Hey, everybody. Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th be with you!
So, to celebrate May 4th, and the release of the final episode of the Clone Wars show, I decided to release this chapter. I hope you like it.
Also, let's just take a moment to celebrate the closing of an era. I think the final episode of Clone Wars was a great way to end the series, and definitely gave us closure. I'm somewhat glad I didn't wait to finish the first story until the season was over, because I don't think I could have done it justice.
Let's get to it.
Guest DCDGojira: If I do it, I'll let you know when it's coming.
Divine Protector of Skyrim: How I understand it based on research I've done is that, technically, you can jump to hyperspace within a gravity well. However, because it's so dangerous, for obvious reasons, every hyperdrive system has a safety device that will drop the ship out of hyperspace as it approaches a gravity well. The Terrans are researching how to push that safety limit closer and closer to the source of a gravity well. I think how Han did his jump into Starkiller Base's atmosphere is he disabled the safety device. At least, that's my opinion.
1049: Yes, Ezra will meet his old friends again.
RandomFanAuthor: I'm somewhat obsessed with all things military. I've read so many books and articles and watched so many documentaries, it's given me a crazy extensive knowledge of all kinds of things related to the military. Plus, I have a good imagination. As for what inspired me to write this, I saw some other fanfictions that dealt with Earth being involved in Star Wars, and I thought I'd write my own series about it. So, I planned it out for a while, then started writing.
Peter Hong Kong: I'll get back to you on in-space speeds.
Guest221: I think I'll stick with history and have Trump become President. And I may do a chapter from the POV of Imperials.
Guest: I have a different plan for a ship named Enterprise.
BlackWatcher1234: You'll get the first disaster mentioned in this chapter. And yes, it won't be all easy for the Terrans. I mean, the Empire did emphasize numbers over quality in almost every sense, while the Terrans heavily emphasize quality. Plus, they have a real talent for warfare. But, the Empire will get some victories over the Terrans.
Lorenzo Ferrari: There may be a battle with similar consequences, but given how space battles work and how the Battle of Midway played out, I can't actually do a battle like Midway. However, there will be a battle that ends in a similarly humiliating defeat for the Empire, and I'm talking before Endor.
Xbyt92: I'll get back to you when I figure that out myself.
Guest: The first story in the series is called "Rise of the Terran Alliance". Go to my profile, and you'll find it among my stories.
Chapter 19- Return to Mustafar
(February 10, 2014)
Plo Koon looks out the bridge of the Baltimore class Star Destroyer TAS Granite Mountain as the blue of hyperspace flies by. For the first time in years, Plo feels uneasy. This mission is going to be very important.
The last month and a half have not been the easiest for the Terran Alliance. Their initial momentum of surprise had continued to work for a short time, but it had started to peter out. Just two weeks earlier, on January 29, the Terran Starfleet had suffered its first defeat. A task force has been sent to intercept an important Imperial weapons convoy. Unfortunately, when they came out of hyperspace, they discovered it was a trap as interdictor cruisers began generating gravity wells, and they discovered a Bellator class dreadnought was with the convoy, as well as more Star Destroyers than expected. The Terran force of 3 Jutland class heavy cruisers and 6 London class Star Destroyers was beaten badly. The heavy cruisers Santa Cruz and Iwo Jima and the Star Destroyers Topeka, Donetsk, and Ashgabat were destroyed, and all the remaining ships were badly damaged. Thankfully, thanks to vicious attack runs by starfighter squadrons and a daring attack by the Star Destroyer Hong Kong destroyed the interdictor cruisers and allow the remaining vessels to escape. The battle, in which the only Imperial ships destroyed were the interdiction cruisers, was a total disaster for the Alliance.
The Empire had been greatly playing this up to raise morale among the Empire and demoralize rebels across the galaxy. The defeat had also undermined the soaring confidence of the Terran Alliance.
With that in mind, the Terran Joint Command had planned a truly daring mission. A mission to target Darth Vader in his fortress on Mustafar. Plo Koon and two members of the ASAT team, Colonel Alexander Gates and Captain David Ronen, had been sent aboard the Granite Mountain, which was accompanied by the London class Star Destroyer Sacramento, to travel to Mustafar to attack Fortress Vader and attempt to capture or kill Darth Vader.
"How much further?" Plo Koon asks the commander of the force, Rear Admiral Michael Noonan, an Australian.
"Only one parsec to go, Master Koon," Noonan says.
Plo nods and looks out of the viewport again. Right then, Colonel Gates and Captain Ronen walk up to him. "Master," Gates says.
"Are you ready for this, my young friends?" Plo asks.
"Never been more, Master Plo. I'm ready to see if we can finally bring this SOB to justice," Ronen says.
"This will not be easy. Darth Vader is strong with the Force, and good with a lightsaber. He will not be an easy opponent. He successfully held off Ahsoka Tano and General Hall," Plo says.
"Doesn't change it for us. We're still gonna give it our all. It's our duty," Gates says.
Plo chuckles a bit and says, "Even after all these years, you Terrans still amaze me."
The three of them remain silent for the next several minutes. Then, they hear Rear Admiral Noonan call out, "Master Koon, we'll be dropping out of hyperspace in a few moments."
Sure enough, just moments later, the Granite Mountain drops out of hyperspace, revealing Mustafar up ahead.
"Master Koon, take Colonel Gates and Captain Ronen down to the hangar bay. Your shuttle is waiting for you. You need to get going quickly. There's no telling how quick the Empire will be able to get reinforcements here," Noonan says.
Plo nods and immediately heads down towards the hangar bay, Gates and Ronen following close behind. It doesn't take long for them to reach the hangar, where they find their shuttle and twelve Su-36 Flankers ready to fly.
Plo and the two ASAT commandos board the shuttle. As soon as they're on board, the shuttle takes off and flies out of the hangar bay. The Su-36s take off and follow the shuttle out, forming an escort around the shuttle.
The shuttle and escorting fighters fly down into Mustafar's atmosphere. Four Flankers fly ahead to scout out the territory and test the defenses.
As the shuttle descends further towards the fortress, Plo walks into the cockpit, watching the two pilots at the controls. Then, he hears the radio activate, and one of the Flanker pilots calls out over the radio, "Nexu 1 to shuttle. We've flown around the fortress, and nothing. No TIE fighters, and no ground defenses have fired at us."
"It's a trap. He knows we're coming," Gates says from behind Plo.
"Yes, it is. But, we must press on. If we can capture or kill Vader, it could turn this war in our favor," Plo says. Gates nods, though he still looks a little uneasy. Plo knows it's not unease about facing Vader. It's unease about what kind of traps and surprises Vader might have prepared for them.
The shuttle descends towards Fortress Vader. As they approach, Plo gets a good look at the massive fortress. It is definitely a very imposing structure.
The shuttle flies in and lands on the landing pad on the outside of the fortress. The back opens up, and Plo, Gates, and Ronen hurry out, accompanied by 10 Sayeret Matkal commandos.
"Onward," Plo orders, and the team makes its way towards the fortress' entrance.
One of the Matkal sets a charge against the fmassive front door, blasting a hole through the lock. Plo then reaches out with the Force and pushes the doors open.
Plo leads the way into the fortress, lightsaber in hand. As he walks in, he feels the chill that lies over him grow stronger.
"This place is strong in the dark side," Plo says.
"I know. I can feel it," Ronen says. Ronen had originally been trained as a Jedi, but had been transferred into the ASAT team a few years ago after his skills with a lightsaber became clear.
"We must move," Plo says.
The team heads deeper into the fortress. Using the Force, Plo attempts to search for Vader by trying to search for the spots in the fortress where the dark side is strongest.
Finally, they reach a massive door that opens into a large room. By the design, it's a training room. One wall is open to the outside, with a good view of the Mustafar landscape.
Plo stops, the chill growing even stronger. "Tread carefully. He is close," Plo says.
Four Matkal take the lead, weapons raised. They move slowly and carefully across the pathway towards the center platform. The rest of the team follows close behind.
As the leading Israeli commandos reach the center platform, there's a great rumbling, and the door on the other side of the room begins to open.
All the Israelis aim their weapons at the opening door, and Plo, Gates, and Ronen draw their lightsabers.
The door rumbles open. When it opens all the way, two red robed Imperial guards race into the room. Instantly, the Israelis aim their weapons at the guards heads and fire. The guards try to dodge the bullets, but each one takes several bullets to the face, and they fall dead.
Four Israelis move towards the opening door. However, as they move forward, without warning, their assault rifles are yanked out of their hands and fly towards the opening door. A red blade materializes out of the light and cuts them apart.
Everyone tenses. Then, the light in the doorway seems to dim slightly, and Vader walks into the room, his red lightsaber held out in front of him.
Plo slowly walks towards him, Gates and Ronen following, lightsabers in hand. As they get closer, Vader says, "Plo Koon. After so long, you dared return?"
"Did you expect anything less, Lord Vader?" Plo says.
"No. I hoped you might one day return, so that I might strike you down myself," Vader responds.
Plo simply looks back at him before saying, "You were once a friend. I wish I did not have to do this, Skywalker."
"Anakin Skywalker is dead! And soon, you will be too!" Vader says angrily.
"Then I shall avenge him," Plo says.
"Revenge is not the Jedi way," Vader says.
"Well, as you demonstrated, sometimes it is okay to bend the rules a little," Plo says before he ignites his lightsaber. A split second later, Gates activates his green bladed lightsaber. A moment after Gates, Ronen activates his double-bladed blue lightsaber.
Ronen whirls his lightsaber around several times before charging at Vader. Vader waits to receive him.
Ronen leaps into the air and swings his saber down at Vader's head, but Vader easily blocks it. Ronen then swings the other blade of his saber at Vader's waist, but Vader easily blocks that too. Vader then strikes at Ronen, but Ronen blocks it with one of his saber's blades and forces Vader's saber aside.
Gates then charges forward and stabs his saber at Vader's chest, but Vader deflects the blade away. He then slashes at Gates' head, but Gates ducks and rolls to the side to avoid Vader's saber.
Vader then thrusts his palm out and send out a massive Force wave that knocks Ronen back as Ronen tries to strike at Vader again. Gates then gets back to his feet and tries to strike Vader again, but Vader restrains Gates using the Force and begins choking him.
Plo now leaps forward, swinging his saber at Vader's arm that is now outstretched. Vader pulls his arm back and blocks Plo's saber with his own, relinquishing his hold on Gates in the process.
Plo strikes at Vader several times, forcing him back a few steps. Plo shifts his position as he does so so that he's between Gates and Vader.
Plo slashes at Vader's neck, and Vader blocks it. As they struggle against each other, Vader says, "You are no match for me?"
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. But I think all of us are," Plo says. Right then, Ronen comes charging back into the fight, swinging his double bladed saber at Vader's head. Vader ducks under the blow, forcing Plo to leap back to avoid Ronen's saber.
Plo and Ronen face off against Vader. Right then, two more Imperial Royal Guards run into the room. Gates reignites his saber and charges to meet them as the Sayeret Matkal engage stormtroopers beginning to run into the room.
Gates begins exchanging blows with the guards, his lightsaber clashing against their force pikes. He soon finds himself on the defensive. While he's better than them individually, he's can't match two at once.
As Gates continues to engage the guards, Plo attacks Vader again. Vader easily deflects three blows from Plo before they clash with their lightsabers and struggle against each other. Vader forces Plo back with pure force.
Ronen charges to protect Plo, swinging his saber at Vader's neck. Vader blocks the blow and strikes back at Ronen, the two exchanging several furious blows.
As this is going on, Gates is still fighting the two guards. One of them manages to distract him and then kick him in the leg. As Gates stumbles back, the other guard swipes at Gates' right hand, the hand holding his lightsaber, taking it off.
Gates cries out in pain, but doesn't give him. As the guard that kicked him tries to stab his force pike at Gates' head, Gates ducks under it and rolls, grabbing his lightsaber with his left hand. He then activates it and uses it to cauterize the stump of his right hand to stop the bleeding.
He then turns to face the guards and smirks. "There's something you guys should know. I'm ambidextrous," he says. He then launches forward, slashing at the guard who cut off his hand.
At the same time, Ronen is thrown on his back by a Force wave from Vader. Ronen deactivates his saber before flipping himself back onto his feet and reigniting his saber. He then charges and slashes at Vader again, with Vader deflecting his blow. Plo then attacks, slashing fiercely at Vader and forcing the Sith Lord back.
Right then, across the room, the leader of the Sayeret Matkal commandos, Major Jeremiah Cohen, guns down another stormtrooper. As he does, his radio comes to life, and he hears the voice of Rear Admiral Noonan say, "Major Cohen, you need to get Master Koon, Colonel Gates, and Captain Ronen out of there, now!"
"Why, Admiral? What's wrong?" Major Cohen asks.
"We have company!"
(Orbit)
Noonan grasps the control panel as another explosion rocks the ship. A small fleet of 9 Imperial and Tector class Star Destroyers had jumped out of hyperspace just a minute ago and engaged the two Terran warships. The Granite Mountain and Sacramento had engaged the Imperial ships, and successfully destroyed the two Tector class Star Destroyers in the fleet. Unfortunately, the Sacramento had only moments ago succumbed to vicious turbolaser fire and an attack by TIE bombers, leaving the Granite Mountain alone against 7 Imperial class Star Destroyers.
Noonan was a little worried. Although the Granite Mountain was a Baltimore class Star Destroyer and was far superior to the Imperial class, he was worried about going solo against 7. And, at the same time, he watches as landing shuttles start peeling away from the Imperial ships and heading towards the planet.
"Get them back to the shuttle and get out of there! There are troop landing ships heading towards the surface! This was a trap! I'll send a few fighters and gunships down to cover you!" Noonan shouts over the radio before cutting the transmission.
(Mustafar)
Cohen turns around, right as Gates kills one of the Royal Guards by cutting off his head. Plo and Ronen are still fighting Vader, and as he watches, Vader manages to get under Ronen's guard and slash him across the side.
Ronen howls in pain as he stumbles back. Plo, determined to protect Israeli, presses his attack on Vader, forcing the Sith Lord back.
"Master Koon! We need to go!" Cohen yells. Right at that moment, two of the Matkal fire their assault rifles at the remaining Royal Guard. One bullet hits the Guard in the leg, causing him to stumble, allowing Gates to stab him through the chest.
Plo doesn't hesitate. He summons every bit of strength he can and forces Vader back. He then raises a hand and, for the first time in years, unleashes a bolt of Force judgement. The bolt doesn't affect Vader as much as he hoped, but it temporarily distracts him.
Plo grabs Ronen's hand and pull him away. Gates hurries after them as several Matkal commandos hurl smoke grenades towards Vader, hoping that the smoke might disrupt his breathing, or at least mask their escape.
"Are you okay, Alexander?"Plo asks Gates.
"I'll be fine, Master. But we need to get out of here fast," Gates responds.
Right then, they hear something outside. They look to the wall that is open to the outside, and see a pair of LAAT gunships come down. The Alliance still uses the LAAT, but now has modified variants they've produced themselves.
Everyone heads for the two gunships. One of them fires its nose mounted laser cannons towards Vader to keep him at bay, forcing Vader to retreat out of their firing range.
The team reaches the gunships and climbs aboard one of them. The gunships then take off and start flying up into the atmosphere to return to the ship. As they go, everyone inside can see several Su-36s flying around them, fending off marauding TIE fighters.
(TAS Granite Mountain)
Noonan watches as a CIWS battery near the bridge open fire, sending a stream of laser fire off to the port side and blasting one, then two TIE bombers apart.
"We need to get out of here! We need a gap in their line we can escape through!" Noonan orders.
As the weapons officers begin directing the ship's weapon towards just a few Star Destroyers to break their line, one of the other bridge officers calls out, "Sir, more ships entering the system!"
Noonan rolls his eyes and cruses under his breath. Then, the officer says, "Sir, they're friendly!"
Noonan whips his head towards the officer, then looks back out of the viewport. As he does, two Anzio class light cruisers drop out of hyperspace, followed a second later by the battleship TAS Bismarck.
Noonan smiles as the two cruisers and the Bismarck open fire. Within seconds, one of the Imperial Star Destroyers that's already been damaged begins to crumble under the withering fire.
"Press the attack and move towards the Bismarck as soon as the team is back aboard!" Noonan shouts.
Only a minute later, one of the bridge officers says, "Admiral! The team is back aboard!"
"Move towards the Bismarck!" Noonan orders.
The Granite Mountain turns towards the Bismarck and begins powering towards her. As she does, on board the Bismarck, Vice Admiral Robin Dhowan of India orders, "Target the fortress!"
The Bismarck's weapons officers finish charging the ship's bombardment cannons and begin aiming them at Vader's palace down on the surface. Only moments later, a weapons officer calls out, "Admiral, cannons aimed!"
"Fire!" Dhowan orders.
Seconds later, the Bismarck's four bombardment cannons fire. The blasts streak down into Mustafar's atmosphere and strike the fortress, obliterating the massive structure. Everyone watching feels a sense of satisfaction as the fortress vanishes under the powerful blasts.
Seconds later, another Imperial ship explodes under the heavy turbolaser fire, leaving a large gap in the Imperial line. The Granite Mountain immediately moves through the gap to rendezvous with the three other Terran ships.
"Let's get out of here," Noonan says.
Granite Mountain, Bismarck, and the two cruisers turn away from Mustafar. Their hyperdrive officers finish the calculations, and one by one, the four ships make the jump to hyperspace.
As they settle into hyperspace, in the hangar bay of the Granite Mountain, Plo allows himself to relax. The operation wasn't a victory, nor was it really a loss. They failed to capture or kill Vader, and they lost the Sacramento, but they were able to destroy Fortress Vader, and four Imperial Star Destroyers. While militarily it was a draw, the symbolic value of the destruction of Fortress Vader will definitely have a negative impact on the morale of the Empire.
(Mustafar)
The anger boiling inside Darth Vader is as fierce as the lava flowing across the Mustafar landscape as Vader stares at the ruins of his fortress. He was able to escape the fortress in time before the Bismarck destroyed it.
"The Terrans and their Jedi will die," Vader says. The Force bursts out of him in his fury, sending several stormtroopers that also escaped the fortress flying into a lava river.
Yes, the Terrans and their Jedi will pay. Vader will see them all dead at his feet.
And, I'll end there. I hope you guys liked this chapter.
So, things are not all good for the Terrans. They have suffered a loss, and this operation was kind of a tie. But, things will pick back up for the Alliance soon enough.
Next chapter will be up soon. Until it is, please leave a review, and stay tuned!