Chapter XII:
Assault
Hell broke loose above the remote planet of Dressel. The arrival of the New Republic fleet was completely unexpected by the First Order. By the time their forces engaged the enemy, the attackers already commenced the orbital bombardment. The Raddus rained death from the sky, obliterating entire cities with its vicious salvos. Thousands have died on the surface, and the death count was growing by the second.
Surrounded by a circle of fiery buildings, Snoke's crude palace stood tall under its mighty shield. The Raddus tried everything to destroy it, shooting dozens of red plasma shots on its surface, but the shield held, and the reinforcement came soon after.
A Resurgent-class Star Destroyer opened fire on the Raddus. And as the two giants clashed with each other above the horizon, those few who were under the shield were able to get a few minutes of relief. But only for so long.
At the edge of the transparent field, a lone wanderer appeared before the stormtroopers guarding the approach. The soldiers raised their guns towards the intruder, and as the mysterious figure ignored their threats, they resulted to pulling the trigger. Most guns jammed or broke for good, and the shots coming from the rest had never reached their targets. As the two blazing shots approached the wanderer, the brilliant lights of two lightsabers broke the darkness of the night, deflecting the shots with deadly precision.
"Come on, get your Jedi," Ahsoka said with a vicious smile on her face.
The stormtroopers tried to shoot her once more, but none of their weapons obeyed their commands. The guards exchanged looks, and as they stood idly before her, Ahsoka made a run for it from the fools.
"Get her!" they yelled, and launched themselves after the Jedi.
The chase was short, but it proved to be more decisive than ever. Dozens of soldiers abandoned their posts in the hurry, accompanied by two of the most modern walkers in the vicinity. Only a few of those who remained in the position could spot the light-corvette on approach, and they were too late as well.
The Reaver obliterated the walkers on the ground, then it turned its rage against the troopers. Ahsoka activated her lightsaber for a moment, only to realize how little sense she made with her action. Dead, burnt, mutilated bodies lay before her, and once again, the Reaver's guns left no survivors.
It took a second or two for the frigate to turn towards her, and release the docking ramp in front of her. Ahsoka jumped on board. Her mission was over – at least for now.
"You okay?" Ariss asked, as she raised the ship's nose to the sky.
The propulsion systems ceased to work for a moment, almost causing them to fall on the planet's surface.
"No, I'm not," she said, making her way to the bridge. "This is the last time I do this, and don't tell me you fell otherwise."
"I won't," Ariss shook her head, then she turned her attention back to the unfolding battle.
The entrance to the palace was guarded by two red-coated guards. For the most, they would prove to be a deadly challenge, but for some, they meant nothing but a swift practice of concentration. When the guards recognized the approaching Jedi, they knew, there was nothing they could do.
Luke approached them with fire in his eyes. He sensed the fear in the guards, nesting itself in every corner of their body. They raised their weapons – despite the growing desperation –, but Luke didn't reach for his lightsaber. He walked up the stairs, slowly, and as the guards would attack, he crushed their bones with a single thought.
The guards dropped dead on the floor, and the door opened with a hissing sound. Guards and stormtroopers engaged the Jedi on the following corridor, only to be eliminated with almost no effort from their opponent.
One corridor opened itself after the other, only to be followed by another entrance, far larger than the others. The guards before it were more vigilant then any he had seen, yet they fell to the floor just as the same. He looked down on them, then he raised his hand to split the thick metal frame.
The door opened on its own.
Snoke stood tall on the crimson chamber, keeping his lightsaber firmly in his enormous hands, surrounded by the dead bodies of guards and common soldiers. Luke stopped in front of his greatest foe.
"They had nothing to do with what is about to happen. Why shall they be here?" Snoke broke the silence. The three meters tall, brown haired alien stepped closer to Luke, keeping a firm grasp around the hilt.
"Why keep them?" Luke asked.
"For the grandeur," Snoke answered. "You should know more than anyone what it means. Only you were foolish enough to depend on this filth. Even love them. You should be thankful for me to remove them. Mara was a worm compared to you, so was your child."
Luke ignited its lightsaber, only to be surrounded by laughter.
"Look at you, you got so attached to the vermin you would even die for them. And for what?" he asked. "We are the masters of our creed, we inhibit all the power we would ever require. Why share power, when we can rule it yourself?"
"Because I believe in those who stood before us. That's the issue, for the both of us, we live, and die, just like everyone else," Luke answered. He heard footsteps in the distance, only to be followed by the hissing of the closing doors and loud thuds.
Snoke wanted to wage this fight alone.
"Death," Snoke said, and laughed for a moment. "What does that mean for the likes of us?"
"You shall soon find out," Luke answered, raising his lightsaber.
As an answer, red plasma brightened the room. The thick, crude blade was far larger than the one carried by Luke. But that mattered only a little for them both. All swords were only as good as the one behind them.
"So that's all you come here to do?" Snoke asked. "You risk all your vermin just to cause me pain, and you call yourself better than me?"
"You took something from me, now I take something from you. As simple as it is."
"Then try it, Jedi," Snoke answered, raising the lightsaber for an attack.
Luke took a deep breath, and charged towards his opponent. The two foes met near the center of the room, striking each other with seemingly impossible force. The two blades collided with a hissing sound, Snoke pushed his opponent back, only for Luke to leap to the side. He was old, yet the Force lived strong in him, granting him nearly unnatural agility.
As soon as he flanked his opponent, Luke cut into Snoke's flesh with the brilliant blade.
Snoke didn't make a sound as the plasma cut into his leg. He turned around, neglecting the pain, and kicked Luke to the other side of the room.
Luke held his blade down on the floor, cutting deep into to metal to stop himself before reaching the end of the room. By the time he got back on his feet, Snoke charged it him with anger, cutting viciously towards him with the lightsaber.
He leaned back with seemingly impossible speed, cutting Snoke on the side in response. For a second, it seemed as he cut a good nerve, then the Supreme leader punched towards him with his free hand.
Luke leapt away from the punch, then took a step back, avoiding the lightsaber strike towards him. As the red blade swept through the air, he struck at the giants head, nearly splitting his skull with the plasma's undeniable heat.
Snoke counterattacked at the last possible moment, kicking him to the wall in the room's metallic edge.
As Luke jumped up from the ground, he made no attempt for another attack.
"Impressive," Snoke nodded, his remaining hair was burning up on the top of his head. He made no attempt at extinguishing them. The body itself had no meaning to the mighty Tenebrae, Luke knew that more than anyone else.
"Don't worry, I'm just getting started."
The Moldy Crow arrived to Dressel at the height of the battle. A Resurgent-class Star Destroyer glided the sight of the mighty cruiser, unleashing deadly salvos on the Raddus. Green turbolaser shots splattered against its shields, accompanied by a dozen more shots in response.
A cruiser caught itself between the giants, only to escape them with a burnt hole in its hull.
Mira looked at the maimed ship with awe, then her glance fell to the surface, still at siege by the Raddus and its mighty cannons.
"What is he doing?" Kyle asked beside her.
"What they always do," Mira gave out a sigh. She wanted to return to their previous argument, just to remind him about why she was about to leave them.
As she opened her mouth, half a dozen TIE fighters broke from the battlegroup towards them. The newest, deadliest fighters, manned by the best of the First Order.
"You can handle the gun right?" Kyle asked within an instant.
"I can try," she nodded, glancing down on the broken hand.
"Then why don't you do just that?"
Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)
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