Good afternoon, everyone! How are you all doing on this warm day of Sunday, May 21, 2023? I'm doing well, as I took the day off yesterday to spend time with my family, and I had a good day. Now I can write a bit before dinner in a few hours. So, I took a break from the interlude story to work on Ch. 13 of this story, and it came out well. I just need to get it looked over, and then I can publish it after I conclude this character arc. Well, I've already written about a quarter of this piece now, and I hope to get it done before this Friday, when I return home. I hope you all have a blessed day, and Long Live the Expanded Universe!
Three Hours Later
Nelona 24th, 53 ABY
Zygerria, Adole City
Marik District
Listening in to the thirty dissenting officials carry out their heated deliberations in the building directly across from the adjacent rooftops, Edaan felt his danger senses increase in volume, even as he worked to eavesdrop on the enemy's meeting.
Having spied on the conclave for the last half hour alongside his fellow Jedi and the Zygerria Liberation Front, Edaan had uncovered a great deal of intelligence on the decaying chain of command between the Zygerrian royal army, the king's political leaders, and the Sith, with the entire conversation being recorded. Of course, much of the plotting had been on covert ways to oppose the king's astonishing bill to gradually abolish the slave trade and quietly oppose their Sith patrons.
'Fools.' Edaan disgustingly sighed. 'They knew full well of the Sith's deceitful nature and the devil's deal they made with them, and they're only complaining now, after all their blood money and vile traditions are threatened.'
Interrupting his musings, Atai's voice filtered through Edaan's comlink, "Prepare to withdraw, Edaan. We've gotten what we need for now. Best not to push our luck any further."
"Our true foes?" Edaan quietly guessed. With the thirty enemy commanders and administrators identified, it would be a simple enough task for Atai and his people to track their movements and work to map out this network of defiance against the king and his loyalists. From there, it would be a more challenging task of eliminating or capturing the more troublesome commanders who refused to abolish the slave trade and send an unmistakable message to the rest that their time as evil overlords had come to an end.
But that still left Vestara and her Sith and personal Mandalorians unaccounted for, and they needed to be taken off the board sooner than later if the Outer Rim Alliance hoped to free the first of many key worlds. And if the Jedi Apprentice's instincts were correct, then this mission was about to get that much more dangerous.
Breaking through his concentration, a surge of Dark Side energy spread over the district, nearly giving Edaan and every other nearby Jedi vertigo from the shockwaves alone. But the explosion that consumed the dissidents' building broke through the Jedi Apprentice's daze, and he realized just how deep in trouble everyone was about to be in.
Activating his earpiece, Edaan alerted to his assets, "Make sure our escape route is secure! We're going to need it if we survive the next half hour."
Barely deactivating his comm piece, Edaan, sensing the enemy right behind him, swiveled to the right, barley avoiding several darts that missed his abdomen, and activated his violet lightsaber, and adopted the lightsaber form stance of Soresu while staring down two Sith, four Mandalorians, and four members of the Zygerrian Royal Guard.
Wearily smirking, Edaan, presenting a brave front before his enemies, cheekily taunted, "What, just ten of you? I thought I'd be worth at least twice the number. At least it's quite a wide array of guests."
"Don't flatter yourself, Palpatine." A familiar muscled Keshiri woman stepped up to the front, one missing a few teeth in Marra's gap of a smile, "I wanted the personal pleasure of dealing with you after our last meeting."
"Perhaps you will." Edaan acknowledged. "But I'm going to make you work for it." 'And if I make it out of this mess, I'll thank Akku profusely for taking his advice beforehand.' He silently added.
Glancing around the rooftop, knowing the lack of an escape route prevented Edaan from evading this battle, he realized this would have to be a direct engagement, one that would test and push him to his limits in virtually all his skills and experience. To survive this battle, he would need to keep his enemies guessing and off-balance and utilize every bit of knowledge and talent he carried.
Well, best to get the battle's onset over with before nerves left him a frozen mess. Launching himself into the fray, he switched to the more aggressive Form of Djem So and slashed at the nearest Mandalorian. No matter how this engagement ended, the Sith would not capture and twist him to their wicked ends.
Ten Minutes Later
"We just have to stop meeting like this, Ben!" Kitai playfully snarked while launching a series of ripostes against her first and onetime love while enhancing the power of her blows with lightning from both her fingertips and by channeling it into her blade. Evading the blows, the Jedi Knight at least took the initiative to redirect some of the energized attacks on a stray Zygerrian and Mandalorian, electrocuting both to death in an instant.
But while Ben was holding his own against his former flame, both Jedi and Sith well-familiar with each other's strategies and favor ed techniques after dozens of similar battles, the rest of the mission was quickly devolving into a mad brawl and fight for survival. After the conspirators' building detonated, the Sith and made their move, swarming over the district with dozens of Mandalorians and Zyggerians bolstering their fifteen Lords and Ladies that specifically went after the Jedi and the Outer Rim Alliance's leadership. And with the Zygerria Liberation Front's allies and sympathizers either being rounded up for interrogation or driven out of the city, and the Royal Navy's sudden blockade cordoning off all nonmilitary traffic, it was clear there was no clear way to escape.
As much as he hated having to admit it, Vestara had crafted an excellent trap for her enemies, and it would only likely be through tremendous effort and sacrifice that anyone could survive past the day. She played him like a musical instrument, and he walked right into the snare. If he wanted to ensure the day did not go fully to the Sith, he needed to stop thinking like a scorned lover and vengeful warrior, and like the adaptable leader and powerful Jedi he had been through Chaos and back to become.
Such thinking came right on time, when Ben noticed through his peripheral vision the arrival of a sand-gold armored Mandalorian, equipped with strength-enhancing crushgaunts that could allow the woman to strangle the Jedi Knight with ease if she got even one of her hands on his neck. Sensing the familiar tinge of vengeance and bitterness from Mirta Gev, granddaughter of Boba Fett and an accomplished Jedi hunter of her own regard ever since first allying with Vestara eight years ago, he realized escape for him was all but impossible now, not that it was even possible beforehand.
Nevertheless, he was not going to let the Outer Rim Alliance risk falling today, and that meant getting Atai Molec and as many allies and fellow Jedi he could to safety before he sacrificed himself to become One with the Force.
Intruding on Ben's grim resolve, he felt a cold but familiar presence bolt right behind him, with the Anzati Mandalorian company leader fighting his way right towards Mirta. Seeing Akku, armed with two beskar daggers and supplementing his attack with his dual wrist gauntlets to cut, poison, or blast his way through anyone who tried to interfere with his hunt against his wayward rival, the Jedi suddenly felt a new surge of hope for survival.
Perhaps, provided no one dared intrude on this fight, the freedom fighters might just survive past today.
Five Minutes Later
Sneaking into the scorched meeting place, Atai hoped that this hunch might be worth the blood, effort, and risk he was putting everyone in, but he found his hoped dropping quickly after seeing the charred remains of at least ten renegades. Still, with the ex-prime minister's bodyguards staring to search every corpse for any possible intel, and the medics examining each body to ensure they did not miss any possible survivors.
After the Sith literally blew into the scene, nearly a dozen of Atai's best agents and lieutenants had either been captured or killed before they could muster a proper defense. Without the coalition's outside help there to buy everyone a few minutes and a little breathing room, they would have been completely routed and defeated within another five.
While Atai wanted to fight their way out of the city and rendezvous with their shuttles, the Jedi sensed a few survivors within the charred ruins, and advocated for rescuing them, if only for the intel they might have on them or could be questioned about later.
Besides, with everything now on lockdown and the city's garrison on full alert, they wouldn't have likely gotten far before meeting their end. That meant their backup plan had to be enacted, which meant they were forced to hold their position until their reinforcements could arrive. But their evacuation force was still at least fifteen minutes away, not including the time it would take to break through the interdicting fleet.
For the moment, the fate of Zygerria hung in the balance, all because of this one engagement. And Atai was stuck on the sidelines, rummaging through the dead as the real heroes fought to defend the would-be government! Muttering a blitheful curse, he wished he could do more for those that came to his aid, he regretted not doing more to stop the slave trade before De'Nal took the throne, resented his powerlessness when he lost his family for following righteousness over misplaced pride and willful arrogance, and hated the Sith for further subverting his people as pawns in their never-ending lust for power.
"Sir, come here! We've found a few live ones!" A medic called to Atai, cutting through his fog of reflection, and causing him to hurry to the corpsman, observing two doctors and their protectors tending to three unconscious Royalist commanders. Bearing several severe burns on their arms and abdomen, it was a miracle the dissenters survived the first wave of pain alone.
Biting back a few swears, Atai pulled out the comlink and warned, "Aurek, Fox, Trill, ETA! We've got wounded and need immediate extraction! Anyone, come in!"
"We're doing our best to get to the RV point, Sir, but we need more time! Encountered heavy opposition from the royal fleet and the Sith's floating eyeball, and there's a lot of unidentified contacts approaching form orbit!" The Aurek squadron's lead pilot loudly called back just to be heard over the static and flak that was audible in the background seconds before the connection was severed.
'Well, that's not good.' Atai griped, preparing for the end, but ready to go down fighting. Better to die a martyr than live a little longer as an unwilling traitor to the great and noble cause.
Twenty Minutes Later
Edaan, slicing the last Zygerrian in half before using his vambraces to create a shockwave to blast the last two Mandalorians off the roof. Having disabled their jetpacks beforehand, the two mercenaries would likely be falling to their deaths, or at least towards a long visit to intensive care with plenty of broken bones. That only left Marra and one of her fellow Sith Sabers left to fight him, both of who ready to attack their Jedi adversary with a united front, knowing they couldn't afford to underestimate him any longer.
Carefully controlling his breathing and concealing his pain behind the adrenaline rush, Edaan knew the last forty-five minutes had thoroughly tested him and nearly pushed him to his limits. Exhaustion staring to seep in and compounded by his many cuts and bruises from several discarded weapons, he knew he needed to wrap this battle up swiftly before he risked being overwhelmed and disarmed by his two foes.
But before the Sith launched their attack, Edaan heard a voice screaming in his head, urging him to jump. Knowing who was calling to him through their bond, he leapt backwards to the ground below, using the Force to soften his landing. Expecting the Sith to be in hot pursuit, he was relieved when only Marra landed in front of him, the other Sith woman's lower torso being blown away by a shadow bomb having just detonated.
Feigning confidence while sensing reinforcements inbound, Edaan boldly offered, "You're all alone now and about to be outnumbered. Care to surrender?"
"To you?" Marra lowly growled. "Not even if my life depended on it."
'Why does every Sith have to be so karking prideful?!' Edaan lamented, readying himself for one last battle before Marra bolted away from the battle.
Hearing the assault shuttles start landing and sensing the familiar signatures of his fellow Jedi and the Outer Rim Alliance soldiers, Edaan knew it was time for everyone here to take their leave. Nearly collapsing from fatigue, he forced himself to hurry back to the heart of the fighting, hoping everyone else had fared as well as him.
Five Minutes Later
Marik District Center
Mirta Gev realized right away how this brawl would be the greatest test of her abilities to date. Going up against a veteran Mandalorian of Akku Seii II's caliber would phase all but the bravest or most reckless fighters, and Mirta was certainly not the latter. Even equipped with her wide array of skills and tools from her decades of working as a bounty hunter and expert of battling Force Users, that could pale in comparison to the lethal assassin training the Anzati adversary had from his family, and the many more years he had on her, and the silent warrior was living up to his well-deserved reputation.
Much as Mirta hated to admit it, Akku was in a class far above the Fett descendent. Having a trick or strategy designed to negate every one of her strategies and pieces of equipment, combined with his greater agility and reach, it was only due to her quick improvisation that she had not bleed to death from his beskar daggers. It certainly didn't help how he kept trying to unbalance her through dredging up her painful past, and the family she had left behind to help Kitai with her plans.
Though her family held little love for the Jedi, they hated the Sith just as much for the pain they wrought on the Mandalorians and the Fett clan in recent memory and wanted nothing more to do with either of their wars. Having allied with a most wanted Sith Lady burnt practically every bridge she had with the mainstream Mandalorian society and forced her to resort to less savory means to etch out a living with likeminded dissidents.
Forcing her mind back to the present, Mirta barely avoided a fatal jab at her armored throat, and decided it was time to go after Akku with killing intent. Maybe without showing any restraint, she could still turn this fight around.
Before she could counterattack, a series of explosions wreaking havoc throughout the district, detonations that Mirta knew were not part of the plan. Seeing Atai pull back after putting a hand to his helmet's built-in comm antenna, she realized the 'good king' and his professional navy had somehow screwed everything up.
Contacting Kitai, Mirta called out, "Give me your position ASAP! We've got enemy craft inbound, and Akku's heading your way!"
"Too late." Kitai muttered, Mirta recognizing a hint of regret in her voice as the Sith Lady continued, "Almost all the enemy is withdrawing, and our blockade is in shambles from the Jedi's surgical strikes."
"Prepare our forces for return to the capital, and ensure our prisoners and wounded are guarded well. We're going to have plenty of words for the king when we brief him on this loss." Kitai closed the channel, even as Mirta knew that conversation wasn't going to be pleasant for De'Nal.
Hopefully, no one would die from that meeting. No one of importance or true value to the Sith, at least.
Nelona 27th, 53 ABY
Capital City, Royal Palace
"Can any of you tell me why- Give me even just one valid reason for your colossal failure- I should not execute or exile any or all of you from my world after letting the Jedi and Atai slip out of your grasp." De'Nal seethed to the three women standing before him. "Because of your complete incompetence, we forced thirty of my top officers to try and undermine my authority to maintain our noble traditions and were punished for their tragic defiance. And three of those majors went with or were captured by the Jedi, a capital offense against my rule and the ultimate betrayal of loyalty to the throne."
De'ralla, sick of hearing the king's ranting after how close the Sith had come to capturing their adversaries, stepped up to bravely challenge him, "Because you need us to ensure your reign survives, and we need your authority to protect the loyal citizens and military from the inevitable Jedi and Outer Rim Alliance reprisals. Your Highness." She added the last two words almost as a curse.
"Without your navy refusing to hold their blockade to go after the diversionary force and go off chasing pointless glory, we would have been able to capture our mutual enemies and behead the Outer Rim Alliance's command structure." Mirta continued, ready to defend her Zygerrian peer. "The Jedi and their contracted Mandalorians were being overwhelmed by our superior numbers and position, and the former prime minister was all but in our custody before his allies arrived in force to save them all. Even they couldn't have fought forever before they slipped up."
Dangerously staring at the military commander, De'Nal sardonically demanded of Kitai, "What does our esteemed Sith advisor have to say of this situation? Any vaunted wisdom or intricate plots you might have concocted to remedy the situation?"
Yellow eyes glaring at the impetuous king, Kitai sinisterly grinned, a smile without any joy, before admitting, "I already have a plan. Thanks to the Jedi's latest captives, we know exactly where your former right hand has based his forces, and we can launch our final attack against them in three weeks."
Everyone but Mirta did a double take at Kitai's outrageous claims, and De'Nal coolly snarled, "That's a bold claim. For your sake, you'd best have solid information to back it up."
Telekinetically plugging information into a tactical monitor, Kitai activated it and revealed a complete layout of the Drukarg Highlands, a mountainous region of the planet's northern hemisphere that could hide the planet's entire population if the monarchy so desired. But the images within the core of the mountains hid images the king was disgusted to see: Outer Rim Alliance encampments flooding the area, with dozens of supply ships and a wide array of privately owned warships landing and serving as a defense of this enemy fortress.
"It seems that your competition pulled one over your crown and created a rebellion right under your nose." Kitai sadly smiled. "According to my agents and Commanders' Gev and Invoa's scouts, the enemy is preparing for a new offensive against you, and the rest of your allies are reporting similar enemy redoubts across every other world. The Senex-Juvex Sectors, Thallassia, and Orvex IV are also reporting how the Freedom Flight, Jedi, and all major powers, are preparing to take action in aiding the dissidents that are revolting against the ruling houses."
"Quite frankly, your highness, your position is hanging by a mere thread, and unless we take decisive action to blunt the enemy's advance, you'll soon find yourself in a maximum-security cell of one of your many foes, never to see the light of day again." Kitai concluded.
Eyes twitching from the stress and countless failures surrounding him, De'Nal warned Kitai, "How can we stop them?"
'You cannot defeat the Jedi here, not yet.' A commanding and booming voice entered the conversation, before Kitai and Mirta knelt before the shrouded hologram came into focus, revealing a human encased in the armor of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors, with two lightsabers hanging from his armor.
"Lord Krayt." Kitai reverently introduced for De'Nal and De'ralla's benefit, the latter crisply saluting the Dark Lord of the Sith who founded the One Sith.
"Rise, my loyal and capable servants." Krayt ordered. "We have much to discuss, and little time to do it in."
Reaching out through the Force, Krayt implanted a series of images and scenarios in all four of his subordinates' minds: Seeing the Jedi rallying the galaxy to the side of the Outer Rim Alliance, with countless ships and soldiers invading all the slaver-ruled worlds that allied with the One Sith and uncovering the proof of the free peoples' enemies funding the practice's resurgence, Kitai, Mirta, and even De'ralla, they all knew what had to be done.
If the One Sith were prematurely exposed now, when their full strength was not yet gathered, it would unite the galaxy against their Grand Design and unleash the still-powerful adherents of the Light Side on them all. Even if the sectors under Sith influence that practiced slavery temporarily fell into Jedi hands, undoing centuries or millennia of such traditions would be impossible to expunge overnight. For the sake of the mission, Zygerria and all their expendable collaborators in the slave trade had to be sacrificed to protect their betters.
Solemnly bowing before her master, Kitai softly vowed, "I will make the necessary arrangements."
"Good. Once you complete my work, return your focus on securing Kesh and the rest of your people for our armies." Krayt ordered. Glancing at De'Nal for a second, he added, "Do what you will with the king. I will trust your judgment on that little wrinkle."
The transmission ending, De'Nal, the moment Krayt's image vanished, impatiently complained, "Why does everyone treat me like I don't exist?! Am I not the king of Zygerria?! I deserve to make the decisions regarding my people's future, not any of you! I will not allow myself or my people to be discarded like a set of broken tools."
'But that's precisely what you are, you blind, insufferable fool.' De'ralla quietly scoffed, before respectfully speaking up, "If we wanted to let your people lose everything to our enemies, then our allies would never have come to our aid in the first place. But the situation has changed drastically for us all since then, and sacrifices must be made to ensure we have a future at all now."
Eyes widening before venomously narrowing at the disclosure, De'Nal muttered, "You're in on it. The Sith, they're trying to usurp me and take over the planet for themselves."
"Oh, don't be paranoid, you spoiled di'kut!" Mirta loudly spat. "The Jedi are about to come in force to help your rivals take this world, and we don't yet have the strength to challenge them in the open. Which means we need to get you and all your essential followers and wealth out of the sector before it falls to the invaders and your would-be usurper."
"And that goes for all your allies' worlds. Although they cannot be saved by direct means, we can still undermine the Jedi's rule through more… discreet methods. And once the One Sith are ready to truly wage war and free the galaxy from the Jedi's shackles, we'll return to reestablish your rule." Kitai assured the king, hoping the man would mature into a worthy leader before that day came.
"We need to start preparing for your withdrawal and get you off Zygerria before the war fully turns against you, which means you'll need a series of escape routes to safely escape the inevitable cordon." Kitai paused, typing a series of hyperspace coordinates into the computer and revealed several hyperspace routes that were previously unregistered in the system. "My travels allowed our forces to map out a few safe paths from old routes leading in and out of your sector. When the Jedi arrive in force, you'll be able to slip away before they are any wiser."
"Do you truly believe we have no chance against the Jedi and their allies, or that your strategy is the only way to win this war?" De'ralla questioned.
Eyeing the Zygerrian woman intently, Kitai plainly stated, "Not as we are now, Commander. Like the Sith visionaries who came before us, patience, subtlety, cunning, and secrecy will serve us infinitely better than brute force. And even when we are strong enough to confront the Jedi head-on, we will still need to be cautious. They have a notorious knack for turning certain defeat into a great and decisive victory for their pitiful cause."
"How long do we have before we begin our withdrawal?" Mirta asked her superior.
"We need to be out of here in under a month, and no later." Kitai estimated. "Between preparing our personnel, records, and wealth for evacuation, and readying an insurgent network to destabilize Atai Molec's coming rule, we'll have our work cut out for us before we're all ready to escape."
Well, I think this is a good place to end the chapter! I was going to make it longer by including two other sections, but I think the battle and immediate aftermath would work better for this chapter. Of course, that means I need to write two more chapters for this interlude instead of one, so them's the breaks, so to speak. So, how are you all doing on this warm afternoon of Wednesday, May 24, 2023? I'm well, as I mowed my relatives' yard today and ran an errand with them. Now I think I'll rest a bit, as I'm worn out from last night and my yard work. But I hope to get this chapter published in a few days, after I get it examined by a few trusted friends and acquaintances. I hope you all have a blessed day, and Long Live the Expanded Universe!
