Iulius asked on the line he shared with Jordan Bridger.
A few statics followed but then the voice of the Legionnaire arrived clearly. "...read you. We're chasing a high-profile enemy target. We need air support to block the skies."
"Acknowledged. Do you need further backup?"
"I won't say no to that."
Iulius quickly transmitted the request for an air blockade to the fighters, then took a platoon and they moved in. Following the beacon of Bridger, it didn't take long before they rejoined them in the shuttle bay of the Kett. Iulius easily spotted the red-colored Kett, who started fluctuating and was covered by what seemed like an energy shield.
"Sir, look at that sphere." Yagler said, indicating a small round device that was orbiting the Kett and emitting the same orange energy making up her shield.
"Good instinct, Yagler. Focus fire on that."
A fight ensued, with other kett warriors intervening but being gunned down by the stormtroopers, who fanned out and managed to seal the perimeter tightly. Most of the close-combat was left to Jordan and his strike team. Eventually, after Scott Shepard made a daring and highly-risk move, he managed to crack the sphere and severely wound the red Kett.
"Seize her." Iulius ordered.
Meanwhile, Jaal and Jordan approached a single capsule, like the ones Iulius had seen on Bettok, and after opening it, they took out a purple angara woman with elaborated robes, and he understood that she had to be the Moshae he had heard about.
"Fools!" the red Kett yelled in anger. "Don't you see it? All of this is a gift. Who are you to refuse it?"
"That's a 'gift'?" asked Jordan angrily as he stepped next to her. "Turning everyone into monsters?"
"Did I miss something?" Iulius asked.
While Scott and Jaal helped the Moshae, Jordan explained. "This place is a lab. They use it to turn the Angara into Kett soldiers."
The red kett went on boasting about this mutation being a gift, but Iulius was suddenly caught up in his own thinking.
The Kett turned their victims into themselves, just like the Yavzakhs did on Carunoia. This was another sign, perhaps the last Iulius needed to be absolutely certain, that the Kett also worked with or for the Grysks.
"Captain, the Moshae is ill." Scott suddenly said as he and Jaal helped her walk. "She need medical attention."
"Get her to the Constantinople. I'll make sure the med bay is ready."
"Hang on, we have the right to hear her as well." Yagler interjected.
"With all due respect," Jordan said calmly but with an unmistakable sarcasm. "imperial doctors don't strike me as the best at treating non-Humans. We have much more experience in that."
"Very well. So you won't object if we take the prisoner?" Iulius asked diplomatically.
"Sure. She's all yours." the Legionnaire concluded before he and his squad left the yard.
"Get her on the shuttle." Iulius ordered to his troopers while he tried to contact the Chimaera.
Thrawn replied shortly after, allowing Iulius to explain him the purpose of the fortress and thus his suspicions about the Kett's affiliation.
"I agree with you, Iulius. This method can hardly be a coincidence."
"I am taking the Kett aboard the Chimaera for interrogation. I figured you would be much more capable of pushing her buttons than me."
"I'll make sure not to fail your trust. I'll order my crew to wait for your arrival."
Iulius removed the finger from his helmet and for a moment took a look at the structure. His mind raced to the kidnapped Human colonists: what were the Kett transforming them into? Was this an attempt of the Grysks to improve the previous project of the Yavzakhs?
Too many questions that wouldn't be solved just by standing around on that frozen planet. He turned around, caught Yagler and Qathora and headed back toward the shuttle.
