Lord Hoth tossed and turned, grunting in his frustration with being unable to sleep. The creaking of his cot joined the whining buzz of the bloodsucking insect swarms that followed his army wherever they made camp. The noise was compounded by the whirring hum of small-winged night birds swooping in to feast on the insects that feasted on his soldiers. The result was a shrill, maddening cacophony that hovered on the edges of hearing.
But it wasn't the noises that were keeping him awake, or the unrelenting heat that left him with a constant sheen of sweat on his brow, even at night. It wasn't the military strategies and battle plans constantly running through his mind. It wasn't any one of these things, but rather the sum of all of them together-and the fact that there seemed to be no end in sight to this blasted, cursed war. Minor annoyances that had been tolerable during the first months on Ruusan had been magnified by frustration and futility into unbearable torments.
With an angry growl he cast aside the thin blanket he slept under, tossing it into the far corner of his tent. He swung his legs over the side and sat up on the edge of the cot, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his head clasped between his hands.
For two, long standard years he had waged his campaign against the Brotherhood of Darkness here on Ruusan. Ten standard years total had he waged his campaign against the Brotherhood of Darkness. In the beginning many Jedi had rallied to his side. And many Jedi had died-too many. Under Lord Hoth's command they had sacrificed themselves, offering up their own lives for the sake of a greater cause. Yet now, after ten major battles-not to mention countless skirmishes, raids, minor clashes, and indecisive engagements-nothing had been decided.
The blood of thousands stained his hands, yet he was no closer to his goal.
Frustration was beginning to give way to despair and anger. Morale was the lowest it had ever been. Many of the soldiers grumbled that Farfalla was right.
The general had let Ruusan become his mad obsession and was leading them to their doom.
Hoth no longer even had the strength to argue with them. He didn't even have the strength to consider to argue with tem. Sometimes he felt as if he had forgotten the reasons he had come here in the first place. Why he waged this campaign in the first place. Once there may have been virtue in this war, but such nobility had long since been stripped away.
Now he fought for revenge in the name of those Jedi who had fallen. He fought out of hatred of the dark side and what it stood for. He fought out of pride and a refusal to admit defeat. But most of all, he fought simply because he no longer knew anything else. Battle was all he knew. Yet if he gave up now, would it make any difference?
If he ordered his troops to retreat, to evacuate the planet in Farfalla's ships, would anything change? If he stepped aside and left the burden of battling the Sith-here on Ruusan or elsewhere in the galaxy-to another, would he finally find peace? Or would he simply be betraying all those who had believed in him? To disband the Army of Light now, while the Brotherhood of Darkness still existed, dishonored the memory of all those who had perished in the conflict.
To press on meant many more would surely die-and he himself might be lost to the light forever. Or the dark. But, it also meant that the Sith wouldn't have free reign. Their acts of cruelty and depravity wouldn't consume the entire galaxy. The galaxy wouldn't be thrown into chaos and blood letting.
He laid back down and closed his eyes again. But sleep would not come. "When all the options are wrong...What does it matter which one I choose?"
"When the way before you is not clear." A voice answered. "Carve a path to make it clear."
Hoth snapped his head up to peer through the darkness of the tent. A figure was just barely visible in the shadows, standing on the other side. Was it the shadows themselves speaking, or was it darkness? Was he finally losing it?
"Who goes there?!" He exclaimed, then suddenly asked, "Is this real? Or am I actually sound asleep in my cot, and all this is nothing but a dream?"
"Tis is very real, but a war adle mind can play tricks on one. A dream is only another kind of reality." The shadows said-there was amusement there.
Hoth crossed the tent slowly, moving closer.
As he approached, Hoth realized he could actually see whoever this was...
The apparition was pitch black, cloaked in an ebony robe. He could only see pale-white eyes boring at him. Boring deep within him, that even he felt a sliver of uncertainty. Whatever matter of creature this was-it had been around much longer than he had, hundreds of thousands of years. There was power radiating from its center-lucid, but deadly.
This has to be a dream. Hoth realized. But he didn't want to wake. Instead he clung desperately to the chance to speak to this figure. To know what this creature was standing before him.
"This is no dream, Hoth." The figure spoke, stepping forward. It made no sound as it stepped, the ground didn't shift, the leaves didn't shift, and there wasn't even a wisp of dust whirled about.
"What matter of creature are you?" Hoth asked. "You've been around for eons longer than I."
"My origins don't matter, and I won't tell you of them. You want more Jedi on your side, no?" The figure of his dream questioned, striking at the most sensitive nerve on the Jedi Master.
"To destroy the Brotherhood of Darkness and the Sith...You wish to rally more under your cause."
A funny thought struck the general. "More will not come to my cause, and I can't blame them for their reservations. I've lost myself in this war, I'm not even sure if I'm the same person I was before this happened."
The figure laughed, deep and low. Like a growl of some behemoth roaming the galaxy, swallowing planets whole.
Hoth took a step back. For a moment he said nothing. He was wary of this being's presence. Every part of him was screaming danger over and over. The dark side surrounded him like a force field, but there was a hint of the light side. Something that tempered that out of control darkness that wanted to lash out with the ferocity of a Vaapad creature.
He realized, whoever, or whatever this was, it consumed those who were force sensitive.
"The Army of Light is an instrument of good and justice. It is the only thing stopping this galaxy from falling into darkness."
"I once believed that, but now I am not so sure."
"You fear you may have lost your way, but you have not. The Brotherhood has to be stopped, and only you understand this. Only you understand the severity of the threat they pose to the galaxy. Drastic times call for drastic measures."
"You make it sound so simple." Hoth said with a slight shake of his head.
"It is that simple, but only you understand."
"Have I really fallen so far that I cannot even remember the most basic teachings of the Jedi?"
"There is no shame in falling." The being said. "There is only shame if you lose. There is only shame if you don't complete what you set out to do."
Hoth sighed heavily. "I know what I must do, but I lack the tools to do it. My troops are on the verge of collapse. Exhausted and outnumbered. And the other Jedi no longer believe in my cause. I've become a madman in their midst."
"Are they not the mad ones?" The being questioned. "Are they not mad for not taking action against Kaan and his Brotherhood? Aren't they the foolishly delusional for not rallying to your cause?"
"So many have fallen, and we're not step closer to ending this war."
"And, more will fall. However, would you rather have your brethren fall in combat to the threat of the Brotherhood, and wiping them out? Or would you rather have the entire galaxy suffer. How many will fall if you lose your resolve now? The Sith Curtain will expand, they will take the core, they will take everything, and they will kill everyone they see fit. The only thing stopping them is the Army Of Light. It is you Hoth, you are the only one stopping them."
Hoth nodded grimly, eyes set. "I know, but it's too late.."
"I'd say the timing is perfect. If you desire ten thousand Jedi at your behest, I will give you ten thousand Jedi. I will give you the whole Order if that's what you want."
Hoth surged towards the being, but stopped before he got too close. His whole body shook, and his eyes were wide. If he had that many Jedi coming as reinforcements he'd kill the Brotherhood down the very last. There'd be nothing capable of stopping him, not even that deranged and self centered fool Kaan. But, ten thousand surely wouldn't come, not even half that...He'd be lucky if two hundred came.
"The whole order? How will you do that?"
The being sunk back into darkness. "Do not worry about that. Just know you will put an end to this war and people will sing song of you in the future. Kaan and his Brotherhood are a problem for me and my plans as well. You taking him and the ragtag group out swings things into...Our favor."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"If the Sith curtain expands into the core, it'll go beyond the Outer Rim. Only you understand this."
"You know..."
Bail Organa's ship, personal transport and attack cruiser. There were four others with him on board ,all of them clothed in the simple brown robes that marked them as members of a vagabond group. No longer did they wear their regal and exquisite robes and uniforms reserved for senate hearings-those luxuries would make them stand out.
Mon Mothma, a human woman with brown short hair, acclaimed by many to be the most daring and forward senator of her time, Mon spent her entire life studying politics and honing her craft. She researched the Old Republic-how the Senate used to be, and once was. How it was before the Ruusan Reformations. What brought those Reformations and so forth.
She was one of the senators who staunchly objected Palpatine's bid for power. Even before he got the emergency powers, she was wary of him and advocated that he had to be taken out of office, before he gained too much power. Her insight always proved invaluable, and one could consider it foresight-since her worst fear came to light recently.
In the gunner's chair across from the pilot's chair was Chi. The female Pantoran had served alongside Mon and Bail. More passive than her two comrades, she still didn't back down when things got too far out of hand. She had been wary of Palpatine's overzealous-vindictive nature in the war. Only surrender will suffice, the man had said-you have gone mad power, Palpatine, many had begun to whisper.
Handling the navigation in the back of the vessel was Fang Zar, Heavily bearded and gruff, he was by far the most outspoken out of the Delegation of 2000 next to Bail, Mon, and Padme. He had objected Palpatine's claims and his ways in the Senate for all to see-holo-net news was always buzzing about him and his daring objections. His rebellious nature in the face of Palpatine's crusade to end the war.
He had been one of Bail's advisers, and a key to victory in many battles due to his knowledge of Galactic transports and trade routes, even though he didn't even carry a lightsaber or blaster. More than one time had his knowledge sent the Trade Federation scrambling into retreat. He had become the target of assignation and hatred, joining the likes of Padme and Bail.
Located beside the navigator in the rear of the vessel, the fourth member of the crew and owner of the ship, Bail Organa provided support for the pilot ,gunner, engine readings, weapons status, scanner reports, and anything else the others needed to do their jobs. Using the long‐abandoned hyperspace route indicated on the message sent to them from Yoda himself, including wandering black holes that would rip a vessel apart, even in hyperspace‐the instability of the route had led to it falling into disuse and finally being forgotten for well over a thousand years.
Bail had calculated the risk of a hyperspace collapse during their journey at just over 2 percent‐more than high enough to make Fang breathe a sigh of relief when they emerged unscathed a few thousand kilometers away from their destination.
"Weapons primed and ready." Bail's voice told everyone over the intercom. "Any Empire goons we have to worry about?"
"Nothing in orbit, as of yet." Chi reported. "Looks like we're clear."
"I'm taking us in. "Mon told them."See if you can find anything."
"Picking up an ion trail, a couple for that matter." Bail said as they neared the planet's atmosphere.
"Locking on to the ion trails...locked on."
Even over the crackle of an intercom, Bail's regal voice resonated through the ship.
"Engaging auto pilot sequence, now." Mon said. "Chi, keep your trigger finger ready."
The autopilot dropped them down into Daogbah's atmosphere.
"I still don't understand the Significance of this planet." Fang mumbled.
Below them was nothing but fog, mist, and swampland.
"Picking up a very large vessel in a swamp. Smaller vessels are on the ground." Bail told them as they drew nearer. "Life forces are outside the ships. I'll be! They've survived!"
They were close enough now that Fag could make out two warped towers rising up on either side of the swamp's embrace. Knots and tangles of trees swarmed his vision, threatning to consume him with the same vigor they encircled this planet with.
"Reading life‐forms outside." Bail noted. "Looks like...three. Three that stand out."
"Only three?" Chi mumbled, sounding disappointed. "Perhaps we were too late."
"Don't count on that." Bail warned as Mon brought the ship down. "Yoda works in mysterious ways. Hope hasn't been lost."
Obi Wan was fine tuned with the Force. He could walk through storms of blaster fire. He was witty enough to catch Windu off guard, Insightful enough to surprise Yoda. And, charming enough to get through even the most brazen and lude of men and women.
However, as fine tuned as he was to the Force-this didn't make any sense to him.
"There must be some mistake, Master Yoda." Obi Wan said with a shake of his head.
"No mistake, is there. Seen this Vader on Mustafar, you did."
Obi Wan drew his brows together. "Anakin?"
"The boy you raised and trained into a Knight is no more. Consumed by his hatred and grief, he is now Darth Vader."
Obi Wan couldn't help but scoff. It was painful. His back was shredded, and even with the Bacta applied to the wound, it was going to take a while to heal. Scoffing an simple movements were a source of agony, but there was no greater agony burning his body than Anakin's betrayal. How could his headstrong Padawan, fall so low, as to choke his wife?
To become an agent of the Dark Side?
"I believe he is somewhere inside. Anakin has never been evil. Someone must have swayed him, with..." Obi Wan trailed off.
"Something close and personal, yes? But, you, this was not? Someone else, it seems."
'Obi Wan never imagined Yoda would piece it together that fast. He swore to keep Padme's secret. He was her friend and confidant. He was Anakin's Master, the closest thing Anakin ever had to a father. He was the closest thing Padme had to someone she could trust without any issue, with all of her issues. She had been pregnant, and he knew it. He knew it was driving Anakin crazy, but he never thought there was some predator in the shadows...
His foolish Padawan.
So foolish.
Obi Wan pressed his finger to his eyes, clenching them shut. Tears came forth and he couldn't stop them. How could he have been so foolish to not see...To not do something to help Anakin? Duty kept him at an arm's length-he treasured Anakin, the memories they made, the bond they forged, he couldn't just...He had been terribly foolish.
If I had just listened to him...
"Convince yourself, are you?" Yoda asked, ancient eyes searching.
"I...I'm not sure, Master." Obi Wan told him.
Yoda shifted in his spot. He was alone with Obi Wan-away from the rest of the Jedi that had been crowding around him. He could smell the sulfur on Obi Wan, taste the blood and battle he had been through, feel the scorching heat of Mustafar scorching his wizen gray hairs atop his wrinkled skull. He could feel Obi Wan's angst, his desperation, and more than anything...The sorrow that was consuming one of his brightest.
"The dark side, and those who use it..." Yoda paused, eyes half closing. "Prey on emotions-the fear and struggles, do they. Suffering, they prey on-the prospect of suffering, do they use to their advantage."
Obi Wan tried to it himself up, but a stiff cry of pain left his lips...
His limp arm smacked into his side, and he screamed.
He fell in a heap, gasping, sucking in oxygen.
That wasn't his best idea, but...He knew Yoda was right. The Anakin he had raised, trained, bonded with...The man that was like his son, his brother-was gone. Only Vader remained. The man who choked Padme-the man who broke her spirit...Anakin was truly no more. But, a part of Obi Wan held onto hope. If he could get through the Anakin, somehow, certainly he'd be able to bring him back to the light.
"Be at ease, for now." Yoda instructed.
Obi Wan was exasperated. "How can I be at ease when..."
"I sense Dooku. Powerful, is the dark side around him." Yoda muttered, looking into Obi Wan's eyes.
"He survived?" Obi Wan was truly shocked. He hadn't went in for the kill, he thought the lava and sulfur would do it. Dooku's lungs should have been so scorched that he couldn't breathe right. He shouldn't be breathing at all. He'd need some form of life support, and even that wouldn't help.
"Great pain and anguish, I sensed from him. Gone that is." Yoda closed his eyes. "Sidious, I believe, a hand in this, he had."
"With all due respect, Master Yoda." Obi Wan said, slowly sitting himself up. He wouldn't try to stand again, not without help at least. "He shouldn't be alive."
"Underestimate the power of the dark side, you do." Yoda said, grimly staring into Obi Wan's eyes. "It can sustain those on the brink of death, even in as critical condition as Dooku was."
"We all underestimated the power of the dark side." Obi Wan said, his tone ominous.
"Yes." Came the immediate reply from Yoda. "Yes we did. It is suffering."
"What do we do now, Master?" Obi Wan asked. "Master Windu attacked Sidious, even if he was the Sith lord we were looking for, treason is treason."
"A trap, it all was." Yoda said, his eyes were shifting with emotion. Subtle grief. "The Clone Wars. The Invasion of Naboo. All of it, the work of Sidious. Blind, we fell to it."
Obi Wan recalled Dooku telling him over and over-yet he refused to believe the man. Sifo Dyas was vocal decades before this whole got to the point it was in now. Cadus had been the same, but everyone began to shun him after some time. It was so unfortunate, so sad, but they had all been so blind. Believing they were serving the Force, believing they were always right, it had been nothing more than arrogance.
"Are we to stop being Jedi?" Obi Wan ventured.
"A possibility, that is."
Obi Wan was shocked to his core, but the sight of another ship appearing over Yoda's shoulder, still too far in the distance to make out a model or affiliation, kept it well hidden.
Yoda felt it before he had. The short being turned and looked in that direction ,then turned back to him.
"Who is that?" Obi Wan asked.
"An old friend."
"Bail..." Obi Wan muttered.
The ship was coming in quickly.
"Alone, he is not. Help arrived, it has." Yoda said, smiling. "A next course of action, we will discuss."
Obi Wan noticed someone was missing. More than a few people were missing from this bunch-his family, but one stood out the most.
"Where is Master Cadus? Master Shaak Ti? Serra? Isa'bella? And what of Master Aalya?"
Yoda's eyes shifted again, and he closed them...He hummed shortly. "A mission, they had to undertake."
Obi Wan felt grief hit him again. "What is the status of Master Quinlan?"
"There, Cadus is heading..." Yoda began to walk away. "Focus on our own mission, we must."
"Are...Are we not going to help him?"
Yoda shifted, but didn't respond.
Shryne took a calming breath and began again. "Vader is Anakin Skywalker."
"I still can't believe it." Forte muttered.
"It's possible. I've seen Holonet news that says this Vader killed Anakin in the Temple. But, there's another report about a person put in charge named Vader." Poorf shook his head in confusion.
"I don't understand. Why would he do that."
"It doesn't matter. Fact of the matter is that he answers directly to Sidious." Shryne felt exasperation surfacing once more. "Vader is the one we need to worry about. He will track us down. We'll be lucky if he hasn't already."
"What if we get to him first?" Forte gestured broadly. "All of us against someone who is Sith, and one of the largest armies ever amassed..."
"We wouldn't go after him immediately," Starstone interjected, seeing where Forte was going with this. "Sidious isn't embraced by everyone. Even now there must be those who are dissenting."
She looked at Jula. "You yourself said that his reach is limited to the inner systems. Which means we could work covertly to persuade Outer Rim Senators and military leaders to join our cause."
"You're neglecting the fact that most species are now convinced that we had a hand in starting and perpetuating the war." Shryne said strongly.
"Even those who aren't convinced would risk too much by helping us, even by providing sanctuary." Shaak Ti added.
"Starstone was not deterred. "There are more of us, we survived. We can keep transmitting—"
"Out of the question." Cadus snarled, tempted to throw her across the room again.
"I am in agreement with Cadus. I will not allow that," Jula cut Olee off before she could even get started. "Not from my ship, anyway."
She looked at Forte and recalled battered transport that had once belonged to an Imperial garrison on Dellalt, Olee Starstone and the Jedi who had joined her crusade waited to be granted clearance to continue on to Kashyyyk space.
Thanks mostly to Jula's crew, the drives had been tweaked to produce a new signature, the ship's profile had been altered, the defensive shields and countermeasures suite repaired.
The Drunk Dancer's maintenance droids had given the ship a quick paint job and had helped remove some of the seats amidships, to create a common cabin, the vessel's fresh look matched the false identities the Jedi had adopted, as well as the clothes that made them look like a motley crew of struggling smugglers. The space transport's cockpit was spacious enough to accommodate Starstone, Isa'bella, and Filli Bitters, in addition to Talisibeth, Jambe Lu and Nam Poorf, who were doing the piloting, and still-sightless Nalual, who was tucked into the cramped communications area.
Filli was confident that the transport's altered drive signature would pass muster, but he was still new to forging Imperial code. He was less certain about the authorization code. Cadus had helped him along, but he still wasn't so confident. Olee placed her hand on Jambe's shoulder, as a way of saying...Be ready to make a run for it.
Cadus was centering himself behind the steering yoke when an officious voice sounded from the cockpit speakers.
"Vagabond Trader, you are cleared for approach to Kashyyyk. Commerce Control will provide you with vector coordinates for atmospheric entry and landing."
"Understood. Cadus said into the mouthpiece of her the transport's sublight drive.
Jambe and Nam began to edge the transport through.
Filli's eased out a breath.
"You all right?" Cadus asked.
"I am now." Fillis said. "I was flying blind with that code."
"It mustered enough." Olee said from behind.
"Yeah, you're really good. You had help from Master, but you're still good." Isa'bella beamed.
He smiled back.
"Glad to help."
Starstone was still getting used to Filli's frequently awkward attempts at flirtation. But then, she wasn't even ranked a beginner. The idea that the towheaded slicer was on temporary loan from the Drunk Dancer was absurd. Shryne was merely using Filli as a means of keeping tabs on the Jedi, but she refused to let that bother her.
If Filli's slicing skills could help locate fugitive Jedi, so much the better, even if she did have to pretend to be flattered by his attention, as opposed to being embarrassed by it. She liked him more and more, but she had her priorities straight, and romantic involvement wasn't among them. Isa'bella wasn't as focused as she was, and every so often she'd blush or shuffle her feet when Fillis would flirt with her. Tallisibeth wasn't any better. Serra and Maris looked more like they wanted to bite off his head than listen to him.
"I hope we're not too late." Shaak Ti said suddenly.
From information gleaned from their memories, they knew that four Jedi had been dispatched to Kashyyyk. Quinlan Vos, Luminara Unduli, Barris Offee and Master Yoda himself. Cadus had been sent to Kashyyk before them, but had to pull out due to other battles sweeping through the Inner Core. Both Cadus and Yoda had enjoyed a longstanding relationship, if there was a planet where Jedi could have survived the execution order, Kashyyyk would be it.
"Wookiee World." Nam said as he dropped the bow of the planet rose into view, white capped with mountain ranges, forests, and jagged cliff edges, otherwise green and blue.
Dozens of huge vessels hung in orbit, including the perforated hulks of several Separatist warships. Ferries and drop ships could be seen emerging from and disappearing into Kashyyyk's atmosphere. High-stacked power walls indicated a Separatist ship, tipped over on its starboard side, its underbelly heavily punctured by turbolaser bolts.
"Wookiee ships." Cadus said. "They're probably taking whatever's useful. They take immigrant technology and make it their own. For enough credits, they could probably build us a wooden starship."
Starstone had heard as much. Inventive handiwork was the primary reason Wookiees frequently fell prey to slave traders, especially Trandoshans, their reptilian planetary neighbors. Skill, however, hadn't brought the Separatists to Kashyyyk, or the Trade Federation before them. The system was not only close to several major hyperlanes, but also an entry point for an entire quadrant of space.
A Wookiee guild of cartographers known as the Claatuvac were said to have mapped star routes that didn't even appear on Republic or Separatist star maps.
The communications console chimed a repeating series of tones.
"Vector routing from Commerce Control." Cadus said. "Make sure they understand we want to set down near Kachirho,"
Filli nodded. "Transmitting our request. Relaying course coordinates to navigation."
Nam turned around, an excited look on his face. "I've wanted to visit Kashyyyk for ten years."
"Half the Core would like to visit Kashyyyk. A majority of the galaxy, for that matter." Filli's said.
"But the Wookiees don't cater to tourists." Cadus remarked.
"What, no luxury accommodations?" Jambe shook his head.
"They might be willing to provide a tent." Serra commented a little idly. "If you're lucky."
"How many times have you been here?" Starstone asked.
Fillis thought about it, then shrugged after a second. "Ten, twelve. No more than twenty times. In between regular jobs, we'd sometimes run scrap technology here. I heard Cadus here is practically a native."
"I like their brew and food." Cadus nodded.
"More than half the galaxy can't eat or drink it." Aalya commented, smiling a little.
"Only Wookiees can." Fillis said, laughing.
"Can either of you speak the language?" Nam laughed.
"I once met a human who could bark a couple of useful phrases, but the best I could ever manage was a 'thank you,' and that worked only one out of ten times." Fillis replied.
"It's hard for humans to speak the language. Our vocal cords aren't made in a way to make those sounds. The same goes for many species, including Zabrak. Togruta, and Twi'lek." Cadus explained.
"Doesn't answer the question." Nam prodded.
"I can speak it, yeah. The Wookiees don't give me a hard time for sounding like a half baked idiot doing it. I prefer to use their written language."
Starstone frowned. "Do we have a translator droid or some sort of emulator?"
"We won't need one." Fillis said. "The Wookiees employ a mixed-species staff of go-betweens to help out with sales and trades."
"Who do we ask for?" Starstone asked.
"Last time I was here, there was a guy named Cudgel...He seemed to be on good terms with them. We'll have to go to him."
The ship began its descent into Kashyyyk's aromatic atmosphere, light fading as the ship dropped below the canopy of the planet's eight thousand plus meter wroshyr trees into an area of majestic cliffs crowned with vegetation. Adjusting course, Jambe and Nam guided the transport to a lakeshore landing platform made of wroshyr wood.
The aquamarine lake rose, the city of Kachirho came into view. Nam nearly botched the landing, but no one was hurt, despite being tossed about.
Olee gazed at the trees, mountains, running rivers and oceans, and sheer cliffs in wonderment. Her hopes for finding Quinlan and the others not withstanding, the Wookiee world rendered other planets she had visited to be...Mundane at best. The exotic landing platform alone was impressive, with ships coming and going, and groups of Wookiees and their liaison crews haggling with beings representing dozens of different species.
Outsize logs and slabs of fine-grained hardwoods were heaped about, and the air was rich with the heavy smell of tree sap, and loud with the drone of nearby lumber mills. Protocol and labor droids supervised the loading and offloading of cargo, which was moved by teams of hornless banthas or exquisitely crafted hover sleds. All of the activity shaded and dwarfed by trees that seemed to reach to the very edge of space.
Starstone took a step back, heaving, she had to catch her breath. The gargantuan size of everything made her feel like an insect. She was still gaping like a tourist when Fillis returned, accompanied by a thick set male human dressed in short trousers and a sleeveless shirt. He wasn't quite as hairy as a Wookiee, but it wasn't from a lack of trying.
"Cudgel." Fillis said, by way of greeting.
Cudgel smiled at everyone in turn, jovial but clearly dubious, and Starstone immediately saw why. While she and her band of fugitive Jedi could dress the part of merchants, even talk the part, they couldn't stand the part. Straight-backed, silent, hands clasped in front of them, they looked more like a group of vacationing meditators, which was not far from the truth.
"First time to Kashyyyk?" Cudgel asked, brow raised.
"Yes." Starstone answered for everyone. "Hopefully not our last."
"Welcome, then." Forcing a smile, he eyed the transport. "This is a transporter, isn't it?"
"Military surplus." Fillis said.
"Already? I was under the impression there wasn't any surplus." Before anyone could say anything else, Cudgel continued. "Can't be carrying much in the way of trade goods. Are you off a freighter up top?"
"We're not here to trade, exactly..." Fillis said, trailing off. "More in the way of a fact-finding mission."
"We're in the market for an Oevvaor catamaran." Starstone blinked in surprise.
"Then your ship had better be filled with gold, I don't think credits will be doing much in the near future."
"Our client is prepared to pay a fair price." Starstone said.
Cudgel stroked his chest-length beard. "Not a question of price, per say. More of availability."
"How bad were things here?" Forte asked abruptly.
Real subtle... Serra rolled her eyes.
Cudgel followed the Jedi's gaze to the tree-city. Cudgel frowned, staying composed. "Bad enough. The Wookiees are still cleaning up."
"Many killed?" Nam asked.
"Even one's too many."
"The Wookiee are tightly knit-the mere threat of attack is too much." Shaak Ti murmured
"Were any Jedi involved?" Jambe's question seemed to stop Cudgel cold.
"Why do you ask?"
"We just came from Saleucami." Starstone said, hoping to put Cudgel at ease. "We heard that several Jedi were killed by clone troopers during the battle."
Cudgel appraised her. "I wouldn't know about that. I was in Rwookrrorro during most of it." He pointed. "Other side of this large forest and river that you're seeing."
"However..."
A short silence fell over everyone.
"I heard about what happened on Coruscant..Well, let me go and see if I can't find someone to help us out." Cudgel said and kept quiet until the hiruste middleman had moved off.
"I don't think that went so well." Starstone said to Forte and the others.
"Of course not. You're kriffing stupid, I can't stand it..." Maris hissed, her eyes were trained on Forte as well. "Real subtle, by the way. Master Forte."
The man frowned, not missing the disdain on the young Zabrak's lips. "Did your Master die?"
Maris clenched her teeth, barely controlling her anger. To say she was controlling it would be a lie. "There wasn't enough left of him to put in a box."
"Don't be so arrogant, Master Forte." Shaak Ti said, tone low.
"Shouldn't matter. No need to get worked up." Iwo Kulka said. "Kashyyyk isn't Saleucami or Felucia. We're in Jedi-friendly territory."
"That statement could lead to your death." Talisibeth muttered, eyes lowered.
"Why do you say that?"
"You have no idea..." Tallisibeth shook her head.
Vader...Is coming...
Fillis interjected into the rather tense conversation. "Cudgel's back."
With four dozen rangy Wookiees in tow.
"These are the folk I told you about before." Cudgel was telling the Wookiees.
Before Starstone could open her mouth to speak, the Wookiees bared their fangs and brandished the most bizarre-looking hand blasters she had ever seen. They must have weighed as much as two of her, and she was instantly on guard.
"They're interested in knowing why you're so interested in knowing whether any Jedi were here during the battle." Cudgel explained to Starstone and the others while the quartet of armed Wookiees glared down at them.
Shaak Ti and Aalya glanced at each other, willing to let the whole thing play out.
"Idle curiosity." Fillis said, which only succeeded in eliciting rumbling growls from the four.
"They're not buying it." Cudgel said, wary.
Olee gazed up into the wide bronzium muzzles of weapons she suspected she would need the Force to heft, let alone fire. Peripherally she was aware that the confrontation had begun to draw the attention of other landing parties. Humans and aliens alike were suddenly halting their transactions with liaison staffers and Wookiees, and turning toward them.
She made up her mind to risk everything by simply telling the truth.
"We're Jedi." she said just loud enough to be heard.
Serra and Maris snarled.
The way the Wookiees tilted their enormous shaggy heads, Olee grasped instantly that they had understood her. They also heard the two snarls from Serra and Maris. They kept their exotic weapons enabled and raised, but at the same time their expressions of wariness softened somewhat. One of them brayed a remark to which Cudgel stroked his long beard.
"Now, that's even harder to swallow than the idle-curiosity explanation, don't you think? I mean, considering the fact that the Jedi were ambushed in the temple on Coruscant, and thousands more died across the galaxy. They say only a few, and I mean a few, Master survived. Other than some of those Padawan guys, and the kids, there ain't much left."
The same Wookiee lowed and gobbled, and, again, Cudgel nodded, then centered his gaze on Starstone.
"Maybe if you'd said that you were a Jedi, then all of us on the happy side of these blasters would be convinced. But—"
He counted heads.
"You can't be telling me all of you are Jedi. 'cause some of these ladies with you are as far from being a Jedi as it gets."
"I meant me." Starstone said, not commenting about Shaak Ti or Aalya. "I'm a Jedi."
"So it's just you, then?"
"She's lying." Forte said before she could respond.
Two of the Wookiees snarled in plain anger and looked from Forte to Starstone.
"Lying...You have everyone really confused. We always thought of the Jedi as truth tellers."
The Wookiees spoke among themselves, then twelve of them barked an outpouring at Cudgel. He grimaced, looking a little uncomfortable.
"Guania, here, points out that you arrive in a military transport. You look as though you can handle yourselves. You start asking questions about Jedi...He's thinking that you might be bounty hunters."
Starstone shook her head back and forth. "Check the transport. Under the navicomputer console, you'll find lightsabers—"
"Means nothing. You very well could have taken them off your kills, just the way General Grievous did. There were even Jedi who were selling them in the black market during the war, and people were buying them."
"Then how do we prove it?" Starstone asked, frowning.
"Prove it?"
"What do you want us to do, perform Force tricks?"
The Wookiees issued a yodeling.
Cudgel got closer.
"In the unlikely event that you are Jedi, that might not be such a good idea out here in the open."
Starstone forced an exhale, and looked up at the Wookiees.
"We know that Masters Yoda, Luminara Unduli, and Quinlan Vos, and Padawan Offee were here with brigades of troopers." When she saw in their deep brown eyes that she had their full attention, she continued.
"We've risked a lot to come here. But we know that Master Yoda and Master Cadus had good relations with you, and we're hoping that still counts for something.
The Wookiees didn't actually lower their weapons, but they did disable them.
One of them lowed to Cudgel.
"Lachichuk suggests we continue this conversation in Kachirho."
Cudgel looked towards the ship.
"Get over here, Cadus."
Cadus walked forward, smiling briefly.
The Wookiees began to yodel, but it was different than before.
Happy.
"You couldn't step in before these guys got mad?" Cudgel asked, gesturing to the Wookiees.
Cadus shrugged just enough. "I was waiting for you to request me. If I had been present right away-this little girl you see here would have been inclined to run a mile."
They began to follow Cudgel and the Wookiees toward the gargantuan wroshyr that stood at the center of Kachirho tree-city. No sooner had they left the landing platform that Cudgel's attitude changed.
"I heard that none of you survived."
"It's beginning to look like we're the only ones. At least in this area." Olee said sadly. Putting the edge of her hand to her brow, she gazed up at the huge balconies that tiered the tree, some of which showed evidence of recent damage.
"Do you know if any Jedi died here?"
Cudgel shook his head.
"The Wookiees haven't told me anything. For a while it looked like Kashyyyk was going to have its own garrison of clone troopers, but after the Sep droids and war machines shut down, the troopers decamped. There was some dissension among them, strangely enough. Ever since, the Wookiees have been making good use of everything that was left behind."
"For weapons?"
"Seps or no seps, they've still got enemies. Species that want to exploit them. That want to exploit them."
Cudgel led everyone into the hollowed base of the tree, and finally to a turbolift that accessed Kachirho's upper levels to everything she had seen since leaving the landing platform.
Olee was amazed.
The turbolift was an ingenious blend of wood and alloy, the technology that drove it artfully concealed.
And at each tier, her astonishment only grew. The exterior platforms that grew like burls from the bole, the tree contained vast interior rooms, with shimmering parquet floors and curved walls inset with wooden and alloy mosaics. There didn't seem to be a straight line anywhere, and everywhere Olee looked she saw Wookiees engaged in building, carving, sanding, and finishing.
They were as devoted to their work as Jedi had been in fashioning the Temple. Except the Wookiees hadn't enslaved themselves to symmetry or order; rather, they allowed their creations to emerge naturally from the wood. And, they were even more dedicated than the Jedi had been. They worked with a passionate vigor.
The Wookiees seemed to invite a certain kind of imperfection to their work. Some detail to which the eye would be drawn, setting off an entire wall panel, or an expanse of walkways and bridges crisscrossed the tree's interior shaft, and irregular openings brought verdant Kashyyyk inside. At every turn, every staircase spiral or turbolift stop, exterior views of the lake, the forest, and the sheer cliffs were framed by finely worked apertures and clefts.
What Kachirho lacked in color and verdant, it made up for in luster. The Jedi were ushered into a kind of central control room, which looked out over the glinting water and was perhaps the purest example yet of the Wookiees' ability to combine organic and high-tech elements. Console display screens and holoprojectors showed views of the landing platforms, as well as loading operations in and around it, their escorts exchanged muted growls and snorts, snuffs and rumbles, with two others, one of whom was certainly the tallest Wookiee Starstone had seen.
Cadus walked up to the largest and tallest Wookiee.
"What's he doing?" Serra asked, looking genuinely confused.
"Greeting one of the War Chiefs. Olee pissed off some of the Wookiees with her smart mouth, considering it damage control. This is Chewbacca," Cudgel said, introducing the shorter of the pair.
He gestured to the big one.
"And this is one of Kachirho's war chiefs, Tarfful."
Starstone introduced herself and the rest of the Jedi, then lowered herself onto a beautifully carved stool built for human-size beings. Similar stools were rushed into the room, along with soft seat cushions and plates of all this was going on, Tarfful and Chewbacca were being briefed by Lachichuk. Bronzium bands gathered the chieftain's long hair into rope-thick tassels that fell to his belted waist.
The shoulder straps of his baldric joined at an ornate pectoral. Chewbacca, whose black fur was cinnamon-tipped and nowhere near as long as Tarfful's, wore a simple baldric Starstone thought might double as an ammunition everyone was seated and the Wookiees had finished conversing.
Cudgel spoke carefully. "Chieftain Tarfful understands and applauds the courage you've shown in coming to Kashyyyk, but it grieves him to report that he has nothing but sad tidings for you."
"They're dead?" Starstone asked.
"Master Vos was presumed killed by fire from a tank, but I get the feeling that guy actually escaped and is still alive. It was said that Master Unduli was by vaporized by blaster fire."
"And Master Yoda?" she asked.
Chewbacca fell into a long conversation—almost a debate—before expressing themselves to Cudgel, whose eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Apparently, Yoda escaped Kashyyyk in an evacuation pod. Chewbacca, here, says he carried Yoda on his shoulders to the pod."
Starstone came to her feet, nearly tipping over a platter of food.
"He's alive?"
"He could be." Cudgel said after a moment. "After the last of the clone troopers left or killed each other, the Wookiees searched local space for the pod, but no distress-beacon transmissions were picked up."
"Was the pod capable of hyperspace?" Aalya asked.
Cudgel shook his head. "Chances are it was retrieved by a passing ship."
The Wookiees listened attentively.
"There's a chance it was." Shaak Ti conceded.
Starstone looked, eyes beaming. "What makes you think so?"
Cudgel ran his hand over his mouth. How was this one little Padawan noisier than all of the Jedi gathered?
"Wookiee Senator Yarua reported that rumors circulating in the Senate claim Yoda led an attack on Emperor Palpatine in the Senate Rotunda itself, after that, he was seen ripping the roof of the Jedi Temple off."
"And?"
"Same rumor has it he was killed."
"Master Yoda doesn't lose." Forte said.
"Lots of beings used to say that about the Jedi." Cadus broke the silence that descended on the control room after the statement.
"Clearly they were wrong." Maris remarked.
"Padawan-" Forte started.
"Perhaps you should exercise caution, Master Forte. You wouldn't want that certainty to turn out to be arrogance." Shaak Ti said, tone careful.
"No one is-"
"You have a very real problem with someone called Vader. He will cut you down without a moment's hesitation!" Serra snapped.
"If Master Yoda is alive, then there's hope for all of us. He'll find us before we find him." Olee added.
No...There will be a battle here... Aalya could feel it in her bones.
Olee felt renewed.
Hopeful.
"Tarfful asks what you plan to do now." Cudgel said.
"I suppose we'll continue our search." Starstone said.
"Master Kenobi was on Utapau, and has yet to be heard from."
Tarfful issued what sounded like a sustained groan.
"He is honored to offer you safe haven on Kashyyyk, if you wish. The Wookiees can make it appear that you are valued customers. You are also friends of Cadus, and a friend of his, is a friend of Wookiees."
"You would do that for us?" Starstone asked.
"The Wookiees are an honest bunch." Cadus said, eyes dimming with cold fury.
That is why he couldn't leave when it was attacked.
He would lay waste to the whole damn legion.
"The Wookiees owe the Jedi a great debt." Cudgel translated. "And debts are always honored."
"Truth be told..." Cadus took a deep breath. "War is going to happen."
Cudgel sighed. "I got that feeling."
Cadus looked around-looked to the people he could count on, and they all nodded.
The rest of the Jedi, including Shryne could do whatever they wanted-he would defend Kashyyk to the bitter end. There was no other option. Cadus would not retreat. He would not surrender. He would not yield. It would be over his dead body that an entire planet's population became slave labor.
"We don't have much time."
A signal sounded from one of the consoles, and Cudgel and the Wookiees gathered around an inset screen. Cadus cursed while Shaak Ti, Maris, Tallisibeth, and Aalya stood to attention.
The human's expression was grave when he swung to the Jedi.
"Bad news."
"What is it?" Serra prodded.
"An Imperial troop carrier is descending to the Kachirho platform."
Starstone's face lost color.
Cadus growled, sounding like an animal. "They're not wasting any time. I see what this is about."
"We shouldn't have come here...We've endangered all of you!" Olee was wide eyed.
"What should we do, Master Cadus?" Talisibeth asked, eyes growing a little hard.
"We can only do a few things, and no matter what we do..." Maris's eyes dimmed.
"The Wookiees will be slaves. We will be hunted down or killed, unless..." Isa'bella trailed off.
"We're going to rip them apart. Simple as that." Cadus said, looking at everyone gathered.
"I'm with you." Shaak Ti assured.
"As are we." Serra pointed to Isa'bella and Tallisbeth.
"We're going to survey the situation, the second there's an opening we're going to attack. Don't leave any survivors." Aalya continued, eyes hard as stone.
"You'll play the part." Maris said to Cudgel.
"Hold on." Nam said.
Serra ignited her blade, but Shaak Ti's hand kept it at bay.
"Come on now guys." Cudgel said, not sure if he should get between them.
"Jedi don't kill."
Cadus was upon Forte in a heartbeat, driving the man back into the wall. Cadus was wide eyed, fury and rage clearly burned in his wild irises.
"The Jedi have done nothing but kill. You either lay down your life to defend this planet or die right here and now!"
"You care to say that again?"
"We can't let this planet fall." Olee said, trying to reason with everyone.
"Of that, we can all agree." Shaak Ti said, watching Serra return her hilt to her side.
"We don't have much time."
"Evacuate all the Wookiee to a safe place. A hidden place. They will target the major cities, first. We'll beat them by a step. When the real battle starts, I want Masters to disperse around the planet."
"And, that landing transport? And, the blockade?"
"Leave that to us." Serra said, smirking sharply.
She would cut through hordes until she seen Vader.
By the time Cudgel returned to the landing platform the situation was already growing out of control.
Blaster rifles raised, loaded, trained, and faced off with more than seven thousand very indignant Wookiees. Squads of storm troopers were deployed around the carrier that had delivered them to Kachirho, perhaps half a kilometer from where the Jedi transport was parked.
Thankfully, Jula wasn't present at the moment.
From a distance, Cadus and the others watched the entire thing go down with burning anticipation. Maris was ready to just run at top speed and start carving those tin cans, but she had to keep herself in check. There would be a time and place to carve and unleash all of her anger, but now wasn't that time.
They'd strike in unison, and overwhelm them completely. If Vader came down, he'd be dealt with. These Troopers would be cut to pieces, and worse.
"Are you going to tell us that your weapons are all the permission you need?" a human liaison staffer was saying to the troopers' commander as Cudgel hurried over.
The officer's armor was marked with green, and he wore a short campaign skirt. His sidearm was still holstered, but his enhanced voice was filled with menace.
"Authorization was granted by Sector Three Command and Control. If you have any complaints, take them up with the regional governor."
"Commander." Cudgel said.
The commander focused on him.
"How may I be of service?"
The officer gestured broadly to the gathered Wookiees. "Only if you can get these beasts to answer my questions."
High-decibel snarls and furious roars rose from the crowd.
"You might want to find a more polite way to refer to Kashyyyk's indigenes, Commander. You don't want to slight a Wookiee."
"I'm not here to be diplomatic. Let them howl all they want. It makes me no difference. Identify yourself."
"I'm known as Cudgel."
"What are your duties here?"
"I assist with commerce. I can probably set you up with a nice selection of product, if you're interested."
"What would we want with wood?"
"Don't have campfires and gamble a little?"
The crowd woofed but the commander put his gloved right hand on his blaster.
"There'll be fires soon enough...Cudgel. Right where you can see them."
Isa'bella was ready to pounce, but the hand of Serra stopped her. Of all the people to try and stop her from running over there right now spoke volumes.
The commander's words weren't empty.
"I'm not sure I take your meaning, Commander."
The officer adjusted his stance, readying himself for action.
"Kashyyyk is harboring enemies of the Empire."
Cudgel shook his head.
"If there are enemies of the Empire here, the Wookiees are unaware of them."
"There are Jedi here."
"Corpses, sure. Want to take a look around? You mean you actually missed a few? I suppose that rumor is true, then."
The commander raised his left hand and poked Cudgel hard in the chest.
"Either they are surrendered to us immediately, or we take this place apart, beginning with you."
At the commander's wave, the stormtroopers began to spread out.
"Search the landing area and the tree-city! All non-indigenes are to be seized and brought here!"
The Wookiees loosed a chorus of earsplitting backed out of range of the commander's armored fist.
"They don't like it when people track dirt in."
"I'm done with you."
But the words had scarcely left the officer's helmet enunciator when a Wookiee raced forward, knocking the blaster from his hand and hurling him into the troop carrier with such force that the commander's forearm and elbow armor remained in the Wookiee's grasp at the same time, the force of the throw sent the carrier toppling on its side.
Several dozen Wookiee clarions roared in, the troopers turned, covering one another as the gathered crowd began to advance on them.
A ratcheting noise filled the western sky. Two gunships dropped from the treetops to reinforce the advance squads, stormtroopers descending from the open bay on rappel onto the landing platform, the new arrivals stopped short on hearing the familiar snap-hiss of igniting sabers.
"Hey boys." Serra said, tone lethal.
"Why are you wasting time!?" Maris charged ahead.
It was nothing but pure slaughter. What vehicles and carriers the Troopers maneuvered, they were all crushed, destroyed, and smashed into flaming shrapnel to sail over the horizon. Troopers' limbs littered the ground in a pitiful display. Their blasters were cut apart. Their bodies were bisected.
In the span of a few minutes, Serra and Maris wiped out the entire landing party., but, there were more coming.
"I'm going to help them." Isa'bella said.
Tallisibeth followed her with great speed.
Aalya ignited her blades, striding forward. "We'd better stand our guard. Now is when it begins."
Standing on the bridge of the Exactor, Vader regarded distant Kashyyyk through the forward viewports. Commander Appo approached from one of the duty stations.
"Lord Vader, the conflict has begun. Theater commanders await your orders."
"Raise them. Join me in the situation room."
Leaving the bridge, Vader entered an adjacent cabin space just as holoimages were revolving above a ring of several holo-projectors.
Appo came through the hatch behind him, waiting at the perimeter of the ring.
Members of the Emperor's new admiralty, the commanders were human or droid, attired in formfitting jackets and trousers. Black, gray, or green, it appeared.
Certainly each of them had been informed that Vader was to be treated with the same respect they showed the Emperor, but Vader could see in their ghostly faces that they had yet to make up their minds about him. Was he a Dark Jedi? A Sith?
The droids really wouldn't be a problem, yet, as far as he knew, but the humans...
Kashyyyk will tell them all they need to know.
I am something to be feared.
"Commanders, I want you to position your task forces to cover all major population centers."
A holomap eddied from a holoprojector outside the ring, detailing Kashyyyk and the tree-cites of Kachirho, Rwookrrorro, Kepitenochan, Okikuti, Chenachochan, and others.
"Furthermore, I want Interdictor cruisers deployed to prevent any ships from jumping to hyperspace."
"Admiral Vader." one of the men said.
"Yes?"
"The Wookiees have no ranged weapons or planetary defense shields. Orbital bombardment would simplify matters greatly."
Vader decided not to make an issue of the misplaced honorific.
No need.
"Perhaps, Commander. If this were an exercise in obliteration. But since it isn't, we'll adhere to my plan."
"I've had some experience with the Wookiees." Another said, tone grmi. "They won't be taken into captivity without a fight."
"I fully expect a fight, Commander. That is the point. But I want as many as possible taken alive—males, females, and younglings. Order your troops to drive them from their tree-cities into open spaces. Then use whatever means are at our disposal to disarm and subdue them."
"Kashyyyk hosts many merchants." A third man said, eyeing Vader carefully.
"Casualties of war, Commander. Or just capture them."
"Do you intend to occupy the planet?" the same asked.
"That is not my intention."
"Excuse me, sir, but what, then, are we supposed to do with tens of thousands or even, millions of Wookiee captives?"
Vader faced the one who had challenged him.
"Herd them into containment and keep them contained until they have accepted their defeat. You will then receive further orders."
"From whom?" the challenger said.
"From me, Commander."
The officer folded his arms in mild defiance.
"From you."
"You seem to have a problem with that."
"I do."
Vader reached out with the Force, took hold of his skull, and wrenched his neck.
The officer hit the floor.
"Is there anyone else who wants to play the game he was?"
"You can't just kill-"
Vader snapped the man's neck who had been so bold to speak.
"Well?"
"No, of course not...lord Vader."
"Where will you be, lord Vader?" the first man to speak asked.
Vader looked at all of them before answering.
He had an inclination to kill them.
The droids had all been silent. They were programmed to really focus on the coming battle, a battle of internal politics was hardly something that they would even glance at.
"You have your orders. Now carry them out."
Try as she might to convince herself that her actions were justified, that the actions of her fellow Jedi were justified, that the clone army had become the enemy not only of the Jedi but also of democracy and freedom, Starstone couldn't surrender herself fully to combat. She couldn't thrive.
She was staggering.
A far cry from Serra and Maris who were absolutely going on a tear. A far cry from Aalya and Shaak Ti, who both launched themselves into the sky, spearing across Kashyyk's skies. A far cry from Tallisibeth who had surrendered herself fully to combat and was moving with purpose.
Brought into being to serve the Republic, the troopers, like the Jedi, had fallen victim to Palpatine's treachery.
And now they were dying at the hands of those who had helped create them.
This is wrong, all wrong. Olee thought.
And yet, clearly, the notion of tragic irony hadn't been incorporated into the clones' programming. The conflict of loyalty between Jedi and Palpatine, and loyalty in general, had never truly been incorporated The troopers were out to kill her. There was no hesitation. They came in droves. Only the flashing blue blade of her lightsaber, and the barrier of muti colored blades of her fellow Jedi stood between her and certain death.
The stormtroopers who had been the first to land were already dead, from blaster rounds, bowcaster quarrels, lightsaber slashes, blows from war clubs and the occasional giant, shaggy fist. But more and more Imperial craft were dropping from the sky—gunships, troop carriers, scores of two-person infantry support platforms.
These were also wiped out as quickly as they had come, but more poured out.
Aalya made short work of the swaths, filling the sky with sheering colors.
Worse, word had it that the incursion wasn't confined to Kachirho, but was being repeated in tree-cites worldwide as Cadus had predicted. If the hearsay was true, then the Jedi weren't the priority. The Empire was merely using their presence to justify a full-scale invasion. And the fact that Imperial forces were refraining from launching orbital bombardments told Starstone that the ultimate goal was something other than genocide.
Slavery.
The troopers had been ordered not to amass high body counts, but to return with prisoners. Starstone held herself accountable. Inevitable or not, she had furnished the Empire with grounds to invade. Forte and Kulka were wrong to have deferred to her lead. She was not a Master. She should have listened to Shryne. The surround of towering cliffs and trees made it difficult for large vessels to hover or land outside the perimeter of the landing platform.
The lake that fronted Kachirho was expansive enough to accommodate a Victory-class Star Destroyer, but a subsequent offensive would entail storming the shoreline, as the Separatists had attempted to do, and Kachirho, at almost four hundred meters in height, presented a formidable battlement. Natural fortresses, wroshyr trees not only deflected ordinary blaster bolts but also provided hundreds of defensive platforms.
More important, trees that had endured for thousands of years were not easily burned, let alone uprooted or felled. Without employing turbolasers and resigning themselves to massive death tolls, Imperial forces faced a grueling battle. Judging by the manner in which they had deployed the gunships and troop carriers, Kashyyyk's theater commanders were relying on the fact that the Wookiees had no ranged weapons and little in the way of anti-aircraft defense.
But the Imperials had failed to take into account the thousands of war machines that had been abandoned by Separatist and Republic forces alike following the fierce engagement on the Wawaatt Archipelago—tank droids, missile platforms, spider and crab droids, All Terrain Walkers and juggernauts.
And just now the Wookiees were putting all that they had salvaged to good use. Imperial gunships were unable to descend below treetop level without the risk of being blown from the sky by commandeered artillery that had been moved to Kachirho's loftiest platforms, or by fluttercraft retrofitted with laser cannons.
Closer to the ground, those gunships that succeeded in evading the fire and flak found themselves set upon by flights of catamarans mounted with rocket launchers and repeating blasters. Troopers attempting to rappel from incapacitated ships were picked off by hails of bowcaster quarrels, blaster bolts fired from rifles taller than Starstone, sometimes bands of Wookiees swinging out from the tree-city platforms on braided vines.
The few troopers who survived the airborne barrages and reached the ground faced focused fire from blaster nests high in the trees, volleys of grenades, and showers of red-hot debris sizzling down through the leafy canopy. Fighting alongside Tarfful, Chewbacca, and hundreds of Wookiee warriors, Starstone and the other Jedi were still involved in the chaotic fray on the landing platform.
Employing carved shields and eccentric blasters, Wookiee females fought as ferociously as the males, and many of the offworld merchants were pitching in, recognizing that the Empire had no intention of sparing them. Weapons cleverly concealed in drop ships and transports were targeting anything the Wookiees missed, and many ferries were racing up the well, intent on carrying entire Wookiee families to safety.
In areas where there were lulls in the fighting, many Wookiee females and younglings were falling back toward the tree-city, or evacuating Kachirho's lower levels for the refuge of the high forest. Starstone wondered just how much the Empire was willing to risk at Kashyyyk. Had Palpatine's minions considered that, faced with captivity, the Wookiees might flee their arboreal cities and become a rebel force the likes of which the Grand Army had yet to confront? The thought provided her with a moment of solace.
Then she glimpsed something that sent her heart racing. Sensing her sudden distraction, Forte and Kulka followed her gaze to midlevel Kachirho, where a black Imperial shuttle was drifting in for a landing on one of the tree-city's enormous balconies.
"It's Vader..." Starstone said when the two Jedi Knights asked.
"Are you certain?" Forte said.
At Starstone's nod, Kulka gestured broadly to the ongoing fight.
"This is more about us than the Wookiees even know."
Starstone shut her eyes briefly and forced a determined exhalation. "Then it's up to us to make this about Vader.
Targeted by unexpected anti-aircraft fire, Vader's shuttle jinked for the largest of the Kachirho's arboreal balconies, its powerful defensive shields raised and its quad lasers spewing unrelenting fire at a pair of hailfire droids the Wookiees had hoisted into their massive tree-fortress.
Bolts from the shuttle's forward weapons reduced the missile platforms to slagged heaps and chewed into the balcony's wooden columns and beams, filling the air with splinters hard as nails.
The explosions flung the bodies of Kachirho's furry defenders far and wide. Hurled clear off the tier, some plummeted to the ground a hundred meters below. In the cabin space of the shaken shuttle, Vader was being addressed by the holoimage of one of the task force commanders.
"Our circumspect attacks are being repulsed planetwide, Lord Vader. As I thought I made clear, Wookiees do not take lightly to the threat of captivity. Already they're abandoning the tree-cities for the high forests. If they penetrate deeply enough, we will need months, perhaps years to find and root them out. Even then, the cost to us will be great, in terms of materiel and lives."
Vader muted the holoprojector's audio pickup and glanced across the aisle to Commander Appo. "Do you concur, Commander?"
"As it is we're losing too many troopers," Appo said without hesitation. "Grant permission to the naval commanders to initiate surgical bombardment from orbit."
Vader mulled it over for a moment. He didn't like being wrong, much less admitting that he had been wrong, but he saw no way out.
"You may commence bombardment, Commander, but make certain you save Kachirho for last. I have business to finish up here."
As the holoimage faded, Vader turned to the cabin's small porthole, meditating on the whereabouts of his Jedi quarries, and what nature of trap they had set for him.
The thought of confronting them stirred his impatience and his anger. Wings uplifted, the shuttle made a rough landing on the tier, bolts from Wookiee blasters careening from the fuselage. When the boarding ramp had extended, Appo and his stormtroopers hurried outside, Vader right behind him, his ignited blade deflecting fire from all sides.
Three troopers fell before they made it two meters from the ramp. The Wookiees were dug in, shooting from behind makeshift barricades and from crossbeams high above the balcony. Raising the shuttle on repulsorlift power, the clone pilot took the craft through a 180-degree sweep, drenching the area with laserfire.
At the same time, two Wookiees with satchel charges slung over their shoulders rushed from cover and managed to hurl the explosives through the shuttle's open hatch. A deafening explosion blew off one of the wings and sent the craft spinning and skidding to the very rim of the tier.
Counterattacking, Vader strode through fountaining flames to take the fight to the Wookiees. Crimson blade slashing left and right, he parried blaster bolts and amputated limbs and heads. Caterwauling and howling, showing their fangs and waving their long arms about, the Wookiees tried to hold their positions, but they had never faced anything like him, even in the darkest depths of Kashyyyk's primeval forest.
As tall as some of them, Vader waded in, his lightsaber cleaving intricately carved war shields, sending blasters and bow-casters flying, setting fire to shaggy coats, leaving more than a score of bodies in his wake. He was waving Appo and the other troopers forward when flashes of refulgent blue light caught his eye, and he swung to the source.
Emerging from a covered bridge anchored distally to the bole of the giant tree rushed six Jedi, deflecting blaster bolts from the stormtroopers as they attacked, doing to Appo's cadre just what Vader had done to the Wookiees. Forging through the offensive, three Jedi raced in to square off with Vader.
He recognized the petite, black-haired female among them, and tipped his blade in salute.
"You've saved me the trouble of looking for you, Padawan Starstone. These others must be the ones you gathered by accessing the Temple beacon. I let you do that. As did Cadus. We both know what it's like dealing with little brats."
Starstone's dark eyes bored into him.
"You defiled the Temple by setting foot in it."
"More than you will ever know..." He told her.
"Then you'll pay for that, as well."
He angled the lightsaber in front of him, tip pointed slightly downward.
"You're very much mistaken, Padawan. It is you who will pay."
Before Starstone could make a move, Siadem Forte and Iwo Kulka stepped in front of her and attacked Vader. As was the case with many Jedi Knights, the two were familiar with accounts of what had happened on Geonosis when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker had gone after the Sith Lord, Count Dooku. And so Forte and Kulka went in as a team, each of them employing a radically different lightsaber style, determined to off-balance Vader.
But Vader merely stood like a statue, his blade angled toward the ground until the very instant the two Jedi unleashed their assault. Then, as the three blades joined in scatterings of dazzling light and grating static sounds, he moved. Forte and Kulka were skilled duelists, but Vader was not only faster than Starstone remembered him being on Murkhana against Master Chatak, but also more agile.
He employed his awesome power to put a quick end to the fancy twirling of his opponents, who fell back against the hammering blows of Vader's bloodshine blade. Time and again the two Jedi Knights attempted to alter their style, but Vader had an answer for every lunge, parry, and riposte. His style borrowed elements from all techniques of combat, even from the highest, most dangerous levels, and his moves were crisp and unpredictable.
In addition, his remarkable foresight allowed him to anticipate Forte's and Kulka's strategies and maneuvers, his blade always one step ahead of theirs, notwithstanding the two-handed grip he employed. Toying with the Jedi, he grazed Forte on the left shoulder, then on the right thigh; Kulka, he pierced lightly in the abdomen, then shaved away the flesh on the right side of the Ho'Din's face.
Seeing the two Jedi Knights drop to their knees, wincing in pain, Padawan Klossi Anno broke where she was helping Jambe and Nam engage the stormtroopers and got to Vader one step ahead of Starstone. Sidestepping, Vader slashed her across the back, sending her sprawling across the balcony; then he whirled on Forte and Kulka just as they were clambering to their feet and decapitated them. From behind Vader came, Jambe and Nam, neither of whom was an experienced fighter and both of whom Vader immediately eliminated from the fight, amputating Jambe's right arm, and Nam's right leg.
To her horror, Starstone realized she was suddenly alone with Vader, who immediately signaled his stormtroopers to leave her to him, and to devote themselves to slaughtering the few Wookiees who remained on the tier.
"Now you, Padawan." He said, as he began to circle her.
Calling on the Force, Starstone fell on him in a fury, striking wildly and repeatedly, and with aver. Moments into her attack she understood that Vader was merely allowing her to vent, as the Temple's swordmaster had often done with students, allowing them to believe that they were driving him back, when in fact he was simply encouraging them to wear themselves out before disarming them in one rapid motion.
So she retreated, altering her strategy and calming herself. Vader is so tall, so imposing . . . But perhaps I can get under or inside his guard as Master Chatak did
"Your thoughts give you away, Padawan," he said in a flash. "You mustn't take the time to think. You must act on impulse. Instead of repressing your anger, call on it! Make use of it to defeat me."
Starstone feigned an attack, then sidestepped and slashed at him. Shifting to a one-handed hold on his lightsaber, he parried her blade and lunged forward. She snapped aside in the nick of time, but he kept coming at her, answering her increasingly frantic strikes with harsher ones and driving her inexorably toward the rim of the balcony. He flicked his blade, precisely, economically, forcing her back and back .. . She felt as if she were fighting a droid, although a droid programmed to counter all her best stratagems.
Ducking out from under a broad sweep of the crimson blade, she somersaulted to safety.
But only for a moment.
"You're skittish, Padawan."
Sweat dripped into her eyes.
She tried to center herself in the Force. At the same time she was vaguely aware of a new sound in the air, cutting through the chaos of the battle below. And just then a familiar ship slammed down on the tier alongside the crippled shuttle, two equally familiar figures leaping from the hatch even while the ship was still in motion.
At once, and seemingly of its own accord, the blood-smeared hilt of Master Forte's lightsaber shot from the balcony floor, whizzing past Vader's masked face to snap into the hand of one of the figures and ignite. A gurgled sound issued from somewhere close to the newly arrived ship and something metallic hit the floor and began to roll forward.
His black cloak unfurling, Vader spun around to find the helmeted head of Commander Appo coming to a rocky rest at his feet.
A few meters away Roan Shryne stood with his legs spread to shoulder width, Forte's blue blade angled high and to one side. Alongside him, blasters in both six-fingered hands, Archyr was dropping every stormtrooper who approached.
"Get away from him!" Shryne yelled at Starstone. "He's my problem to deal with!"