Mr. Insane - Good point, but Coren's good at things like small unit tactics, not running something as massive as an entire army. It's something I could have (and should have) expounded upon. But that was my intent.
7doom - Thanks! Glad you are still reading!
LordDarthYoda - Pravin: 'We can't start the invasion until we get RED models to represent my troops! Gosh!' The pieces of the puzzle are almost all here - this is the last one.
A/N - This is the last chapter before the 'battle for Ubrora' which will be 3+ chapters (I'm still playing with it, writing battles is HARD, and I want to make sure that this one gets the conclusion it deserves.) This chapter is not my favourite chapter I've ever written, but it feels like it needed to be written.
Anyways, all reviews, follows, and favourites are deeply appreciated as always.
Please enjoy the next chapter.
Chapter 55: Sic Semper Evello Mortem Tyrannis
That day where we gave up our son to the Jedi was the hardest of my life. Sascha was almost two, and was a happy, precocious child that seemed to take great pleasure in playing with his toys. He hadn't shown that he was 'Force-sensitive' at all. We wondered, and not for the first time, if some mistake had been made, that the technician who tested for Force-sensitivity had gotten the samples switched. That was until we met with our Jedi recruiter.
Jedi Master Nova Trynith had been our contact within the Jedi Order since he had been tested and she was fantastic in answering all our questions. It at least helped that when we handed over our son, we were at least doing it to a person that we had come to trust. To those that would accuse the Jedi of being callous or not knowing the pain that they are causing to families, I could tell you of the hundred niceties that the Jedi provided us. But that's another story.
The day that Master Trynith came to our house and met our son was special. From the moment that she walked in the door, Sascha seemed to have been entranced by her. Nova went to Sascha and knelt by his side and you could just...see that there was a connection between him and this Jedi that he had just met. There are no words for that emotion that I felt at that moment. Pride, because it was clear that he was a Jedi. And it also felt like my heart was going to tear itself in two at the same time.
There was a public ceremony that day were where we ceremonially handed Sascha over to the Jedi Order, as represented by Master Trynith. The truth is, I don't think either of us remember it. It was just such a powerful, emotional moment that I think it just overwhelmed my brain. I've seen recordings of the ceremony. I know it happened. I just don't remember it.
The last thing I remember that day is saying goodbye to my son. I will never forget that moment.
-Excerpt from 'My Son, the Jedi' by Donah and Robry Whitestar
Ravar Ecalt had forged his reputation in business on being the person that saw opportunity where others could not. He wasn't an engineer. Or a marketer. Or the kind of person who could sweet talk people into giving him good deals. He just knew how to be at the right place at the right time with the right product. Not the most flashy of talents, but it had allowed him to build something of his own, Ecalt Industries.
Ecalt Industries wasn't the biggest company, but he had never intended to be in charge of a galaxy spanning conglomerate. He had wanted Ecalt industries to always have a family touch, and if your company was on seventy five different planets, that would simply be impossible (unless you had a very large family.) So he kept things small and when he felt that the company was growing too big, he simply sold off a section of Ecalt Industries to some prospective investor, keeping the company at a manageable size. He couldn't have done it if he had shareholders, so he simply refused to sell his company to shareholders. It prevented him from amassing a fortune. But he had never cared for fortunes. He cared for his family, first, foremost and always.
So when his son, Pravin, whom he had not seen for several years, had sent him a slightly panicked message and asked for his help, he knew that he would provide it. He was a little stunned to find that his son was in need of a battle fleet, but Pravin wasn't the type to ask for things he did not need. His youngest son had always been something of a realist, if a bit of a pushover at times. Pravin's tale had seemed unbelievable, but Ravar had found that the more unbelievable the tale, the higher the potential that it was true.
Quietly, he had made inquiries about this 'Ubrora' that Pravin had mentioned and commissioned a scout ship be sent to find out if this 'invasion' was taking place. That scout ship had not returned or sent any message since departing. That was enough to convince him that something was going on in the Ubrora system, and that Pravin was telling the truth. The next step was him putting out feelers as how to assemble a battle fleet.
The first place he had sent inquiries to was the Jedi Temple, given that his son had informed him that there were four Jedi on planet with him. However the messages and messengers that he had sent had led to nothing from the Jedi. Which was typical. The Jedi loved to sit in their precious temples and forget that the outside world existed. They could be counted upon to act only when it was too late.
His outspoken opinion towards the Jedi aside, his knowledge of the fact that the Jedi potentially needing rescue had turned his attentions to a planet where he'd had substantial business dealings: Kuat. While he didn't really have the full picture of what had happened a year or so ago on Kuat, he did know that there had been some sort of conflict between the Jedi and the ruling Kuati family. Since that conflict, the Kuats had been trying to make amends with the Jedi Order, and as far as Ravar knew, they had not been able to do so. Ravar decided that he would offer them that chance.
So quietly Ravar had asked for an audience with the head of the Kuat family, Onara Kuat. He had been rebuffed, of course. Onara Kuat only met people when she wanted to. But she had sent out one of her family members to communicate with him. The confusingly named Kuat of Kuat had met with him over an expensive interplanetary Holonet call and Ravar had outlined his desire to assist his son.
Kuat of Kuat had been surprised by the request for a capital ship, but there had been something in his cool gray eyes that had suggested that the man was somehow interested in providing Ravar with the impossible. Ravar had assumed that he would have to put together a fleet made up of glory hunters, bounty hunters and smugglers too desperate to decline good money, plus whatever military ships he could...'rent' for the excursion. He had assumed that he'd end up paying some 4th rate Outer Rim defense force an absurd amount of money for a couple of centuries old cruisers. Getting anything from Kaut was a long shot, but it hadn't cost him anything to get this meeting.
A few hours after his meeting with Kuat of Kuat, Ravar had received another message from him. This time, Kuat of Kuat explained that the Kuat family was interested in doing a 'field test' of some of their new capital ship prototypes. Why Kuat was building new capital ship prototypes was kind of beyond him in this time of relative peace, but he had not remarked on that.
After a couple of hours of negotiation, they had their deal. He would 'rent' one of Kuat's new 'Dagger class' crusiers for a few days. The Kuati's would provide the personnel and handle the ship at all meaningful times, but they would commit to engaging the Reprisal and its droid fighters. Ravar would provide the 'Dagger class' cruiser with support ships, ie. Mercenaries. He ended up paying an exorbitant amount for this service, but he decided that he would rather have his son than some credits.
And that was the story of how Ravar Ecalt bought himself a (temporary) warfleet. It sounded impossible, but it was true.
Ravar Ecalt stared outward from the bridge of his temporary flagship Kuati Victory feeling impossibly out of place. To be fair, it wasn't exactly his flagship. It wasn't really even his ship. It's real captain, Sati Kuat was sitting in the captain's chair beside him. Steely eyed and experienced, Captain Kuat was clearly getting ready to start barking out orders. "Don't let me stop you," he said to her quietly.
"I won't," she assured him. The petite captain stood. Probably not more than slightly over five feet tall, he was pretty sure that she could melt durasteel with her intense gaze. Having interacted with Captain Kuat on a few occasions he would have offered her a job in his company if he thought there was even the slightest chance that she would take it. The petite captain paced, "Lieutenant Danit confirm that everyone is on station."
A middle aged officer turned from his station and acknowledged his captain, "All ships have reported in."
The other ships would be Ravar's auxiliaries. They were the assorted bounty hunters, smugglers, militiamen and other glory hunter that had answered his call for ships to head into battle. Hardly a collection of the galaxy's classiest beings, but they weren't being paid to be gentlemen. They had all formed up around the narrow, triangular hulled vessel that was one of the most impressive ships Ravar had ever seen. Painted a cool grey-while, the command structure jutted out from the triangular hull, which Ravar thought painted an unnecessarily large target for enemies to aim for, but if they got past the shields, Ravar supposed that it didn't really matter if the enemy knew where the bridge was.
"And The Arrow?" inquired the Captain.
"Also on station, Captain."
Ravar thought that he could detect a hint of amusement among the crew whenever The Arrow was brought up. The Kuati Captain had expressed doubt about his plan for The Arrow, but since he was footing the bill, she seemed content to let it play out. Ravar, although he was a businessman, had a keen interest in history and he had always wondered why certain proven concepts had fallen by the wayside. The Arrow was a relic from a different time, a simpler time, but Ravar thought it might be effective still.
"Thank you, Lieutenant Danit," said Captain Kuat. The Kuati turned to face another officer, "Lieutenant Torical, confirm that the Reprisal is in orbit around Ubrora. I don't want any surprises."
Lieutenant Torical, a dark-skinned, dark haired mother of two, that had been clearly in charge of shepherding him around the ship glanced up from her station for a brief moment, "Reprisal in orbit as expected."
Captain Kuat started striding away, "Good..."
"Captain," interrupted Lieutenant Torical.
Captain Kuat turned to face the Lieutenant again, "Yes?"
"It appears that ground combat on Ubrora is about to commence. The Ubrorans are launching fighters from the ground and they appear to be en route to the Reprisal. Estimated time of arrival is two minutes."
"Why have they started already?" asked Captain Kuat, obviously unhappy.
"My Pravin was always a stickler for timetables," he said. "He set a time for when they were going to attack, and that was... three standard minutes ago. So he's following through with the plan."
The Kuati captain looked incredulous, "He couldn't wait five minutes until we got in position?"
"He may not be able to see us," said Ravar in a conciliatory tone. "The Reprisal has an advanced jamming package, correct?"
Ravar could almost see the lightbulb go off above Captain Kuat's head, "Speaking of that jamming, Communications, have we pieced their jamming?"
The communications officer, a young, harried looking young man, glanced backwards at his Captain, "No, ma'am. I've never seen jamming like this, and, well...I don't know how to do anything besides run the standard anti-jamming protocols on this ship. It's too new."
"Wonderful," muttered Captain Kuat.
"Uh, Captain?" said the communications offcer, "We are being hailed, by the Reprisal."
Captain Kuat straightened, "Very well, Mr. Ecalt, you can take the call. I'll get us underway. The Captain's chair is yours...temporarily."
Ravar bowed graciously, "Of course, Captain Kuat."
Ravar cautiously went to the Captain's chair and sat in it, feeling amazingly out of place. He was a businessman, an entrepreneur, not a military man in any way. He hadn't fired a blaster in his entire life, or thrown a punch in anger. But he would do whatever he had to do to get his son back. A father could do no less.
He waited in the chair until a small hologram of a Duros Admiral in a white Uniform popped up on on his right hand side. Ravar nodded politely, "You must be Vash Varless."
The Duros Admiral squinted, "I am. You'll forgive me for not knowing who you are and why you have a...warship at your command."
Ravar waved his hands expansively, "This fine ship is the Kuati Victory and I've...rented it from the Kuati's for the moment. It is at this point that I must ask that you stand down and withdraw all forces from Ubrora. I am authorized to grant a thirty hour ceasefire during which time you will be permitted to withdraw troops from illegally occupied Ubrora."
Vash Varless looked at him in disbelief, "Who are you?"
"My name is Ravar Ecalt. In some circles I am considered a powerful industrialist and businessman. However I come here for one thing: my son, whom you employed until very recently."
Vash stared at him and then started laughing, "You've come to rescue spineless Pravin? You are deluded. Your...ship and its rag tag forces are no match for my Reprisal. There will be no peace. Ubrora is mine. You may have come for Pravin, but he is far beyond your reach. Your best bet is to turn around and forget this whole thing ever ended, or there will be not one but two less Ecalts in the galaxy. "
"That is also an acceptable outcome."
Ravar's bravado took Vash aback for a second, but the Duros recovered his arrogance quickly, "Then you will die braver than most."
He smiled faintly, "I can only hope."
"Now if this social call is over..."
"It is. I hope your trip to hell is long and painful. Ecalt out."
Ravar tried to push himself out of the captain's chair but found that his arms and legs were literally quaking from the adrenaline running through him. Captain Kuat surreptitiously helped him to his feet, a rare expression of kindness on her face, "Sorry Ma'am. You can have your chair back. I've had enough of playing admiral for a lifetime."
Captain Kuat gave him a pat on the back – "Don't worry, we'll take it from here. You can observe from the bridge if you'd like."
"I'll observe quietly," he said, searching around for a good spot for which to observe the coming battle. "You're using my plan?" he asked.
The captain nodded, "I think it's an interesting plan, that is worth trying, especially as you are footing the bill. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a battle to win."
Ravar bowed politely and moved to an unobtrusive position off to the side. He had a good view out the expansive viewport and the chaos of the bridge, now being directed like a maestro by Captain Kuat. As the Kuati Victory turned to head towards Ubrora, Ravar got a glimpse of his secret plan. Shaped like...well, an arrow, the Arrow was long and flat, with a bank of engines in the back. Similar in design to the Corelian designed Corvettes that were coming into vogue, the ship had all of it's engines in the rear of the ship. But the Arrow didn't have weapons. It was simply a former sports yacht that his technicians had spent the better part of the week modifying to Ravar's exact specifications.
It might end up being pointless. It might win the battle.
Ravar Ecalt stared out the viewport, wondering which one it would be.