Chapter 51 - Living Gods
The Unknown Regions
Imperial-II Class Star Destroyer Errant Venture
"Attention all Commands, this is Commodore Antilles. I am issuing a stand-down order to all New Republic Forces. Power down your ships and surrender."
The order was intercepted as they closed in, repeating four times over the intercom as Wedge had to drive home the reality of the situation to his men. In many ways, he wished they'd gotten there even a minute sooner. It would've spared Wedge having to give that order in the first place.
After all, Rogues do not surrender.
"Belay that order."
There was of course the momentary silence that also came with a telepathic communique. The confusion of the intrusion, trying to understand where it came from. But Wedge recognized for what it was, the image in the mind's eye showing him rising from his command chair to ask his crew the obvious question.
Then, "This is Commodore Antilles of the New Republic Navy to unidentified party. Identify yourself."
He couldn't help but smile as he answered, "This is Skywalker."
With the last syllable, The Errant Venture and its escorts reemerge in real space at the outset of the chaos, bringing in the image of the First Order warships bearing down on the defeated New Republic. Pilots were now rushing to their fighters and gunships, and Luke Skywalker couldn't help but think back to Yavin, when he and so many others had gone up to destroy the Death Star. Now here they were again, arriving in the nick of time; desperately trying to save what was left.
He then felt a sudden invisible punch in the arm and he whirled in his seat to his right, wincing. "What was that for?"
In the Incom/FreiTek E7 Starhawk next to him-painted blue, scarlet and purple to his own red, white and yellow-a beaming redhead smirked at him, "Stop being a showoff, Farmboy. It doesn't suit you."
R2-D2 chirped a sarcastic reply behind him in the astromech slot, and Mara Jade Skywalker scowled and jutted a finger at the astromech, "You stay out of this, pedal-bin!"
Luke couldn't help but laugh, "But he's right, Red. You rubbed off on me."
"Oh don't go blaming your problems on me, Luke, it's unbecoming."
"Sure it is."
"Attention, this is your captain speaking," Booster Terrik, owner of The Errant Venture, called on the intercom, "we have disengaged from hyperspace, and the wannabes have just noticed us. They are rolling around like headless tip-yips, but I would suggest flying carefully as you depart the hangar."
In his mind's eye, Luke could feel the enemies anxiety at their appearance; a measure only a step above panic.
"Time to knock it down a peg, then," Mara said, and Luke nodded.
Corran, he telepathically spoke to the Corellian Jedi, are you ready?
Already in progress, Luke, he replied, and Luke could feel through the sudden exertion of concentrated will on an immense scale emanating through the Force. As the cockpit slid close and Luke rocketed out of the Venture's hangar, squadrons of Jedi and Ranger pilots close behind, he began to see Master Horn's work materialize around them.
On either side of the Venture, four more Star Destroyers appeared along with their own complement of fighter craft, identical to the ones coming out of the real Errant Venture.
"I must say Corran's gotten better with his illusions," Kam Solusar chuckled over the comm as he took up Luke's right while Mara took his left, "practically have to get within spitting distance to notice they're not real."
"They're real enough to the enemy, Kam," Juno Eclipse commed back, the gunship Rogue Shadow filing off to the left wing, "they're already forming up around that downed Super Star Destroyer, and I suspect they're going to start peeling off ships from their left flank."
"All according to plan, then," Luke replied, beginning to stretch his mind forth towards the enemy fleet ahead.
What are you doing? Mara asked him telepathically, sensing his focusing will.
Diplomacy, he answered simply. Soon enough, he found the mind he was looking for, seeing all around him the confines of a Star Destroyer's Auxiliary Bridge and the crew hurrying at their stations. To the Admiral's credit, he sensed the intrusion immediately.
"Get out of my head!" he hissed, clenching his hand to his temple as he fell onto the display table in front of him. His men immediately rushed to him as he groaned desperately, "Jedi! There's a Jedi in my head!"
Yes I am, Admiral Hux, Luke replied simply, and I am here just to talk.
"Skywalker!" Hux spat, forcing himself to stand, "The last time you and I talked, you took my arm!"
I am sorry for that, but we were enemies then. You didn't give me a choice.
Luke felt him sardonically smile. "And now here you are again, interfering where you shouldn't. Well, you're too late, Jedi. The Forge is ours, and this battle is won."
You can have the Forge, Admiral. I sensed its shifting allegiance minutes ago, and fighting over it any further would be futile exercise in wasting lives.
That caught the admiral by surprise, shaikly asking, "What do you want then, if not the Forge?"
I want you to allow all New Republic forces to depart in peace. That includes Ackbar and the pilots you've stranded, as well as those on the Forge itself. Let them go, and we will end this conflict peacefully.
Luke could feel Hux seriously consider the offer, staring out at his tactical display at Luke's approaching forces and at the rest of the battle. But, as Luke suspected he would, the soldierly side won out.
"I must reject your terms, Master Jedi, for my orders are clear. All enemy combatants must be neutralized or forced to surrender, and that applies to you as well."
Admiral, if you continue along this present course, my Jedi and I will be forced to take action against you.
"Even with your five Star Destroyers or Jedi pilots, you stand no chance against us. You are hopelessly outnumbered."
We'll see, and he debarted his mind, returning to the battle at hand.
Did you really think that'd work? Mara asked.
No, but I had to try, he keyed his mike, "All wings, execute the plan."
"We're on our way!" Juno replied as she and the couriership Raven's Claw split off, taking a third of the wing and a pair of CR-90's straight towards the Forge to extract those still on it.
"Great, time to save some hotshot flyboys," Kace Bridger sounded, peeling off with the Jai'galaar-Class patrolship Razor's Crest.
"Cowboy up, Bridger," Kam called back, "no time for your excuses."
"Oya, Kam. I blame you if I get shot."
Behind him, another third rocketed towards Ackbar and the downed pilots with another third of the wing. Backing them up was the Dreadnaught Heavy Cruiser Nomad-One, armed to the brim with turbo lasers and ion cannons, and the Assault Frigate Salvation which moved to directly engage the remaining Victory-III still holding the rear.
That left Luke and his contingent, with The Errant Venture and her phantoms to back them up, who shot straight towards the enemy formation itself. In response, every possible fightercraft they had was thrown at them with the intention of literally drowning them in ordinance.
"Missiles inbound!" a Ranger pilot called on the comm, and soon warning lights began blaring lock on sequences. Soon the entire vacuum ahead was lit by chem-trails, and behind them even proton torpedoes.
Together! Luke called through the Force, the Jedi surrounding him bounding their minds into pure synchronization. Their thoughts and instincts were shared and consolidated, their will focused like the finest steel. The Jedi then took up seamless formation at the head of the attacking wing and as soon as the ordinance closed in, they struck.
Right back at you, ya punks! Kam thought aloud as the dozen pilots enveloped the incoming projectiles in an ecumbassing telekinetic field. The missiles and torpedoes went veered up and down, swinging around with their trajectories aimed right back at their originators.
They had a few seconds to get out of the way, but for most that wasn't enough. The entire front formation detonated in cataclysmic explosions, the rest breaking off to avoid being hit by the debris or the residual shockwave. The Jedi poured into the breach, pushing the debris and the residual fireballs in their wake as the Rangers pulled through the flanks and began chasing away the fighter screen.
Behind them, The Errant Venture and her phantoms closed in. The enemy Star Destroyers opened fire, unleashing an open salvo that struck home… or at least, that was what it seemed.
Good thing they're even out, Mara commented, if they move above or below, they'll start noticing their shots are just going through.
Don't jinx us, Mara, Kam replied, got enough problems as it is with these metal bugs everywhere. Especially once we hit that Mandator.
Yeah, but I'm the one who has to move it, Luke retorted as they dove under the guarding Star Destroyers and pushed on for the stranded Mandator-III.
The elevator lift opened to a world of chaos, punctuated by a blaster bolt almost taking Han's head off. He ducked to the side, shielding the unconscious Rey as he drew his sidearm. He popped his head out for just a brief moment, more bolts reporting and crashing into the wall behind him. He'd gotten a look: a team of Stormtroopers had him pinned down, though it hadn't looked like they'd been waiting for him.
"Chewie," Han whispered in his comm, "damnit, Chewie, where are you?"
He got his answer in the form of a snarl, though not through his comm. He heard it ahead, followed by a crash and he rose to find the Wookie was using one of the Troopers like a club and had battered another into a wall. Han took aim and dropped a Stormtrooper in the head, causing the rest to throw smoke in their faces and run in the other direction.
Chewbacca drew his bowcaster and fired after them, though was soon forced to take cover when they shot back with far better accuracy.
"Damnit, Chewie," Han cursed as he pulled his medpack, "I'm already carrying Rey around. Don't make me drag you too, doing something stupid like that."
The Wookie gave him a toothy grin, fired a bolt down the hall and then barked a question about Rey. Han shook his head, "She's messed up bad, buddy. We need to get her off this thing and to a medship, fast."
Chewbacca nodded, growling for Han to stay behind him as he dug a hand in his satchel and drew a handful of shock grenades. On a count, he threw them down the hall and charged, firing as he went with Han right behind, carrying Rey. As they cleared the smoke, they found several Troopers either stunned to the floor or still in place, leaving the Wookie only to smash through them like a bull Reek.
They didn't bother stopping, running like Hell for the nearest door even as survivors started shooting at them. Chewbacca suddenly shoved Han in front of him, screaming as the smell of burning fur reached the smuggler's nose and he whirled to see Chewie firing back. Unfortunately, the Stormtroopers' aim was deadly accurate and the Wookie started to go down under the bursts.
Han reached the door, keyed in an opening key and as the door opened enough for a hole to form in the middle, he thrust Rey's body through so he could turn about with his blaster drawn. Even at his age, he was still the fastest draw in the galaxy, and one Trooper in the open learned that lesson.
"C'mon Chewie!" Han bellowed as he grabbed his friend and pulled him to his feet, practically throwing him through the now opening blastdoor. He rolled after him, not paying attention to the sudden sharp pain in his back as he hit the deck; diving for the door controls and sealing it shut.
No sooner than he did, he realized they'd gone from the burner to the broiler. A great battle was raging ahead over control of the hangar, with Han and company ending up right behind the Stormtroopers and Forge Droids. It took only a moment for them to spotted, Han dropping a pair of Troopers and a droid with quick shots, pinning down a team as he scooped up Rey and pushed Chewie behind some shipment crates.
"Looks like we found the Hangar," he said as he fired blindly over his shoulder, "can you manage?"
Chewbacca painfully nodded as he shouldered his weapon and propped himself up to cover him. Han switched on his comm, trying and finding the local New Republic signal.
"This is Han Solo to the Troopers in the Hangar. I'm at your 9 o'clock at about 150 yards. I have wounded and I need extraction, over!"
"Negative, Sir!" the Trooper called back, "We're pinned down here and we're taking on casualties! We can't get to-" the sound of a blaster bolt cut him off, and now Chewbacca was roaring about incoming. Soon, they found themselves surrounded, the door behind them suddenly exploding in a shower of smoke and sparks.
Before they could move, they were struck by stud bolts ripping through the smoke and struck them cold. The enemy swarmed over them and gave Chewbacca a few more blasts for good measure as he tried to get back up.
"Chewie…" Han groaned out as he screamed for his muscles to move. He was literally paralyzed to the spot like a gutted fish, and he could only look in horror as they took him by the arms and threw him over to a clearing. There, New Republic soldiers, Mandalorians and Aquillans were being lumped in with him, many worse off than him.
"Captain, this Oh-Nine-One-One," one of the Troopers called on his mike, "we've secured the hangar, and we've captured Solo and the Jedi. Yes sir, she's in bad shape, I recommend we get her to a-"
He stopped, nodding slowly, "I understand, I'll have the medical teams bring her to Lord Mechos."
The name stirred Han into action, willing his constricted muscles to move as he growled, "No!"
The Stormtroopers answered with a stunblast to the face, knocking him almost senseless. Worse though was the terrifying reminder of Bespin; Leia's haunted face and Chewie screaming as he went under the carbonite. Now the same was going to happen to Rey, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He would never see her again.
"Sir!" A Trooper suddenly called, and then they all whirled around to look out of the hangar. Though he couldn't see their faces, their body language made it clear something was truly terrifying them. Then all the soldiers beside him had an expression he could only describe as awe, like in the presence of some backwater holy shrine.
"What the-" he groaned as he turned over, and his eyes went wide, "Rogue Shadow?"
A ship black as velvet and formed like a swooping hawk with its fearsome frame and symmetrical wings roared into the hangar. All were struck by its sudden gravitational influx as the ship orbited like a vulture over the prisoners. The enemies response was immediate; blaster bolts bouncing off of its shielded hide as the ship drowned the air with smoke launchers.
While the men around choked and spluttered, Han kept his eyes on the ship and saw the silhouette of a ramp dropping and men suddenly leaping off it. In mid air, the smoke-choked air was echoed by the reports of lightsabers igniting, and illuminated by turquoise and emerald hues tearing through the void. Wind cackled as the two figures rushed past them all into the midst of the enemy and began their grizzly work.
It took a long moment for the smoke to clear, but the subdued imagery and sounds were enough. Death cries echoed by the sparks of plasma striking; the air suddenly stenched by ozone crackling and the blue arcs tearing through the void. Several droids suddenly went flying past them, pulverized like busted cans when the screams suddenly stopped and the smoke cleared.
Atop shipment crates and ancient starships, stood two opposing figures bearing down on the cowed enemy. One stood regaled in white and black robes, his head hooded, and his hands crackling with lightning with his turquoise saber drawn in a reverse grip. Opposite him stood one adorn in black, an orange sash across his waist as he stood poised and confident with his emerald saber held casually in his left hand.
He then tossed it to the right, turning his head to reveal his slick black hair tied in a ponytail, shining a slight blue in the limelight as he pointed his blade at the Stormtroopers, "Tell me, was that enough for you?"
His accent stung of Lothian aristocracy; a kind of cultural credence that would make even the nobility of Corellia blush. It oozed a playful arrogance, punctuated by a broad smirk as he paced the container with his weapon still leveled like a professors' ruler. "Well, was it?"
The Stormtroopers response was to draw their weapons upon the two Jedi. While the white robed dropped in a fighting stance read to lung into them like a Bha'lir, the other just tutted his tongue and waggled a finger at them.
"Consider your next action car-" a Trooper took a shot at him, and he swung his saber so quickly it looked like he hadn't even moved. The bolt trailed back and struck the shooter in the face, the rest dropping away from his corpse as it smoked furiously.
"That was rude," the Jedi said, shaking his head and stepping forth, "I was going to regale you with how we dispatched your comrades with an ease you cannot imagine, but I see we have little time for that."
He pointed his saber at the dead trooper, "That man there will be your fate if you try to take us. Do you really want to join him? I certainly would not."
The Troopers stared at him for a long moment before the white robe bellowed, "In other words, beat it!"
The Troopers didn't even flinch, and continued to stare stoneface at them with their weapons drawn. Then the platoon leader gave a subtle nod and they all began to slowly back away as a team got the blast doors opened. They quickly ran through, covering each other as they did before closing it and even beginning to weld it shut for good measure.
"Y'know, we're gonna have to deal with them later, Ezra," the white robe said as he pulled down his hood, revealing his closely shaven head and almost statuesque features, "was that really worth your thirty seconds of fame?"
"Forty seconds, Galen," Ezra Bridger shook his head with a chuckle, "and yes, I would say it was," he pointed his saber to the still figure of Rey lying on a stretcher, "she needs our help far more than they need killing. And there is the matter of the people we came to rescue, remember?"
"Right, just don't be smug about it."
"Smug? That was hurtful, Marek, very hurtful."
"Doesn't mean it wasn't true."
Behind them, Rogue Shadow landed and was swiftly followed by a pair of Corellian Corvettes that deposited medical crews and began pulling men aboard. Han finally got the strength to stand, helped by Ranger as the ramp to the Shadow dropped and former Imperial Pilot and Captain Juno Eclipse appeared on scene.
"Captain," Han gestured, walking up to her as she saluted him.
"General. It's been awhile."
Han chuckled; even after thirty years she never changed, and age had certainly been kind to her. There was not even a single white hair in platinum blonde hair, held back in military regulation that matched her well kempt flight suit.
"Is he here?" Han asked, gesturing outside.
She gave a slight, knowing smile, "Don't worry, we'll be seeing his handiwork soon. Now, if you mind helping me direct the evacuation-"
"Evacuation? We're not abandoning the Forge."
"Sir, we have to. The Core and the outlying Mid Rim have come under siege. Hundreds of worlds are being assaulted, and that number is likely going to grow by the end of today. We've lost this battle, but we can ensure we don't lose this war."
Han was about to retort but shook his head. He felt her hand take his shoulder and she looked up at him sympathetically, "I know. You'll get another chance. But right now, we have to get everyone out."
She looked past his shoulder, Han seeing Rey being carefully levitated to the Rogue Shadow by Galen, and Chewie being helped to one of the Corvette's.
"Yeah," Han nodded, "let's get to work then."
From the command center, Mechos observed the progress of the Jedi. On one side had been Masters Marek and Bridger, who had swept aside their resistance in seconds but had curiously let the rest go. He knew the answer, of course. Like himself, Ezra Bridger was born of nobility and carried the values of Chivalry dearly. The display made him smile, glad he was not the only one.
On the other side the Forge, another pair of Jedi were quite literally carving their way through the waves of droids and Stormtroopers trying to stop them. Unlike the others, this was pure, ruthlessly efficient killing. That did not surprise him in the slightest. One had bested Praetor himself during their assault on Takodana; and the other had been an apprentice to High Inquisitor Jarek himself, now Guardian of the holy world of Ruusan.
Their way was not of gentlemen knights, but soldiers first and foremost.
"Archon," one of his Magi spoke, "shall we intervene?"
He watched consoles closely, observing the Jedi now breaking the defensive line and driving the Stormtroopers into a retreat while the droids held them off. Those were swiftly destroyed when they unleashed a devastating torrent of lightning, blowing them to pieces instantly.
"No," he shook his head, "give word to their commanders. The Jedi merely want their own recovered. Permit them so in peace. We've won the day, and they know it."
"It will be done, Archon. We have also recovered Lord Kylo. His injuries are beyond our efforts to repair, but the Imperials are collecting a bacta capsule for him."
"Good, see to it he is well recovered. He is as much to credit for victory here as Admiral Hux and even I. He has earned his rest."
"Archon!" another Magi called, "The Jedi, they are sweeping towards The Sword of Coruscant!"
Mechos instinctively called upon the Forge's external cameras, bringing into focus the wounded Dreadnought and the squadron of Starhawk fighters flying towards it. For a moment, Mechos was distracted by the sheer economic beauty of the fighter craft. It was the remarkable combination of Incom's X-Wing series with the old Delta-7's, borrowing much from the latter's arrow shaped design.
Indeed, theirs was a speed, precision and maneuverability even the best of the First Order's pilots or even the computer efficiency of their droid fighters. None could stand before them as they performed maneuvers utterly impossible, striking with such skill and ease that one such craft literally twisted between a pair of bolts to deliver its own devastating retaliatory blow.
Then his wonder turned to horror when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the lead fighter. He recognized the astromech seated in the yellow, red and white fighter, and an inhuman chill crawled up his spine at the realization.
"Get me The Sword of Coruscant, now!"
"Engine systems are still inoperable, ma'am!" Admiral Sloane's XO reported, her tired eyes taking in the anxious flurry of her bridge crew's activity as she looked out the prow observation deck. This was not the Ganthel's first time fighting Jedi, citing encountering them three times during the final year of the war, before and after the Galactic Concordance.
As such, she didn't radiate the same controlled panic as many of the other officers around her, but she likewise hadn't had her arm taken by one like Hux had. Still, she watched the exchanging battle between the ships protecting her and the newly arrived Jedi fleet. Strangely, she started to notice something strange about the whole thing.
"Crewman," she called to their Lookout, "enhance magnification of the exchange ahead, specifically on the Jedi's Star Destroyers."
"Aye, ma'am," he replied, bringing up a closer image of the exchanging battle. Her keen eyes took in the sight, watching as Hux formed a firing line to batter away at the five Imperial-II's. Her interest peaked as she noticed that while the two sides were exchanging fire, only Hux's own personal ship seemed to actually be taking damage.
Stranger still, the five Imperial-II's were also taking damage but the same kind of damage. She asked for further magnification and she saw it. All of the ships were indeed taking the same kind of damage right down to specific hull flashing and micro-explosions despite being fired upon from different gun depressions and blasts. She set her eyes on the center craft, the one currently tangoing with Hux himself.
"Ensign," she called to her Comms Officer, "patch me into the battlefeed from that engagement. I need damage reports on all ships."
It took several minutes, but she got her confirmation. All ships except for Hux were not suffering actual shield or structural damage but instead some kind of sensor interference like they were being jammed. Yet there were no physical traces of such jamming frequencies, not even from Sloane's position.
"They're not real," she concluded, "or at least, only one of them is," she turned to her weapons officer, "Lieutenant, I want you to fire a single concentrated strike at the comms tower on the far left Imperial-II, specifically at a thirty degree angle, but minimize any energy traces. I don't want even our own ships to notice it."
That process added on several more seconds of power rerouting, but she got what she hoped for. The blast struck the comm tower and then went straight through it. The emerald blast continued on for several moments before finally burning out. She then ordered the same be done for every ship except for the middle one, leaving that for last.
When they finally came upon it, there was a shield discharge as the plasma bolt struck home. She smiled as her theory turned to fact, and she ordered a transmission be made to the Ravager. Hux's reaction was the expected shock, then anger that he'd overlooked the obvious detail.
"Damn the Jedi and their witchery," Hux cursed, clutching his arm again for a moment before he noticed it and switchly put his hand away, "how soon can you move the Dreadnought, Sloane?"
"Ackbar did tremendous damage, Sir. I'm still getting an assessment of the total damage. However, I do still have minimal sublights, but they're only enough to keep us from free-floating. Do you wish us to try and reposition?"
"Negative. I suspect that might be why the Jedi created these phantoms to begin with. Hold your position, I will reposition my forces to deal with this ship. If we take it alive, that'll give us an extra bargaining chip against the Jedi."
"Ma'am!" her Comms Officer reported, "It's Lord Mechos, he says the Jedi are about to attack us!"
"Bring up a visual, now!" she ordered, their stern cameras catching the squadron of Starhawks flying directly under their ship and bobbing through their point defense systems. She shook her head, "There's not a single bomber among them. If they're going to attack, it won't be-"
Suddenly, there was a loud, grinding groan like something had just rammed the ship and everyone was thrown across their stations or onto the deck. Sloane winced as she pushed herself up, blood trailing from her forehead.
"Report!" she yelled, "What just hit us?"
"Ma'am, we're not picking up anything!" the Sensors Officer reported, "There isn't any kind of energy residue!"
"None of the decks are reporting damage!" the Comms Officer added.
"Admiral!" the Lookout called, bringing up the image of the Starhawks again, "One of the fighters isn't moving, and the rest are screening him!"
"What in the Emperor's name is going on?" her XO asked.
Sloane squinted her eyes at the solitary fighter, curiously detailed like the infamous Rogue and Red Squadrons of the War.
"Helmsman," she called frantically, "I want you to momentarily stop our sublights and then turn them on when I tell you."
"Ma'am-"
"Do it, Petty Officer!"
The Helmsman nodded reluctantly, turning off their sublights that kept them in an orbiting pattern. However, instead of suddenly free-floating in the vacuum as expected, they just didn't move. In fact, they were completely still.
"Oh no," she breathed, "he's got us in a hold!" she looked ahead at Hux's forces, and suddenly everything made sense. In a panic, she roared, "Helmsman, fire our sublights to full reverse power! Get us away from the fleet!"
The grinding groan of metal twisting returned when they fired, throwing everyone again to the floor as the massive Dreadnought seemed to be fighting to escape an enormous vice. Undeterred, Sloane continue bellowing out orders:
"Contact Hux and tell him to move the fleet away from us! And have all our weapon systems target that Starhawk and destroy it!"
Before any of the orders could be carried out, the ship started moving as though their main engines had suddenly turned on; lurching everyone forward once again. The Helmsman reported their sublights were still firing in reverse, but something was pushing them forward. Weapon systems likewise weren't operating properly; the gunners reporting they couldn't hit their targets.
"He's going to ram us straight through them!" the XO exclaimed as the image of the Star Destroyers came closer and closer with every second. The groaning grew louder and worse as decks reported sudden hull ruptures from the strain as the ship started picking up more and more speed. Seconds later, emergency decompression warnings came on, followed by proximity alerts.
No matter what they tried, they couldn't stop the Dreadnought's sudden acceleration. Even as the Star Destroyers ahead suddenly realized what was happening and tried to move out of the way, there was no averting what came next.
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!"
Poe could only look in complete shock and even horror at what transpired over the next few minutes. His entire life had been filled with stories about Luke Skywalker and the Jedi; and having met Rey and experienced his own connection, he thought he understood what they could do. This proved him wrong.
The Dreadnought entered an uncontrollable velocity as it smashed straight through the Star Destroyers holding the line. One by one, the ships impacted and broke against its hull; some completely destroyed in the process while others were torn apart. An entire storm of pulverized decks and superstructures filled the void at hyper-velocity, smashing through more ships not caught in the initial collision.
Even The Ravager couldn't escape its fate, its entire underside smashed into by the Dreadnoughts upper deck and peeling off as the ship lopsided up before coming back down. Its engine section crashed straight through the Dreadnought, tearing a long trench through it as it slid down the angled side and tumbled under; its stern completely pulverized.
"Mother of Moons…" Poe whispered in absolute horror, as did probably everyone else who saw the titanic occasion. Curiously, his eyes shifted to a single spot in the void; to a ship no larger than a pinprick at this distance and yet Poe knew exactly who it was. Poe had always laughed off those who thought Luke Skywalker was a god made man.
Now he wasn't so sure anymore.
Poe, incoming! BB-8 shrilled in binary and he looked up to see a Dreadnought-Heavy Cruiser and an Assault Frigate fly overhead, their shadows engulfing him. Above, they turned about and began firing on the Victory-III. Following them, a wing of starships led by a silver coated Jai'galaar gunship roared into the scene and began chasing away the fighters who'd been guarding them.
Then Poe heard a Twi'lek's voice in his head, distinct with traces of the race's accent, Do not be alarmed, pilots. I am Knight Deba Jarrus, and we are here to extract you. Please remain calm as we begin tractor beaming into the Salvation's hangar. Do not eject or attempt any sudden maneuvers.
Unless y'all like to be ground up like Uj'alayi cakes-ow! A distinctly Mandalorian voice winced, Haar'chak, Deba! I'm right, y'know!
Stop trying to scare the pilots, Kace.
There was a sudden shift on Poe's fighter as everything suddenly shook and he was flipped up, falling back in his seat. Beside him, all the other fighters were doing the same: shifting up at an angle as they were being pulled straight for the Assault Frigate.
This is a bad idea! BB-8 called.
"No kiddin', buddy."
What was that? The Forge asked.
"That my friend," Mechos replied, "was Luke Skywalker, Grand Master of the Jedi Order, leader of my adversaries."
Like him, there was a stunned silence at the awesome display of power demonstrated before them. For all his own personal power, Mechos knew that Skywalker dwarfed him substantially and a contest between them would not be a battle for victory, but merely for Mechos himself to escape with his life.
Not even the Builders ever displayed such power, the Forge said, Mechos detecting a hint of fear in its binary voice, how is such a thing possible?
"You exist in an era of gods, Station. Even my master is not a true match for him. Which is why I request you disengage from this battle and retreat to a fair distance."
You are that terrified of him?
"As should you, based on what we've witnessed here. I do not know what else Skywalker plans to display with his might, but I do not dare take the chance. Withdraw, for your own safety."
Silently, the Forge began to drift away from the battle, Mechos shaking his head at the whole thing.
"I wonder if our Master was wise to leave the Order bloodied, not destroyed. I may have once agreed with Bal'Win in our mercy, but now I question if Praetor had been right," he looked up again, watching the eclipsing part of the battle play out, "we are in for one wild war."
Author's notes
I do in fact believe Starkiller ate his heart out. That was fun to write.
Oh, and we want to thank Terminator-57, Kamen Rider Raika, SWEULover2007 and ARega1s for your reviews. Stay safe in the Apocalypse, everyone. That is all.