AN: hello people a new chapter this one surprised me I never thought it would have been so short, I hope you all enjoy
Disclaimer: You all know the drill, I own only my OCs
special thanks to Mandalore the Freedom for beta reading this
(Chapter 14 The Siege)
Daniel stood on the wall overlooking the field that would soon be flooded with the Legion, the last five days went by so quickly it seemed, in that time they had built up their defenses and placed men in strategic areas on the wall. Caleb and the others hadn't returned from their mission up north, but Aaron refused to give up on his brother, fortunately the warriors promised by the Marquis and Garreth arrived in time, the Urku were lead by a warrior called Zhrine, and the Dramons were lead by Kalaham.
Zhrine was an Urku Warrioress, she stood at about 6'1, and wielded a double bladed sword similar to the Zhaboka used by the Zabraks on Iridonia, she was a quite individual and only spoke when spoken to, though at the battle meeting she did come up with a few suggestions to increase their efficiency in the defense. Such as mine the field with traps designed by the Urku, among other things.
Kalaham was the Dramon warrior, he was well respected by both the Urku's and his own people, not only was he renowned for his prowess on the battlefield but he also apparently invented primitive bombs without the use of Alchemy like the Legion, and used the Dramons ability to fly and drop them on the enemy a tactic that they'd be employing with some of the more advanced ordinance built by Alpha, some of the things that AI could build really terrified the young Jedi, he offered to build a thermonuclear warhead… Let's just say that they managed to talk him out of that after exchanging words at certain volumes due to surprise.
Daniel panned his head to the right and saw Vega on the other end of the wall looking scared out of his mind, Daniel sighed he knew exactly what was going through Vega's head, for it was the same for him when he first went to battle all those years ago, Daniel sighed he wished that Vega wouldn't have been fighting at this age, his eyes narrowed in anger that's what happens when the Sith and those like them are allowed to thrive unabated, people are killed or they kill and lose their innocence, next to Vega was Rohkea who volunteered to stay with the boy during the battle, his Bowcaster at the ready, and at his side a falx built by the Sages that he took from the armory.
Daniel nodded to himself, they'd be fine, behind him stood Tanssi she had a spear that no human would ever be able to wield not even a force sensitive unless one were to wield it with telekinesis that is.
He turned his attention to the left and saw Auron standing alongside Aaron on the left flank, Auron had his eyes closed and he was breathing calmly his form of meditating before a battle, Aaron just fiddled with his rifle a bit, he had a short sword at his side as well.
Daniel nodded again and the rest of the crew that was here was in the tower armed with long range snipers and motors, all except the clones who had come up with some interesting tactics with the Dramons and were with the flyers now.
Daniel sensed something was approaching a whole lot of somethings, he turned his attention to the field and squinted to see if he could see it better, that's when he saw the legion marching through the tree line and approaching, their footfalls sounded like thunder as they got closer and was easier to hear without the foliage blocking the noise, Daniel activated his saber its yellow glow casting a light around him, he heard Vega activate his borrowed Sith saber as well its red light illuminating his section as well, then finally Auron activated his red blade as well, the three force users brought their blades up above their heads and held them there for a moment, the army drew closer as it came it appeared to pick up speed till they were running in a full sprint, Daniel saw no ladders among them but he knew that they weren't necessary for the Urku especially with their alchemically enhanced gauntlets that allowed them to climb most surfaces, after Daniel was satisfied he pointed his blade forward so that it was perpendicular to his body the other two following, as they did this several Dramons took flight carrying bombs and some carrying the clone troopers that stayed save for Blaze who was at the gate with Ju and the shards, ready to deal with the legion should they break through it, and Alpha who was in the tactical room overseeing the battle with Micah on the holo display.
The Dramons carrying the bombs dropped the ordinance and they exploded a few feet in the air and lit the battle field with the initial explosions being brighter than the sun with several screams of pain sounding from the Urku, than the clones began to rain fire down from their ever changing positions, "Enemy flyers!" Auron shouted, with that the clones turned their attention to the sky and shot at any incoming Dramons, Daniel looked over his shoulder at Tansii and nodded, she nodded as well and Daniel leap into the air, she took flight and he landed on her back, the young Jedi doused his saber, and pressed a switch on its handle, Daniel nodded to himself it was a new mechanism he came up with for his lightsaber, all a lightsaber blade is, is a blaster bolt thats sustained and contained to a meter long blade, Daniel had an epiphany about it a few days ago, he pointed his saber at an enemy Dramon and pressed the activation stud. A yellow beam of energy shot out from where the blade would have normally and struck its target, and it fell to the ground crashing into a group of enemy Urku who had the misfortune to be in the way.
"Hey it works." Daniel said as he fired another beam at an enemy Dramon, before tapping Tansii's shoulder three time as a signal, she nodded, And Daniel lept off her back and activated his saber's blade function and struck at the exposed parts of one of the Dramons armor before leaping to the next.
Auron shook his head at the display that Daniel was showing, "Show off." he muttered with a roll of his eyes, before several Urku climbed up the wall and to the top, Auron grinned and beheaded one of the enemy combatants, then pushed the others off the wall before they could get up sending them down with enough speed to crush their bodies when they hit the ground.
Aaron shot those that Auron missed, no bolt was wasted, it took about three shots each to down one warrior thanks to the armor they wore, he took his sword and stabbed one of them in the throat where the armor was weakest and kept that up blast those he could, stab those that got to close rinse and repeat
Vega and Rohkea handled their flank well, with Rohkea doing most of the work, Rohkea's bowcaster was far more powerful than the most blaster rifles and he would send enemy Urku flying due to the impact of the bolts.
Vega swung his red blade in an arc it connected with an Urku's neck and promptly severed his head from his shoulders, the boy paused for a moment, and time seemed to stand still, 'That was far too easy.' he thought to himself in surprise, this was the first time he'd taken a life if he was honest with himself he'd thought it'd have been more difficult, he shook his head it didn't matter now, these Urku were trying to kill them and they were at war it was either them or him and his second family so he chose the latter, Vega then turned and launched a push at another climber throwing him off the wall and onto the ground below.
After ten minutes the first wave was dealt with and Daniel landed back on the wall with Tansii and the other clones, "Woah." Daniel said as he caught his breath, "That was intense."
"Considering you were leaping from one flyer to the next, commander it's not surprising." one of the clones answered as he patted his shoulder.
Daniel nodded and looked over at Vega who was retching with Rohkea trying to help him, Daniel looked out over the field and saw an army their sitting in a camp, a true siege, "We have a bit of a respite I recommend we use it, will one of you take watch and let us know when they attack again?" he asked the clones, one of them nodded.
"I'll take first watch sir." he offered."
"Thank you Dah'um." Daniel said gratefully the clone now identified as Dah'um nodded, with that Daniel walked over to Vega's position, the boy was shaking, "Vega?" Daniel called catching the Wookie's and the boy's attention.
"Daniel… I can't." Vega tried to say.
"Vega, I know what you're going through right now, I went through the same thing my first time." Daniel told him, "No one your age should be in this predicament."
Vega nodded shakily, "Weren't you my age when you went to war?"
The elder Jedi nodded, "Yeah, and I killed their as well it's not an easy thing to deal with." he told him.
"The Separatist used Droids not flesh and blood." Vega retorted.
Daniel shook his head, "That's a common misconception Vega, the Sepies did in fact have live foot soldiers, mostly mercenaries but some of their citizens answered the call of duty and fought against us… I had the misfortune to fight against some of them on my second mission in the war… that was the first time I had taken someone's life, and I will have to live with that for the rest of my life, and now so do you, I'm so sorry." Daniel told him.
"I asked to be here." Vega affirmed shakily, "and I will see this through no matter the obstacle." Vega added, "we can start a support group after this."
"Deal." Daniel agreed, then he started to chuckle, "We're all messed up in some way aren't we?" he asked rhetorically.
"Yeah." Vega agreed, "we are, me with my status as an orphan, you with your daddy issues, and Auron with his… stuff, not to mention everyone else."
Daniel just laughed at that, "oh my… we really are messed up." he sighed, emphasizing the really.
"No wonder we get along so well." Vega mused.
"Yep." Daniel said and looked over the field again, "that first wave must have been a suicide run to clear the traps and to get our measure." Daniel mused.
Vega looked horrified at that, "What kind of general does that?"
"One who doesn't care about the lives of his troops." Daniel answered bluntly, as he narrowed his eyes his animosity towards the Dark Master growing, 'he reminds me of Krell.' Daniel mused to himself.
Rohkea growled something, "I know Rohkea, things are looking grim." Daniel agreed, "but hey so long as they don't attack thats a good thing we only need to wait two days, three at most for Rarok and the others to arrive."
Rohkea growled something else, "Seriously?" Daniel asked, "We can go three days without a proper meal Rohkea don't worry about it, if anything it's water we need be most concerned about." he told him, as he looked among the warriors standing by on the courtyard, "How much water can we spare for three hundred and forty people?" Daniel asked.
"I can use Sith techniques to sustain myself." Auron stated having butted into the conversation, "Can you sustain yourself with the force Daniel?" he asked.
Daniel nodded, "I have managed to push myself for ten days, yes." he answered, than turned to Vega, "I don't know about you though."
"Hey it's only three days right? how hard can it be?" Vega asked weakly.
"... It's going to be hell." Daniel stated and patted the boy on the shoulder, "But you'll be fine."
Vega just swallowed nervously, "Great." he muttered sarcastically.
(Location the dark master's fortress.)
The Dark Master sat on his throne in silence, his armored body giving nothing about him away to an outside observer they'd have no idea if he was awake, or asleep.
"My Lord?" The Grand Gul called out, "When shall we depart?" he asked respectfully.
For a long moment the figure sat still not moving nor answering the question at first the Grand Gul thought that his majesty was asleep, "When, my ultimate creation is ready." he finally responded.
The Grand Gul's eyes widened in surprise, "You mean...?"
"Yes… The Great Beast is nearly ready."
"After all this time," The Grand Gul said breathlessly, "you've been working on it since we conquered Mijorn."
"I know, I was there." the Dark Master said patiently, "I'm impressed though by the innovation that all you Guls had poured into it, the great beast is even better than I originally intended."
The Grand Gul was stunned by that, "I don't know what to say." he was proud that he made his master proud.
"How about nothing, and let's let our handiwork show us what it's capable of." the Dark King suggested, "Come four days from now."
"I look forward to it."
"As you should." The Dark Master stated then stood up, "I am going to see to the Great Beast's final preparations myself, together he and I will arrive and turn the tide of the battle in our favor."
"Uh the battle will go against us?"
"Briefly but it will be no problem, I want you to relay these orders, wait for a few hours let them drown in dread, then throw all the lesser warriors at them exhaust their supplies as well as their wills, then once that has been done to what you deem satisfactory, go in for the kill."
"And if they survive all that?"
"Then the survivors shall have the privilege of being the first to witness the might of the Great Beast."
(Location Mugg Fallows orbit)
Rarok sighed, "Okay tell me again what is wrong with that ship?" he asked into the comm.
"According to our instruments everything is in working order, but we can't activate the ship's systems for some reason."
Rarok frowned thoughtfully, the Chiss had sent several repair teams to help with getting all the ships in working order the one Rarok was talking with now was trying to get a Rakatan ship to work, "I'll be right over." Rarok told the engineer, then he called up the people with him, "Nuru, Uriah, Breaker I will be on another ship helping the team there."
"Alright then." Nuru responded, "we'll stay here and get the ship up and running."
"Sounds good, I'll be back." With that Rarok cut off the connection, he walked to the airlock, made sure his armor was sealed, then exited the ship, he used his jetpack to maneuver through the debris field and found himself rapidly approaching the ship on his HUD, he flipped and landed on the hull and made his way into the ship.
The engineer was looking at the readouts on his datapad when he heard footsteps approach, he turned to see Rarok enter the bridge, "Ah you're here."
"Yeah, so what is the problem?" Rarok asked.
"As I told you we're not sure, everything's in working order or at least appears to be." the Chiss explained.
Rarok hummed in thought, he walked up to the console and it came to life much to the engineer's surprise.
"What did you touch?"
"Nothing I just walked up to it and it activated." Rarok stated confused but was grateful that the problem was settled.
"It must be genetic." the engineer hypothesized.
"Like only the people with a certain genetic marker can activate the ship's systems?"
"That's what I'm thinking." the chiss confirmed.
"I see." Rarok nodded, "I'll help you out here then."
"Thank you."
Rarok looked at the Chiss for a moment, "Have you ever encountered the far outsiders?" he asked him as he went about activated the ship's systems.
The engineer looked up from his data pad for a moment, "I haven't, but my sister has." he answered.
"What can you tell me about them?" Rarok asked.
The engineer pursed his lips in thought, "They are dangerous, we believe that they come from beyond the galactic borders, they use organic technology, and they have powerful ships… That's all I really know."
"I see." Rarok said.
"My sister was captured by them." the engineer added.
"... My condolences."
"It's why I became an engineer to develop tech to fight these aliens."
Rarok nodded, "Good on you, let's get this ship up and running and maybe one day we'll give these extra galactic invaders what's coming to them."
"Sounds good to me." The Chiss smiled slightly, with that the two completed their work and Rarok made his way back to the airlock.
"... Rarok?" Breaker called over the comms, Rarok paused it sounded like the man was distraught.
"Yes Breaker what is it?" Rarok answered.
"We failed sir, we couldn't suppress the urge." The Clone managed, Rarok could tell that the man was struggling with his emotions.
"Nuru? Uriah?" Rarok asked, hoping that the clones hadn't killed them.
"They're dead sir."
Rarok felt like something hit him in the gut at that and he swallowed a lump in his throat, yet despite this he had a strange feeling that not everything was as it seemed, "I'm on my way." Rarok double timed it to the airlock and launched himself out of it, determined to get back to the ship and get to the bottom of this.
AN: I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
see you next time in the Siege part II