Chapter 23

"Officer?" Jacen asked of the CO for the palace guards on defence of the landing pad.

"Who are you?" The CO inquired in a gruff voice. Jacen's sudden approach from the palace did not seem to startle him at all. He passed the officer the falsified ID card that labelled him as "The Queen's Most Secret Protector." While somewhat true, it was not what Jacen had in mind when he asked Womprat to make a fake ID.

" 'Most Secret Protector?' " The CO asked. "You don't look very secretive."

"Don't tell anyone that!" Jacen slapped the man's shoulder with an over-abundance of sarcasm. "How am I supposed to keep it secret if you're blabbing about to everyone?"

Unimpressed, the officer ripped the card in half. "Who are you?"

"Jacen Solo, Jedi Knight and personal friend of Queen Tenel Ka," Jacen decided this man was intelligent enough to handle the truth, and recognise someone not trying to kill him. "I'm expecting a delivery at this landing pad momentarily, and I would appreciate it if your guards didn't try shooting it down."

"Jedi Knight, eh? I've seen Jedi Knights. You look like a kid compared to them."

"Why do I get the feeling if I introduced myself as 'Yoda,' you still wouldn't listen to me?"

"Yo-who?"

"Never mind," Jacen shook his head. Some people were harder to read than others. A familiar sound called Jacen's attention to a point in the distance. "My package is arriving. Have your guards stand down."

"Just a minute little..."

"Would you prefer me taking over you body with my mind and having my new favourite puppet issuing orders?" Jacen snapped. "Or would you like to save us both the time, effort, and, in your case, humiliation and do it yourself?"

"Umm...yeah, okay," The officer looked uneasy. "Guards, stand down. Ship coming in with delivery for the Jedi here."

The guards did not lower their weapons, but they did seem less willing to fire. The anti-aircraft weapons still tracked the Falcon's approach.

"Hey Officer Marley!" One of AA-gunners called out. "How many ships does that Jedi have coming in?"

"Only a black Corellian YT-1300," Jacen called back. "Why?"

"There's about half a dozen fighters firing at it!"

"Wonderful," Jacen shook his head. "Womprat, get tied into that turret. I'll take this one."

"Acknowledgement: Acknowledged, Master." The astromech rolled off towards the turret Jacen had indicated.

"Hey, you can't just..."

Jacen held up a finger to Officer Marley, using the Force slightly to intimidate the Officer. "I was shooting targets from the Millenium Falcon's gunner turrets since I could walk. And I have Jedi reflexes. And when you consider that there are four Jedi and my parents on that ship, I don't think you want to see my reaction if one of these kids took out the Falcon instead of the Mandos. Understood?"

"Erm...go ahead, Master Jedi," Marley said grudgingly. "But the trash can?"

"I've forgotten more from that 'trash can' than you'll ever learn," Jacen laughed, pulling himself into the turret.

Jacen assessed the situation with the Falcon using the long-range gunner optics. The effective range of the weapons was two kilometres, and the Falcon was two and a half out, closing fast. Sure enough, several fighters that seemed to have an uncanny knack of avoiding the fire from the two Noghri were trailing the Falcon. Closing his eyes, he rested his hands on the controls and let the Force take over. He waited until Womprat started firing, and seven shots later the Falcon's tail was clear.

"Good shooting!" The gunner said while retaking his position.

"Thanks," Jacen said. "It helps when you have someone else shooting at them to make them go where you want them to."

Several moments later the Falcon hovered by the ramp just long enough for four Jedi to jump out before blasting skywards. It was no time for pleasantries.

"This way, I'll bring you up to speed on the way," Jacen waved the Jedi over, leading them back to the Infirmary.

-! #$%^&*()

The Falcon tore through the atmosphere and raced towards the starburst explosions lighting space around Hapes to join the Hapan defence fleet.

"Jaina, where are you?" Leia broadcasted on a Jedi frequency.

"I'm the dot at the front surrounded by big explosions!" Jaina replied. "Who knew Jedi could hit torpedoes so well?"

"Keep it up, kid," Han complimented while surveying the battle. "Hey, did you notice the missiles are attracted to the Battle Dragons, not the Novas?"

"Yes, Dad," Jaina snapped. "I noticed that while getting shot at by countless torpedoes and fighters because I have thirty pairs of eyes! Stang! Watch your sensors, Nelani!"

Han entered the battle chasing several fighters, lining up easy shots for the Noghri gunners while Leia accessed the ship's sensors.

"Han, you're right," Leia confirmed, as dozens of torpedoes bombarded the Hapan ships. Fortunately the gunners' accuracy seemed to be improving about reducing the number of torpedoes getting through, but the Mandalorians had just released yet another volley. "The torpedoes seem to be guiding themselves towards the Battle Dragons and ignoring everything else. Some torpedoes should have gone for the Novas, but went for the Dragons-"

"Master Solo, if I may say so," Threepio interrupted. "It appears to me that the torpedoes-"

"Shut up, Goldenrod," Han stopped Threepio as an explosion rocked the Falcon, requiring Han to pull a sharp turn and realign on some fighters. "What were you saying, Leia?"

"If we could only find out why they are targeting the-"

"But Mistress Leia!" Threepio exclaimed. "The torpedoes-"

"Not now!" Han shouted as a pair of missiles collapsed the port shields and sent the Falcon into a sharp spin.

"Gravity!" Threepio exclaimed. "The torpedoes are attracted to gravity!"

"What?" Han and Leia both asked as Han pulled out of the spin. Another set of explosions woke Han to his senses and he jumped out of his chair to reallocate power while Leia sent the ship into a gut-wrenching dive.

"I noticed earlier that several torpedoes were attracted to Hapes' moon, which seemed quite odd," Threepio elaborated as the gravity forces pulling the ship prevented Han and Leia from speaking for a moment. "The Battle Dragons have significantly more mass in comparison to the Nova Cl…"

"So we can use gravity mines to distract the missiles!" Han finished while taking his seat again, already looking for more targets. "Brilliant, Professor! Now get on the comm and tell the Hapans that!"

-! #$%^&*()

"...And as soon as Tenel Ka is healed, we're going to launch our attack on the Sith," Jacen concluded, just after reaching the Infirmary. "I had Womprat pull up some schematics of the city and compile reports on Mandalorian movements. Eriana has made up a plan of attack. Womprat?"

A holographic projection appeared in front of the Jedi indicating Hapan forces in red and Mandalorain forces in green.

"I believe we will be best utilised if we break into two teams and…" Eriana started.

"Juzt a moment," Saba interrupted. "Az the ranking Jedi Mazter, I believe it iz my duty to co-ordinate the attack, and chooze a course action."

"Not exactly," Jacen said. "Rank aside, we are guests on this planet. The Jedi have no official jurisdiction and can only be invited into the other territories at the request of government officials to conduct 'Jedi business.' We must abide by their rules first, and, when a conflict does not exist, Jedi conduct second."

"I know that!" Saba said indignantly. "You do not need to lecture this one on Jedi etiquette!"

"I'm just saying that, as Jedi, we need to respect the inviting party's wishes," Jacen replied. "Tenel Ka specifically asked me to save Hapes before she fell unconscious. Now, unless she was delusional and thought I looked like a giant lizard, I believe she wanted me to co-ordinate the defence. Besides, what troop movement information do you have, and when did you get the chance to create an entire battle plan?"

Saba opened her mouth, but no words came out. She closed it for a moment, decided to take the diplomatic approach for the sake of setting an example for the apprentices, then said "Pleaze, continue."

Jacen sighed to himself. It saddened him to see the Jedi continually becoming more obsessed on the importance of rank rather than sensible action. "Eriana?"

"Thanks, Jacen. As I was about to say, there are four major units, each comprising of about fifty Mandos moving methodically around the city taking out the bunkers. I have projected their movements around the city and I have identified the following ambush points."

Eriana pressed a button on her datapad and some blue lines appeared around the city. "As you can see, the Mandalorian attack is well planned given the layout of Hapan defences. Unfortunately for us, the entire Hapan ground communication system is being jammed so we don't have any way of telling them what's coming. Our first goal will be to alert the Hapan defence units, and our second will be to redirect their efforts to a better plan. Our final objective is to assist in the removal of all Mandalorian ground forces using the suggested tactics Womprat uploaded to the datapads in front of you. If you can set any traps along the way with the thermal detonators or any other weapons you find, go for it."

"An excellent plan," Tenel Ka said, standing in the doorframe with a med robe on. She looked weak, but steady. Jacen offered her his seat, which she gratefully took with his assistance. "However, the militia will not believe you are there to help them. They know the Sith are attacking and may presume anyone with a lightsaber is trying to reduce their chances. There is still some lingering hatred towards the Jedi from Hapan tradition."

"We need Master Durron and his mind tricks," Tesar's apprentice, Morg Treal, snickered at his own brilliance. "That'd really get them moving."

"Kyp?" Jacen was genuinely confused. "He was never that good at them."

"Are you kidding?" Dot Polf, Saba's apprentice, asked in disbelief. "He's the best in the Order! He teaches the class!"

Jacen looked at Tesar, who merely shrugged. "Have you guys ever heard of the Fallanassi?"

"Back to real issues, Oh Fearless Leader," Eriana interrupted, unclipping a rancor tooth from her belt and offering it to Tenel Ka. "Queen Tenel Ka, it's good to see you up and around again."

"Thank you," Tenel Ka acknowledged, taking her lightsaber, "But I don't believe we have met."

"Eriana Fostenon, Exiled Jensaarai Defender, Jedi Knight in training," Eriana introduced herself. "And poor unfortunate soul who got suckered into following a wayward and eccentric..."

"She's with me," Jacen interrupted. "Now on the matter of saving this planet, how can we get the guards to listen to us?"

"You, don't," Tenel Ka said matter-of-factly. "Your droid does."

Tenel Ka explained her plan.

"Rhetorical query: Why does the assassin droid always become the messenger droid?"

"Because you can kill Sith Lords and get the message where it needs to go," Eriana answered. "Record the message, and get out there. Saba, take your team and start with the north section and work east. I'll take our team to the south and work west. Everyone clear on our objectives?"

A wave of nodding heads, a rather human-like mechanical groan, and the rapid vacating of seats answered Eriana's question.