It's time. I welcome you all... to Mandalore. Good luck troopers. And as always. May the Force be with you.
(Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy this Chapter. We're coming close to the end of the first part of this story!)
Kittani settled into the cockpit of her fighter. The simulations under Master Kenobi on the Sundered Heart and extensive training under Master Skywalker had made her flight worthy. She watched as the ground crew finished final checks and, for a moment, caught her reflection. So much had changed in the months after the temple. She was forever changed by what she had seen. All that remained of the past were the gold tattoos that rested across the bridge of her nose, her only reminder of life before the Jedi, and her padawan braid, which was now a little longer. She was about to fly in her first combat flight mission against the Mandalorians.
Gant, her closest friend, snapped her from her thoughts. "Kittani, are you ready for this?" He asked. His voice was filtered by their comms.
"As ready as I can be." She said, "And, a bit nervous. I've never flown like this before."
Gant nodded, "I haven't either, not in combat." "But, our Masters trust us, and I trust them." He added. "And I trust you too, I know you'll have my back. And I'll have yours too!"
Kittani smiled softly at that reassurance. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Just don't make me have to save you."
"Alright, that's enough chatter. Finish up your pre-flight lists and get those engines spun up." Master Skywalker's voice came in over comms. It vibrated with the energy of the force, and Gant's words rang true in her mind.
"Understood, Master Skywalker." She replied. Checking over her instruments one last time, she allowed the force to wash over her, committing herself to its guidance for the coming battle.
All was well.
With the checks completed, she began her startup procedure. The engines on her Eta II spun up, the whine replacing any voice of doubt left in the air.
"Three minutes till we exit hyperspace, all units report to their transports, all starfighters get ready to launch." Came the Captain's voice. And into the general quarters, she went.
The hangar boss directed their starfighters into position. Master Skywalker and Master Kenobi lined up first, followed by Ahsoka, herself, and Gant. She carefully hovered her fighter into place.
"Alright everyone, our job is to get in there and cause as much chaos as we can." Master Skywalker said. "The more we take down, the less that can face our bomber wings and the sooner we win this battle."
"Gant, Kittani, don't get too caught up in the fighting. Watch your back, lead your targets, and cover each other. It'll be messy out there." Obi-Wan added in.
"Understood, Master." Kittani said. Then the vibration of the Venator exiting hyperspace hit them all, a slight thrum through the deck as the hyperdrive engines stopped and the regular drive engines took over. Within moments, the hangar door yawned open overhead.
"This is where the fun begins." She heard Master Skywalker say over their comms. "Let's go, everyone!"
The row of Jedi fighters in front of her lifted off. Kittani mirrored them, applying throttle to her starfighter as they climbed out of the Venator and into the open vacuum, making way for more fighters to launch. Master Skywalker led their V formation into a climb to get them above the Venator. Off to Kittani's left was Mandalore itself. In the distance, as the fleet closed with it, Kittani could barely make out the visual form of the space station, the smaller form of other ships around it.
"Target spotted." She reported in. "Can't see much from it, but there's definitely several ships around that station."
"We see it too." Obi-Wan said after a moment.
"Remember, stick to the plan. The fleet will engage their capital ships, the Liberation will handle that station. But first we're going to get our bombers in there to hit their shields." Master Skywalker replied.
The rest of the fighter squadrons filled the void around them as they closed the gap. Captain Shaak reported, "General Skywalker, we've detected that the station is already targeting its weapons at the Liberation, but we're outside its range. What're your orders?"
"Can the ship's shields handle that kind of beating?" He asked back.
"For a bit, General. Better than our escorts will at least."
"Then move in with the fleet, focus fire on that space station until we get the shields down. Have that SPHA charged and ready." Anakin said as the last of their squadrons settled into position.
"Alright, all wings, you know your roles! Get in there, hit them fast, and control the skies. Mission is a go."
Kittani pushed her fighter forward, opening up to full throttle as the engines screamed through the ship's hull. She took a calming breath, letting the force flow through her. She wouldn't take any joy in this battle, but Maul and his forces had to be stopped.
"Here comes the welcoming committee!" Gant called out, and Kittani could see the small forms of Deathwatch fighter craft closing in on them.
"Alright, let's go right at them!" Master Skywalker ordered.
Steeling herself, Kittani pushed her fighter as hard as it could go. The force flowed through her, working to keep her calm through all of the adrenaline. They closed with the enemy, neither group backing down as they approached. Kittani set her sights on one of the Fang class fighters closing with them, looking at its cockpit.
It was Master Skywalker's shout of "Now!" that pushed her to squeeze the trigger on her control sticks. Laser fire caused her cockpit to flash blue. Red laser bolts flashed past her. A fireball surrounded her as Kittani jinked hard to the right, her fighter nearly going inverted as the Mandalorian starfighter exploded. Several other explosions rippled around them as they pushed through the hairball. Her fighter shook from the shock waves.
She righted her fighter and pulled back hard on the stick, inverting her craft as she came around to give chase to the Mandalorian ship. The force of the maneuver pushed her into her seat, and she gritted her teeth to fight it. The Mandalorians had engaged the rest of the squadrons, creating a hairball of screaming fighters and laser cannon fire.
Kittani picked out another Fang and pushed forward on the throttle to close the gap. She opened fire. Her cockpit flashed blue again. She scored another hit. Smoke and flames trailed from the fighter as it shuddered. Just as she was about to fire again, the force screamed at her in warning. She juked hard to the left, barely dodging cannon fire from another Fang above and behind her.
"I could use a hand here!" She called out, rolling hard to dodge another stream of fire.
"I've got you." Came Master Kenobi's voice. Within moments, she saw the streak of his fighter as he shot past her, an orange flash behind her as her pursuer was shot down.
"Thanks Master." She voiced her relief. Taking a deep breath, Kittani pushed her fighter back into the fight. They had to get those bombers through.
Anakin couldn't help but smirk slightly as he cleaved through two more Death Watch fighters with his laser cannons. Gant and Ahsoka had followed him through the maneuver, each taking down their own targets and breaking up another formation targeting the bombers. "Good work, you two. Snips, Gant, how are you holding up?" He asked.
"I'm alright, Master!" Gant said, his voice clearly high-strung from the adrenaline of the fight. Anakin reached out to him through the force, calming him a little.
"Don't you worry about me, Skyguy. I'll be ready when you crash." Ahsoka quipped at him, joking.
Anakin rolled his eyes, "You just focus on your own flying, and I'll do just fine." He grinned as they looped around so he could get a read on the situation. "Alright, it looks like our own forces have engaged their fighters, settled back in with the bombers, let's get them to the target." He said. The other starfighter squadrons had all fully engaged the Fang fighters, a full-on furball happening in the space between the two fleets.
Their fleet and the Mandalorian capital ships began to trade shots as well, the two Munificent frigates hammering a Mandalorian cruiser with their heavy guns as the dreadnought led the other ships and focused on the lighter frigates that were closer. The Liberation's big guns spoke, bright blue turbo lasers streaking across the battleground to slam into the shields of the space station.
Kittani and Obi-Wan reformed with them, the flight of Jedi now all spreading out to shield the bombers from several angles. The Y-wing's defensive turrets were still firing as they held formation. "Alright, Liberation, can you get us a lock on that shield generator?" Anakin asked.
There was a moment of silence before the destroyer replied, "We've got it general, designating the target now." the Gunnery Officer responded. A target marker appeared on his flight computer.
"Alright R2, lock us onto that target." He said, getting his torpedo launcher ready. "Everyone, fire on my command." He stated. The station's point defense and flak greeted them, bolts of fire and explosions streaking past him as Anakin weaved in and out of the fire. The others around him started to evade as well.
His cockpit shook as one of the Y-Wings took a hit. In a flash, it was consumed by a fireball. The commander of the bomber squadron ordered his men to hold. Anakin's grip tightened over the trigger. The space station was close now, close enough to almost fill his cockpit window. The fire from the station picked up as two more Y-Wings went down, the gunners desperate to stop their attack.
Anakin fired a full spread of proton torpedoes at the target, his missiles launching away with the spread from the Y-Wings. Concussion missiles rippled from the Jedi fighters around him. Anakin broke off from the attack. "Missiles away, all Y-Wings, get back to the Liberation before you take any more losses, I want you in reserve." He barked.
He kept the space station just in view, watching as a few of their missiles were defeated, but there were too many for the station to stop. The missiles slammed into the station's area where the shield generator was, jets of fire and debris spilling into space as the atmosphere was vented from the station. The ray shield flickered, then faded away.
"Good effect on target!" Anakin called out. "Alright, LIberation, that space station is all yours." He called.
Captain Shaaq replied over the comms. "Understood General, thanks for opening the way for us. Alright, Gunnery Officer, write our name on the hull."
Anakin turned his fighter so he could watch the fireworks. In the distance, a flash of blue light shot from the Venator's underside, streaking across space like a giant lightsaber blade. The impact on the space station was devastating. The beam slammed into the station's hull, ripping through it and blowing out several viewports; explosions rippled across its surface as more atmosphere was vented, huge gouts of fire going with it. Then, Anakin watched as a portion of the space station deformed for a moment, then exploded with violence that told him the reactor had finally gone off. The station listed at an unhealthy angle, and Anakin could already see that its orbit would deteriorate and pull it toward Mandalore's surface.
He breathed, feeling the wave in the force that such death and destruction had caused. "Alright, let's form up with the landing force, everyone. We've got a fight to-"
"Watch out, debris!" Obi-Wan shouted, the force having warned him an instant sooner than the others as an unexpected debris field pushed by the shock wave washed over them. Anakin maneuvered hard, dodging the largest chunks.
"I'm hit!" came Gant's voice. "Losing stabilizers!" He added. Anakin watched as smoke poured from a hole in his Padawan's fighter.
"Can you hold it together, Gant? Get back to the ship!"
He watched as Gant tried to get his fighter to respond, but the damage was done. "I can't! I'm stuck in the planet's gravity well, my stick is dead!" Gant called back.
"Don't worry Gant, just hold it as steady as you can, we've got you!" Anakin said, angling his fighter to come alongside his Padawan's. He noticed the others with him.
Anakin could feel that she had already reached out with the force, doing her best to wrap Gant's fighter in a protective cocoon as they descended. He did the same as Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, all working to hold the damaged ship stead.
"I trust you!" Gant said. "Just get me in atmo and I can bail out." He added. Anakin's fighters shuddered as they hit Atmo at a steep angle, heat waves appearing around his own shield.
He grit his teeth, working to keep it together and hold the fighter in one piece. He watched as some chunks ripped away from Gant's fighter. There was a small explosion, the smoking section bursting into flame as the air thickened. The ship veered in a dangerous spin, about to death spiral, before a nudge from Obi-Wan held it steady.
"Gant, you okay in there?" Anakin asked, to no response. "Gant? Gant!" He could still feel his Padawan's life force but couldn't see him moving.
"He's unconscious!" Ahsoka said. "The blast must have stunned him!"
Before Anakin could think, he saw Kittani's fighter get closer to Gant's, coming alongside it. "I've got him! R3, take the controls and follow Master Kenobi!" She shouted.
"Kittani, wait!" Obi-Wan shouted. It was too late, though. Her cockpit glass opened. Anakin watched as she scrambled out onto the wing.
The wind blasted Kittani as she scrambled out onto the wing of her Actis, using whatever she could for hand and foot holds. The force aided her, keeping the blasting wind from ripping her from her own fighter as she used it to split the wind away from her. R3 brought her fighter ever closer to the shuddering form of Gant's; only the abilities of their masters were holding it together now that half of its wing and an entire section of S-foils were gone.
Putting her trust in the force, Kittani waited until R3 had their speeds matched. With a final breath, she jumped from her fighter to Gant's. She latched onto the remaining S-Foil with all her strength, pulling herself safely onto the wing, where she could shield herself from the wind on some level again.
Even with her use of the force, the wind was still powerful. The strength of it trying to find any chance to break her concentration and rip her from the fighter it could. Hugging the ship's hull, she scrambled along until she was at the cockpit. There was a flash as she drew her lightsaber. With a grunt of effort, Kittani plunged it into the cockpit glass. Careful to not touch Gant, she cut away the cockpit glass, creating a hole.
For a moment, she looked outwards, the ground was getting much closer, and the fighter was protesting being held together. She could see her comm unit flashing as someone spoke to her, but whatever they said was lost in the rushing wind. Master Obi-Wan's feelings through the force, though. Those were loud and clear. Hurry.
Using the force to clamp her feet to the fighter, Kittani carefully leaned into the hole. Gant was there, partially awake but disoriented. "I've got you Gant!" She said.
"K-Kittani… w…what happened?" He shook his head to clear it.
"Bad luck!" She said as she helped him to undo his flight harness. Holding onto his arms, she helped him out through the hole. The cold blast of air as he exited the fighter was enough to help clear his mind.
She leaned her head close to his, "We've got to get back to my fighter!" She shouted the only way for him to hear her.
Just as they turned around to start the crawl back, the fighter gave another great heave as the damaged opposite wing exploded again, causing it to lurch. There was a crunch of metal as Gant's fighter scraped Kittani's S-Foils, damaging them. Gant's fighter was now wobbling and shaking, chunks ripping away. It wasn't going to hold!
Kittani tried to think of an option to get across without getting killed. Gant got her attention. Near them, the LAATs were descending, not far from the Jedi Fighters. She shared a look with him and nodded. Gant looked back at Master Skywalkers' fighter, the one closest to them, and waved him off. The blue and white fighter rocketed away, giving them a clear path.
Jedi weren't supposed to feel fear. They should be able to remain calm in the force. But Kittani couldn't deny the spike of fear that gripped her as she and Gant both let go of the fighter, diving away from it thousands of meters above the surface of Mandalore.
Part of Rex didn't want to believe it when Master Skywalker explained to him that the two Jedi Padawans were free-falling from around 6 kilometers up. The other part of him remembered when the General and the Commander had 'helped' him get down from the defensive wall on Ryloth. He breathed, "Alright, General, we'll catch them!" He replied.
"Cutter, do you see those two forms in free fall? That's Commander Jaxx and Commander Sirat. Get us close to them and I'll get them!" He explained.
"Affirmative, Captain!" The pilot replied before putting them into a dive. Rex's grip on the overhead straps tightened, the other men doing the same. He nodded to Jesse, who hit the command control for the door. The wind rushed in as Rex leaned out into the open air, spotting the two padawans in free fall thanks to Master Kenobi's fighter.
"Alright, Cutter, when I go, get below us and be ready for a retrieval!" Rex ordered. When the pilot gave him the affirmative, Rex was out the door, diving after the two Jedi, arms tucked in and legs straight. With a quick tap of his wrist computer, his jetpack kicked in, and he raced after the two falling forms. Commander Jax noticed him, and got Commander Sirat's attention, the two bracing as Rex wrapped them up in a tackle hug, keeping them close. "Hold on, you two! We're catching a ride!" He shouted, hoping they heard him through comms.
Ahead of them, Cutter was pulling some fancy flying, the LAAT was in a skid, still traveling forward on a path to the target, but its body skewed to the right, almost like a drifting land speeder.
Rex was thankful he was below them, there was no way the riffing jetpack could've held all three of them, but it could manage a more controlled descent. The LAAT grew closer, the door still open, Jessie and another clone hanging half out the open door, ready to make the catch.
"Alright you two, brace for landing!" Rex said as the open transport door grew closer. Rex cut the jetpack, and all three lurched and skidded back into the gunship along its floor, Jessie, Kix, and the other clones grabbing hold to get them steady. At the last moment, he twisted their bodies so he would take the impact with his armor.
"Good catch, Captain!" Jessie called out as the troopers congratulated him.
Rex smiled and looked at the two Padawans, even as Kix went into medic mode to check over Gant. "Next time you two decide to go skydiving, try bringing parachutes!" He said, shaking his head some. "General Skywalker, General Kenobi, we've got them. They're okay."
"Great work Rex! We'll see you on the ground. We'll cover the transports in case there are any surprises waiting." General Skywalker told him.
"Much appreciated General, see you on the LZ!" He said before turning back to his men.
"Alright, we're getting ready for the run in. I don't doubt the Mandalorians will have a surprise or two waiting for us, so everyone, get ready. Man your gunnery positions! Those of you with jet packs, get ready to launch!" He shouted.
His men moved like a well-oiled machine, manning the weapons systems. They had stripped out the beam cannon turrets, replacing them with Z6 rotary blasters that allowed the gunners to stay in the crew compartment. The firing arc could have been better, but the survivability chances for the gunners went up massively. Other clone troopers set themselves by the doors, ready to fire out. They all had been warned well in advance about the Mandalorians and their use of jetpacks.
"Here we go!" Cutter warned as they neared the cloud layer. "We got incoming!"
The LAAT suddenly cut hard to the right, a missile screaming past it. Rex watched in horror as another rocket slammed into a nearby LAAT, sending it away as a flaming wreck. A second LAAT carrying an ATTE was also hit, crumpling as it failed. Kryze's Mandlorians deployed from their transports. They quickly engaged the Death Watch forces in an air-to-air fight.
"Coming in on the left!" A clone shouted behind him, followed by the rippling effect of several blasters opening fire. The rotary cannon on that side spooled to life, giving the enemy something to think about. Rex drew his blasters, firing on two Death Watch fighters as they closed. The other clones on his side joined in. Rex caught one with a shot to the jetpack, sending them spinning away, and the other was brought down by the force of fire from several troopers. The gunners kept firing at any red and black-clad Mandalorian that entered their line of sight, keeping them off.
Then another Death Watch member charged them and fired the missile from her jetpack.
"Incoming!" Rex warned. Just as he thought the missile would slam into the engines above their heads, the missile changed course. Rex barely registered Kittani and Gant's outstretched hands as they used the force, sending the rocket through the open doors of the LAAT and out the other side. The missile then angled straight for the ground, essentially harmless now.
"Good save you two." He commented. There wasn't time for more. The enemy wasn't letting up; they had to keep firing.
Finally, the light turned red, and the gunship doors opened. Rex was out the door, weapons firing at the Death Watch defenders. Kittani and Gant were at the front, deflecting blaster bolts while Rex and the troopers provided them with covering fire. More troops poured in, clones and Mandalorians alike. "Don't let up. Pour it on 'em!" Jesse shouted nearby.
General Skywalker and the others arrived a few moments later, leaping from their fighters with their lightsabers ready. With the Jedi there to hold the line, Bo Katan motioned her forces forward, the clones right behind them. They forced Death Watch off the docks, and the fighting moved toward the city.
General Kenobi looked around at all of them. "Before we move into the city, remember that Maul is a Sith. He will be prepared for a fight. We can't give him a chance to escape." Rex could see the tenseness in the General's stance, but there wasn't time to dwell here.
"We're with you, Obi-Wan. Let's move." General Skywalker said. With that reassurance, General Kenobi led them into the city. The hunt for Maul was on.