Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
So, I actually hadn't originally planned on doing the Citadel chapters. I'd actually gotten started writing the first of the Mon Cala episodes. However, CT7567, my most loyal reviewer and follower of this story, said he hoped I would do them. So, after going back over the episodes, I made the decision to go ahead and do it.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 34- The Citadel
(February 1, 1993, Terran Time)
On Coruscant, a serious meeting has gathered in the Jedi Temple. A Jedi Master, Even Piell, had been captured with knowledge of a vital hyperspace lane known as the Nexus Route. Even worse, he had been taken to a deadly, nigh impenetrable prison known as The Citadel.
Present at the meeting are Plo Koon, Obi Wan, Anakin, Cody, Rex, Fives, Echo, and Captain Adams of the ASAT team.
"As you all know, The Citadel is their most isolated and impenetrable detention facility. No one has ever escaped," Plo says.
"There's a first time for everything," Anakin says.
"I agree with Skywalker," Adams says.
"Their security has prevented our probes from obtaining recent reconnaissance, so we've been forced to construct a crude map based upon data from the archives," Plo says as he brings up a hologram of The Citadel.
"And since the data is extremely old, the map will be difficult to rely on," Obi Wan says.
"So, we're essentially going in blind," Anakin says.
"Bed your pardon, General, but how do we know Master Piell is still alive?" Rex asks.
"The Separatist won't dare kill Master Piell until they have what they need," Obi Wan responds to the question.
"He obtained the coordinates of a secret hyperspace lane known as the Nexus Route, which travels into the heart of both the Republic and Separatist homeworlds," Plo explains.
"They could prove vital in maneuvering our forces deep into remote Separatist sectors," Obi Wan adds.
"Or the enemy could use them to slip through our defenses and attack Coruscant," Anakin adds.
"These hyperspace lanes are of immense interest to both our sides and could tip the scale of the war to whomever is in possession of them. That is all," Plo says.
Plo, Obi Wan, Anakin, and Adams all make their way out of the room. As they do, Plo says, "Based on the archive schematics, we've narrowed it down to three possible locations they could be holding him at."
"My greatest concern is infiltrating their outer security. The life form scanners will not be easy to fool," Obi Wan says.
"I've got a though about that," Anakin says with a grin.
"Master." Anakin glances back to see Ahsoka running up behind him.
"I'm sorry I'm late. I just heard about the briefing. We're going to rescue Mater Piell, right?" she asks.
The four Jedi and one Terran all slow to a stop, and Plo says, "You two have much to discuss," before he, Obi Wan, and Adams walk on.
"Are your men ready, Captain Adams?" Plo asks.
Adams nods. When the news came in that Piell had been captured, Adams had proposed sending one or two troops, 16 or 32 men total, from SEAL Team Six to rescue Piell. He had felt confident that SEAL Team Six could do the job, as they trained extensively for hostage rescue. However, the Council had denied it, and instead put together a joint Republic-Terran team that included Obi Wan, Anakin, Rex, Cody, Fives, Echo, two other clones, Adams, and three men from SEAL Team Six.
"Yep. My men are ready to go," Adams replies.
"Good. I hope they're up for the challenge," Plo says.
"Oh, I guarantee they are," Adams says.
They make their way down to the hangar, where Anakin quickly joins them. Adams makes his way over to the three SEALs, and asks, "You alright, men?"
"Yes, sir!" one of the SEALS by the name of Adam Collins responds.
"It's definitely going to be a challenge. But, we didn't join SEAL Team Six to take the easy missions," another SEAL, Tony Woods, says.
"Good to see you're confident. You're gonna need that confidence once we get to the Citadel. Now, come on. It's about time to go," Adams says.
The three SEALS follow Adams over to where the rest of the strike team has assembled.
"I've never been carbon frozen before, General," Rex remarks.
"Same for us, Rex," Adams says.
"It's the first time for us too," Anakin says.
He, Obi Wan, Rex, Cody, Fives, and Echo step into the carbon freezing stations first. Adams and the SEALS watch as the machine activates. For several tense moments, they wait. Then, the carbonite slabs come up.
"Okay, that is creepy," one of the SEALs says.
"No kidding," one of the others says. They and the rest of the team then step forward to be frozen.
(Battleship Volgograd, Republic space)
"Admiral!"
Rear Admiral Michael Boyce, formerly a member of the Royal Navy, turns to the officer that just spoke to him.
"Yes, Commander?" he asks.
"Sir, we have received word from the Jedi Temple. The rescue mission has just been launched. The team is on its way to the citadel," the man says.
"Understood," Boyce responds. He then turns and heads to the hangar.
When he reaches the hangar, he makes his way to where a number of pilots are gathered. As he walks up, twelve pilots bearing the mark of the Star of David on their uniforms spot him and spring to attention. "Sir, is it time to launch?" one asks.
"Not yet. But I want you on standby in case it is needed," Boyce says.
The Israeli pilots nod. Each of the 12 pilots were drawn from the Israeli Air Force's Squadron 69, also known as the Hammer Squadron, one of the best squadrons in the IAF. They had been selected to fly the combat debut of the first Terran built starfighter.
Following the retreat of the Separatist from Terra, the newly established Terran Joint Command had all agreed that it was of paramount importance to design their own starfighters and bombers. However, given their lack of experience designing starfighters, they recognized that a new design would take a long time to get into service. So, while aircraft manufacturers begin design work on starfighters and bombers for the Terran Starfleet, the Joint Command had decided, in the interim, to convert several existing designs into space capable variants. So, they had issued a competition, with the end result being the acquisition of four new spacecraft: one space superiority fighter, two multirole fighters, and a bomber. At the same time, they ordered a number of A-10 Warthogs to undergo conversion to enable them to operate in space, and to have new ones put into production.
After extensive comparison, votes from member nations, and analysis of updated designs, The Joint Command has selected the Russian built Su-27 Flanker for conversion into the Terran Starfleet's first space superiority fighter, the American built F-15E and F/A-18 for conversion to multirole starfighters, and the American B-1B for conversion to a space capable bomber.
A few months earlier, in November 1992, the first SF-15E, known as the Space Eagle, rolled off the assembly line. Then, just a month ago, the first Su-36, the starfighter version of the Su-27, rolled off the assembly line. The starfighter variant of the F/A-18 and the starbomber version of the B-1 are still in productions
The Israeli pilots from Squadron 69 will be flying SF-15Es, and will be flying a special strike mission to destroy the sensors and damage the Separatist ships over Lola Sayu to prevent them from interfering in the retreat. The rest of the Volgograd's pilots will be on standby to prevent any attempt by the Separatists to interfere with the mission.
(Short time later, Lola Sayu)
Adams feels his senses returning to him. He stumbles forward and opens his eyes. Glancing around at his surroundings, he sees that he's now on Lola Sayu.
Glancing behind him, he sees the three SEALs trying to regain their bearing. He walks over to them and says, "Come on, men. Shake it off." The men groan as they try to regain their bearings.
Right then, Adams hears behind him, "It's Ahsoka's hearing that needs help."
Turning around, Adams sees, to his surprise, Ahsoka standing near Anakin, saying, "I received orders to join the mission. I thought you knew."
"Orders? From who?" Anakin demands.
"I discussed it with Master Plo," she says.
"He didn't tell me," Anakin points out.
Deciding to save Ahsoka from her master's anger, Adams steps forward and says, "Chill, Skywalker. You were already in carbonite. I saw her come over right before I got frozen." Backing up their commander, the SEALs nod in agreement, despite the fact they know otherwise.
Anakin narrows his eyes, but sighs and gives up on this argument for the moment. He orders everybody to gear up.
Within a minute, the clones and SEALs are ready to go. They set off along the path up ahead. Anakin stays behind for just a second to give R2 instructions, then follows the rest of them.
After a short hike along the path cut out of the cliff, their target comes into view. Anakin signals for them to stop, then pulls out a pair of binoculars.
"I see the entry point," Anakin says.
"You were right. The wind conditions are too strong for jetpacks," Cody says.
"Yes. We'll have to do it the old-fashioned way, with ascension cables and a steel grip," Obi Wan says.
"I don't think so," Anakin says.
"What do you mean?" Obi Wan asks him.
"Electro mines. There's nowhere to put a grappling hook at that height, and if we hit one of those, the mission's over. They'll know we're here," Anakin says.
"Well, then. I guess we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way," Adams says.
The team makes their way over to the cliffs and starts climbing. Two of the SEALs, Collins and one named Josh Peterson, both of whom are experienced rock climbers, quickly leave the rest of the team far behind.
"Slow down you two!" Adams calls up to them.
"Sorry, Captain! Can't help it if we're faster than you!" Collins says as he keeps climbing. Adams just rolls his eyes in response.
The two SEALs reach the top first. They're about to climb onto the platform when they hear a sound. They duck down just as a droideka rolls out onto the platform, followed by a pair of B2 battle droids.
The SEALs signal for the rest of the team to stop. They wait patiently, trying to resist shooting the droids, until they finally go back inside. The SEALs glance up, and see the door get locked by a ray shield.
"There's a ray shield protecting the door!" Collins calls down to the team.
"Ray shielded? That wasn't the plan!" Anakin calls.
"Well, it is now," Peterson responds.
Ahsoka glances further up, and says, "There's an opening further up!"
"We know! They're ventilation ducts. But they're far too small for us to gain access," Anakin responds.
"Too small for you, maybe, but I think I can squeeze through," Ahsoka responds.
"Well, we hadn't planned on Ahsoka being here. Perhaps she's right," Obi Wan says.
Without waiting for an answer, Ahsoka begins leaping up towards the entry point. Removing the cover from the duct, she manages to squeeze her way through, then down into the hallway, where she turns off the ray shield.
The rest of the team begins making their way up onto the platform. The SEALs help the clones up onto the platform.
However, as the last clone is about to reach for Collins' hand, his foothold breaks away from the cliff. Collins lunges for his hand, but just misses.
"Charger!" Fives cries, but it's too late. Charger falls down the cliff until he is caught in the field of one of the electro mines, which detonates, frying Charger.
"Well, they knew we're here" Obi Wan says as alarms start to go off.
"Let's move!" Adams orders. The strike team hurries into the Citadel, knowing their time is now even more limited.
"Take out their surveillance!" Anakin orders as they make their way down the halls.
Several of the clones fire at surveillance cameras. Other cameras that have a blaster in them fire back. A short shoot out ensues, in which the clones destroy all the cameras while taking no hits.
Suddenly, there's a strange sound, and a web of electricity appears down one hall, making its way towards the team. "The walls are electrified!" Cody says.
"Move!" Adams shouts.
Every member of the team runs for cover. One clone, Longshot, is a little behind, but is yanked to safety by Woods at the last moment.
"Thanks, man," Longshot says, a little surprised by how close he came to death.
"We must keep moving!" Obi Wan orders. The entire team follows Obi Wan down the hallway.
Slowly, they make their down hallways, constantly on alert for enemies. Finally, they reach a cell where they think Master Piell could be.
Cody opens the door, and Fives, Echo, and Woods storm in, blasting the three commando droids in the room. Woods then turns his assault blaster on the interrogation droid and blasts it in the face.
The rest of the team hurries in behind them. "Secure the entrance," Anakin says. He then walks up to Piell and uses his lightsaber to destroy the device that is suspending Piell within an energy shield.
Obi Wan catches Piell and lowers him to the ground. "Master Piell, are you all right?" he asks.
"Obi Wan. What took you guys so long?" Piell asks.
Anakin chuckles a bit and says, "At least your sense of humor is still intact," as he helps Piell to his feet.
"It takes more than they got to break me, young Skywalker," Piell says. He then turns to Obi Wan, who is holding out Piell's lightsaber. Piell takes the lightsaber and secures it to his belt.
"So, you have the coordinates for the Nexus Route?"Anakin asks.
"I got them, all right. Half of them, anyway," Piell says, He then turns around to face Obi Wan, Anakin, and Adams and says, "My captain's got the other half. I erased the computers when we were boarded and had both of us memorize part of the intel. That way, if somehow I cracked, the information would be useless to them without the other half."
"So, where's this captain of yours?" Adams asks.
"Being held with the other officers, I assume," Piell says.
"We're going to need a new plan for getting out," Anakin says. Obi Wan and Adams both nod in response.
The team, along with Piell, hurries out of the cell and begins making their way down the halls.
As the team rounds a corner, they hear something up ahead. A moment later, three commando droids spring into view, weapons ready. Then, three more leap into view behind them.
"SEALs!" Adams orders.
Smirking, Collins, who is facing the three in front of them, and Woods, who is facing the ones behind them, raise their assault blasters, which have M203 grenade launchers attached to them. The two SEALs fire their grenade launchers, and the explosions destroy the commando droids.
Echo whistles and says, "D***. I want one of those for my blaster," he says.
Adams looks around, making sure there are no more enemies. Then, he glances up, and sees something on the ceiling. Narrowing his eyes, he raises his assault blaster and fires it rapidly at the ceiling, shattering several devices on the ceiling. He then lowers his assault blaster, not hearing the prison commander's scream of rage in the command center at the destruction of the device that could have relieved them of their weapons.
Then, four commando droids come into view, two in front and two in back. Adams reacts with cool efficiency, slinging his assault blaster onto his back and pulling out his lightsaber, igniting it and sweeping it through the chest plates of the two droids ahead of him. Piell and Ahsoka activate their lightsabers and destroy the droids behind them.
"Let's keep moving," Adams says.
The team makes their way to another block of the prison, finding the cell where they believe the officers are being held. The four Jedi and Adams kneel down in front of the door to the cell and ignite their lightsabers. Obi Wan and Anakin then stab their sabers through the door, and quickly cut through the door. The door opens, and Ahsoka leaps in, taking down the second commando droid in the cell, given that the first had been destroyed by Anakin's saber when it was stabbed through the door.
Piell, Obi Wan, and Adams hurry into the cell. On one of the benches, Captain Tarkin stands up and says, somewhat in relief, "General."
"Captain Tarkin,' Piell says in greeting.
"I never thought I'd see you again. And you brought friends," Tarkin says as Piell walks up.
"Tarkin, this is Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, as well as Colonel Adams of the Terran ASAT team," Piell says to introduce the leaders of the team.
"Now that you've found us, how do you expect to get us out? If they've locked this fortress down, there's at least ten squads on their way. It's going to be impossible to escape," Tarkin says with concern.
"Nothing me and my SEALs haven't handled before," Adams says, drawing a raised eyebrow from Tarkin.
"What if we split up? My team will create a diversion, while Anakin leads the others away. That way, if one of us is captured, the enemy will only have half of the information," Obi Wan says.
"Genera Kenobi, I think it's better if we stick together. A stronger force would have a better chance of protecting the information," Tarkin protests.
"Not in this situation," Obi Wan responds.
"But surely we'd have more strength in numbers, rather than divide us," Tarkin protests.
"Obi Wan has a point. I'll go with him. You go with Skywalker," Piell says.
"I'll accompany you, Kenobi. My SEALs will go with General Skywalker," Adams says.
Obi Wan, Piell, and Adams take off with some of the clone officers from the cell, as well as Cody and Longshot. As they run, Cody and Longshot set some charges against the wall of the hallway they're running down.
As they keep running, a number of B1 droids spot them running. The droids try to chase them, but Cody sets off the explosives, destroying several hallways, as well as the pursuing droids.
Meanwhile, Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex, Fives, Echo, the SEALs, Tarkin, and the rest of the clones rescued from the cell are making their way down another hallway. Anakin, using a projection of the area, finds the right spot in the wall, then activates his lightsaber. He stabs his saber through the wall and cuts a circle out of the wall.
"Everybody in," Anakin says. Fives and Echo push the circle of metal out of the wall, opening a hole through to the outside. Everyone clambers through the hole and out of the Citadel.
As they get outside, Echo says, "This is one of the original fortress tunnels. The advantage of old archive data."
Up ahead, Ahsoka, who went up to scout a bit ahead, calls back, "The tunnel's clear!"
"Looks like Obi Wan's distraction worked. Things seem to be going as planned," Anakin says.
"It's when things do not go as planned that concerns me. What then?" Tarkin asks.
"As we say in the SEALs, 'Adapt, Improvise, Overcome'," Collins says to Tarkin, who glances at him and the other two SEALs.
"Just trust me, Captain Tarkin. We have this handled," Anakin says.
"I reserve my trust for those who take action, General Skywalker," Tarkin says.
Anakin stops walking, then says, "Then let me remind you, we rescued you back there. And I reserve my trust for those who understand gratitude, Captain Tarkin." He then walks off, leaving Tarkin behind.
"Tarkin sure has his head up his ***," Peterson mutters to Woods.
"No kidding," Woods responds as the SEALs follow Anakin, as Echo and Fives fit the circle cut out of the wall back into place, to hide where they got out.
And, I'll end there. I hope you liked this chapter.
So, we got an introduction to America's first starfighters, the SF-15E and the Su-36. They're basically slightly enlarged version of the F-15E and the Su-27, capable of space flight, and equipped with laser cannons on their wingtips. Then, there's the SA-10, which is basically an A-10 that can take off in space, and in a similar manner to starfighters. We'll see them in action soon enough.
For those who don't know a ton about air forces, and specifically the Israeli Air Force, Squadron 69, or the Hammer Squadron, is one of the best squadrons in the IAF. Some people even refer to them as the Special Forces of Israeli fighter pilots.
Next chapter will be up by the end of the week. Until then, leave a review, and stay tuned!