Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 13- Destroy the Legacy
"Copy that, Page," Jared says before deactivating his commlink. Jared then turns around to face the rest of the Rangers where they are seated in the seats lining the passenger bay.
"Alright, men. The Hammers have cleared the way for us and are hitting the compound now to wear down their defenses. The path is clear, and we should be in the the ground in no more than 3 minutes from now. Now, we don't know exactly what we're going to face once we get on the ground, but all of you have been trained to handle situations where adaptation is the rule of the game. You all can handle this, right?"
"Yes, sir!" the Rangers all call out.
Jared looks around at the platoon. "Lieutenant Franks, you, Sergeant Lawrence, and the machine gun squad will accompany me. Each of the three rifle squads will separate from us and cover additional ground. Any sign of resistance, you shoot to kill. If they show they wish to surrender, bind them and set them aside for transport off world after the mission has been completed. Call ins every few minutes to ensure that the whole platoon has full situational awareness. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" the Rangers all call out in response.
"Alright. Ready your gear. Touch down in 90 seconds!" Jared calls. The Rangers all start checking over their gear, ensuring that every weapon is battle ready and nothing is misplaced. As they are making their final check of their gear, Jared heads up to the front of the passenger bay, from which he can look into the cockpit.
Looking into the cockpit, he can see out of the front viewport, and sees the ground closing in. Watching how fast the ground is approaching compared to how close it is, Jared slowly counts down in his head. Finally, he turns back to the Rangers and calls out, "30 seconds! Ready up!"
The Rangers begin getting to their feet, grabbing hold of straps hanging from the ceiling to steady themselves as the shuttle descends the last little bit to the ground. Finally, the shuttle comes to a stop as its landing struts touch down on the ground.
"Clear!" the pilot shouts from the cockpit as the back of the shuttle opens up. Lieutenant Franks leads the way out. All of the Rangers hurry out of the shuttle, Jared bringing up the rear. The shuttle's back then closes, but the shuttle remains where it is, ready to take them off the planet when the mission is done.
Jared and the Rangers get their first look at the Dark Force's compound. A fairly large structure, several times larger than the biggest sports stadium on Earth. However, the outer walls are badly battered, and one corner of the place has been demolished by a stray bomb. Several small fires are burning around the edge, and several defensive towers around the perimeter of the compound are in ruins from bombs and strafing from the Hammers.
"Alright, team. We breach the front door and then separate into individual squads. Move it," Jared says as he draws and ignites his lightsaber. He then starts moving briskly towards the front doors leading into the structure, the Rangers following close behind him.
As the strike team reaches the front doors, Jared hurries up to the doors and stabs his saber into the doors, almost right in the center. Jared then slowly cuts out a circle out of the center of the doors, cutting through the massive bar keeping the doors shut. Jared then gathers up a powerful wave of Force energy before releasing it right at the doors, battering them open.
As soon as the doors open, the strike team spots two cultists on the other side. Immediately, two of the Rangers gun both of them down with quick bursts of rifle fire.
"Alright. The cult knows we're here. The faster we move, the less time they'll have to react and prepare for us. Let's move it, people," Jared says. The strike team moves briskly into the compound and then separates into their individual squads. The other three squads move into passageways off to the side while Jared leads his squad straight into the compound.
As the Rangers move into the compound, they know that the enemy has the terrain advantage, given they have no idea what the layout of this place is. However, they remain confident, knowing they certainly are the better fighters.
Heading straight through the center of the compound, Jared and his squad are on constant alert. In a move to protect Jared, knowing they need him to face Kadann, Jennifer Lawrence and the machine gun squad leader have moved in front of Jared, while Lieutenant Franks and the machine gun teams are covering him from behind.
As they move down a corridor, they can see it turns off to the side into an open space off to the left just up ahead. Jennifer slows down for a moment, taking one hand off her rifle while keeping her finger on the trigger. She then looks at the machine gun squad leader, a staff sergeant by the name of Alfonso Perez, and makes several hand signals to indicate the presence of the open space up ahead and their need to clear it. He nods to show he understands.
Jennifer and Sergeant Perez move carefully towards the open space, rifles at the ready. As they reach the corner, they pause briefly, look at each other and exchange a quick nod, and then make their move.
Jennifer and Sergeant Perez form up right on the corner, with Perez down on one knee and Jennifer standing behind him. Then, at a tap on Perez' shoulder, both of them whip around the corner, rifles aimed outwards. However, as they whip around the corner, they see no enemies immediately.
Jennifer steps out around Sergeant Perez, taking slow careful steps while aiming her carbine outwards. Her mind briefly flashes back to filming the sewer scene for the last Hunger Games film before refocusing on her task at hand. She moves a bit further into the space, which seems to be a rest area with a few tables and chairs scattered around. She's about to call it clear when a door on the far side of the space opens, and two cultists come rushing right through it. Taking this speedy advance through the door as aggression, Jennifer squeezes the trigger, putting three rounds through the chest of one of the cultists. She then shifts her rifle and puts three more rounds through the chest of the second. As they fall, she steps up to make sure that they're dead, then turns and says in a somewhat low voice, but loud enough to still be heard, "Clear."
Jared and the rest of the squad follow Jennifer and Sergeant Perez around the corner. "Smooth work, Sergeant," Jared says. Jennifer just nods in appreciation.
"Let's move," Jared says in a low voice, and the squad continues on their previous path, heading deeper into the compound.
Meanwhile, throughout the rest of the compound, the other three squads have begun engaging more cultists throughout the compound while also keeping their eyes out for any possible sources of intel that could be useful.
As the Rangers are carrying out their incursion, the Hammer Squadron is now circling over the compound. They have completely eliminated the warships and all fighters, as well as any ships on the ground they could see. They are now just waiting to catch anyone trying to escape from the compound, whether by foot or by air.
"This is anxiety inducing," Rick says over the radio to Jonathan.
"Just hold tight, Rick. Our part's mostly over. We just gotta trust Hansen and those Rangers to do their job," Jonathan responds, glancing towards Rick's fighter before looking back down at the ground. He then whispers to himself, "We aren't letting them get away, Jared. It's all down to you."
Down on the ground, Jared and his squad are moving quickly but carefully through the center of the compound. As they move through a door out of what looks somewhat like a mess hall, they see that the corridor leads to a large set of double doors. The squad slows down almost to a stop, and Jared says in a low voice, "This may be where their altar is in this place, just like back on Dromund Kaas. This may be the place. Be ready."
Franks nods and says, "Alright, let's breach."
"I'll handle that, you guys just be ready to fight," Jared says. He then moves up to the doors, putting his lightsaber away. He then raises both hands as he reaches out with the Force, grabbing hold of the doors as the Rangers from up on either side of the doors. Then, once he gets a nod, Jared pushes on the doors with the Force, forcing them open.
Jennifer and Sergeant Perez rush into the chamber, the rest of the Rangers following quickly. Jared follows them in as he draws his lightsaber again and ignites it. As he does, the Rangers are able to see a group of cultists gathered around an altar at the far side of the chamber. As they aim their weapons, they see the cultists start to turn towards them, all of them holding various weapons.
One of the two-man machine gun teams have already assembled their M240, and as soon as they see that the cultists are armed and ready to fight back, the gunner pulls the trigger. His partner keeps the gun fed while the gunner sweeps the M240 back and forth, sweeping his streams of bullets through the ranks of the cultists. The hall fills with the screams of the cultists as the bullets tear through their bodies. Their bodies fall like dominoes as the Ranger manning the gun stops firing.
However, one has survived. The Rangers look on in shock as one figure in the center of the group is standing perfectly still, his hand outstretched and dozens of bullets hanging in the air in front of him.
Jared narrows his eyes. He knows who this is. "Kadann," he mutters.
Kadann laughs a bit as he lets the bullets fall to the ground. He then pulls his hood back. "You may consider yourselves strong, but your strength is as naught before me."
Jared narrows his eyes as he steps forward. "Franks, Lawrence, cover my back. Make sure nobody else gets in here. Leave Kadann to me," he says firmly.
"Alright, Hansen. We've got your back," Franks says. He and Jennifer give Jared a quick affirming nod before they move backwards towards the door to cover them as Jared stalks forward, lightsaber held at his side at the ready.
"You could not defeat me before, Jedi. You will not defeat me now," Kadann says, igniting his own lightsaber.
"Last time, I let you get away from me. That won't happen this time. One of us dies today, and I don't plan on it being me," Jared says. He pauses as he settles into a more ready stance before he says, "Let's finish this."
Jared spins his saber once in hand before surprising Kadann by using the Force to throw the fallen weapons of the dead cultists at him. Kadann uses the Force to stop them from hitting him, but Jared takes advantage of this and charges at Kadann.
Kadann brings his saber up to meet Jared's, and the two sabers meet with a loud crackle. Jared holds Kadann at bay, slowly forcing the fallen Jedi backwards from brute strength. However, Kadann responds with a Force wave that sends Jared skidding back. He then throws his saber at Jared, but Jared leaps up and over it to avoid it. He then throws his own saber at Kadann, but Kadann ducks, sending the saber into the wall behind him. Jared then uses the Force to pull the saber out of the wall, and the saber spins back into his hand, forcing Kadann to duck again.
Kadann then attempts to release another Force wave, but Jonathan responds with a Force wave of his own. The two Force waves meet in the middle, struggling against each other. Jared and Kadann pour more power into their attack, but neither can overcome the other. Kadann feels a sense of shock. He had grown accustomed to being far more powerful in the Force than almost any other Force sensitive he had ever come across, and did not expect Jared to surpass him in terms of power.
Finally, the clashing Force waves cancel each other out, sending their energy out in all directions. Jared and Kadann are both flung apart, and even the Rangers are knocked down.
Jared and Kadann quickly manage to recover. Jared reignites his lightsaber and charges across the room, leaping up and bringing his saber down on Kadann. However, Kadann uses the Force to throw Jared aside.
Kadann sends the body of one of the fallen cultists flying at Jared, but Jared uses his saber to cut the body in two, sending the pieces to either side of himself. He then sends the pieces flying back at Kadann with the Force, but Kadann uses the Force to stop the pieces and crush them before throwing them aside.
Jared again charges Kadann, slashing his saber at Kadann's shoulder. Kadann easily brings his saber up to block Jared's strike. He deflects Jared's saber upwards and then tries to slash at Jared's hip. Jared manages to sidestep, Kadann's saber missing him by just two inches, then stabs his saber at Kadann's face, but Kadann blocks that blow as well.
Kadann tries to stab his saber down at Jared's foot, but Jared leaps up and over Kadann's head to avoid the blow. Kadann uses the opportunity to use the Force to send Jared flying up into the ceiling. However, Jared manages to flip himself around so he's flying up feet first, then uses the Force to cushion the impact. He crouches against the ceiling and then springs off of it, flipping rightside up and driving his saber down at Kadann, which Kadann dodges by rolling away.
Jared whips around, bringing his saber in front of himself to block an attempted strike by Kadann. He then whips his saber around and tries to bring it down on Kadann's shoulder, but Kadann blocks the strike. He forces Jared's saber back and then pulls his away, following it up with a stab right into Jared' stomach. Jared manages to block it at the last second and force it aside.
Kadann raises his hand, summoning a fierce wind with the Force that forces Jared to stumble back. Kadann strikes at Jared with his saber, but Jared easily blocks the blow.
As the two struggle against each other, Kadann gives Jared an evil smirk. "You stubbornly believe the light is stronger, but you deceive yourself. Darkness will always be stronger, and I am one of the strongest beings with the Force in the galaxy! You will never overpower me!"
"Maybe," Jared concedes. He then smirks as he says, "But tactics can overcome brute strength." Jared then raises a foot and kicks Kadann in between his legs.
Kadann gasps and stumbles back in pain. Jared lunges at him, slashing down at Kadann. Kadann blocks the blow, but Jared follows it up with three rapid, powerful strikes, not relenting to give Kadann a chance to breathe or recover. Then, he brings his saber up above his head and swings it down towards Kadann's head.
Kadann brings his saber up horizontally to block Jared's strike. As Jared pushes down against Kadann, Kadann tries to hold him back, still in pain from Jared's kick. Then, Jared summons all of his enhanced Force agility as lets up the pressure on Kadann a bit before he leaps up slightly and back flips in place. As he flips back, he kicks Kadann's wrist upwards, forcing his saber up. Finally, he completes his flip, he slashes his saber upwards, cutting across Kadann's shoulder, neck, and the side of his face.
Kadann falls backwards with a scream of pain. Jared moves to stand over him and looks down at his fallen enemy. "You were wrong, Kadann. No darkness, no matter how powerful, can extinguish light completely. Light will always prevail," Jared says triumphantly.
Kadann looks up at Jared with hate, and Jared sees him start to open his hand to unleash a Force attack. However, Jared is too quick, and before Kadann can release his attack, Jared brings his saber up and then stabs it down through Kadann's heart. Kadann gasps as the saber enters his body. He looks up at Jared with one last look of hate before his eyes glaze over and he takes his last breath.
Jared slowly pulls his saber out of Kadann's body, staring down at his defeated opponent. As he does, he feels a mix of emotions run through him, but the overarching feelings is one of success, knowing that a powerful force of darkness has been removed from the galaxy. And with luck, the Dark Force will begin to fragment without Kadann.
After several long moments, Jared hears, "Major. Major." He turns around and sees the Rangers all looking at him.
Lieutenant Franks, the one who spoke, says, "We'd better get going, Major. The other squads have almost finished searching the compound.
"Understood. Let's go," Jared says. He then slowly walks out of the room, the Rangers following behind him. Jennifer uses a camera to take photos of the bodies, especially Kadann's body, to save some confirmation that Kadann is dead, while the machine gun squad leader leaves some grenades around the altar. As they leave the room, the grenades go off and destroy the altar, which Jennifer also snaps a photo of before she turns to follow Jared and her squad.
Jared and the squad make their way back to the entrance, being the first squad to make it out of the compound. Soon enough, the other three squads come out of the compound. One of the Rangers has a bandage on his arm where he got hit with a blaster bolt.
"Corporal, you alright?" Jared asks as he approaches the wounded Ranger.
"Yes, Major," the Ranger says firmly.
"Here, unwrap the bandage real quick," Jared says. Confused, the Ranger only hesitates for a moment before he unwraps the bandage.
Jared looks at the wound. Thankfully, it is pretty minor. It seems like the blaster bolt just grazed his arm. Drawing on lessons from a holocron as well as things he had learned on his own, Jared reaches out and places his hand on the Ranger's arm, right next to the wound. Then, to the shock of all of the Rangers, the young man's wound seems to heal before their eyes as Jared puts a little bit of Force energy from himself into the young man.
As Jared finishes and pulls his hand away, the Ranger flexes his arm around a bit in shock. He looks at Jared and asks, "How the hell…?" Jared just smiles and taps the side of his nose before turning and walking back towards the shuttle. The Rangers all look at each other in stunned silence before they recover from their shock and follow him towards the shuttle.
As they all board the transport, Jared gets on his commlink. "Page, this is Hansen. We have all cleared out and have boarded the shuttle. You are clear to destroy the compound."
"Copy that," Jonathan says. He then wings over and starts diving towards the compound.
As the transport lifts off, the Hammer Squadron starts their attack runs on the compound. Using what bombs and torpedoes they have left, the Squadron soon levels what remains of the compound. As Jonathan drops the last bomb on the structure, he pulls around and forms up on the transport, the rest of the Squadron forming up around the shuttle as well.
"This is Hammer 1 to shuttle. Compound is destroyed. Let's go home," Jonathan says over the radio.
"Copy that, Hammer 1. Preparing for hyperspace jump," the shuttle pilot responds. The shuttle pilot and each of the Hammers finish programming their hyperdrives, and once they get beyond Bosthirda's atmosphere, they finally make the jump to hyperspace back to Naboo, leaving behind the ruins of the Dark Force and Darth Millenial's legacy.
And, I'll end the chapter there.
I hope you liked the action against the compound and Jared's duel with Kadann. I really wanted to establish how powerful and tactically minded Jared is to establish him as a powerful Jedi, for reasons you'll see soon enough.
Alright, we are coming to the end of this story. Next chapter will wrap up this story. Until it gets up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!